Volume 3, Issue 5- June 7, 2002
GGI RapidNews is published monthly

NEWS & NOTES

2002 RD&E Survey - Resource & Capacity Management: This is one of the few occasions when we send an attachment with RapidNews. Every other year, on even-numbered years, GGI conducts a survey on Product Development Metrics. Attached is GGI's 2002 Product Development Metrics Survey covering R&D, RD&E, and Product Development. Because of the attachment, we have shortened the length of RapidNews this month.

We would appreciate your time to take a moment and look at our biennial survey. Even if you elect not to complete the survey, the knowledge captured by the phrasing of the questions may be useful to you. We would certainly appreciate your participation however and we will make it worth your time. Completed surveys are due back to GGI by August 12, 2002.

Resource & Capacity Management is one of the hottest subjects in R&D and Product Development today. GGI explores 5 Subjects relating to Resource & Capacity Management.

1. Loading The RD&E Capacity Pipeline: The methods companies use to select projects and establish backlog and priorities.

2. Providing Capacity For RD&E Activities: The approaches companies take to determine outsourcing requirements and the allocation of resources to sustaining activities.

3. Balancing Cross-Functional Resources: The resource ratios companies use between functional disciplines within RD&E, and the ratios between RD&E and cross-functional disciplines.

4. Using Systems, Tools, & Metrics To Manage Capacity: The behind-the-scenes infrastructure companies have put in place to enable resource and capacity planning and management.

5. RD&E Metrics Used In Industry: The metrics and measures companies use to plan, track, and manage resource and capacity allocation activities.

Those who fully complete the questionnaire within the allotted time will receive a free copy of the survey results in November 2002. The version you will receive will analyze the survey population as a whole, contain analysis and graphics, and will average 40-50 pages in length as we have done in prior years. The content of this report will make it worth your time. What you will receive will be far more than simple highlights or a few page executive summary. Be assured, all company information is held strictly confidential.

Finally, the attachment you have received is a .pdf document. We have found most people like to print it, complete it, and fax or mail it. The survey is available in many file formats, including an interactive MSOffice 2000, 97, or 6.0/95 and others. All 5 survey file format choices may be found at http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/biennial.shtml.

R&D SURVEY RESULTS

2000 Metric Survey "Special Cuts": The final of the three reports written on GGI's 2000 Product Development Metric Survey, Results [MR14], was released several months ago. The 2000 survey focused on R&D Linkages to Corporate Strategy, Product Portfolio Management, Product Selection Practices, Determination of Product Success, and Frequently Used R&D metrics.

This last report, in addition to analyzing the survey population as a whole, analyzed five "special cross-sections." The survey population was divided into subsections: Public vs. Private, Smaller vs. Larger, Higher vs. Lower Technology, More vs. Fewer Employees and Process, Repetitive/Discrete and/or Job Shop companies.

For the past few months, you have received highlights of these results in RapidNews. Last month Smaller vs. Larger companies were highlighted. This month Higher Tech Vs. Lower Tech companies are highlighted. Back issues of RN are located at http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/GGI_RapidNews/Rnews.shtml. For information on any of the three survey reports published, visit http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/cgi/catalog.cgi.

Findings For Higher vs. Lower Technology Companies: Below are some differences between Higher Tech (defined as Aerospace, Defense, Communications, Computers, Software, Medical Products, Telecommunications Equipment, Semiconductor industries and Research/National Laboratories) and Lower Tech (all others) company metric practices. There were 32 Higher Tech and 88 Lower Tech firms in the survey sample. One respondent provided no industry information:

* 32% of Lower Tech and 50% of Higher Tech firms had a "clearly defined" set of corporate metrics.

* Among Higher Tech firms, 33% of the corporate metrics were also R&D metrics; among Lower Tech companies, 17% of the corporate metrics were also R&D metrics.

* Higher Tech and Lower Tech firms differed in their use of two methods for counting products in the "released/active product portfolio," with 35% of Higher Tech and 21% of Lower Tech firms using the method "All SKUs that the factory will produce/sell if a customer order is placed for one," and 10% of Higher Tech and 36% of Lower Tech firms using the method "Product Lines/Models, each of which may have many variations, colors, etc.

* 37% of Lower Tech and only 17% of Higher Tech firms said they did not track or calculate product life cycles.

* Surprisingly, Higher Tech firms tended to have somewhat more stable product life cycles. 31% of Higher Tech vs. 21% of Lower Tech firms reported that PLCs were neither increasing nor decreasing.

* Higher Tech companies were more likely to view "Time-To-Market" as the most important execution criteria for new products. 52% of Higher Tech firms, as opposed to 29% of Lower Tech companies reported that "Time-To-Market" was the most important criteria. "Target Product Cost" was rated as the most important criterion by the largest number (33%) of Lower Tech companies.

* Higher Tech claimed a higher rate of product success than Lower Tech firms. On average, Higher Tech firms reported that products were successful 75% of the time. Lower Tech firms reported a success rate of 65%.

* 39% of Lower Tech firms were "Judgment Companies," i.e. they did not calculate a financial return for their R&D investments. 22% of Higher Tech firms were "Judgment Companies." 16% of Higher Tech as opposed to 6% of Lower Tech firms reported that "One Year" was the forecast time-period used to calculate a financial return for R&D investments.

In summary, Higher Tech companies appear to have more formal or rational management practices for their new product development efforts. Perhaps Time-To-Market competitive pressures and the need for continuous technical innovation have mandated there be the same rigor in management's NPD-related activities as in RD&E itself.

BOOK REVIEW

Clausewitz On Strategy:* What strategic advice can a 18-19th century Prussian military thinker offer 21st century business and professional minds? See http://www.clausewitz.com/CWZHOME/CWZBASE.htm for useful thumbnails of Clausewitz's life, values and theories.

On War, the book Carl von Clausewitz's wife, Marie, assembled from drafts after his death from cholera at age 51, has much to offer modern strategic business thinkers. However, it is too long, steeped in German idealism, and too inaccessible for most linear thinkers from rationalist traditions without the cultural and linguistic translation the editors offer.

Strategy, the editors suggest is a matter of "insight, bold moves and flawless execution...., no more nor less than the search for new avenues of the intellect." The search for clear thinking about environments that are teaming with disorder. Charting business strategy in periods of instability must understand the nature of the instabilities. The instabilities of modern business life may have a good deal in common with the instabilities of the French Revolution: many individuals seeking to redefine economic and political relationships from the possibilities inherent in that uncertainty.

Optimists, not pessimists about the possibilities from future business climates are needed. The true strategist will, the editors contend, welcome rather than fear business disorder and uncertainty, and they will be the most likely to profit from this read. "..., Clausewitz speaks loudly and clearly to the modern business executive who is inclined to listen.... He speaks the executive's mind.... He can speak the executive's mind because it is his own." There are no silver bullets here, only the strategic possibilities borne of free thinking rooted in Clausewitzian values and modern business realities.

* Clausewitz On Strategy, edited by Tiha von Ghyczy, Bolko von Oetinger and Christopher Bassford, the Strategy Institute of the Boston Consulting Group, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001, 196 pages.

NEW WEB CONTENT

New Service Provider Gateway - Electronic View & Mock-Up: Those increasingly important providers of meeting services in digital space have resulted in a new GGI Gateway under the MEGA Service Providers Gateway: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/gateway/serv_elecview.shtml

Updated Technology Provider Gateway - Imaging & Visualization: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/gateway/tech_imagingData.shtml.

Updated Technology Provider Gateway - Chemistry:
http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/gateway/Tech_Chemistry.shtml.

CONFERENCES OF INTEREST

Boothroyd-Dewhurst's 2002 International Forum on DFMA: This internationally respected conference will be held in Newport, Rhode Island on June 10-12, 2002. Leading practitioners and thought leaders for DFMA, Design for Serviceability, Design for Disassembly, Design for Recycleability, Design for Environment, and Green Design. Brad Goldense will be presenting a paper on "Measuring R&D Projects: Best Practices" at the 2002 Forum. Please visit http://www.dfma.com for further updates and registration information.

Management Roundtable's 7th Annual Metrics Conference: This well-attended annual conference will be held in Chicago on October 28-30, 2002. The agenda will focus on how to uncover the Economic Leverage in your portfolio and effectively Allocate Scarce Resources for maximum ROI. Program highlights include:

* All-new implementation and how-to case studies from National Semiconductor, CNH, Medrad, Eli Lilly, Rogers Corporation and more

* Keynote, Art Schneiderman, former VP of Quality and Productivity Improvement at Analog Devices, will tell you how to avoid costly metrics overload and paralysis by selecting the "right" set of manageable metrics

* New Feature: Expert Clinics facilitated by leading metrics authorities will provide in-depth feedback and practical guidance on timely issues. Sessions are limited to 15 participants and are included in the conference fee - sign up is on a first come, first-serve basis - sign up now to reserve your space!

* 3 in-depth pre-conference workshops providing specific tools, processes and roadmaps to improve product development performance.

For the latest agenda and to register, visit http://www.roundtable.com/Event_Center/MET02/MET02.html or call 1.800.338.2223.

At this conference, GGI will make public for the first time the results of the 2002 Product Development Metrics Survey on Resource & Capacity Management. Participants in the 2002 survey who attend the conference will receive their copies of the 2002 findings at this conference. GGI will then distribute the "findings which make it worth your time" report to all other survey participants.
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RapidNews is an e-mail publication from Goldense Group, Inc (GGI). Its subject matter includes survey findings, company news, book reviews, key industry conferences and R&D information of interest to clients and associates. Please send communications to rn(at)goldensegroupinc.com. Thank you.
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