Managing New Product Development

This unit develops students’ ability to move product ideas through early-stage development using customer insight, structured ideation, cross-functional teams, and partner strategies. Learners will translate customer needs into requirements, manage portfolios and stage-gate reviews, prototype and measure process health, and prepare coordinated launch and profit models using digital collaboration tools.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze customer visit findings and apply Quality Function Deployment to translate customer needs into defined product requirements and prototype test plans
• Apply portfolio-balancing techniques and established review rules to prioritize projects, construct a staged launch plan, and convert losing concepts into strategic assets
• Demonstrate the formation and facilitation of cross-functional NPD teams, selection of external partners, and use of digital collaboration technologies to manage development work
• Evaluate prototype results, process health metrics, globalization impacts, and profit models to make evidence-based decisions that advance concepts toward commercialization