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Past Chapter Events
NOVEMBER
"The Trend Before the Storm"
Held on: November 15th, 2006
Presented by: Don Abraham, Futurist with Social Technolgies and
PDMA Board Member
The “trend” before the storm: How to use trend analysis and foresight to improve New Product Development success rates
Does your team argue over what features to include in a new product?
How often have you thought your idea was the next "killer app" – only to have disappointing sales upon release?
Do you know the difference between a trend and a fad? Do you know that this can directly impact how well your new products do in the marketplace?
Product developers are constantly searching for ways to improve their New Product Development success rates. Greater attention is now being paid to the Fuzzy Front End of the process as new product developers recognize the garbage-in, garbage out phenomena. But still, success rates in new product commercialization are far too low. What gives?
Don Abraham argues that one solution is better incorporation of trend analysis into the Front End. The session will cover the key areas that make all the difference in how to pay adequate attention to the trend, driving forces, and early indicators of change that shape the context for New Product Development and provide the clues to what is likely to succeed and what is not. It is an excellent opportunity for those involved across the product development process to listen together and identify some new approaches and frameworks for your NPD process.
MAY
"Eight Ways to Screw Up Your Voice of the Customer"
Held on: May 2, 2006
Presented by: Gerry Katz, Executive Vice President, Applied Marketing Science, Inc.
and PDMA Board Member
How often has your team argued over what features to include in a new product?
How often have you thought your idea was the next "killer app" –
only to have disappointing sales upon release?
Have you ever wondered why, even after extensive customer interviews and analysis,
you still are unsure what the "real" needs are?
Getting the Voice of the Customer right is clearly one of the most critical aspects of new
product development. Yet all too often, despite efforts to the contrary, product developers
end up specifying products that fall short. Gerry Katz, one of the leading experts in VOC,
offered pointers on what to do—and what not to do—to ensure a true reading of customer
needs and wants.
The session covered the key areas that make all the difference in how you gather
and use VOC data. It was an excellent opportunity for those in both marketing and
engineering to listen together and identify some simple fixes for your own VOC process.
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