Volume 6, Issue 3- March 2, 2005
GGI RapidNews is published approximately once a month.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

In This Issue

2004 METRICS SURVEY SELECTED RESULTS

MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY - International Trademark System

2004 METRICS SURVEY - 2004 Survey Results Now Available

BOOK REVIEW - Platform Leadership

FEATURED iSTORE PRODUCT - R&D Productivity: Finding the Strategic Drivers & Measures

NEW iSTORE PRODUCTS - New Seminar Coursebook

NEW WEB CONTENT - Updated Calendar, New GTKs: Extruders, Screws

CONFERENCES OF INTEREST - BDI Forum on DFMA

WEBINARS OF INTEREST - Sopheon's Winning Practices for Product Development

MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY - APQC R&D Productivity Benchmarking Study

TELEVISION EVENTS - Alexander Haig's World Business Review

---------------------------------------------------------------------

2004 METRICS SURVEY SELECTED RESULTS

GGI's 2004 Product Development Metrics Survey was published on October 25, 2004. The 2004 Survey focused on the product selection process and tools, the IP management process and tools, and metrics. Each month over five months, GGI will share with RapidNews readers selected results from each section of the survey. This month we present selected results from the third section, "Intellectual Property Management Process."

- The 2.5-Step, 2-Step, 1-Step, and No-Step processes were used about equally for making decisions about selecting IP. The maturity of the IP selection process is lagging portfolio selection by 10-15 years!

- IP decisions were made by just one person in 20% of the respondent companies, again lagging the maturity of the portfolio selection process.

- IP was registered "frequently" or "almost always" at some point in the product lifecycle by 75% of respondents.

- To support IP management, 47% of firms have internal legal departments aided by external counsel.

Next month, look for results on the fourth section, "Intellectual Property Management Tools."

These selected results are fully represented in two reports, "Highlights" (75 pages) and "Summary" (149 pages), available at GGI's Wisdom iStore: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/cgi/catalog.cgi?display_p355

MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY

International Trademark System

The international trademark registration system experienced a 23.5% increase in use to reach record levels in 2004 compared to 2003, reports the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in a recent press release ("Double Digit Growth Marks Record Year for International Trademark System," WIPO Press Release 2005/402, Geneva, February 15, 2005). The international trademark system, administered by WIPO, allows a trademark owner protection in 76 countries by filing one application in one language (English, French or Spanish) with one set of fees.

In 2004, 29,459 international trademark applications were received, of which 18.3% were from Germany, the biggest user. Applications from American companies ranked sixth among the biggest users, after only one year of signing up to the system, also known as the Madrid Protocol. Many countries greatly increased their applications in 2004, especially in Asia and Eastern Europe, for example China (+115%), Republic of Korea (+86.8%), and Bulgaria (+82.5%).

For more information on WIPO or WIPO's Press Releases, go to http://www.wipo.int/.

2004 BIENNIAL METRICS SURVEY

2004 Product Development Metrics Survey - Product Selection, IP Management, and Top Corporate Metrics: The Summary and Highlights Reports for GGI's 2004 Biennial Product Development Metrics Survey are now available for purchase by the public through GGI's Wisdom iStore: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/cgi/catalog.cgi?display_p355. These reports are completely based on primary research performed by GGI researchers. The research includes 202 respondent companies. There was a 5% response rate.

McKinsey & Company, Texas Instruments, Rockwell, Kimberly Clark, JDS Uniphase, Shure, Curtiss Wright Flight Systems and Datacard are representative of companies that purchase market research from GGI.

The 2004 Survey focused on the following 5 areas of product selection and IP management:

• Product Selection Process
• Product Selection Tools
• IP Management Process
• IP Management Tools
• Top Corporate Metrics Used in Industry RD&E

The 2 versions of the survey results that we currently offer for sale to the public are:

1. 2004 SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS: A text-only report (75 pages), including the full text of all the results and analysis of the survey population analyzed as a whole, and

2. 2004 SURVEY SUMMARY: A report of composite results, where the survey respondents are analyzed as a whole (149 pages, including a full set of graphics).

For the first time, we are now offering individual sections of the research report, as well as combined product selection sections (process and tools) and combined IP management sections (process and tools). You can now purchase just a section of the whole report to meet your specific needs. A comparison of the product selection process and the IP management process is included only in the full 2004 Survey Summary report.

These reports are available in the Market Research section of GGI's Wisdom iStore (http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/iStore/store.html). In addition to the currently available hard copy versions, you can also purchase downloadable electronic reports for all of our metrics surveys. We are able to offer a great value by making this research available to your entire corporation and even to your suppliers, based on your choice of licenses. These electronic reports are in full color and are readily sharable within your organization. Check the Product Development Metrics Research section of GGI's Wisdom iStore for more details: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/cgi/catalog.cgi?display_p355

A BROCHURE describing the survey in more detail as well as the reports available can be directly downloaded here: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/04ResBro.pdf

A DESCRIPTION of the survey including demographics, report table of contents and selected results can be directly downloaded here: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/biennial/surveydesc/2004SurveyDescription.pdf

A detailed description of EACH SECTION of the research, including the focus of the research can be found here: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/2004ResearchDescription.pdf

Each survey participant received a complimentary copy of the Summary Report. Any survey respondents who did not receive their complimentary copy should contact Richard James at rjj@goldensegroupinc.com or 781-444-5400, x202.

BOOK REVIEW

Platform Leadership: How Intel, Microsoft, and Cisco Drive Industry Innovation, by Annabelle Gawer & Michael A. Cusumano. Harvard Business School Press. 2002, 1st edition. 336 pages.

In many industries today, especially in high-tech, the interdependence of many products makes the process of innovation complex, with each company needing to take into account the innovations of other interdependent pieces of partners and competitors. The authors, high-tech strategy experts, define platform leaders as those companies that "provide the technological foundation on which other products, services, and systems are built." Platform leaders are able to drive innovation around a platform technology across the industry in a network or ecosystem. Based on analysis of Intel, Microsoft, Cisco and others, the authors developed guidelines for managing innovation that help companies coordinate both internal activities and the interactions with external players that will improve their competitive position.

The authors present their "Four Levers Framework" for designing and implementing a successful platform strategy, as follows:

Lever 1. Scope. Determine the scope of the firm regarding internal versus external innovation.

Lever 2. Product Technology. Define the product architecture and the broader platform, the level of modularity, the openness of interfaces, and the amount of information to share with outside firms.

Lever 3. Relationships with external complementors. Determine the balance between collaboration and competition in relationships between platform producers and complementors.

Lever 4. Internal organization. Find the right processes and systems to manage internal and external conflicts of interest.

FEATURED GGI iSTORE PRODUCT

Featured Item: Each month, or every other month, GGI's iStore features one item that we discount 40%. The current Featured Item is "R&D Productivity: Finding the Strategic Drivers & Measures" (T50)

New products are what drive revenue and profits in any business, and R&D creates these new products. But is your R&D organization as productive as possible? By understanding the strategic drivers of R&D productivity and by measuring R&D effectively, you can get the greatest value from R&D and help boost revenues and profits. Through detailed results of GGI's industry surveys and case studies, this presentation describes the evolution and current state of R&D measurement and management science. The effects of inefficiencies in R&D, for example engineering change orders, on time to market and cost are shown. Use of the R&D productivity measures described in this presentation can help boost your R&D productivity success rates and deliver value to your company.

This presentation, from last summer's webinar for the APQC R&D Productivity Benchmarking study, helps you understand

• types of R&D metrics,
• best practices for R&D process frameworks, and
• R&D measurement frameworks, including the balanced scorecard and Linked Metrics Portfolio (TM).

The case studies help get you started to develop your own metrics set, whether your strategy focuses on research, design or a mix between the two. Finally, a discussion of strategic processes across the enterprise, strategic development techniques, and strategic R&D measures gives you a broad perspective on the key drivers of R&D productivity that will deliver the best value to your organization.

The price for this presentation, "R&D Productivity: Finding the Strategic Drivers & Measures," has been dropped from $400.00 to $240.00, a deep discount of 40%. GGI's Featured Item changes approximately every other month and is always offered at a 40% discount. For more information or to purchase this valuable presentation, go to

http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/cgi/catalog.cgi?display_promo.

While not a featured item, we want to make you aware of a recently released coursebook, Measuring Product Development II (S6). This coursebook describes advanced techniques and processes for those areas of product development that are hardest to measure but deliver the most value by measuring them. It covers enterprise-level front-end processes, such as loading the product development pipeline, hurdle rates, tradeoff analysis, and risk and complexity analysis. Planning, proactive, and predictive measures are indicators of success for the selected products/projects as they go through development. The coursebook also provides a framework and method for assembling a set of overall metrics for R&D. This coursebook is full of case studies and industry examples as well as results from GGI's 4 industry surveys, which will give you powerful techniques to measure your product development process. To order this recent Coursebook, go to GGI's Wisdom iStore: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/cgi/catalog.cgi?display_p356

NEW iSTORE PRODUCTS

New Items: One new product was added to GGI's Wisdom iStore this month, a new Seminar Coursebook. See details below, or go directly to GGI's Wisdom iStore storefront:

http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/iStore/store.html

New Seminar Coursebook

S7 "R&D Productivity: Applying Management Science" [142 pages] - This new coursebook addresses three key areas of R&D productivity:

• R&D processes,
• Intellectual Property (IP), and
• Measurement and metrics.

The evolution of R&D processes from sequential to collaborative is described, as well as the costs that drive change, including global competition. The key drivers of R&D productivity are detailed with emphasis on the strong effect of R&D productivity increases on ROI, revenue and profit. The coursebook provides key information on innovation processes, including an extensive list of innovation software and details on two innovation techniques. Outsourcing of R&D is also examined in the context of the global automotive market, with supporting research results. GGI's latest industry research provides results on the current state of IP processes and systems. A full framework for R&D measurement is described, with proactive and predictive metrics. The coursebook details the Linked Metrics Portfolio  method for assembling a set of R&D metrics that suits different corporate strategies whether the focus is on research, design or a mix of the two. To order this new Coursebook, go to GGI's Wisdom iStore: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/cgi/catalog.cgi?display_p356

NEW WEB CONTENT

GTK-Gateways To Knowledge: Your resource for industry and product development related information and contacts offers thousands of links to providers of technologies and services for line management functions. The main entrance to GTK can be found at:

http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/gateway/index.shtml

Calendar of Industry Events MEGA Gateway is one of our top 3 MEGA Gateways. It contains a listing of links to Conferences, Seminars, Distance Learning Centers, Webinars, Colleges & Universities, Executive Education, and Corporate-Sponsored Universities. The calendar has just been updated with dozens of new conferences coming up in 2005. If you are looking for a conference or other learning opportunity, check out the Calendar first. This free service for our readers is now front and center on GGI's Home Page. Or, go directly to the Calendar of Industry Events MEGA Gateway at:

http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/gateway/calendar2.shtml

Technology Providers MEGA Gateway is also a top 3 GGI Gateway. It is a directory of hundreds of links organized by technical topic (hardware and software). The Technology Providers MEGA Gateway can be found at:

http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/gateway/techproviders.shtml

This month we have added two new gateways to the Technology Providers MEGA Gateway.

Extruders: Find it in the Technology Providers MEGA Gateway. This NEW Gateway offers links to over 40 companies that provide extruders. The URL is located at:

http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/gateway/tech_extruders.shtml

Screws, Barrels, and Related Components: This NEW Gateway offers links to nearly 60 companies that provide screws, barrels, and related components. Find it in the Technology Providers MEGA Gateway. The URL is located at:

http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/gateway/tech_screws.shtml

CONFERENCES OF INTEREST

2005 International Forum on DFMA (BDI): Boothroyd Dewhurst's 20th Annual International Forum on Design for Manufacture and Assembly will be held June 21-22, 2005 in Providence, Rhode Island. The goal of this conference is to provide expert opinion on DFMA and other early design technologies. Manufacturing leaders and research leaders will be on hand to answer your questions on such topics as cost management and reduction, product lifecycle management, shrinking time to market, concurrent engineering, and design for disposal and recycling.

At the conference, Brad Goldense will present "Innovative Designs: The Enabling Processes & Tools."

For more information and to register, go to BDI's web site: http://www.dfma.com/forum/.

WEBINARS OF INTEREST

Winning Practices for Product Development: This free, online seminar series is sponsored by Sopheon. These one-hour, online events feature experts and leading practitioners who will share process knowledge and practical advice about ways to improve your product development performance and results.

There are currently no webinars scheduled.

For more information on the webinars, or to look at the archive of past webinars, go to http://www.sopheon.com/events_onlineseminars.asp.

MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY

APQC R&D Productivity Benchmarking Study

APQC has concluded its consortium research and benchmarking study, entitled "Measuring R&D Productivity." Goldense Group, Inc. [GGI] was Subject Matter Expert for this study. This study breaks new ground in understanding the drivers of R&D productivity. Fifteen global sponsors from four continents benchmarked five best practice companies on two continents after a rigorous screening process.

The kickoff meeting took place on July 20, 2004, and the study was conducted with site visits during October, 2004. The Knowledge Transfer Session occurred on December 9-10, 2004. Results remain confidential for several months and will be available for purchase in April, 2005 through the APQC web site.

The APQC consortium benchmarking study addressed the following three areas:

1. Identify the areas where improved attention, knowledge, and education would lead to higher R&D productivity. [What are the key areas for best practice?]

2. Use measurement to increase visibility and awareness, which in turn will facilitate enhanced performance in R&D. [What are the measures for these areas?]

3. Determine effective change management activities to support the realization of improved R&D productivity. [How did the best practice companies achieve their practices?]

For information about this study, go to http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/apqc.shtml. For general information about APQC, go to http://www.apqc.org. For general information about Goldense Group, Inc., go to http://www.goldensegroupinc.com.

TELEVISION EVENTS

Alexander Haig's World Business Review: Brad Goldense has made several appearances on Alexander Haig's World Business Review in the past year. Streaming video is available for all shows, which aired on August 4, September 29 and December 15, 2002 and on May 20, 2003. See below for details.

May 20, 2003 Broadcast of September 29th In-Studio with Alexander Haig (22.5 minutes): Streaming video for this segment is available at: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/ggiontv.shtml#wbr5

December 15, 2002 In-Studio with Alexander Haig (7.5 minutes) on CNBC paid programming: Streaming video for this segment is available at: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/ggiontv.shtml#wbr3

September 29, 2002 In-Studio with Alexander Haig (22.5 minutes): Streaming video for this segment (as well as the entire 30-minute show) is available at: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/ggiontv.shtml#wbr2

August 4, 2002 On-Location at GGI (3.5 minutes): This On-Location field report is available in streaming video on GGI's website. To see the program, go to: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/ggiontv.shtml#wbr1

The web page includes links to download a streaming video player, if you do not currently have one installed on your computer.

For more information on any of Brad's appearances on television, go to:

http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/ggiontv.shtml

---------------------------------------------------------------------

GGI RapidNews is an e-mail publication from Goldense Group, Inc (GGI). Its subject matter includes survey findings, company news, book and article reviews, key industry conferences and R&D information of interest to clients and associates. Please send communications to rn(at)goldensegroupinc.com. Thank you.