Case Study: Manufacturer Gets a Development Project Out of Slow Motion

Challenge

How to get a product to market quickly when the feature list is never ending.

Landscape

A large 100-year-old manufacturer of sophisticated industrial parts comprised of advanced materials (some used in the space shuttle) had embarked on an R&D project to develop a new and innovative process for manufacturing an existing product line. This new process was expected to have significant impact on the bottom line as cost improvements were realized. The cross-functional team had come to a crossroads about trading off priorities between new features and time to market pressures. Differences of opinion within the team had resulted in a deadlock. As a result, no decisions were being made and the team was losing credibility as they failed to produce results. The program was effectively halted.

Process

MIDIOR was engaged to work with the team leader and devise a plan for getting through the impasse. Using MIDIOR's ProductScan™ diagnostic tool, MIDIOR identified the key management questions that had the team in a bind.

There were conflicting opinions about whether the primary objective was “cost reduction through process improvement” or “new features and revenue potential through process change”. With ProductScan, the team was able to analyze the risks and opportunities for the development project and present a clear plan to executive management, anticipating questions and objections.

Impact

Through working with MIDIOR and applying the ProductScan tool, the team was able to eliminate politics and personality from their conversations (or as obstacles to conversations). A new, fact-based focus allowed the team to quantify the issues in terms of cost and schedule implications and to agree on a plan of action to verify underlying assumptions. In the end, management was able to make a well-informed decision and the team re-established their credibility to continue with this high visibility program.