Managing Technology and Product Development Programmes: A Framework for Success

About the Author

Peter Flinn is a British engineer who originally studied mechanical sciences at the University of Cambridge. He also has an MBA and studied international management at Harvard University. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

During his career, he worked in the aerospace, commercial vehicle, rail, and process industries holding chief engineer, head of engineering, and managing director positions within international organisations. In recent years, he has led the creation of the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, and the Aerospace Technology Institute in Cranfield, both in the United Kingdom.

Throughout his nearly 50‐year career, he has taken a keen, practical interest in the subject of this book – how to develop technology and products. He has direct experience of technology research work through all phases of development to manufacturing management. The content is based on this experience and, in particular, on what does or does not produce successful results. He hopes that the content of the book will prove useful to engineers, technologists, and investors in these fields.

1

Introduction

1.1 Why Write This Book?

Most aspiring engineers would like to see their name attached to a product, such as a car or plane, or a structure, such as a building or bridge – they want to make their mark. In the early stages of their careers, their contribution might just be a minor element of the whole; later, they would hope to take the lead, possibly even emulating Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Sir Frank Whittle, or Steve Jobs. But how does a product get from the glimmer of an idea to the finished item?

This book is concerned with the way that new research and technology ideas are converted into products that can be manufactured and sold to satisfied customers. Its emphasis is on engineered products but the principles can be applied more widely. It might be thought that this subject would already have extensive coverage, given that engineering has been taught in European countries as a degree‐level subject for over 200 years.

École Polytechnique in Paris, for example, was set up in 1794 specifically to address, amongst other things, the dearth of qualified engineers at that time (Ref. 1). The University of Glasgow was the first in the United Kingdom to set up a school of engineering with the appointment of Lewis Gordon (1815–1876) as Regius Professor of Civil Engineering and Mechanics at the University. He was in the post from 1840 until 1855, when he resigned to pursue his successful business interests – thus providing an early demonstration of the economic value of engineering (Ref. 2).

Engineering has been taught in Cambridge, where the author studied, since 1875, albeit sometimes using a different title such as ‘mechanical sciences’. But for some 100 years beforehand, ‘real and useful knowledge’ was taught as an extension of mathematics and covering such topics as steam engines and mechanisms (Ref. 3).

The content of such academically demanding courses has been biased towards the science of engineering, with an emphasis on mathematical analysis, although more practical and applied skills have also been covered through laboratory work, as well as through design and build projects. Those interested in the business aspects of engineering can then go on to acquire formal qualifications in this area, such as an MBA. This is a well‐trodden path for those wishing to pursue a managerial career in the engineering business.

However, there has been relatively little coverage of the processes by which engineering products are created and developed. These processes use the design, analysis, and other skills that are taught academically. However, the means by which a technology is turned into a design through to its being launched as a, hopefully, reliable product to a discerning public is something that a new engineer has to work out for him or herself – a process that can often take a full decade of puzzlement if the environment is complicated.

The management thinker Peter Drucker drew attention to this topic in a 1985 essay in which he stated: ‘We know how to train people to do technology such as engineering or chemistry. But we do not know how to endow managers with technological literacy, that is, with an understanding of technology and its dynamics…Yet technological literacy is increasingly a major requirement for managers….’

The purpose of this book, then, is to help fill this gap, as illustrated in Figure 1.1, by providing a framework that can be used to describe how new technologies, and then products, are created.

Figure 1.1 Context of the material in this book.

The word framework is used advisedly. It would be wrong to suggest that there is a universal, reliable, and prescriptive set of rules for developing technology; it is a far more hit‐and‐miss process, as will be described later. However, there are principles and approaches that can make the process more efficient and that engineers typically learn by trial and error.

1.2 Importance of the Product Development Process

There is widespread interest in this topic, and in innovation more widely, in business schools and similar organisations (Ref. 4). Their work has shown a clear link between the effectiveness of companies' product development processes and the overall performance of those companies. A number of large‐scale academic studies support these conclusions, and this has led to the considerable interest in the topic of innovation, which, as an academic topic, has been widely researched but essentially from a business, financial, and marketing perspective. Quite rightly, organisations are continually exhorted to ‘innovate or die!’

However, these studies rarely link back into the engineering processes that drive the actual creation of the products and that represent the practical realisation of innovation.

Hence, there is a strong business incentive for companies to become more proficient in renewing their products or services. The recognition that successful products achieve then provides an incentive to well‐rounded engineers making their vital contribution to this topic.

In terms of written material to support the development of proficiency, there is a significant body of literature on single topics within the product renewal process. For example, there are weighty books on risk management, design for manufacture, engineering analysis, and project management, to name but a few. However, there is little tying these topics together. The purpose of this book is to fill that void.

1.3 Perspective of This Book

Given this background and these early references to engineering topics, this book examines the processes for developing new products and technologies from an engineering perspective. It is based on the author's 45–50 years of practical experience in engineering industries, including aerospace, automotive, rail, and some process industries. Whilst the emphasis is based on practical experience, and hence what works, there is considerable academic underpinning to the approaches suggested, and this is referenced whenever possible. The book should not, however, be regarded as ‘research‐based’; it is ‘experience based’, if such a category exists, derived from participation rather than observation.

A strong thread permeating the book is the linkage between those engineering processes and the wider performance of the business. The point is frequently made that technology is only worth developing if it can be put to practical use. It must be deployed in the form of products or services bought by paying customers at a price which is economically sustainable for it to be of any useful interest. The book will help engineers to understand how their contribution fits into the wider context of the business.

1.4 Intended Readership

This book addresses the topics above and is aimed at those who are still trying to understand the processes for turning science into technology and then into products. The readership could include:

Engineers in their final stage of university education, perhaps undertaking final year, capstone projects, or MSc programmes

Technologists or engineers in the early stages of their careers, particularly those working in industry on technology and product development

Technology researchers who would like to understand more about the means by which their research work could eventually lead to commercial products

Business school researchers who are working in the field of innovation

Commercial managers, finance managers, and business people whose work involves managing, funding, or approving technology development but who do not necessarily have a direct involvement or direct experience

Investors who might be asked to fund technology‐based ventures

Seasoned engineers and engineering managers, who will recognise most of the material in this book but who might find its content brings further structure to their thoughts

The language of the book is, of necessity, somewhat technical, as it is impossible to describe engineering processes without using some technical language. However, it is intended to be straightforward and easily understood – there is no arcane language, and there are no formulae!

1.5 Science, Technology, Innovation, Engineering, and Product Development

Some definitions are appropriate at this early stage. The terms science, technology, innovation, engineering, and product development are sometimes used interchangeably, with overlaps between the areas that they attempt to define. For the purposes of this book, the terms are defined as follows:

Science. The systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

Research. The development, for its own sake, of new ideas, knowledge, and science without any firm application in mind.

Technology. The practical application of research and science to develop new solutions that could subsequently be taken into commercial application through a product or service.

Product development. The development of a specific, commercial product for use in the marketplace, probably using a combination of existing and new technology.

Engineering is, then, used as an umbrella term, described in the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘the branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines, and structures’, or, alternatively ‘the action of working artfully to bring something about’. The first definition is very logical and straightforward; the second, using the term artfully, suggests a hint of manipulation, but it is true that engineering is as much about engineering a result, by whatever means are available, as conducting a form of science.

Another frequently used word is innovation. The word is understood as meaning: ‘to make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products’. It has a wider context and a slightly more modern ring to it than engineering. It does include turning ideas and technology into saleable products or services, but innovation can also include changes to business models, commercial arrangements, and services. Innovation is used quite widely in business school and government policy circles, where there is a recognition that companies must continually innovate to stay alive. Innovation is not used quite as frequently in this book but is, nonetheless, at the heart of what has been written.

Perhaps the most perceptive comment on this whole area comes from Arthur M. Wellington, an American civil engineer who wrote the 1887 book The Economic Theory of the Location of Railways. The saying that ‘an engineer can do for a dollar what any fool can do for two’ is attributed to him.

1.6 The Changing Nature of Engineering

As suggested above, the development of technology and new products is the route by which new knowledge is converted to practical use. Arguably, the fundamentals of this process have remained constant since the first products were created many centuries ago.

However, the process is not insulated from the wider world and has itself been influenced quite significantly by new technology. Any review of the approaches and methods for developing technology and products must take these trends into account. In principle, they do not affect the fundamental nature of development processes. However, they do make them quicker, more productive, and more rigorous. Particular trends include:

The replacement of conventional engineering information, such as drawings and textual information, by digital forms extending to product lifecycle management systems, which capture all product‐related data

The ability to share digitally common, and completely up‐to‐date, information across all business areas and functions, as well as with suppliers and customers

The extension of analytical methods into highly representative mathematical models, reducing the need for physical testing

The adoption of cleverer methods of physical testing using means that are more representative of real life and with more thorough and quicker data analysis

Allied to this, the nature of the manufacturing industry has also seen fundamental change, influenced also by technology and broader economic or political factors. Key trends in this respect have been and continue to be:

Closer coupling of engineering to manufacturing, with the engineering focussed towards strategic manufacturing and broader business aims

Whole‐life considerations being given more prominence in all phases of the engineering process

More emphasis on new technologies and ideas coming from outside the firm

Stronger links to, and more cooperation with, suppliers, who are given greater responsibility and on whom greater dependence is placed

More geographically distributed supply chains with more layers and greater specialisation

Greater customer expectation of a tailor‐made product – mass customisation

Closer interaction between the supplying company and the products in the field, including direct data feed from operating products back to the manufacturer – the Internet of Things

The effects of some products being sold as a service operated by the product supplier, rather than being sold to the end customer for self‐operation – sometimes known as ‘servitisation’ – creating new models of business

The broader business processes by which firms develop new products have also received considerable attention through topics such as:

Product success and failure factors

Product innovation as a competitive weapon

The marketing/new product development interface, teamwork, and integration of new product development activities

Technology portfolio development and open innovation

Trans‐national new product development

These factors collectively add up to an environment of significant, and continuing, change to which engineering processes must respond.

1.7 The Fourth Industrial Revolution

These points also need to be seen in the context of what is being described as a fourth Industrial Revolution, revolving around data, embedded computing, digital methods, and artificial intelligence, as summarised in Figure 1.2. The term Industry 4.0 is another frequently used title for this development.

Figure 1.2 Four Industrial Revolutions.

Engineering, product development, and service development activities are at the heart of this fourth Industrial Revolution, both as an originator of new data and in analysing data from products in the field. Klaus Schwab's book [5] provides some interesting ideas about how the future might play out in this area over the coming decades.

1.8 Scope of This Book

The emphasis of this book is the process by which new products and technology are made to work, sometimes described as validation. This use of this word, however, can lead to a somewhat narrow understanding of the topic in the sense that it relates more to a checking procedure after everything else has been finished. For example, one definition of validation (with some very minor wording changes) from ISO9000 is: ‘an independent procedure that is used for checking that a product, service, or system meets requirements and specifications and that it fulfils its intended purpose’.

The thrust of this book, then, is more towards ensuring at every step along the way that a successful outcome will be achieved, from original conception to validation as the final confirmation – recognising, of course, that success is not guaranteed and that not every idea is viable. However, it considers how to ensure that a good design reaches its full potential, including its potential from a customer's perspective and its potential from the business perspective of the manufacturer.

1.9 Structure of This Book

After this introduction, the book begins with a description and analysis of the process of engineering – the steps by which new technology makes its way from the laboratory to the commercial marketplace. A particular emphasis is placed on the fact that such a process does exist but that it is not, unlike manufacturing processes, highly repetitive or linear in character. In particular, it does involve a strong element of discovery and learning.

This is followed by a discussion of technology maturity, describing the characteristics and status of technology at its different stages of development. It makes the point that, rather like the human life cycle, new technology has to mature through a process that cannot be shortcut without causing problems. This is not say, however, that the process cannot be accelerated or made more efficient if properly understood, but the right foundations do have to be created.

Chapter 4 is concerned with aligning technology and product development with wider manufacturing, commercial, and business considerations. The key, and important, point here is that technology on its own has limited value, beyond satisfying general curiosity. Its value comes from the creation of new products and services. This is where the importance of meeting customer needs comes into play and of doing this in a way that creates good business for the supplying organisation through efficient manufacturing and service operations.

The book then moves on to how technology and product development should be planned and organised. Despite the earlier comments about the relatively unstructured nature of the technology development process, there are ways in which it can be managed that give a much better chance of a satisfactory result being achieved.

This leads into Chapter 6, describing the development of new concepts – the early stages of the process, which are more fluid and less‐easily defined than the later stages.

Chapter 7 examines the subject of risk. Although not always recognised in this way, the topic of risk effectively brings into play the lessons of the past. Risk, in the sense of avoiding the mistakes of the past, is integral to development processes and it needs to be actively managed. Poor management of risks leads to underdevelopment of products and a higher probability of problems and failures – failure of the product to function properly, failure to meet customer requirements, and failure to meet business targets. Identifying and overcoming risks is arguably the most important aspect of all development activities.

This is followed by coverage of development and validation: how those risks, once identified, can be analysed, overcome, and proven to be properly overcome so they don't cause further problems. The emphasis is on three types of validation activity: engineering calculation, modelling and simulation, and physical testing.

Validation precedes or runs in parallel with the main phase of engineering delivery, described in Chapter 9. Delivery here refers to all the product information required to manufacture, assemble, test, commission, and support the finished product – a phase of work that is much more structured and predictable than earlier phases.

Chapter 10 describes the important topic of how these programmes of work can be funded: an individual's own resources, company‐generated cash flow, or externals investors, for example.

The next two main chapters concern human aspects of technology and product development. Chapter 11 covers the organisation of the people who undertake the real work – for example, how to run an engineering team, and how to work with other organisations, which could include suppliers, customers, research partners, shareholders, and advisers. It also describes aspects of leadership, recruitment, and personal development. The overriding thought is that the processes described in earlier chapters are run and managed by people. Hence, the results are only as good as the organisation itself and the way it handles the discovery, learning, and decision‐making processes referred to earlier.

Chapter 12 moves into the area of critical thinking and decision‐making − somewhat philosophical points, perhaps, but an important and very human aspect of engineering activities. Recent work in the social sciences, and in areas such as economics, has shown that human decision‐making, which happens every day in engineering work, is subject to all sorts of biases and human foibles. There are no magic cures to this tendency, but it is useful to be aware of the likely pitfalls so they can, if at all possible, be avoided. There is also some discussion of methods for structuring and solving problems and for a more creative approach to problem solving.

Chapter 13 is concerned about implementing the processes described above in early‐stage companies or improving the processes of existing organisations. ‘Change Management’ has emerged as an indispensable business topic in recent decades, reflecting the need for companies to adapt themselves to changing circumstances, or go out of business. Adaption of engineering development processes is as important as any other process and is not easy to undertake, given that its activities are intangible and involve wide groups of people. This chapter addresses some of these issues.

The concluding section then summarises the key messages of the book and offers some suggestions about how the future might play out for material covered in the book.

1.10 Reading Sequence

As already implied, the book is intended to be read in the chapter sequence described. However, each chapter is relatively self‐contained and each describes material that, in most cases, is already the subject of weighty, single‐topic books. The value of this book, however, is in tying these topics together in a hopefully logical framework, beginning with an understanding of the engineering process, which is probably the one major topic in this book which is not widely described elsewhere.

Then, the last section of the book is longer than might normally be the case. It could be read as a mini‐book about technology and product development, covering a dozen or so pages.

References

The first three references provide some further historical background to the development of engineering as an academic topic in leading European universities.

1.1 Ecole Polytechnique — https://www.polytechnique.edu/en/key‐dates

1.2 University of Glasgow — http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/chair‐and‐lectureship/?id=711

1.3 Cambridge Engineering, The First 150 Years, Haroon Ahmed, 2017

This short essay looks at the development of product innovation as an academic research discipline by examining the number, and topic matter, of academic papers over approximately 30 years from 1984 onwards.

1.4 Anthony di Benedetto, C. (2013). The emergence of the product innovation discipline. In: PDMA Handbook of New Product Development, 3e. John Wiley.

Finally, this short book lays out its author's view of how the so‐called Fourth Industrial Revolution might play out.

1.5 The Fourth Industrial Revolution – Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum, 2016

2

Engineering as a Process

2.1 Background

The word process is used widely in the world of engineering, industry, and business. It generally refers to a sequence of activities that produce a result. The dictionary defines it as ‘a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end’. Similarly, ISO9001 talks of a ‘set of interrelated or interacting activities that use inputs to deliver an intended result’.

Examples of a process might include a manufacturing process to produce a component, an administrative process to produce an invoice, or an ‘HR’ process to recruit someone. The steps can be defined and the process can then be mapped and measured, which can, in turn, lead to improvement in the performance of that process. Above all, such processes are repetitive and happen with a relatively high frequency. Hence, the results of process improvement come through quickly and their success can be judged in days or months.

Technology and product development is also a process, albeit a complex one. It is not, as some have argued, a journey without a map. However, it is not highly repetitive – the timescale from end‐to‐end can be years or even decades – and each programme is uniquely individual. Improvement is therefore more difficult to achieve; indeed, some engineers in certain industries may only see two or three complete cycles in their working life.

2.2 The Basic Components of the Process

This is not to say, however, that considering the process of technology and product development is a futile exercise. It can be broken down into its elements, and an approach can be developed for each phase. In fact, later in the development process, there are more elements that are repetitive and specific, lending themselves to classic analysis and improvement. The earlier steps remain, however, more elusive and justify their description as the ‘fuzzy front end’.

For the purposes of this book, four phases of technology and product development have been identified:

Science

Technology research

Technology development

Product development

Science, in this context, is the process by which new knowledge is created for its own sake. For example, the science of semi‐conduction, or its forebears, was discovered in the 1820s with the observation that the electrical resistance of some materials decreases with temperature. It was some time before any real use was made of this phenomenon. Karl Ferdinand Braun developed the crystal diode rectifier some 50 years later, providing the basis of the first cheap domestic radios. It was another 80 years before semiconduction started to hit the headlines with the development of the transistor in 1947 and all that then followed in the computing industry.

Figure 2.1 Main phases of development.

Technology research is then the process by which science is developed towards some useful application and is the start point for this book. The development of transistors in the 1940s might be considered part of this phase, although much of the work could also fall into the category of science.

Technology development takes this useful application and progresses it to the point where confidence in it is much higher, through greater understanding of the detail, and where a commercial enterprise then feels able to commit to developing and selling a product to the marketplace. Transistors went through this process initially in the late 1940s and early 1950s in a number of laboratories, mainly in the United States.

The final phase – product development – and the most expensive, is where a useful product, such as a transistor radio, is made and sold in volume – first achieved, albeit in a very crude way by today's standards, in the early‐ to mid‐1950s.

The main phases of development are illustrated on Figure 2.1 whilst the details of the steps in maturing a new technology are described in much more detail in Chapter 3, which covers, in particular, the concept of ‘technology readiness’.

2.3 Expenditure on Research and Development

The processes of science, technology development, and product development make up a significant proportion of economic activity. In the developed nations, somewhere between 1% and 4% of those nations' economic output is devoted to R&D, as illustrated in Figure 2.2, which covers some 40 countries of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD).

Figure 2.2 Expenditure on R&D as percentage of GDP for 41 OECD countries.

These figures include expenditure by:

Universities and other higher educational institutions

Government

Nonprofit private organisations

Business (the largest contributor)

They also cover all forms of R&D, which are usually broken down by