Book Reviews

New product development: an introduction to a

multifunctional process

Tim Jones, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 1997,

£17.99, 134 +xv pp, ISBN 0 7506 2427 2

Successful new product development is a vital mat-

ter for any manufacturer, in which design plays a

key and central role. Of course, as well as what

is traditionally regarded as the 'design' function,

success also depends on many other, equally

important functions, such as production engineer-

ing, marketing and distribution. This book is based

on a model of new product development in which

the many functions are integrated in participative

organization, with the lead role changing as a new

product develops from inception, through creation

to realization.

The book is organized very simply into a brief

Introduction which outlines this integrated model

of new product development, and then four chap-

ters which extend aspects of this outline in more

depth. These chapters are: (1)New product devel-

opment strategy; (2)Innovation; (3)Organization

for new product development; (4)Rapid product

development. Each chapter provides a brief review

of the current state of knowledge relevant to its

title, and has an extended case study that demon-

strates some recent practice of this theory. The case

studies are: (1)Rover 600 motorcar; (2)Flymo

Gardenvac cleaner; (3)Logitech Mouseman Sensa

computer mouse; (4) Polaroid Spectra instant cam-

era. The case studies are well-written, up-to-date

and informative, and complement well the preced-

ing theory sections which are relatively standard

expositions of current ideas.

ELSEVIER

Written for a wide range of readers~designers,

engineers, marketing personnel and managers--the

book is accessible to that wide audience. It pro-

vides a good introduction to new product develop-

ment for anyone to whom integrated product devel-

opment or concurrent engineering is still novel, but

perhaps it does not have enough depth to add much

to the knowledge of others. It would be a good

introductory text for students of design manage-

ment, and helps show students of design, engineer-

ing and marketing how their roles interact. It is a

pity that the design of the book itself does not pro-

vide a better example of new product develop-

ment--i ts small and dense typefaces obscuring the

clarity of the message of the words.

Nigel Cross

Understanding engineering design: context, theory,

and practice

Richard Birmingham, Graham Cleland, Robert

Driver and David Maffin, Prentice Hall, London,

1997, £18.95, 159 + xiv pp, ISBN 0 13 525650 X

Compared with architects, fashion designers and

graphic designers, engineering designers--also

known as engineers--are held in low esteem by a

public whose perception is one of rather boring,

technical and socially inadequate people. There are

several reasons for this. Engineering organisations,

unlike architectural and product design organis-

ations, are not usually design-led, they do not have

a designer at the helm so to speak, more likely a

'businessman', 'financier' or 'entrepreneur'. Most

engineering products are also extremely complex

systems, the result of many people's input and

0142-694X/98 $19.00 Design Studies 19 (1998) 119-121 PII: S0142-694X(97)00000-0 © 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain

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