REQUIREMENTS FOR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOLS
Year: 2011
Editor: Culley, S.J.; Hicks, B.J.; McAloone, T.C.; Howard, T.J. & Cantemessa, M.
Author: Knoblinger, Christoph; Oehmen, Josef; Rebentisch, Eric; Seering, Warren; Helten, Katharina
Series: ICED
Section: Design Organisation and Management
Page(s): 133-142
Abstract
The successful execution of complex PD projects still poses major challenges for companies. One approach companies can use to improve their performance is self-assessment tools to optimize their organization and processes. This paper investigates the requirements regarding self-assessment tools for PD organizations. It summarizes the current literature on PD-related self-assessment tools and derives tool requirements from an industry focus group (US aerospace and defense industry) as well as from interviews at a major American defense contractor. The resulting requirements are: 1. Focus on proven PD best practices; 2. Formalized implementation process; 3. Tool customization guidelines; and 4. Integration with other process improvement approaches. A gap analysis comparing these requirements to the previously identified tools is performed. The paper concludes with the outline of an example PD self-assessment tool that addresses these requirements.
Keywords: SELF-ASSESSMENT; PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT