MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

2020-22

Summary 1: Product Development Fundamentals

By:
Aakansha Gaikwad (2011074)
Avom Goyal (2011298)
Battagiri Sai Jyothi (2011299)
Komal Agrawal (2011111)
Marmik Upadhyay (2011329)
Siva Brahma (2011124)
Vineeth Pachava (2011274)
Yashwanth Chowdary Kaperla (2011101)

Term – V
2021-2022

Product Strategy and Management (PSM)

Course Instructor

Prof. Prantosh J. Banerjee

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT UDAIPUR

Product Development Fundamentals

Product development management can be viewed as a process defined by capacity, bottlenecks,

and structure, and portrayed as a narrowing of alternatives. A product development process is
comparable to a manufacturing process, but there are some key differences. Product
development, for example, usually comprises one-off tasks rather than repeatable procedures.

Product Development Team Structure

1. Functional Team Structure

Product development projects are carried out under this structure as a sequence of activities
by multiple different functions (e.g., engineering, manufacturing, and marketing). Each
function is accountable for a different set of duties and has its functional manager. Most of
the project communication occurs inside each functional group as it completes its work,
while project coordination is handled by the functional managers.

2. Lightweight Team Structure

The lightweight team structure is similar to the functional team structure in that it contains a
"lightweight" project manager who is mainly responsible for logistical responsibilities,
including meeting planning, progress tracking, and communication facilitation. The project
manager has minimal control over functional groups, and in some situations, a member is
assigned to communicate with the project manager about the group's progress.

3. Heavyweight Team Structure

Functional teams report to functional managers, while team members report to functional
managers. The usage of "heavyweight" project managers, as opposed to "lightweight" project
managers, has a significant impact on the product development team's work and helps to
shape essential project-related decisions on major features and other objectives. Heavyweight
project managers are frequently senior managers in their businesses and have a lot of power
and responsibility.
Product Development Process

Many companies in conventional industries benefit from the framework of formal product
development processes, which are meant to reduce iterations and eliminate the uncertainty.
The stage-gate procedure and the critical-path method are two examples of such techniques.
It may be more beneficial to adopt integrated, iterative approaches such as agile
methodologies in industries susceptible to rapid change or high uncertainty.

 Stage-Gate Process

A project moves through multiple stages (or phases) in a stage-gate process, each of which
involves a specific set of responsibilities and is separated from the following sequential stage
by a "gate" (see Figure D). Each gate illustrates the requirements or hurdles that a project
must overcome before moving on to the next level. " Each gate contains a set of inputs (the
deliverables presented to the gate), exit criteria (goals the product must fulfill by this point in
the process), and an output (the decision to proceed or not proceed)." Before funds are
released for the following phase, each stage requires final managerial evaluation and
approval.

 Critical Path

The critical path method (CPM) of project management distinguishes between planning—
detailing the steps required to accomplish a project—and scheduling—creating a precise
project plan based on the project's timeline and budget. Just as "forms must be developed
before concrete can be poured" in construction and "artwork must be created before layouts
can be created" in advertising, "specs must be defined before drawings can be created" in
research and development and product planning.

 Agile

Many researchers who questioned product development's traditional "linear" framework

began to stress more integrated, iterative techniques (examples include the "rugby approach,
30) The highest performing projects, according to research on product development in fast-
changing environments with high uncertainty, such as hardware and software projects, were
highly iterative with rapid experimentation and a flexible, adaptable approach to innovation.
  Scrum

Scrum is a simple process framework for agile development, consisting of a collection of

practices that are followed in order with as little overhead as feasible. The development team
and the team leader work in sprints, or "short, sustainable bursts of energy," when using
Scrum. Sprints are broken up by periodic team meetings to discuss the sprint outcomes and
the project's overall development.