Research conducted by Professors Gary Lynn and Richard Reilly seeks to capitalize on the data from 800 case studies of product team development performance that has been developed over the last ten years. This extraordinary database, unmatched by any other group of researchers, offers many insights for the management of teams involved in the development of new products and business ideas.
New products and services are the lifeblood of companies large and small. Companies are turning to new products not just to grow but in many cases to survive. It is estimated that only approximately one idea in 3,000 is commercially successful in the marketplace.[1] To address this challenge, we began researching new product development teams. Over the past eight years, we have built a solid foundation of experience and expertise based on our studying over 800 new product teams from various companies including: 3-Com, Allied Signal; AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Exxon, GE, Lucent, MCI, Merck, Merrill Lynch Nabisco, Pfizer, Roche, Telcordia, as well as from teams from government entities including NASA, the U.S. Army Communications Electronic Command CECOM, and the U.S. Army Armaments Research & Development Center (ARDEC). Nurturing new ideas and creating products that are successful in the market are at the core of Technogenesis and teams are the core of successful new product development. This research emphasizes understanding the drivers of performance for new product/service teams. One of our ultimate objectives is to use the knowledge developed from our research to provide assistance and training internally to both internal (Stevens) and external clients to help them accelerate the pace of introducing successful products to market. Our research focuses on 1) diagnostics, identifying critical variables in successful new product and service development and commercialization and 3) disseminating this knowledge via seminars and customized training and consulting in our geographical area (New Jersey and New York) and via the internet to companies outside our geographical area. We plan on developing partnerships with other centers at SIT to leverage the above to start-up and mid-sized companies and to venture capital companies and their clients. In all these cases, management of the technology, business planning, and market development are critical.
