Product Planning

Chapter 3

Organizing People

• Generally, the process is spread across different departments in organizations

• Technical responsibilities tend to fall in manufacturing, engineering, or operations

• Marketing responsibilities tend to fall in marketing, advertising, sales, or distribution

• The organization can give strong signals as to how a company values new product development

Interdepartmental Integration

• “in your dreams…”• Six general approaches to integrating

departments1. Co-location - putting them near each other2. Personnel movement – moving people among

departments3. Formal processes – shared decision-making4. Informal social systems – scheduled and informal

meetings5. Incentives – dangle a carrot in front of team members6. Organizational structure – design the organization

with this process in mind

Organization Structure

• The prevalent approach, often accompanied by the thought that putting an organization chart on paper will make the process work effectively

• Different ways to set up the structure– Functional approach – grouping skill sets– Matrix organization – reporting to two bosses– Project program approach – large, long

projects

Team Types

• Many organizations use product planning teams to manage their process

• Five different types of teams1. Functional – within an individual department2. Multi-functional – across different departments3. Balanced matrix – team members still do

department work as well as product planning work4. Cross-functional teams (project matrix teams) –

similar to multi-functional, except compensation driven by team leader, not departments

5. Venture teams – self-contained teams with 100% focus and self-sustaining resources

Team Roles

• Core team, ad hoc team, and extended team

• Team leader – project manager

• Inventor – original idea source

• Champion – sponsor and main advocate

• Sponsor – executive level resource provider

• Rationalist – devil’s advocate role

Factors for Team Effectiveness

• Structure of product development process– Linkages within and between departments

• Organizational support for teams– Pay and promotion, career development

• General team management issues– Team size, selection, training, leadership,

conflict resolution– Typically teams are 8-12 members