Kessler, E.H., & Chakrabarti, A.K. (1999). Speeding Up the Pace of New Product Development. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 16, 231-247.

Format: Peer-reviewed article

Type: Research — Non-experimental

Experience level of reader: Fundamental

Annotation: A survey of 75 new product development projects from ten firms revealed factors that impact new product development speed. The resulting analysis identified a core set of factors, as well as differences between factors that can accelerate project speed, as well as factors specific to both radical and incremental innovations.

Setting(s) to which the reported activities/findings are relevant: Large business, Small business (less than 500 employees), University

Knowledge user(s) to whom the piece of literature may be relevant: Manufacturers, Researchers

Knowledge user level addressed by the literature: Organization

This article uses the Commercial Devices and Services version of the NtK Model

Method: To increase a new product development project's speed, set clearer schedules and time goals, assign team members who have been with the organization longer, and overlap stages to execute projects in parallel.
Survey of 75 new product development projects.
Occurrence of finding within the model: Tip 1.3

• To accelerate the speed of new product development projects, limit the degree of design for manufacturability and reduce reliance on CAD systems.
  Survey of 75 new product development projects.
  Occurrence of finding within the model: Step 4.12

• New product development speed will be improved for radical products when product concepts are clearly specified. Alternatively, for incremental products, some vagueness increases speed.
  Survey of 75 new product development projects.
  Occurrence of finding within the model: Step 2.1

• New product development speed can be improved in radical products by appointing a variety of low-level champions. Whereas, speed will improve for incremental product by appointing fewer, but more powerful champions.
  Survey of 75 new product development projects.
  Occurrence of finding within the model: Tip 1.3

• For radical products, new product development speed will be increased by co-locating teams and testing products frequently. For incremental products, speed will improve if teams are spread out and testing is limited.
  Survey of 75 new product development projects.
  Occurrence of finding within the model: Stage 6