Projects that support new product development efforts are among the most challenging. Design and other early-stage activities must be carefully orchestrated while maintaining visibility on future impacts and resource needs. Keeping the project on track as market conditions evolve adds to the complexity, creating an environment that could tempt organizations to shift the goal posts mid-stream. PMAlliance’s structured approach can help your team bring the elements of your new product development project under control and move activities to a successful completion.
Industry: Avionics
Challenges
Learn how PMAlliance's Duration-Driven Methodology helped deliver this project on time and within budget. Download the case study below.
Big challenges stand in the way of new product development projects
Organizations are under tremendous pressure to bring new and innovative products to market quickly. This leads to compressed time schedules for nearly every project activity, from finalizing the product’s specifications to establishing production requirements and developing marketing campaigns. Coordinating the efforts of so many disciplines—and in a very short amount of time—is a huge challenge for organizations.
The sheer gravity of each new product development project must also be considered. Depending on the size, maturity, and wealth of the organization, heavy resource allocations could strain budgets, leading to staffing or funding shortages in other internal groups as people and money are funneled into the project. This creates an environment of intense pressure where project teams may be saddled with make-or-break directives. It’s difficult to make sound strategic decisions and successfully execute complex projects under these conditions.
Top-level risks abound
Every new product development effort is inherently risky. Significant investments of time, money, labor hours, and other valuable resources are usually dedicated to product development projects. With activities in full swing—even if things appear to be on track—the organization could still find itself vulnerable, with few reserves available as huge chunks of resources are dedicated to the project.
Given the volatile swings and constantly-changing needs and expectations of customers, the product’s success within the market can never be guaranteed. If early planning and research activities aren’t well executed, the project’s outcome could generate less enthusiasm in the market than expected and result in lower revenue returns. The risks of failure of any new product development project could potentially bring with it steep financial losses or a devastating decline in market position.
What PMAlliance can do for you
PMAlliance has an extensive background in helping organizations navigate the tricky waters of the new product development arena. Our project control methodology has been proven effective in addressing and mitigating many of the risks that arise when teams pursue new product opportunities. Keeping activities on track is key to taking full advantage of favorable market conditions and ensuring your project reaches its goals.
In addition, the facilitation skills our PMP®-certified experts employ are closely tailored to assist in identifying critical market pressures and potential problem areas early in the new product planning process. This allows the team sufficient time to create a workable strategy to reach success. Problem-solving skills are also an important asset during any new product development project, something our consultants can bring to bear when design, testing, production, marketing, or other issues crop up mid-project.
PMAlliance, Inc offers project management consulting, project management training and project portfolio management services
