36.2. Introduction to the Survey
A 16-page survey and glossary of terms were sent to U.S. PDMA practitioner members in May 2003, and to those who expressed interest on the PDMA Web site. The survey was conducted at the business unit level, and focused on four major topics within new product development:
The process by which products are development internally
The Fuzzy Front End and portfolio management
Organizing for product development
Tools/methodologies supporting product development
Products refer to both manufactured goods and services.
In addition, the survey included questions related to new product outcomes and business unit characteristics that enable comparisons among companies of different sizes, technology base, customer focus, and different levels of success.
Finally, for many of the questions, distinctions were made between radical innovations, more innovative projects, and incremental innovations.
Radical innovations include:
New-to-the-world products (also called breakthrough products)
More innovative projects include:
New product lines, which are new to your organization
Additions to existing product lines
Major revisions and next generation advances of products currently produced by your organization
Incremental innovations include:
Incremental Improvements to products currently produced by your organization
Repositionings of products currently produced by your organization
Cost reductions of products currently produced by your organization
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