WOULDN'T IT BE NICE if a project manager could bring a new product to market with a wave of a wand? But a project manager is not a magician, and a product that works as intended does not materialize magically, quickly, or painlessly.
A product works as intended only when it meets consumer needs, sells, and then lasts. The intricate process of creating a quality product takes a coordinated effort, planning, and adherence to a systematic, repeatable process. Like a magic act, the entire process of new product development remains invisible to the eyes of the consumer.
How can project managers perform such magic? They direct the efforts of teams that perform diverse tasks throughout the various phases of product development. Project managers maintain a bird's-eye view of teams at work. By monitoring teams' progress over time, project managers know when each team is executing its aspect of the project successfully and according to plan.
Project managers are not experts in every area required to produce a quality product. They are, however, experts in allowing and trusting experts in diverse disciplines to do their own work. They are also experts in following a recognized quality assurance process. Project managers recognize competence and quality when they see it.
When project managers look at the activities of the Documents Team, they view an integral part of the total project. No matter what the team is called—Documents Team, Publications Team, Communications Team, or simply Writing Team—its members are responsible for developing the written documents required throughout each phase of the project. A wise project manager ensures that the documents team is effectively and thoroughly utilized from project start to project finish. (See Checklist for the Project Manager and History of New Product Development Forum sidebars.)
Judith E. Shenouda is principal of Shenouda Associates Inc. She is a contributor to the New Product Development Forum and the Corporate Relations Committee of the PMI Rochester Chapter and is a presenter at local, national, and international conferences.
Patrick Lozier is a project manager with experience as a training developer and independent consultant. He is vice president of certification of the PMI Rochester Chapter.
Carmel Priore-Garlock is a writing instructor, curriculum developer, and technical writer and editor. She is a visiting assistant professor of English at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Such was the case in this fictitious account of the development of Project ODE at Crawford Field Robotics Inc. Watch as the magic happens.
Project ODE: A Case Study
Although Mary Crawford and David Field had been partners for 10 years at Crawford Field Robotics Inc., a profitable design firm specializing in robotic assembly equipment, they often found themselves disagreeing about the feasibility of engaging the company's technical writers throughout the new product development process. Crawford took the position that it was not a cost-effective measure; Field felt that it would enhance the entire process. He argued that allowing engineers to do more engineering and less technical writing would, in fact, result in long-term cost savings. Allowing technical writers to participate throughout the process would improve the new product development process, the product, the documents, and the company, Field thought.
Crawford agreed to test Field's theory on their next product, a robot to retrieve and dispose of ammunition considered too dangerous for human handling. Since the impetus for the new robot was an “Ordinance for Disposing of Explosives,” the product became known as ODE.
The Initiate and Plan Phase. Field knew that an effective communicator supports the entire project team throughout the new product development process and that there is value in allowing the writer to participate from the start. In the early phases of initiating and planning ODE, Field made sure that the documents team was involved in defining the vision and concepts, studying the market, assessing potential profitability, and considering product specifications and requirements. With early involvement, the documents team helped shape and write the project plan.
The Design and Development Phase. While ODE was under design and development, there were additional required documents for building a prototype, purchasing components, and integrating systems into one product. These became the starting points for documenting policies, procedures, work orders, and scope changes. Here, too, the documents team became instrumental in defining and developing the deliverables required to successfully complete this phase of new product development.
The Test Phase. ODE then underwent a series of rigorous tests. Throughout this phase, the documents team, with input from the engineers, prepared a written test plan with performance specifications, regulatory requirements, and forms for capturing defects. Test results were documented, and studies became written reports that provided the project manager and the company with continuous feedback on the status of the project.
The Sell Phase. ODE was ready for the marketplace. In the highly competitive robotics arena, it is the consumers who judge the success of the product. Crawford agreed that consumer opinion is shaped by the overall product, the launch material collected at trade shows, press releases, advertising, catalog descriptions, and product documents such as a Getting Started Guide and a User's Manual. Field stressed that all documents require the expertise of professional communicators.
The documents team continued to make critical contributions to the new product development process, and leveraged what it had learned about the product into the next phase of the product's development—the service phase.
The Service Phase. Once in the hands of the consumer, ODE entered the service phase. Consumers called Crawford Field Robotics with problems and questions, requested replacement parts, and ordered accessories for ODE. To respond appropriately, the service team required a full set of documents from the documents team, including a theory of operation, an installation guide, procedures for doing adjustments and replacements, customer and service training manuals, diagnostic and troubleshooting guides.
As a result of having well-written service and training publications, both customers and service personnel had the product knowledge required to make ODE a peak performer. Field noticed that the customer service department at Crawford Field Robotics received fewer and shorter calls than it received for products that had not benefited from the comprehensive involvement of the documents team.
The Close and Maintain Phase. During this phase of ODE's development, the documents team put together a project history file, documenting the lessons learned, consumer feedback, and recommendations for product enhancements. Field wanted to have this information on hand for future reference. He wanted to replicate the success of ODE when working on ODE 2. As a business owner, Field began to realize that satisfied buyers of ODE likely would be receptive to ODE 2, a robot used for removal of biomedical hazardous waste.
AS THE ODE PROJECT came to its successful and profitable conclusion, Field had won over Crawford to his way of thinking. It had become obvious that the involvement of the documents team throughout the entire product development process had benefited the project, the product, ODE users, and the company. One could say that Project ODE, almost magically, became an ODE to joy. ■