Evaluating Continuous Improvement Efforts in New Product Development

Abstract

This paper addresses the need for methods for evaluating continuous improvement efforts in new-product development (NPD) aiming at radical product innovation. It gives an indication of various strategies. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, the use of lean principles in a NPD context is emerging. In essence, these principles are concerned with increasing customer value while eliminating waste; however, many companies still fail in improving their NPD operations despite implementing lean. In this article, methods for evaluating continuous improvement efforts associated with lean principles have been mapped along with suggested performance indicators. Establishing such indicators with this in mind is fairly involved, as evaluating performance in the NPD phase is not straightforward, neither within a team or across contexts.