Foundations of New Product Development

This unit introduces the strategic, market, team, and process foundations required for successful new product development (NPD). Students learn to evaluate market opportunities, screen and test concepts, organize interdisciplinary teams, and translate early research into a prioritized business case and preliminary launch plan.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze market data and customer insights to determine appropriate growth strategies (market expansion, acquisition, or innovation) and to identify target opportunities for new products.
• Apply structured idea-screening and concept-testing methods to prioritize concepts, set measurable NPD targets, and produce a concise business case outline.
• Demonstrate the ability to assemble and manage cross-functional creative teams, design customer visit and review processes, and use progress-tracking tools to prepare for an early-stage launch.
• Evaluate research-to-development processes — including the fuzzy front end, digital experimentation, open innovation, and global development considerations — to integrate findings into a feasible go-to-market plan.