Who Designs and Develops Products?

Product development is an interdisciplinary activity requiring contributions from nearly all the functions of a firm; however, three functions are almost always central to a product development project:

• Marketing: The marketing function mediates the interactions between the firm and its customers. Marketing often facilitates the identification of product opportunities, the definition of market segments, and the identification of customer needs. Marketing also typically arranges for communication between the firm and its customers, sets target prices, and oversees the launch and promotion of the product.

• Design: The design function plays the lead role in defining the physical form of the product to best meet customer needs. In this context, the design function includes engineer; ing design (mechanical, electrical, software, etc.) and industrial design (aesthetics, ergonomics, user interfaces).

• Manufacturing: The manufacturing function is primarily responsible for designing, operating, and/or coordinating the production system in order to produce the product. Broadly defined, the manufacturing function also often includes purchasing, distribution, and installation. This collection of activities is sometimes called the supply chain.

Different individuals within these functions often have specific disciplinary training in areas such as market research, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, materials science, or manufacturing operations. Several other functions, including finance and sales, are frequently involved on a part-time basis in the development of a new product. 

Beyond these broad functional categories, the specific composition of a development team depends on the particular characteristics of the product. Few products are developed by a single individual. The collection of individuals developing a product forms the project team. This team usually has a single team leader, who could be drawn from any of the functions of the firm. The team can be thought of as consisting of a core team and an extended team. In order to work together effectively, the core team usually remains small enough to meet in a conference room, while the extended team may consist of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of other members. (Even though the term team is inappropriate for a group of thousands, the word is often used in this context to emphasize that the group must work toward a common goal.) In most cases, a team within the firm will be supported by individuals or teams at partner companies, suppliers, and consulting firms . Sometimes, as is the case for the development of a new airplane, the number of external team members may be even greater than that of the team within the company whose name will appear on the final product. The  composition of a team for the development of an electromechanical product of modest complexity is

shown in Exhibit 1-2.

Throughout this book we assume that the team is situated within a firm. In fact, a for-profit manufacturing company is the most common institutional setting for product development, but other settings are possible. Product development teams sometimes work within consulting firms, universities, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations.

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References and Bibliography

Exercises

A wide variety of resources for this chapter and for the rest of the book are available on the Internet. These resources include data, templates, links to suppliers, and lists of publications. Current resources may be accessed via www.ulrich-eppinger.net

Wheelwright and Clark devote much of their book to the very early stages of product development, which we cover in less detail.

Wheelwright, Stephen c., and Kim B. Clark, Revolutionizing Product Development: Quantum Leaps in Speed, Efficiency, and Quality, The Free Press, New York, 1992.

Katzenbach and Smith write about teams in general, but most of their insights apply to product development teams as well.

Katzenbach, Jon R., and Douglas K. Smith, The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 1993.

These three books provide rich narratives of development projects, including fascinating descriptions of the intertwined social and technical processes.

Kidder, Tracy, The Soul of a New Machine, Avon Books, New York, 1981.

Sabbagh, Karl, Twenty-First-Century Jet: The Making and Marketing of the Boeing 777, Scribner, New York, 1996.

Walton, Mary, Car: A Drama of the American Workplace, Norton, New York, 1997.

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