Product Concept Definition

The Product Concept PhaseAs discussed in Chapter 2, new ideas for new products and services are generated in many different ways in and outside the modern company in the market. Today a more open and collaborative process of accessing innovative ideas and problem solutions is available to companies on the Web in the form of wiki platforms. A wiki is a collaborative Website that can be directly edited by anyone with access to it. This virtual market for new product ideas that is generated by a wiki is called an ideagora, from the Greek word "agora" (marketplace). An ideagora is a global marketplace on the Web where insights and experiences are shared, debated, and refined. Companies get access to a global pool of talent through this system and can access particular partners or suppliers for specific new product initiatives.

Because there are major issues of intellectual property in this open-ended, ideation process, many companies do not want to share their inside ideas on new products and services, and do not trust unknown, "global" partners to act in their corporate interests. But the process is gaining ground simply because it taps into a wide variety of new product concepts effectively and inexpensively.

Entering the Concept Definition ProcessWherever a new product idea is generated in this ideation process, the product concept phase begins when an idea or new product innovation is documented and initially reviewed by management. If management commits to supporting the definition and evaluation of the concept for possible funding, as part of the project portfolios, it enters the product concept phase.

After a new product concept has been selected from the portfolio for implementation, it is entered by management into the product concept phase and put through a scheduled concept development phase. This is the first test of the new idea as a product concept. The purpose of this phase is to flesh out the product concept so a decision can be made whether or not

Bibliography: dvanced Product Quality Planning and Control Plan APQP, Ford, Chrysler, GM joint publications, Detroit, 1994. [Technical guide for product engineers, designers and developers.]Advanced Project Portfolio Management and the PMO, Gerald Kendall and Steven Rollins, J. Ross Publishing, Boca Raton, Florida, 2003. [Great source on how to develop a new product portfolio and manage it using a Project Management Office.]Creating an Environment for Successful Projects, Robert Graham and Randall Englund, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1997. [Perhaps the best source on executive roles in project management; introduces the concept of project sponsor.]Customer Driven Project Management: Building Quality into Project Proceses, 2d ed., Bruce T. Barkley and James Saylor, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2001. [Good source on quality, customer requirements, and SPC tools. Available in Chinese.]Fast Cycle Time: How to Align Purpose, Strategy, and Structure for Speed, Christopher Myer, Free Press, New York, 1993. [Early treatment of new product development process improvement; set the stage for later work on new product development.]Implementing Concurrent Project Management, Quenten T. Turtle, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1994. [Good source on integrated project teams and new product development in engineering.]Integrated Project Management, Bruce T. Barkley, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2006. [Good source on PMBOK integrated project requirement standards.]Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century, Howard Gardner, Basic Books, New York 1999. [Excellent treatment of various intelligences including creativity and leadership intelligence.]Leading Change, John Kotter, Harvard Business School Press, Boston 1996. [Excellent source on building coalitions in an organization going through change and providing change leadership.]