Using a checklist or some type of process map is usually a good way to keep your team heading in the right direction with minimal roadblocks.
However, in this age of accelerated product/services development requirements to remain "relevant", are you keeping your Launch Team on the sidelines way too long until you are at the "Full Production gate" described in Cooper's process?
Joan Schneider, APR, of PR firm Schneider and Associates and author of, "New Product Launch: 10 Proven Strategies" contend that we should add a seperate gate to Cooper's respected process. This additional gate becomes the "Market Launch Stage Gate".
By creating a seperate distinct Gate, Schneider shows how companies can now engage external and internal Launch Teams/Product Developers much earlier in development process to achieve much higher market success rates.
Backed with research from Schneiders firm and Boston University, along with real world case examples, Investment inn this book, along with Cooper's, "Winning at New Products: Accelerating the Process from Idea to Launch" are must have companions for these teams...
Why have a gate at all? Why not continuously deliver to your launch team and have them involved from day one?
ReplyDeleteA much better book to read about this would be http://www.amazon.com/Continuous-Delivery-Deployment-Automation-Addison-Wesley/dp/0321601912
Excellent point Joe. That would fit my preference and personality just fine. However, wouldn't the Linear, Left brain team members we need to interface with come inglued more frequently? Seems that Gates give those types of folks a way to process things....Your thoughts?
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