Scenario 5: A Transition Version of an Existing Product

Product line summary: Sales of version 1 of a particular product have been declining because it is too expensive and perceived as "old." Because of resource constraints, the future version, one that could be a contender for a "best-in-class" product, will not be available for at least two years. The product manager convinces the executive team that a transition product could satisfy the market the market for the next two years. The plan for the transition product only specifies a part time commitment from two engineers to supervise a co-developed product that uses parts from the version 1 product and some new components from several specialty vendors. The product manager promises to supply the required marketing deliverables in his "spare" time. The transition product is not popular in R&D and marketing because these resources are already over committed. The sales staff welcomes the news of the transition product because it does fill a gap in the current product line.

Company profile: The company has a reputation for very good products and has made a slight profit for most of the last twenty years and has 5000 employees. There are at least ten other competitors that are expected to offer a similar product in this market. There are other successful, new products from this company that have captured most of the attention of the marketing and sales representatives.

How can this company ensure that the transition is a moderate success? How does the development team keep the future version of the product on schedule when the transition product group is a frequent source of interruptions?

To complement the talent and experience of the original team, a product launch solution developed and delivered for the transition product by OpLaunch might include the following tasks:

• Make a holistic, independent assessment of all development and launch resources and processes. Make recommendations to improve the efficiency of the entire development organization over the next 18 months. Develop and deliver the appropriate internal development and launch training. Evaluate and implement appropriate tools for use by the entire organization. See Scenario 6.
• Create a plan to deliver a transition product that is consistent with the company's reputation for very good products. Compensate for the mismatches in the component parts by producing exceptionally clear documentation that describes the integrated product.
• Present the financial justification for spending fifteen percent more than the original budget presented by the product manager.
• Establish a core team for the transition product. In addition to the team leader, an external, seasoned new product developer is hired to manage the overall integration of the development and launch activities from all of the participants.
• Develop a system to improve the identification of the daily/weekly critical path issues and communicate development and launch priorities to all members of the multi-vendor transition product team.
• Engage the appropriate external resources to ensure that compliance issues are addressed for this integrated product
• Revise the sales, service, and customer support systems to use just-in-time training, online demonstrations, online reference material, and topical webcasts.
• Develop a system to facilitate the publication of customer applications and success stories that does not require additional significant work from the applications specialists.
• Orchestrate efforts with external partners to provide service such as public relations, advertising, and documentation. Maximum the synergy of the transition product team to supply the appropriate inputs for this effort.
• Design and implement the plans for the first few tradeshows when the product will be introduced
• Design and implement a launch management system

Scenario 6: Improving New Product Development and Launch

Company profile: The company has earned a reputation for very good products and has made a modest profit for most of the last twenty years and has 5000 employees. Several products from this company have attained more than a 50 percent market share in their category. To many outsiders, the company has become less innovative and overly bureaucratic in the last two years. Loyal customers and competitors have noticed the effects of recent cost reductions. The number of new product announcements has declined in the last two years. The quality of customer support has degraded and loyal customers are considering purchasing from other vendors. Frequent internal re-structuring has not produced the desired new product development results.

What should the company do in response to the perception that innovation and new product development has suffered along with customer support? What milestones can be completed within 6-8 months?

To complement the existing infrastructure, a product launch solution developed and delivered for the transition product by OpLaunch might include the following tasks:

• Select a project to serve as a pilot effort to demonstrate improved plans and deliverables for new product development and launch
• Add resources to the core team that specialize in new product development and launch. Insist on the use of comparative metrics (for example, is the prototype user interface version 2 quantitatively better than version 1 interface?)
• Communicate that the pilot project has executive backing and will be quantitatively evaluated
• Offer new product development and launch training to others in the company
• Orchestrate efforts with external partners to provide service such as public relations, advertising, and documentation
• Maximize communication using compelling tools such as webcasts
• Design and implement a launch management system. Ensure that the results obtained will demonstrate quantitative improvements obtained using the new techniques
• After the results have been evaluated, develop a plan to incorporate successful techniques into other new product development and launch efforts within the company