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GGI RapidNews R&D Product Development eZine: Volume 8, Issue 12 - December 4, 2007
In This Issue GGI BIENNIAL SURVEY - 2007 Survey Deadline Extended to December 21 GGI NEWS & NOTES - Ervin Kule named GGI Market Research Analyst MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY -R&D Magazine names World's Top 10 R&D Companies MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY -Penton Media introduces online "Engineering TV" BOOK REVIEW -Flexible Product Design: Building Agility for Changing Markets UPCOMING PUBLIC SEMINAR - Jan08 METRICS SUMMIT - Early Bird Rates CONFERENCES OF INTEREST - VOC Training in Medical and Life Sciences THE WISDOM iSTORE FEATURED PRODUCT 40% OFF - No Listings THE WISDOM iSTORE NEW LISTINGS - No New Products this month BIENNIAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SURVEY - 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998 Results GATEWAYS TO KNOWLEDGE - A Monthly Feature CALENDAR OF INDUSTRY EVENTS - A Monthly Feature TELEVISION EVENTS - Alexander Haig's World Business Review --------------------------------------------------------------------- GGI BIENNIAL SURVEY - 2007 Underway GGI has extended the deadline for its 2007 Biennial Product Development Metrics Survey to Wednesday, December 21. If you have not yet had a chance to complete the survey, please do so as soon as possible. We look forward to hearing from you. Our thanks to all whom have participated thus far. This year's theme is "Tangible Innovation Processes, Tools, Techniques, & Metrics." We invite all product development professionals who have not already done so to participate in the survey. Simply log on to http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/research-product-development-innovation-process-metrics.shtml. The site provides a description of past surveys as well as instructions for completing the current version. The Table of Contents for the 2007 Survey is:
All participants will receive a complimentary 40-50 page Summary of the Survey Results at the conclusion of the study. The Summary will address each survey question. For each survey question, we will provide factual observations, management analysis, and graphed answers. GGI is more generous than other firms in what we provide back to the folks that make the time to participate in our research. We understand how busy every one is and a short summary of highlights does not provide an adequate return on time invested. We have received only compliments for what we have provided participants in the past. Please be sure that your responses will be held 100% confidence. We will never release data in any form that can be attributed to a single company or single response. We will never release data in a small enough sample that any person or organization can figure out which companies were in the sample. GGI has been in business for twenty years and we understand the importance of being trusted and confidential. In fact, we believe that the survey questions do not request any information that would be considered confidential in nature and thus would require permission of a senior manager to be released. The survey close date is October 15, 2007. For more information please contact Brett Kratchman at GGI at 781-444-5400 x202. GGI NEWS & NOTES -Ervin Kule named GGI Market Research Analyst GGI is proud to announce that Ervin A. Kule has been named Market Research Analyst. In this position, Kule is responsible for the collection, tabulation and factual analysis of the company's primary research. A 2006 graduate of Holy Cross, Kule received a Master's Degree in the History of Comparative Religion. He holds a Liberal Arts Degree from the University of Athens. Prior to joining Goldense Group, Kule held a management position at the Maliotis cultural center, Brookline, MA, and was a computer analyst for the Massachusetts State Police. MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY -R&D Magazine names World's Top 10 R&D Companies Condensed from "World's Best R&D Companies," by Tim Studt, R&D Magazine, October 2007, Volume 49, No. 10, pages 12-15, published by Advantage Business Media, Rockaway, New Jersey. Combining reader response with five of the industry's top metrics on R&D, R&D Magazine has named the world's leading Research and Development companies. IBM, General Electric and DuPont share the top tier, reflecting the volume of research that they perform, their consistent performance, and their long-standing and growing global R&D presence. Middle tier companies include 3M, Toyota, Google and Apple. These organizations have grown over the past several years, primarily as a result of R&D operations. The lower tier, which includes Microsoft, Genentech, and Dow Chemical, consists of large firms with established global development programs that are expected to grow their companies' product lines in coming years. Relying on research findings published by Goldense Group, Inc., Needham, MA, the magazine noted that it used the following metrics as a key part of its ranking process:
To view a full copy of the article, go to the R&D Magazine Web Page. MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY - Penton Media introduces "Engineering TV" Condensed from "Tower of Power," Business 2.0 Magazine, August 2006, pages 94-102, published by Business 2.0 Media, Inc., New York, New York. What do precision-guided parachutes, night vision devices and robotic goalies have in common? They are all featured in recent episodes of Engineering TV. This online video program is dedicated to research in the fields of electronics, robotics and mechanical design. It is posted twice a week and features 5-8 minute episodes on experimental technology. Engineering TV is produced by the Design and Electronics Engineering Groups of Penton Media. Recent episodes are geared towards robotics, but the site covers a range of topics including alternative energy, space technology, advances in medical devices, and design competitions. The design includes a 600-foot high solar tower encircled by a canopy at its base that is two miles in diameter. Air, super-heated by the sun's radiation, moves into and up the tower column. The resulting wind spins turbine generators,generating electricity but no greenhouse gases. More information is available on the EngineeringTV.com Web Site. For more information about Solar Updraft Towers, go to the Wikipedia Web Site. BOOK REVIEW Flexible Product Design: Building Agility for Changing Markets, Preston G. Smith, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007, Copyright Preston G. Smith, 2007, ISBN 0787995843. While innovation may drive the marketplace, market forces are slowly making existing product development processes outdated. Approaches such as Six Sigma and phased development processes encourage heavy up-front planning and leave little room for change once the development process has started. But flexibility is precisely what is needed at a time when customers change their minds frequently, competitors introduce disruptive products, and new technologies continually appear. Through extensive study of cutting-edge practices such set-based design and the techniques of the agile software movement, Preston Smith has identified the tools and people skills needed for successful innovation in today's market. The first half of the book concentrates on the strategies of flexible development. These include:
The second half of the book discusses what Smith calls the most important part of any venture: human interaction. He describes various levels of flexibility among team members, and provides advice on co-location of teams. Other chapters review project management, development processes, and implementation of flexible product development. We recommend this book to program managers in companies of any size who are responsible for difficult projects that change frequently. For more information about Flexible Product Development, or to order a copy of the book go to the Amazon.com Web Site. UPCOMING PUBLIC SEMINAR - METRICS SUMMIT JANUARY 2008 GGI's Product Development Metrics Summit will be held January 29-31, 2008, in Metro Boston. Please join us for a series of three seminars, which focus on major areas of importance to R&D executives and managers. Many prior Summit participants were kind enough to share their written comments so that future participants could get a better idea of what to expect. Testimonials. The first seminar [Measuring Product Development II (MPDII)- January 29] addresses setting hurdle rates, assessing risk and complexity, tradeoff analysis, measuring capacity, and assessing overall financial performance. Click here to view the MPDII Abstract or to download the Table of Contents. The second seminar [Proactive and Predictive R&D Metrics (PPRD) - January 30] focuses on three stages of developing early, predictive metrics that will enable managers to foresee issues on the horizon or to know that success is in front of them. Click to view the PPRD Abstract or to download the Table of Contents. The third seminar, a capstone, [Product Development Metrics Portfolios (PDMP) - January 31] covers the areas of metrics for R&D and product development that are not discussed in the prior two seminar days and then shifts focus. Company teams gather and working groups form around Innovator, Innovator/Extender, Balanced, and Extender R&D strategies for the purpose of developing a set of measures for the R&D organization as a whole, including the few measures that should be used by the corporation to measure R&D productivity, output, and overall performance results. Click to view the PDMP Abstract or to download the Table of Contents. All three seminars are geared to executives and top-level professionals that manage entire organizations, departments, and budgets. It is also of benefit to senior program management executives. Registration is easy. If you are registering a team, you can sign up any number of people in one transaction. Our site provides for registering the contact information for one person. We will contact you to get the contact information for the remaining team members. If you are already registered, our Leisure Time Activities page may be useful for planning transportation, meals, and personal time outside the Summit. For more information please download a brochure. CONFERENCES OF INTEREST - VOC Training in Medical and Life Sciences The Medical Development Group will be feature a seminar on the "Voice of the Customer" (VOC) at its December Forum. This organization sponsors ten forums annually on a variety of topics related to the medical device industry. Titled "How to Identify and Interpret the Voice of the Customer," this panel discussion is tailored to product development professionals in the medical device and life science industries. Three industry experts will discuss useful tools for incorporating customer input into new product development. Panelist will approach this topic from the standpoint of engineering, product marketing, and industrial design. The seminar will be held from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 12, 2007, at the Foley Hoag Enterprise Center in Waltham, MA. For more information about the event, please go to the Monthly Forum Page of the Medical Development Group Web Site. THE WISDOM iSTORE FEATURED PRODUCT 40% OFF - No Listings THE WISDOM iSTORE NEW LISTINGS - No New Products this Month
2004 Product Development Metrics Survey - Product Selection, IP Management, and Top Corporate Metrics: The Summary Report (MR32h) and Highlights Report (MR31h) for GGI's 2004 Biennial Product Development Metrics Survey are now available for purchase by the public through GGI's Wisdom iStore. These reports are completely based on primary research performed by GGI researchers. The research includes 202 respondent companies. There was a 5% response rate. McKinsey & Company, Texas Instruments, Rockwell, Kimberly Clark, JDS Uniphase, Shure, Curtiss Wright Flight Systems and Datacard are representative of companies that purchase market research from GGI. The 2004 Survey focused on the following five areas of product selection and IP management:
We have already shared many results with GGI RapidNews readers since we began this line of business in 1998. 2004 Survey results ran in six RN issues, RN V5I11 - RN V6I5, which may be found in the RN archives, along with results from prior years. Some additional complimentary information about the survey is available: The three commercial versions of the survey results that we currently offer for public purchase are:
1. 2004 SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS: A text-only report (75 pages), including the full text of all the results and analysis of the survey population analyzed as a whole, and Individual sections of the research reports, as well as logical combinations of sections are also available. All reports are available in printed or electronic versions. These reports are available in the Market Research Section of The Wisdom iStore. 2002, 2000, 1998 Product Development Metrics Survey: The Summary and Highlights Reports for GGI's prior Biennial Product Development Metrics Surveys are also available for purchase by the public through The Wisdom iStore. Information about the purpose and focus of prior surveys may be found in our Biennial Survey Archives. GATEWAYS TO KNOWLEDGE GTK- Gateway To Knowledge is a DIRECTORY OF THOUSANDS OF LINKS to providers of engineering, purchasing, and manufacturing technologies and services. If you hit the right subjects, it is more useful than a search engine! The "main entrance" to GTK can be found at: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/gateway/index.shtml For those of you that do not want to go through the main entrance above, some of the Gateways that we believe you will find useful or entertaining are highlighted below. Technology Providers
CALENDAR OF INDUSTRY EVENTS GGI's Calendar of Industry Events contains an up-to-date listing of links to Conferences, Seminars, Distance Learning Centers, Colleges & Universities, Executive Education, and Corporate-Sponsored Universities. The calendar has just been updated with 60 upcoming conferences and seminars throughout 2007. The categories we follow are: The categories of conferences, seminars, and distance learning are further organized into the following subject areas: If you are looking for a conference or other learning opportunity, check out the Calendar. This free service for our readers is front and center on GGI's Home Page. Or, go directly to the Calendar of Industry Events MEGA Gateway.
TELEVISION EVENTS Alexander Haig's World Business Review: Brad Goldense has made several appearances on Alexander Haig's World Business Review. Streaming video is available for all shows, which aired on August 4, September 29 and December 15, 2002 and on May 20, 2003. See below for details. May 20, 2003 Broadcast of September 29th In-Studio with Alexander Haig (22.5 minutes): Streaming video for this segment is available on GGI's web site. December 15, 2002 In-Studio with Alexander Haig (7.5 minutes) on CNBC paid programming: Streaming video for this segment is available on GGI's web site. September 29, 2002 In-Studio with Alexander Haig (22.5 minutes): Streaming video for this segment (as well as the entire 30-minute show) is available on GGI's web site. August 4, 2002 On-Location at GGI (3.5 minutes): This On-Location field report is available in streaming video on GGI's web site. The web page includes links to download a streaming video player, if you do not currently have one installed on your computer. For more information on any of Brad's appearances on television, go to: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/ggi-goldense-product-development-tv-television-broadcast.shtml. --------------------------------------------------------------------- GGI RapidNews is an e-mail publication from Goldense Group, Inc (GGI). Its subject matter includes survey findings, company news, book and article reviews, key industry conferences and R&D information of interest to clients and associates. Please send communications to rn(at)goldensegroupinc.com. Thank you. | |||