The Product Development Management Association (PDMA) is an organization devoted to enabling companies improve their innovation processes and profitability through best demonstrated practices. It’s been around for awhile now and good research exists on the site (www.pdma.org).

Strong Innovation Drives Superior Organizational Profitability
Primary among the findings of several large studies is that Market Research, i.e. focus groups, sales anecdotal evidence and VoC – proves critical to the success AND profitability of a launch. This actually speeds (rather than delays) innovation from concept through introduction to market. While lauding the rewards of adherence to process and controls, it also warns of rogue mentality as a drain to profitability and causing significant disruptions in development, integrity in design and cost containment efforts.

Consider the following finding from an APQC study in 2003 and corroborated in Improving New Product Development Performance and Practices, by Cooper and Kleinschmidt in the same year: Continue reading →