The PDMA Handbook of New Product Development

10.1. Introduction

Getting approval for product development activities is not just a rational exercise of telling others that a project is important; rather, it is a process of creating support. Product development professionals not only have to be skillful in specific disciplines, (e.g., engineering, marketing, project management, and team building), but they must also be adept at political maneuvers. Moving across the "Valley of Death" between technical development and commercialization is a difficult endeavor requiring both processes and political astuteness (Markham, 2002: Markham et al., in press).

This chapter will help product development professionals cope with political activity at the company and departmental levels by focusing on the relationships among product development professionals, the departments with whom they are interdependent, and management. Product development activity within an organization may comprise an entire department, formal multifunctional teams, ad-hoc teams, or just a person with an idea. Regardless of how-product development is composed, the need for political activity is similar. One must always convince others of the value that a specific product development effort has for the firm, so that the necessary resources and backing are obtained.

In this chapter, we discuss political behavior and the product development process. Then, we introduce a model that explains why product development may be viewed as political activity and how political ...