Foundations of New Product Development

This unit introduces foundational concepts, processes, and tools used to identify, evaluate, and advance new product opportunities. Students will learn to assess strategic growth options, gather and interpret market and customer insights, structure creative teams and review processes, and apply digital testing and screening methods to build a preliminary business case that prepares them for subsequent development and launch work.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze key success factors for new product development and evaluate strategic growth options (market expansion, acquisition, innovation) for a given firm using criteria such as market potential, capability fit, and risk.
• Evaluate market and customer data by conducting segmentation, customer visits, and concept tests, and synthesize findings into clear target market definitions and product opportunity statements.
• Apply idea-screening, concept-development, technology-inventory, and digital experiment/prototyping methods to advance concepts through the fuzzy front end toward measurable NPD targets.
• Design a cross-functional team structure, review cadence, tracking approach, and a preliminary business case (including targets and launch milestones) to prepare concepts for later development and market introduction.