The PDMA Handbook of New Product Development

5.1. Introduction

The enduring new product development (NPD) process must be "owned" by all of its practitioners, otherwise the process will fail. Establishing NPD process ownership, though, is often a difficult and confusing phenomenon. Regardless of the type of organization, whether a strictly hierarchical model or a matrix structure, demarcation of who owns what within the NPD process is essential.

In most companies, existing leaders assume new process owner roles. These leaders may have both old and new roles—and frequently more than one new role. Confusion over which "hat" that leader is wearing at any given time can derail implementation of the new process. Clear definition of roles and a visible practice of the process help avoid this confusion (see also Chapters 4 and 10).

Three central ownership roles need especially to be identified. These may be called the process champion, the process sponsor, and the process manager. The purpose of this chapter is to define what each of these essential roles represent and their importance to creating, implementing, and sustaining a successful NPD process. Other emergent roles that depend on the particular NPD model are also considered.