Accidental Discovery

New designs, ideas, and developments different from that originally hoped for from research.

Alpha Test

In-house testing of pre-production products to find and eliminate the most obvious design defects or deficiencies, either in a laboratory setting or in some part of the developing firm's regular operations. See also beta test. 

Architecture

See "product architecture."

As-Is Map

A version of a process map depicting how an existing process actually operates. This may differ substantially from documented guidelines.

Assumptions

A short set of relevant factors that can have a negative or positive impact.  Your assumptions define the "playing field"

Awareness

A measure of the percent of target customers who are aware of the new product's existence. Awareness is variously defined, including recall of brand, recognition of brand, recall of key features or positioning.

Baton-Passing Process

See "Relay Race" Process.

Benchmarking

A process of studying successful competitors (or organizations in general) and selecting the best of their actions or standards. In the new product program it means finding the best development process methods and the best process times to market and setting out to achieve them.

Benefit

A product attribute expressed in terms of what the user gets from the product rather than its physical characteristics or features. Benefits are often paired with specific features, but they need not be. They are perceived, not necessarily real.

Beta Test

An external test of pre-production products. The purpose is to test the product for all functions in a breadth of field situations to find those system faults that are more likely to show in actual use than in the firm's more controlled in-house tests before sale to the general market. See also alpha test.

Bill of Materials (BOM)

A listing of all subassemblies, intermediate parts and raw materials that go into a parent assembly showing the quantity of each required to make an assembly. 

Brainstorming

A group method of problem-solving used in product concept generation, there are many modifications in format of use, each variation with its own name.

Brand

 A name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. The legal term for brand is trademark. A brand may identify one item ,a family of items, or all items of that seller.

Brand Development Index (BDI)

A measure of the relative strength of a brand's sales in a geographic area. Computationally BDI is the percent of total national brand sales which occur in an area divided by the percent of US households which reside in that area.

Breadboard

A proof-of-concept modeling technique that represents how a product will work, but not how a product will look.

Business Analysis

An analysis of the business situation surrounding a proposed project. Usually includes financial forecasts in terms of discounted cash flows, net present values or internal rates of returns.

Business Case

The results of the business analysis, or up-front homework. Ideally defined just prior to the "go to development" decision (gate), the case defines the product and project, including the project justification and the action or business plan. 

Business Management Team

Top functional managers and business unit head who work together throughout the design of the decision-flow component of a stage-gate process.

Business Model

The ways and means selected by your company to make a profit
It is the mechanism by which a company generates revenue, profits and serves its customers and owners

Business-to-Business

 Non-consumer purchasers such as manufacturers, resellers (distributors, wholesalers, jobbers and retailers, for example) institutional, professional and governmental organizations. Frequently referred to as "industrial" businesses in the past.

Buyer

The purchaser of a product, whether or not they will be the ultimate user. Especially in business-to-business markets, a purchasing agent may contract for the actual purchase of a good or service, yet never benefit from the function(s) purchased.

Buyer Concentration

The degree to which purchasing power is held by a relatively small percentage of the total number of buyers in the market. 

Cannibalization

When the demand for a new product arises at least in part by eroding demand for (sales of) a current product the firm markets. 

Capacity Planning

A forward-looking activity which monitors the skill sets and effective resource capacity of the organization.

Category Development Index (CDI)

A measure of the relative strength of a category's sales in a geographic area. Computationally it is the percent of total national category sales which occur in an area divided by the percent of US households which live in that area. 

Champion

A person who takes an inordinate interest in seeing that a particular process or product is fully developed and marketed. The role varies from situations calling for little more than stimulating awareness of the opportunity to extreme cases where the champion tries to force a project past the strongly entrenched internal resistance of company policy or that of objecting parties. 

Change Equilibrium

A balance of organizational forces that either drives or impedes change.

Charter

Is the document that officially starts an initiative, a program or a project.  The document outlines the team members, the common purpose that brings them together, the performance goals to ensure progress and outcomes.  Also the desired approach to ensure completion.  And finally the roles, responsibilities and authority.  The Charter must be fully supported by Management and serve as the unwavering source of 

Checklist

A memory-jogger list of items used to remind an analyst to think of all relevant aspects. It finds frequent use as a tool of creativity in concept generation, as a factor consideration list in concept screening, and to ensure that all appropriate tasks have been completed in any stage of the product development process.

Chunks

The building blocks of product architecture. They are made up of inseparable physical elements. Other terms for chunks may be modules or major subassemblies.

Classification

A systematic arrangement into groups or classes based on natural relationships.

Co-location

The physical locating of project personnel in one area, enabling more rapid and frequent communication among them.

Computer Assisted Design

A technology that allows designers and engineers to use computers for their design work. 

Computer-Enhanced Creativity

 Using specially-designed computer software which aid in the process of recording, recalling and reconstructing ideas to speed up the new product development process.

Concept

A clear written and possibly visual description of the new product idea which includes its primary features and consumer benefits

Concept Generation

The act by which new concepts, or product ideas, are generated. Sometimes also called idea generation or ideation.

Concept Optimization

A research approach that evaluates how specific product benefits or features contribute to a concept's overall appeal to consumers. Results are used to select from the options investigated to construct the most appealing concept from the consumer's perspective.

Concept Statement

A verbal or pictorial statement of a concept that is prepared for presentation to consumers to get their reaction prior to development. 

Concept Study Activity

The set of product development tasks in which a concept is given enough examination to determine if there are substantial unknowns about the market, technology or production process. 

Concept Testing

The process by which a concept statement is presented to consumers for their reactions. These reactions can either be used to permit the developer to estimate the sales value of the concept or to make changes to the concept to enhance its potential sales value. 

Concurrency

Carrying out separate stages of the product development process at the same time rather than sequentially.

Concurrent Engineering

When product design and manufacturing process development occur concurrently or simultaneously rather than sequentially. Also called simultaneous engineering.

Conjoint Analysis

A quantitative market research technique which determines how consumers make trade-offs between a small number of different features or benefits.

Consumer

The most generic and all-encompassing term for a firm's targets. The term is used in either the business-to-business or household context and may refer to the firm's current customers, competitors' customers, or current non-purchasers with similar needs or demographic characteristics. The term does not differentiate between whether the person is a buyer or a user target. Only a fraction of consumers will become customers. 

Consumer Market

The purchasing of goods and services by individuals and for household use (rather than for use in business settings). Consumer purchases are generally made by individual decision-makers either for themselves or others in the family.

Consumer Need

A problem the consumer would like to have solved. What a consumer would like a product to do for them.

Consumer Panels

Specially-recruited groups of consumers whose longitudinal category purchases are recorded either by hand or via scanner technology.
Some times called Panel of Experts

Continuous Improvement

The review, analysis and rework directed at improving practices and processes. 

Continuous Learning Activity

The set of product development tasks involving an objective examination of how a product development project is progressing or how it was carried out to permit process changes to simplify its remaining steps or improve the prod 

Contract Developer

An external provider of product development services.

Controlled Store Testing

A method of test marketing where specialized companies are employed to handle product distribution and auditing rather than a company's normal sales force.

Convergent Thinking

A technique generally performed in the initial phase of ideas generation to help funnel the high volume of ideas created through divergent thinking into a small group or single idea on which more effort will be focused.

Coordination Matrix

A summary chart that identifies the key stages of a development project, their goals, and key activities within each stage.

Core Benefit Proposition (CBP)

The central benefit or purpose for which a consumer buys a product. The CBP may come either from the physical good or service performance, or it may come from the augmented dimensions of the product. 

Core competencies

The few things that you do that:
1. Your customers find exceptionally valuable
2. You do better than your competitors
3. Your competitors find difficult to imitate
4. You would never “outsource” to anyone
5. You can transfer to other industries as part of your growth plan
The skills, processes, technology and knowledge that:
Contribute significantly to the perceived benefits of your end products (offering)
Gives you an enduring competitive advantage
Could provide access to other markets

 

Core team

A small group that is chartered and empowered to guide the implementation and completion of an initiative.  Core Teams are very useful in fast-changing environments where distractions abound.  A small group can focus attention and energy to ensure clean execution.
 

Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

The direct costs associated with producing a product. 

Criteria

Statements of standards used by gate-keepers at each gate and related to all organizational functions. The criteria necessary to achieve or surpass for product development projects to continue in development. In the aggregate, these criteria reflect a business unit's new product strategy.

Critical Path Scheduling

A project management technique, frequently incorporated into various software programs, which puts all important steps of a given new product project into a sequential network based on task interdependencies.

Cross Sections

An explanation of a part that is referenced by slicing through the area that needs to be explained. 

Crossing the Chasm

Making the transition to a mainstream market from an early market dominated by a few visionary customers.

Culture

A mosaic of interrelated elements, and their collective day-to-day interaction
For example:
Management behavior
Customs and norms
Ceremonies, rituals and events
Rewards and consequences
Physical environment
Rules and policies
The company culture is defined when corporate values are followed for a number of years.
Culture Consists Of A Shared, Commonly Held Body Of General Beliefs And Values That Define The "Shoulds" And The "Oughts" Of Life (Kluckhohn)


 

Customer

The person or organization that decides the “value” of your product
Any external user or buyer of your product. One who purchases or uses your firm's products or services.

Customer Satisfaction

The ability to understand and internalize customer behavior as to anticipate their future needs.
The customers’ feeling about the value that was received as a result of using a particular organization’s offering, in a specific use situation (Paraphrased from: Woodruff and Gardial).
The positive or negative evaluation or feeling that results from comparing the expectations the offering with the actual experience

Customer value

The overall benefit perceived in the solution ― at the price the customer is motivated to pay
The customer’s perception of the net benefits she will derive from your offering at a particular price, situation and use
The customer’s perception of what they want to have happen in a specific use situation, in order to accomplish a desired purpose or goal ― And with the help of a product and service offering (Paraphrased from (Woodruff and Gardial)

 

Customer Value Added Ratio

The ratio of WWPF (worth what paid for) for your products to WWPF for your competitors' products. A ratio above 100% indicates superior value compared to your competitor

Customer Value Drivers

The attributes related to the decision making process that are perceived by the customer to be the most important to the buying process (Jean-Claude Balland Ph. D.)
 

Customer-based Success

The extent to which a new product is accepted by customers and the trade. 

Customer-driven

The “urge” to grow a business culture committed to the relentless creation of superior value  for the customer.
Organization-wide generation of market intelligence about current and future customers
Active dissemination of intelligence across the enterprise
Consensual interpretation
Organization wide responsiveness to it (Paraphrased from: Kohli and Jaworski)
A set of values that put the customers’ interest first in order to develop a long-term profitable enterprise — while not excluding those of other stakeholders (Paraphrased from Narver and Slater)
The development of superior skills in understanding and satisfying current and future customers in order to achieve one’s business objectives

Data

Measurements taken at the source of a business process.

Database

An electronic gathering of information organized in some way to make it easy to search, uncover and manipulate.