Editing New product development (section)

== Conceptual models ==
Conceptual models have been designed in order to facilitate a smooth product development process.

'''Booz, Allen and Hamilton Model''': One of the first developed models that companies still use in the NPD process is the Booz, Allen and Hamilton (BAH) Model, published in 1982.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Allen & Hamilton |first1=Booz |title=New products management for the 1980s |publisher=Booz, Allen & Hamilton – original from Indiana University}}</ref> This is the best known model because it underlies the NPD systems that have been put forward later.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bruiyan |first1=Nadia |date=2011 |title=A framework for successful new product development |journal=Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=746–770}}</ref> This model represents the foundation of all the other models that have been developed afterwards. Significant work has been conducted in order to propose better models, but in fact these models can be easily linked to BAH model. The seven steps of the BAH model are: new [[product strategy]], idea generation, screening and evaluation, business analysis, development, testing, and commercialization.

'''Exploratory product development model (ExPD)''': Exploratory product development, which often goes by the acronym ExPD, is an emerging approach to new product development. Consultants Mary Drotar and Kathy Morrissey first introduced ExPD at the 2015 [[Product Development and Management Association]] annual meeting<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |date=April 2016 |title=Exploratory PD: An Adaptive Product Development Process for a Complex World |url=https://www.pdma.org/store/ViewProduct.aspx?ID=10930950 |journal=Visions |volume=40 |pages=16 |via=Product Development and Management Association}}</ref> and later outlined their approach in the Product Development and Management Association's magazine ''Visions''.<ref name=":0" />

In 2015, Drotar and Morrissey's firm Strategy2Market received the trademark on the term "Exploratory PD".<ref>{{Cite web |title=USPTO |url=http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=4802:o85l61.1.1 |access-date=July 18, 2019 |website=Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)}}</ref> Rather than going through a set of discrete phases, like the [[phase-gate process]], this exploratory product development process allows organizations to adapt to a landscape of shifting market circumstances and uncertainty by using a more flexible and adaptable product development process for both hardware and software.

Where the traditional phase-gate approach works best in a stable market environment, ExPD is more suitable for product development in markets that are unstable and less predictable. Unstable and unpredictable markets cause uncertainty and risk in product development. Many factors contribute to the outcome of a project, and ExPD works on the assumption that the ones that the product team doesn't know enough about or are unaware of are the factors that create uncertainty and risk.

The primary goal of ExPD is to reduce uncertainty and risk by reducing the unknown. When organizations adapt quickly to the changing environment (market, technology, regulations, globalization, etc.), they reduce uncertainty and risk, which leads to product success. ExPD is described as a two-pronged, integrated systems approach. Drotar and Morrissey state that product development is complex and needs to be managed as a system, integrating essential elements: strategy, portfolio management, organization/teams/culture, metrics, market/customer understanding, and process.<ref name=":0" />

Drotar and Morrissey have published two books on ExPD. The first, Exploratory Product Development: Executive Version: Adaptable Product Development in a Changing World, was published as an e-book on December 3, 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Exploratory Product Development: Executive Version: Adaptable Product Development in a Changing World |url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L42QNX9 |access-date=June 12, 2023 |website=Amazon.com}}</ref> On September 8, 2022, Drotar and Morrissey published their second book, "Learn & Adapt: ExPD An Adaptive Product Development Process for Rapid Innovation and Risk Reduction, which also highlights their process.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |first= |date=June 8, 2023 |title=LEARN & ADAPT: EXPD AN ADAPTIVE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS FOR RAPID INNOVATION AND RISK REDUCTION |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mary-drotar/learn-adapt/ |access-date=June 12, 2023 |website=Kirkus}}</ref> The book has three sections: Overview of ExPD, How to Do It, and Adaptive Practices that Support ExPD.<ref>{{Cite web |title=E-book: Learn & Adapt: ExPD an Adaptive Product Development Process for Rapid Innovation and Risk Reduction |url=https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Adapt-Development-Innovation-Reduction-ebook/dp/B0B813TW82 |website=Amazon.com Learn & Adapt: ExPD An Adaptive Product Development Process for Rapid Innovation and Risk Reduction|date=27 July 2022 }}</ref> According to Kirkus, "the (approach the) authors advocate is outwardly focused and premised on being adaptable enough to develop new competencies and create new models as complex situations evolve." Kirkus summarizes the text as "complex and visually stimulating; a serious blueprint for serious strategists."<ref name=":1" />

'''IDEO approach.''' The concept adopted by IDEO, a design and consulting firm, is one of the most researched processes in regard to new product development and is a five-step procedure.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Moen|first1=Ron|title=A review of the IDEO process|url=http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/web-assets/2001/10/a-review-of-the-ideo-process|access-date=2014-10-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207122402/http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/web-assets/2001/10/a-review-of-the-ideo-process|archive-date=2016-02-07|url-status=dead}}</ref> These steps are listed in chronological order:

# Understand and observe the market, the client, the technology, and the limitations of the problem;
# Synthesize the information collected at the first step;
# Visualise new customers using the product;
# Prototype, evaluate and improve the concept;
# Implementation of design changes, which are associated with more technologically advanced procedures and therefore will require more time.
'''Lean start-up approach''': [[Lean startup]] is a methodology for developing businesses and products that aims to shorten product development cycles and rapidly discover if a proposed business model is viable; this is achieved by adopting a combination of business-hypothesis-driven experimentation, iterative product releases, and validated learning. Lean startup emphasizes customer feedback over intuition and flexibility over planning. This methodology enables recovery from failures more often than traditional ways of product development.

'''Stage-Gate model''':{{efn|Stage-Gate<sup>&reg;</sup> is a [[registered trademark]] owned and protected by Stage-Gate Inc.<ref>Stage-Gate International, [https://www.stage-gate.com/trademark-notice/ Trademark Notice], accessed on 3 February 2025</ref>}} a pioneer of NPD research in the consumers goods sector is Robert G. Cooper. Over the last two decades{{when|date=February 2025}} he conducted significant work in the area of NPD. The Stage-Gate model, developed in the 1980s, was proposed as a new tool for managing new products development processes. This was mainly applied to the consumers goods industry.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cooper|first1=Robert|title=Stage-gate systems: A new tool for managing new products|journal=Business Horizons|date=1990|volume=33|issue=3|pages=44–55|doi=10.1016/0007-6813(90)90040-i|citeseerx=10.1.1.474.1777}}</ref> The 2010 APQC benchmarking study reveals that 88% of U.S. businesses employ a Stage-Gate system to manage new products, from idea to launch. In return, the companies that adopt this system are reported to receive benefits such as improved teamwork, improved success rates, earlier detection of failure, a better launch, and even shorter cycle times – reduced by about 30%.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kenneth|first1=Kahn|title=The PDMA handbook of new product development|date=2013|publisher=John Wiley & Sons Inc.|location=Hoboken, New Jersey|isbn=978-0-470-64820-9|page=34|edition=Third}}</ref> These findings highlight the importance of the Stage-Gate model in the area of new product development.

The Stage-Gate model of NPD predevelopment activities are summarised in Phase zero and one,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cooper|first=R.G.|title=What's Next?: After Stage-Gate|journal=Research-Technology Management|volume=57|pages=20–31|doi=10.5437/08956308X5606963|year=2014|s2cid=55371153}}</ref> in respect to earlier definition of predevelopment activities:<ref>Cooper R.G., Edgett, S.J. (2008), Maximizing productivity in product innovation, in: Research Technology Management, March 1, 2008</ref>

# Preliminary
# Technical assessment
# [[Supply chain|Source-of-supply]] assessment: suppliers and partners or alliances
# [[Market research]]: market size and segmentation analysis, VoC ([[voice of the customer]]) research
# Product idea testing
# [[Customer value proposition|Customer value]] assessment
# Product definition
# Business and financial analysis

These activities yield essential information to make a Go/No-Go to Development decision. These decisions represent the Gates in the Stage-Gate model.