Key-factors for successful Product Generation Process implementation: A contract manufacturer perspective

Key-factors for successful Product Generation Process implementation: A contract manufacturer perspective

Van Banning, R.C.M.

Enserink, B. (mentor)
Van der Voort, H.G. (mentor)
Vrancken, J.L.M. (mentor)

Technology, Policy and Management

Systems Engineering

Engineering & Policy Analysis

2014-09-30

VDL-ETG is a contract-manufacturing firm active in among others the high-tech mechatronics market. Due to developments at VDL-ETG and the market in which they are active, VDL-ETG decided that they needed a more structured product development process. Therefore VDL-ETG has designed a tailor-made product development process which they call the Product Generation Process (PGP). This thesis focusses on the best practices for implementing such a process, the research was done in collaboration with VDL-ETG. There are numerous views on what such a product development process should look like and which ones are most successful. Less attention is given to the fact that to a large part the success of a product development process is dependent on the correct implementation of a process that fits the specific company. As such this research focusses on the aspects which are important for the successful implementation of a product development process and specifically PGP at VDL-ETG. The approach taken to reach this goal consists of three parts on which this research focusses: 1. The first source of information is scarce literature that has been written on practical experience with the implementation of a product development process and which challenges were encountered. 2. Secondly literature on change processes is considered since implementing a product development process means bringing more structure for employees. This can be approached as a type of a change process and literature on this subject can be valuable in improving the success of implementation. 3. Thirdly interviews with employees of VDL-ETG have been conducted as to contribute a practice oriented view to the research. Also information gathered from the interviews can be used to tailor the recommendations to VDL-ETG. As a result of this research a list was compiled the of most important aspects to look into when considering to implement a product development process, the aspects are separated into three categories. The first category is about the planning phase before implementing the process, the second phase is about aspects important when introducing a product development process and the last phase is about what is important during the use of the process when pursuing successful implementation. Preparation 1) Motivation and agreement on the need for a product development process and what it should look like 2) Stakeholder identification; who are involved and what are their responsibilities 3) Commitment and involvement from the senior-management throughout the process 4) Commit resources to the development and introduction of the new product development process 5) Make use of the experience from other companies about what the process should look like but make sure to adapt to the specific needs of the company Introduction 6) A clear and properly communicated vision where everyone knows his or her role 7) Initiators are needed for using the process to get the newly introduced process going. Thus buy-in from key-employees 8) Make use of multi-disciplinary teams and promote concurrent activities 9) Provide as much help as possible while introducing the process 10) Deal with complications during implementation concurrently, before they become complex 11) Be aware that it is a change process; the process needs to be sold to the employees 12) Manage expectations; it takes time to see the positive effects of a product development process 13) Be aware that the structure of a product development process can be intimidating for companies used to a flexible way of working During use 14) Be flexible with the design of the process, experience in the organization can help improve the process 15) Eventually make sure that improvements are applied continuously and that the process keeps evolving according to the needs of the company For VDL-ETG specifically it was concluded that this list is too extensive and does not fit with the company. The list of aspects and the literature on the subject in general is largely focussed towards the centralization of organizations. This is not how VDL-ETG works and it is not something that they strive for, they are more of a market-oriented and externally focussed organization, therefore a sub-selection has been made of the most important aspects for VDL-ETG and to what extent they should be applied. For VDL-ETG aspects 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11, 13 and 15 were found to be most important. The most important points of attention for VDL-ETG are as follows. - On the subject of everyone within the company knowing their role and responsibility it was concluded that although it is important, specifically naming everyone’s roles and responsibilities is not attainable, the good enough alternative would be to at least divide the tasks to the different departments. - Active involvement by the management, communicating that they find using the process important and show genuine interest in PGP, among others by planning regular meetings to discuss PGP progress of projects. - Alignment on what actually is the vision for which VDL-ETG is implementing PGP in order to prevent confusion. - Find the right people to start using the process and iron out the large hurdles of using PGP. - Keep an eye on the future as not to lose track on successful use of PGP once properly implemented.

Product Development Process
Organizational Change
Implementation
Phase-gate

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:8f01ede7-d8fa-41d3-b5be-a61c9e35c776

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2014 Van Banning, R.C.M.