Revolutionizing Product Development - by Steven C Wheelwright (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Today, a company's capability to conceive and design quality prototypes and bring a variety of superior products to market quicker than its competitors is increasingly the focal point of competition, contend leading product development experts Steven Wheelwright and Kim Clark. Drawing on six years of in-depth, systematic, worldwide research, they present proven principles for developing the critical capabilities for speed, efficiency, and quality that have worked again and again in scores of successful Japanese, American, and European fast-cycle firms.

The authors argue that to survive, let alone succeed, today's companies must construct a new "platform" -- with new methodologies -- on which they can compete. Using their model for development strategies, Wheelwright and Clark show that firms can create a solid architecture for the integration of marketing, manufacturing, and design functions for problem solving and fast action -- particularly during the critical design-build-test cycles of prototype creation.

They demonstrate further how successful firms such as Honda in automobiles, Compaq in personal computers, Applied Materials in semi-conductors, Sony in audio equipment, The Limited in apparel, and Hill-Rom in hospital beds have employed recent methodologies to bring new products to market at break-neck speed. Such innovations include design for manufacturability, quality function deployment, computer-aided design, and computer-aided engineering.

Finally, Wheelwright and Clark emphasize the importance of learning in the organization. Companies that consistently "design it right the first time" and follow a path of continuous improvement in product and process development have a formidable edge in the crucial race to market.

Review Quotes

H. Kent Bowen Ford Professor of Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Brings together the elements of best practice but also creates a complete conceptual model for the product development process valid for years to come. The numerous product examples, methods, exhibits, and tables will facilitate the book's use by educators, practitioners, and managers who will welcome the combination of broad concepts with specifics and how-to's.

Jack W. Shilling Vice President, Technical Center, Allegheny Ludlum Corporation A must for managers dealing with new product and process development. I recommend it highly.

James A. Elsner Vice President, Engineering Systems & Capital Improvements, Campbell Soup Company Powerful! Wheelwright and Clark provide tools and solutions for the critical task of product/process/package development. I will provide copies to all my key people.

John Sculley Chairman and CEO, Apple Computer, Inc. A truly seminal work leaving no stone unturned. The magic is in the details and insights of creating systemic business advantage and superior new products when time to market, quality, and flexibility really count.

Warren L. Batts Chairman and CEO, Premark International, Inc. Captures and clarifies the nuances of the product development process. Their abundant use of real world examples, with ample charts and tables of realistic data, provides an all encompassing perspective. Whether we're seeking incrementals, platforms, or breakthroughs, we can reshape our approaches to be far more effective in our diverse businesses by using the insights provided by their work.

About the Author

Steven C. Wheelwright is the Class of 1949 Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School.

Wheelwright and Clark are co-authors with Robert H. Hayes of the best-selling Dynamic Manufacturing (Free Press, 1988).