An Alternate Approach to New Product Development

A VIRTUAL R&D ORGANIZATION

THE CHALLENGE

• Create a new product line to obsolete legacy products before the competition does

• The new technology has not yet been identified

• There is no budget to support a dedicated development team

• There is no product roadmap

BACKGROUND

• Brooks Instrument – Division of Emerson

• Products – Mass Flow Controllers (<2”Dia Piping)

• Diversified markets/customers

• Global organization

• Reputation – “solid”

PREVIOUS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

• All Digital Mass Flow Controller – DOA

• New Project – Hybrid interface MFC

• Well received

• Slow sales ramp

• Slow time-to-market

• Followed with new calibration technology

THE CASE

• VP of Engineering challenged by CEO

• 30 year old technology

• Risk of displacement by improved technology

• “What are you going to do about it?”

THE APPROACH

RESEARCH NEW TECHNOLOGIES

• Conduct a survey of potential technologies

• Find out who, what, when, and how

• Develop selection criteria (samples)

• Intellectual Property

• Risk

• Time to market

• Expert consensus

• Costs

ORGANIZE A TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR

• Recruit internal and external experts to present and evaluate technologies

• Set time and agenda for seminar

• Use Nominal Group Technique

• Down-select the most promising technology

• Establish final consensus

• Close the seminar

THE PLAN• Engage key customers for product input

• Conduct market survey

• Roadmap product and technology

• Develop the team and partners (Need for flexibility)

• Establish the facility and tools

• Multiple technology surveys and trade studies (a sample)

• Displacement technology

• DSP

• Capillary tubing

• MEMS

CUSTOMER INPUT

• Engaged Key Customers

• Disclosed intent

• Explored product concepts

• Solicited feedback

• Market Survey

• Engaged The Wharton School to use as a classroom project

• Analyzed data

• Developed product specification and price point

FORM A CORE FEASIBILITY TEAM

• Determine skills required

• Survey in-house personnel skills

• Recruit most competent members

• Plan strategy to fill gaps (examples)

• Hire additional members

• Hire consultants

• Develop in-house personnel

• Establish the core team

THE TEAM

CONDUCT A FEASIBILITY STUDY

• Plan the project

• Set up a location for the work

• Purchase the necessary tools

• Establish success criteria

• Design initial key components

• Collect data

• Demonstrate compliance to success criteria

THE INITIAL TOOLS

FORM A VIRTUAL R&D TEAM

• Plan product development

• Develop product roadmap

• Recruit technology partners

• Recruit contractors and temps

• Develop a virtual team environment

SOME OF THE PARTNERS

c2v - Enscede, NL

THE ROADMAP

• Leverage Coriolis mass flow sensing technology

• Capillary tube sensor – then MEMS

• Liquid applications – then gas applications

• Move from flow to multivariable sensor

• Incorporate increased functional integration

DEVELOP TECHNOLOGIES & PROCESSES

• Develop system design

• Segment into subsystems

• Identify required technologies

• Prioritize by risk

• Establish strategies for risk management

• Coordinate technology development

DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT

• Identify risks

• Identify risk management strategies

• Document design intent

• Establish design strategies (Dfx)

• Incorporate document control early

• Build Bills of Materials (BOMs) as parts are identified

• Perform trade studies on manufacturing processes

COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE

• Develop communications plan

• Core team

• Extended team

• Stakeholders

• Key customers

• Communicate consistently

• Plan regular design reviews

• Document, evaluate, and incorporate feedback

BUILD AND TEST PROTOTYPES

• Evaluate performance to goals

• Evaluate assembly process

• Evaluate costs

• Evaluate the design

• Document assembly process

• Collect data

• Critical design review

BEGIN MARKETING “SIZZLE”

• Communicate with sales force

• Communicate with key customers

• Publish “teaser” ads in industry magazines

• Introduced the fictional Dr. Direct to promote the product in a comic format

DEVELOP MANUFACTURING INFRASTRUCTURE

• Plan manufacturing facility

• Recruit manufacturing engineer

• Case: Identified candidate while contractor on project

• Build facility

• Procure and install equipment

• Transfer process documentation and BOMs from R&D

RECRUIT FIELD TEST PARTNERS (VALIDATION)

• Identify key customer POCs who are early adopters

• Incentivize POCs to evaluate pilot product

• Formalize an agreement for data sharing and schedule

RUN PILOT PRODUCTION

• Set the number of production units

• Statistically significant number is best

• If possible, automate data collection

• Analyze the data

• Wring out the variations using Six Sigma methodology

• Deliver pilot product to key customers for validation

COLLECT AND ANALYZE FIELD DATA

• Follow up regularly to assure that data is captured

• Collect data for validation

• Make adjustments to manufacturing

PRODUCTION READINESS REVIEW

• Design Review

• Design Verification Review

• Design Validation Review

• Regulatory Requirements Review

• Safety Review

PRODUCT LAUNCH

• Press conference @ Benjamin Franklin Institute

• Industry magazine editors invited

• Luncheon with entertainment

• Conference speakers

• Emerson CTO

• VP New Product Development

• Local Ben Franklin actor

• Dr. Direct actor

• Demo with Q&A by the development team

• An award-winning Mass Flow Controller

• New disruptive technologies to establish and extend a new product line

THE RESULT