New Product Development and Management

Catalog description

This course will cover the concepts of new product/service development and brand management strategies for competition intensive firms. Identifying opportunities, developing strategies, and designing processes for the creation of new products are key responsibilities for both entrepreneurs and managers in established firms. But developing new products is also fraught with risk: an overwhelming majority fail when introduced to the market. This course is about improving the odds of placing winning bets on new products. This course is especially recommended to students who expect to (i) launch their own businesses, (ii) work as brand or product managers, or (iii) have responsibilities requiring knowledge of product strategies and management of new product initiatives. Consultants who advise clients on product strategies may also benefit from taking the course. Strategies and processes for new product development will be the core of the course. Strategy provides the context for product development --- without it, each product development project is a separate and disjointed effort that has a much lower chance of success. This is one major reason why so many new products fail. Strategy for new products requires aligning new product development with market opportunities (for example in emerging markets, or by exploiting new inventions and technologies); selecting business models; and choosing effective marketing and manufacturing strategies. Process includes choosing a sequence of activities that is both rational and effective for converting ideas into compelling new products. These activities include concept development, design, prototyping, demand estimation, costing and pricing, branding, packaging, product testing, and market testing. However, not all products use the same development processes, and it is important to understand when to use which processes. It is expected that students enrolling in BADM 555 will be familiar with fundamental marketing concepts and practices. These are generally addressed in an undergraduate marketing course or equivalent professional training.