Strategy for controlled creation of new product ranges

Summary form only given, as follows. For companies that produce consumer goods, it is becoming more difficult to control the product development and production engineering capacity necessary for the creation of (variants on) new product ranges. In such a multiproject situation of many linked development processes for product parts, and equipment, project management has in many cases not even been successful in controlling the throughput time and the costs of projects. It is suggested that all activities in the company should be judged with respect to preset criteria at three decision levels: the strategic, the tactical, and the execution levels. Decision making is at present more and more regarded as a mechanism that in the concept phase should lead to earlier specification of anticipated bottlenecks with high risk factors. Development strategy can now be directed toward first assignment of capacity to these bottlenecks with high risk factors. Innovations involving great uncertainties about the technical feasibility, therefore, get priority in the development strategy. For controlled creation of new products, innovation strategy can now be directed towards both distribution of innovations in time and the degree of predevelopment that is necessary to reduce risk before starting the development