THE DIFFICULT PATH TO LEAN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Lean product development holds the promise of dramatically improving a company's competitive position. Its implementation offers the potenti al for faster product development with fewer engineering hours, improv ed manufacturability of products, higher quality products, fewer produ ction start-up problems, and faster time to market. Of course, all of this improves the likelihood of market success. As Christer Karlsson a nd Par Ahlstrom point out, however, a company attempting to implement lean product development must overcome numerous obstacles. By spending more than 2 years observing and facilitating one company's efforts to make this transition, they were able to identify various factors that either hinder or support the implementation of lean product developme nt. Lean product development comprises numerous interrelated technique s, including supplier involvement, cross-functional reams, concurrent engineering, integration (as opposed to coordination) of various funct ional aspects of each project, the use of a heavyweight team structure , and strategic management of each development project. However, a com pany does not achieve lean product development simply by implementing some of these techniques. A successful move toward lean product develo pment requires approaching these interrelated techniques as elements o f a coherent whole. As observed in the subject company, several factor s can hinder attempts to achieve lean product development. For example , managerial overemphasis on R&D in development projects hampers effor ts to achieve cross-functional integration. In other words, creating a team with members from various functions is easier than achieving a c ross-functional focus throughout an organization. Similarly, a cross-f unctional team cannot perform effectively ifa sequential view of the d evelopment process persists. Factors that support the transition to le an product development include: tight development schedules, which con tribute to a must-do attitude; close cooperation with a qualified cust omer, who can provide viral information as well as challenge the devel opment team; highly competent engineers; and most important, the activ e, ongoing support and participation of top management. Most participa nts in the process examined in this study seemed interested in the pos sibilities of lean product development, which suggests that motivation to change may not pose a significant problem in similar efforts.