New product development for <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.vectorconsulting.in/en/industries/auto-and-auto-components/">auto companies</a> is one of the most complex operations environments due to: <ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>Design interdependence of various mating parts made by different design teams in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.vectorconsulting.in/en/research-and-publication/articles/an-sos-for-the-oems/">OEMs</a></li><li>Dependence of multiple vendors developing different components (and their tooling) of the new product </li></ul> Due to dependence, any change in one part can have a cascading effect on several other parts. In the initial stages of design, several iterations are inevitable due to conflicting design decisions made by different teams. Designers often find themselves creating multiple versions of the same design to incorporate the latest change. The problem becomes even more aggravated when design teams switch across different new product projects. Frequent switching across projects coupled with too much iteration adds to the elapsed time, and pressure builds up to move to the phase of tooling development as soon as possible. <figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:4000/2686;" src="https://web-assets.vectorconsulting.in/storage/editor_uploads//vcg-auto-article-19-three-rules-for-rapid-new-product-development-2_1757846642.jpg" width="4000" height="2686"></figure>As a solution to the above problem, many companies assume that concurrency between the design and the development phases will save time. Unfortunately, this adds to interruptions and iterations during development, and at the same time, interruptions at vendors’ add to design urgencies, which in turn increases the level of multitasking, causing a vicious loop of delays and rework.  Due to delays, the level of expediting is very high, which in turn adds to the desynchronisation of components for assembly and testing. Towards the end, the pressure to deliver on time leads to products getting into mass production without stabilising the production. The teething issues eat into production capacity, and issues remain unresolved as the development and design team’s attention shifts to other new development projects.  <h5>The solution which isn’t</h5>With uncontrolled multitasking, coordination becomes weak, and delays are detected late. Managers assume that 'better' and more detailed planning and task scheduling is a solution for the problem. However, efforts to create detailed schedules for tasks often go to waste as plans become haywire within no time. For controlling design errors, managers assume that the capabilities of people as the real problem. But in an environment of frequent priority changes, errors are inevitable, as switching leads to loss of information.  <h5>A new approach</h5>Rapid new product development is possible if proper 'gating' rules are imposed at design, which means that unless the 'full kit' of interacting designs is complete and checked, development should not start. This will ensure that development happens uninterrupted without iterations. The concept of this gating is well understood by managers, but the pressure of time forces them to break the gating rules. A company can implement the rule of design gating only when the time to complete the design is reduced significantly. The way to reduce lead time is to cut down the level of multitasking in the department. This can happen when the level of open work front is controlled in design. Strict WIP rules, at half of current levels, will help focus on closures and fast issue resolution, which in turn will not only reduce lead time but also release the design capacity.  Once a process of design gating and WIP control rules are implemented, a planning system can be put in place to create synchronisation signals across various parts of a new product. By differentiating the touch time of developing a component from the total lead time, the buffers can be made visible. This approach differs from the traditional task deadline, which only hides the buffers and promotes its wastage in execution. Removal of task-level deadlines (while retaining the project deadline) also require a paradigm shift in task management; instead of intervening close to milestones, the new culture requires one to observe the flow of work at a predefined frequency (daily) and intervene whenever there is an interruption, rework or work expansion.  The visible buffers provide signals where the level of uncertainty is significant for intervention. The buffer consumption rate provides an early warning and visibility to top management on delays, and as a result, intervention happens early rather than later. The rate of its consumption also provides priority signals to ensure the correct utilisation of resources for different projects and ensure the synchronisation of parts within a project. <figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:4000/1918;" src="https://web-assets.vectorconsulting.in/storage/editor_uploads//vcg-auto-article-19-three-rules-for-rapid-new-product-development_1757846651.jpg" width="4000" height="1918"></figure>The three simple rules of design full kit, controlled WIP, and buffer-based planning and execution can help reduce the lead time of new product development by more than half while increasing output by more than 100%.

Key Takeaways

Auto NPD suffers from a lot of rework and delays. No amount of 'detailed' plans helps. Three simple rules of design, WIP, and planning can help.

Three rules for rapid new product development

<h4>Three rules for rapid new product development</h4>

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<h4>Three rules for rapid new product development</h4>

Discover the key strategies for enhancing new product development efficiency in the auto industry. Learn how implementing design gating, WIP control, and buffer-based planning can reduce lead times and boost productivity significantly.