Synopses & Reviews
The man who launched a revolution in product development with his bestselling andlt;Iandgt;Developing Products in Half the Timeandlt;/Iandgt; is back with a new book that's also certain to be a classic. In andlt;Iandgt;Managing the Design Factoryandlt;/Iandgt; Donald G. Reinertsen presents concepts and practical tools that will be invaluable for anyone trying to get products out of the pipeline and into the market.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The first book to put the principles of World Class Manufacturing to work in the development process, andlt;Iandgt;Managing the Design Factoryandlt;/Iandgt; combines the powerful analytical tools of queuing, information, and system theories with the proven ideas of organization design and risk management. The result: a methodical approach to consistently hit the "sweet spot" of quality, cost, and time in developing any product. Reinertsen illustrates these concepts with concrete examples drawn from his work with many leading companies across different industries.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Fresh and thought-provoking, the book challenges many of the conventional approaches to product development. "There are no best practices," Reinertsen writes, "the idea of best practices is a seductive but dangerous trap." Unlike other books that promote rules and rituals based on benchmarking "best practices," this book focuses on practical tools that account for varied situations. He breaks new ground with a disciplined, quantitative approach for making decisions on critical issues: When should we use a sequential or concurrent process? Centralized or decentralized control? Functional or team organizations?andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Full of practical techniques, concrete examples, and solid general principles, this is a real toolkit for product developers. Moreover, it is written with the clarity, precision, and humor that are Reinertsen's trademarks. He promises to challenge the thinking of anyone involved in product development.
Review
Dr. Paul Borrill Chief Scientist, Sun Microsystems A brilliant and unique perspective on the economic and business dimensions of product design. Reinertsen's insights into the human and economic dimensions of product design are outstanding.
Review
Kevin Sharer President and COO, Amgen Provides real world, usable advice and challenges managers to think about issues of enduring importance.
Review
Warren S. Nix President and CEO, Lumonics Corporation This book is absolutely essential reading for product team leaders who must "do" rather than debate. I will require that all senior executives at Lumonics read this book.
Review
Neil Hagglund Corporate Vice President and Director of Corporate Technology Planning, Motorola, Inc. A valuable and much needed view of the product development process. Engrossing and stimulating reading flill of excellent tools and firmly anchored on the basic reality of why we do product development -- to make a profit!
Review
Art Lane General Manager, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Storage Solutions Division At Hewlett-Packard we continuously strive to improve our product development methods, but too often only look internally for ideas. I would recommend this book because it impresses me as a source of sound, practical advice from Don's broad industry experience.
Review
Robert T. Franzo Manager, Messaging and Digital Mobile Radio, Wireless Communications Products, IC Group, Lucent Technologies A compelling new model for profitable product development. Don Reinertsen reveals some of the best kept secrets to running a decision and profit based development process. This book will be a key resource for organizations using product development to compete in the competitive dynamic market we all encounter.
Synopsis
The man who launched a revolution in product development with his bestselling
Developing Products in Half the Time is back with a new book that's also certain to be a classic. In
Managing the Design Factory Donald G. Reinertsen presents concepts and practical tools that will be invaluable for anyone trying to get products out of the pipeline and into the market.
The first book to put the principles of World Class Manufacturing to work in the development process, Managing the Design Factory combines the powerful analytical tools of queuing, information, and system theories with the proven ideas of organization design and risk management. The result: a methodical approach to consistently hit the "sweet spot" of quality, cost, and time in developing any product. Reinertsen illustrates these concepts with concrete examples drawn from his work with many leading companies across different industries.
Fresh and thought-provoking, the book challenges many of the conventional approaches to product development. "There are no best practices," Reinertsen writes, "the idea of best practices is a seductive but dangerous trap." Unlike other books that promote rules and rituals based on benchmarking "best practices," this book focuses on practical tools that account for varied situations. He breaks new ground with a disciplined, quantitative approach for making decisions on critical issues: When should we use a sequential or concurrent process? Centralized or decentralized control? Functional or team organizations?
Full of practical techniques, concrete examples, and solid general principles, this is a real toolkit for product developers. Moreover, it is written with the clarity, precision, and humor that are Reinertsen's trademarks. He promises to challenge the thinking of anyone involved in product development.
Synopsis
Incomplete product designs fog everything from widgets to manuscripts are an enormous drain on a company's earnings -- like a noninterest-bearing bank account that loses half of its capital value every year. Now, for the first time, Donald Reinertsen reveals a transparent system for tracking, measuring, and managing this invisible "design-in-process" inventory to achieve lower costs, higher profits, and better processes.
This landmark concept, called the "Design Factory", enables anyone to harness the potent thinking and action tools from the manufacturing process and apply them to the unique challenges of product development.
Applicable to all types of product design, this masterful approach is particularly suited for the development of long-term products such as cars or books. Reassuring, step-by-step hints accompany the clear, precise explanation of complex manufacturing terms -- from economic modeling and queuing theory to organization and process design.
Managing the Design Factory promises to transform the thinking of anyone whose job it is to oversee and manage product development and design.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-256) and index.
About the Author
Donald G. Reinertsenandlt;/bandgt; is head of Reinertsen andamp;amp; Associates, a firm that specializes in new product development. He also teaches at the California Institute of Technology and has attracted a worldwide following among managers, designers, and engineers. He holds an engineering degree from Cornell and an MBA from Harvard. He and his family live in Redondo Beach, California.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTIONandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Revolution in the Factoryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Into the Witch Doctor's Tentandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;There Are No Best Practicesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Where Ideas Come Fromandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Organization of This Bookandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;PART ONE: THE DESIGN FACTORYandlt;/bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. INTO THE DESIGN FACTORYandlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Our Goals Are Economicandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Products vs. Designsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Design-in-Process Inventoryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Rising Cost of Changeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Late-Breaking Newsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;One-Time Processesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Expanding Workandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Summaryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;PART TWO: THINKING TOOLSandlt;/bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. MAKING PROFITS NOT PRODUCTSandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Project Modelsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Application Modelsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Models of Process Economicsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Tactical vs. Strategic Decisionsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Some Practical Tipsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Summaryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3.ENTERING THE LAND OF QUEUESandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;An Introduction to Queueing Theoryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Economics of Queuesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Depicting Queuesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Implications of Queuing Theoryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Dealing with Queuesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Increasing Capacity / Managing Demand / Reducing Variability / Using Control Systemsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Location of Batch Queuesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Little's Law andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Typical Queuesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Summary andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. IT'S ALL ABOUT INFORMATIONandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Information Theoryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Efficient Generation of Informationandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Maximizing Information: The Magic Number 50 Percentandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Information Differs in Valueandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Timing: Earlier Is Better / Batch Size Affects Timing / Iterations Generate Early Information / The Potential Profit Impactandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Do It Right the First Time?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Communicating Failuresandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Protecting Against Failureandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Task Sequencingandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Monitoringandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Summaryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;5. JUST ADD FEEDBACKandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Systems Theoryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Systems with Feedbackandlt;BRandgt;Properties of Systems with Feedbackandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Difficulty in Troubleshooting / Instability and Chaos / Accuracy and Feedback / Variability Within a Systemandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;More Complex Control Systemsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Summaryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;PART THREE: ACTION TOOLSandlt;/bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;6. CHOOSE THE RIGHT ORGANIZATIONandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Organization as a Systemandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Assessing Organizational Formsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Efficiency: The Functional Organizationandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Speed: The Autonomous Teamandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Performance and Cost: Hybrid Organizationsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Dividing Responsibilitiesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Communicationsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Old Communications Tools / New Communications Technologiesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Colocationandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Summaryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;7. DESIGN THE DESIGN PROCESSandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Combining Structure and Freedomandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;One-Time Processes / Modular Processes / A Pattern Languageandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Designing Process Stagesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Input Subprocesses / Technology vs. Product Development / Controlling Queues / Subprocess Design / Output Processesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Key Design Principlesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Sequential vs. Concurrent Processes / Managing Information Profiles / Decentralizing Control and Feedback / Location of Batch Queuesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Specific Process Implementationsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Evolving the Processandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Summaryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;8. PRODUCT ARCHITECTURE: THE INVISIBLE DESIGNandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Underlying Principlesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Modularity Segregating Variability/ Interface Managementandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Specific Architectural Implementationsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Low-Expense Architectures / Low-Cost Architectures / High-Performance Architectures / Fast-Development Architecturesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Who Does It?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Summaryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;9. GET THE PRODUCT SPECIFICATION RIGHTandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;It Starts with Strategyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Selecting the Customerandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Understanding the Customerandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Customer Interviews / Meticulous Observation / Focus Groupsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Creating a Good Specificationandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Minimalist Specification / A Product Mission / The Specification Processandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Using the Specificationandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Specific Implementationsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Summaryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;10. USE THE RIGHT TOOLSandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Use of Technologyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Accelerated Information Flow / Improved Productivity / Reduced Delaysandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Implementation Principlesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Technology Changes Process / Pay Attention to Economics Technologiesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Design Automation / Prototyping and Testing / Communications / Information Storage and Retrievalandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Summaryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;11. MEASURE THE RIGHT THINGSandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;General Principlesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Drive Metrics from Economics / The Control Triangle / Decentralizing Control / Selecting Metricsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Project-Level Controlsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Expense-Focused Controls / Cost-Focused Controls / Performance-Focused Controls / Speed-Focused Controlsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Business Level Controlsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Expense-Focused Controls / Cost-Focused Controls / Performance-Focused Controls / Speed-Focused Controlsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Summaryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;12. MANAGE UNCERTAINTY AND RISKandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Market and Technical Riskandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Managing Market Riskandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Use a Substitute Product / Simulate the Risky Attribute / Make the Design Flexible / Move Fastandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Managing Technical Riskandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Controlling Subsystem Risk / Controlling System Integration Risk / Back-up Plansandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;World-Class Testingandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Cheap Testing / Low Unit Cost Impact/Maximizing Performance / Fast Testing / Continuous Improvementandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Summaryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;PART FOUR: NEXT STEPSandlt;/bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;13. NOW WHAT DO I DO?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Do Your Mathandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Use Decision Rulesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Pay Attention to Capacity Utilizationandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Pay Attention to Batch Sizeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Respect Variabilityandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Think Clearly About Riskandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Think Systemsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Respect the Peopleandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Design the Process Thoughtfullyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Pay Attention to Architectureandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Deeply Understand the Customerandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Eliminate Useless Controlsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Get to the Front Linesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Avoid Slogansandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Selected Bibliographyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Indexandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;About the Authorandlt;BRandgt;