In a recently released research paper, Issue in Focus: Meeting Fixed Product Launch Windows analyst Jim Brown, Founder and President, Tech-Clarity, Inc., talks about how companies can use Product Portfolio Management (PPM) applications to hit timely product launch deadlines to improve new product development and overall performance. Conversations with product developers and the immediate interest in the paper revealed that he’d hit a nerve — and has relevant solutions to share!
Product developers are very aware of the pressure organizations experience when challenged to meet fixed product launch windows. For example, consumer goods companies typically launch new product lines for the holidays or a particular buying season and, therefore, have pretty-much immovable deadlines. If a company misses the launch deadline, it may experience detrimental impacts to the business including a dead product, financial loss, and missed opportunity to achieve a competitive advantage — not a good outcome for any product-driven organization.
I appreciate how Jim outlines some very specific steps you can take to improve your odds of hitting those windows. A few he outlines are:
- Adopt a disciplined, end-to-end portfolio management process
- Ruthlessly prioritize investments
- Diligently balance plans with available resources
- Manage risk and uncertainty and plan to fail (or succeed) early
- Standardize execution processes, metrics, and deliverables
The report delves into more solutions — not just the “what” but the “how”, i.e., how do I prioritize, how do I most effectively manage my resources? Among the approaches discussed, he describes how PPM systems help support these steps.
Download the complete paper and discover ways to improve your new product development performance with a goal of hitting those launch windows. You can also view a popular on-demand webcast hosted by CGT and featuring Jim Brown of Tech-Clarity, Monica Alderson of Hallmark Cards and Carrie Nauyalis of Planview. Check back for our blog entry on this webcast — a dynamic dialogue offering tested and true approaches for consistently hitting product launch windows.
I’d like to hear from you. I encourage you to read Jim’s suggestions and share your feedback. What tips can you share with peers to help them consistently hit launch dates? Please respond by leaving a comment below.
