New Product Attack Roadmapping

Summary form only given. Models applying to the disciplined development of new products range from Porter´s generic strategies and product portfolio maturity models on the strategic level, to value-engineering and quality-function-deployment on the tactical level. We present a consistent view translating strategic concepts into product platform design. We merge the spiral model with the product portfolio strategy to introduce the WAVE model of platforms, releases and versions. We use the concept of attack-angle to introduce four alternative new-product launching roadmaps. These attack angles are: skimming, storming, flooding and piercing. The classical skimming attack angle is appropriate for innovative breakthroughs such as the Segway. The storming attack angle is appropriate for innovative pharmaceutical products aiming to maximize profits before patent protection expiry and the emergence of generic products. The flooding attack angle is appropriate in cases where network effect benefits a single dominant product architecture, as in the case of game platforms. Finally, the piercing attack angle is appropriate for new inexpensive technologies such as Linux. The criteria and benefits of each attack angle are illustrated with real world examples.