CHAPTER FIVE
5.4 Conclusion
Success atSafDev, like most organizations, depends to a large extent on how well it manages its new product projects and pipeline. At present, SafDev receives a mixed report card. On certain levels it has performed exceedingly well, whilst at others it has performed less well. From a financial success point of view, there is no doubt thatSafDev has been successful, both in terms of identifying the con'ect gaps in the market and in tenns of providing products and services that are innovative enough to make a difference. By using VahakyHi's model it, however, soon becomes evident that much of this success is based on the current favourable atmosphere in the market rather than the successful implementation of the Stage- Gate NPD process at SafDev. In a more difficult market environment SafDev might find it more difficult to succeed unless its NPD process is more clearly defined and all of the success criteria are in place.
With regards to project success, SafDev has developed and implemented an acceptable general framework for NPD, but it has not as yet paid enough attention to the different elements and details of the framework. Putting in place an effective new product process, such as Stage-Gate, is only a first step. As Vahakyla's model shows successful NPD is not only about the adoption of a process, it is also about ensuring that all of the necessary peripheral success criteria are also in place and that there is a true commitment within the
organisation to implementing and evaluating the process. The more controlled the process becomes and the more strictly the criteria are adhered to the greater the chance of NPD success becomes. A single factor or oversight, such as misunderstanding the needs of the market, can easily destroy an entire project and cost the company millions.
The recipe for successful NPD does not, however, end here. Once the process has been put in place and the success criteria have been addressed the next step is to ensure that a culture of continuous improvement is also adopted with regards to the process and criteria. No process or criterion is ever complete or perfect; there is always another way in which both can be improved. There should be a constant commitment within the organisation to improve value by cutting costs, by cutting time and by improving quality. Delivering value is after all the core reason for NPD.
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