Managing NPD Flow

Solution for Managing Objectives to a New Level of Clarity
Project Plan = Project Reality = Predictability

September 2009

Consider this : Project slips are not a time line estimate matter; they are individual task clarity issues that impact the time line. Have you ever considered the possibility that project plans make an ideal assumption about the clarity and objectives of all the activities within that plan? How is the clarity of both project and individual objectives affecting predictability of projects in your organization?

If you have been searching for a mechanism to bring an increase in the clarity of expectations to your New Product Development (NPD) workflow, I have an ideal solution for you. I have been working with the platform developers (PIEmatrix) of this solution for over a year now and they have a product that enables a new level of clarity in the detailed activities of the NPD workflow.

The PIEmatrix tool:

Provides a powerful web based solution that can be customized to meet the semiconductor NPD requirements for any organization.
Manages all the pertinent information that is required to drive, track, document and guide a NPD project.
Provides coverage of the how, where and what details; areas often lacking the essential clarity necessary to foster predictability.

I have configured the work flow for a typical semiconductor project in this revolutionary tool and wanted to share my implementation with you. Please read on to learn about the capabilities of this tool for enabling predictable product development for your organization.

The PIEmatrix Advantage

Simplify NPD Clarity

Simple user interface.
Guides New Product Development process as per jointly agreed activities - the Best Practices.
Automation of the entire NPD process plus the required paper trail to support project decisions and documentation.
Web based for easy access by entire NPD team anywhere they are.
Clarifies understanding of what's done, what needs to be done and where the problems are.
Drives a consistent approach and set of deliverable requirements - the Best Practices.
Communicates the who, what, when, where and how of each activity.
It's a checklist, tracking tool, repository, best practices guide, design guide and work flow management tool all in a unique user web based interface.
The best part is it's simplicity in the interface and setup.

The diagram above presents the phases (Slices) for a typical project in the horizontal direction. Each phase is further partitioned into the functional areas (Layers) for a project in the vertical direction.

The above view is where the work flow is setup. Each box represents a logical grouping of associated tasks. The tab on the left allows configuration of all sub-tasks, resources and documentation for each of the task groups.

The view above is the normal view associated with updating the project. Any of the slice and layer combinations may be selected for status and/or updating. Updates are simple to do and available to the entire team through the web interface.

This Project Status view above provides a high level status of what's started, what's completed, what's not started, what's in progress and where the issues are. It's an excellent snapshot of project status.

A general PDF presentation about how this product was configured for a chip project may be downloaded here. For more specific information about making use of this tool as an online design guide you may download a PDF presentation here.

To get a true feeling of capabilities for this new tool you must see it live. For a demonstration of this product for semiconductor NPD contact me at 480-895-0478 or email me. You will not be disappointed with time spent in taking a look at this revolutionary implementation that aligns your teams to predictable execution.

If your team is still using outdated shared documents, spreadsheets and schedule files to guide your process, PIEmatrix will provide a significant benefit to project clarity and predictability!

Sincerely,

Jeff Jorvig
Coaching Excellence in NPD Execution
www.jorvigconsulting.com

"Providing solutions to the systemic project barriers that impact revenue objectives."