WORKSHOPS

The all-day workshops will enrich your own professional learning and career development. The workshops are designed to give you an in-depth understanding of specific product and service development and management domains.

While content experts deliver these workshops, you should expect to engage with your peers in an interactive style of learning. Upon return to work, you should hold a new framework for approaching that targeted aspect of your process, and be able to share relevant tools and techniques with your colleagues.

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PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP:

Who should attend: practitioners of product development at all levels of experience. You will be stimulated by this dive into Northwestern University's Master of Product Development Program guided by its distinguished faculty.

An Overview for Optimizing the NPD Process for Successful Commercialization

Northwestern University's Master of Product Development (MPD) degree from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science is a unique 2-year program taught by faculty from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Kellogg School of Management.

For this first-time PDMA pre-conference workshop, distinguished faculty will focus on Discovery, Development and Commercialization in the following four key minicourses, including case studies.

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POST-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS:

Improve the practical skills necessary for successful performance during discovery, development and commercialization phases of NPD
Learn useful tools from the PDMA ToolBook and the PDMA Handbook of New Product Development

W1: Customer-inspired Innovation

Instructors: Christina Hepner Brodie, NPDP, Principal, Pittiglio Rabin Todd & McGrath (PRTM) and Alexis Driscoll, Principal, Outpoint Consulting

Break-through products really meet consumers' needs. You will be introduced to approaches that focus on and jumpstart consumer-based innovation and learn some of the tools and techniques involved in an "ethnographic" approach to collecting and gaining insights into customer requirements from the "Voice of the Customer". You will also learn techniques for generating and screening responsive, innovative ideas and concepts.

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W2: Metrics That Matter in NPD

Instructors: Greg Githens, NPDP, Managing Partner, Catalyst Management Consulting and Mary Wojtas, NPDP, Abbot Laboratories

Winning organizations use NPD metrics that are lean, balanced and aligned with strategy. Learn how to apply a proven framework for selecting and applying metrics for your own organization's unique needs. You will compare your methods and metrics with those of your peers. Come prepared by reading background on NPD measurement and by submitting a profile.

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W3: The Next Generation of Portfolio Management

Developing and managing a portfolio of NPD projects is at the heart of a successful business. There is much to understand, balance and get right in the development stage, which can be a complex and complicated process. You will learn about best practices in Portfolio Management to optimize results and gain a better understanding of interrelationships among your product development, resource management & portfolio planning processes.

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W4: Project Estimates You Can Plan On

Instructors: Mark Durrenberger, Vice President, Oak Associates, Inc. and John Slack, Principal, Norse Enterprises

After applying your pipeline management process to your portfolio, are your people still spread too thin? Do many of your projects still take longer than planned? You have a resource planning problem. Many factors make estimating resources for new product development projects notoriously difficult. Learn how to apply tested techniques for a deeper understanding of the uncertainty and risk on your NPD projects, while generating robust and defendable project resource estimates.

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W5: Managing Uncertainty and Risk in High Innovation NPD Environments

How can you manage uncertainty in the discovery and development phases? High uncertainty, significant risk, and limited resources typically accompany enterprises' efforts to capture market share, grow businesses and satisfy customer needs. Case studies and interactive exercises are used to explore selected leading-edge and innovative concepts and tools. Leave with an action plan for managing uncertainty & risk.

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W6: People-centric Innovation

The passion and experience of your employees, and their contact with your customers, creates a gold mine of new product ideas within your company. Learn how People Centric Innovation implements a tangible framework for harvesting these ideas from within…and after capturing the ideas; how to assess, fund and manage them. You will develop an action plan to kick-start new product innovation from within your own company and how to link this with a rigorous, ongoing NPD management process like Dupont’s Innovation Process.

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W7: Certification Preparation Review

Instructors: Ken Westray, NPDP, Master Instructor, President, NP Learning, Inc. & Christina Kampman, NPDP, Consultant, Donnels Creek Associates

The purpose of this workshop is to refresh your knowledge of NPD tools and techniques and to support your preparation for the NPDP Certification Exam. Topics to be reviewed include:

• Product Development Strategy Portfolio
• Management
• New Products Process
• Tools and Metrics
• Market Research
• Teams, People and Organizational Issues