Preface

The development activity of a new product is a complex undertaking. Whether the product is systems, applications, reprographic, electronic or light lens-based, each program requires significant commitments of time, material and human resources.

Planning, designing, building, and delivering are parts of an on-going process familiar to us all. The steps have not changed. In fact, every product program uses similar steps to produce new products. What has changed is the order of the steps in the Product Delivery Process, especially in the early planning phases. PDP emphasizes identifying and meeting "next user" customer requirements throughout the process as well as focusing on end user customer satisfaction as our goal.

This book serves as an overview of the Product Delivery Process. It describes the background of PDP, the reason PDP was initiated, and gives an overview of both the key components and the enablers of the process. In addition, the Product Delivery Process is viewed in comparison with past methods. The long term benefits of the process are examined and implementation plans are discussed. Each PDP phase is outlined as well as an overview for each enabler of the process which provides the intent, and principal actions.