New Product and Project Risk Management Resources

This page is a catch-all for those who would like to develop their new product better or faster but haven't found their question addressed yet. These are our "FAQ" (frequently asked questions).

1. We guide and train managers in industry who regularly develop new products but would like to do it better. Many people (inventors) instead browse here while they are trying to commercialize their first new product, needing basic help with business plans, developing their market or distribution development, financing, prototype building, or product design. If this is where you are, look for an inventors' community.

2. Developing products involves both developing the "right" product and developing it "right." This Website deals primarily with the latter issue of developing an item once you know what it is. For help with the former issue of selecting and assessing product ideas and generally managing a portfolio of products, Consider the excellent book, Portfolio Management for New Products (see a review here).

3. Many people would like to speed up their development process but are either confused or fearful about doing it. This is exactly what this Website is about, but you may find it overwhelming. To get started, read our article, "Reaping Benefit from Speed to Market."

4. We firmly believe that you shouldn't start accelerating your development process unless you  know your cost of delay. You can get a brief introduction to this topic in Exhibit 2 of "Reaping" above. The details are in Chapter 2 of Developing Products in Half the Time. That chapter includes a series of five spreadsheets to organize the calculations, which are available as an Excel template. Just ask.

5. Of course, many people primarily want to achieve another objective than speed. Fortunately, many of the techniques suggested here are equally adaptable to other objectives. The "Reaping" article contrasts speed with other development objectives.

6. One alternative is flexibility rather than speed, which recognizes that the ability to respond to change easily is more valuable than going at high speed in a predetermined direction. In other words, you might be interested in the cost of change more than the cost of delay. If so, see our material on flexible product development.

6. Some want it all: faster, better, cheaper, as they say. This is also possible, but there is a definite way of going about it. Again, see "Reaping." However, sometimes wanting it all is just a crutch for not making distinctions. For help in making such distinctions, see the other trade-off rules connected with the cost of delay in Chapter 2 of Developing Products in Half the Time.

7. If you would like to know how to start, read about some of your options for enhancing your new product development.

If you still have questions, please contact us.