Product Creation - by Philip H Francis (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Now more than ever, a company's success -- indeed its survival -- depends on a firmwide effort to create the best products and bring them to market quicker than competitors. Going beyond the traditional focus on design and production exclusively, product development expert Philip H. Francis provides senior managers with the methods and tools to orchestrate the entire enterprise for creating a legacy of product excellence. For the first time, Francis presents a holistic view of product creation--not just the core elements of engineering and industrial design, but also design's interface with manufacturing, the customer's voice and quality commitments, and the essential functions of technology management and leadership.

From his unique vantage point as a former professor and researcher as well as a chief technology officer and director of advanced manufacturing technology, Francis presents the nine key business functions of new product development (NPD): manufacturing strategy, IT systems, issues of leadership and culture, customer satisfaction, quality, operations and measurement, intellectual property, the management of research and development, and technology. In immensely readable prose, Francis devotes a chapter to each function, explaining how managers can implement and manage each of these nine NPD functions. Francis enriches his arguments with real-world examples of triumphs and failures in a variety of industries, from consumer products such as furniture to business products such as networking software. He offers hands-on suggestions and strategies for every stage in the product development process, including "Ideas for Action" sections containing killer questions that can eliminate a product at any stage. Special sections of the book elaborate on the steps to take during key NPD processes.

Written for those trained in technology as well as business-oriented industrial managers, Product Creation will be timely and necessary reading for CEOs, engineers, designers, marketing managers, IT officers, as well as anyone concerned with product development from conception to market.

Review Quotes

Dr. James E. Ashton President, Ashton & Associates A readable, usable guide that emphasizes the process of product creation, and the broad, companywide involvement and considerations necessary for success. Excellent coverage, with many helpful suggestions, and many useful analogies and anecdotes.

Jerre Stead Retired Chairman and CEO, Square D Company and Honeywell/Phillips Medical Electronics Corp. An excellent roadmap for engineering and/or business executives. I would love to have had this book in my toolkit years ago.

Kwan Rim Chairman, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology I will have it read by every manager and executive of my organization, so as to improve our product development process and to gain a proper understanding of the key functions of business and their interrelationships.

Richard McCormack Editor and Publisher, "Manufacturing News" A Herculean task...."Product Creation" is a whole lot more than an engineer's guide to developing new products. It is required reading for every division of every company wanting to survive and thrive in the twenty-first century. "Product Creation" is the best business book I've read in years, and I've read a lot. Francis is a virtuoso in writing about the essential ingredients for business success. This is the one business book every executive should read this year.

William White Professor of Industrial Engineering, Northwestern University, and former CEO, Bell & Howell From TQM to knowledge management -- using the metaphor of the waterwheel, Francis explains them all and gives you ideas on the best use of each technique. I would recommend "Product Creation" to anyone who is involved in new product development from a "greenhorn" manager to a CEO.

Dr. James E. Ashton

President, Ashton & Associates

A readable, usable guide that emphasizes the process of product creation, and the broad, companywide involvement and considerations necessary for success. Excellent coverage, with many helpful suggestions, and many useful analogies and anecdotes.

Jerre Stead

Retired Chairman and CEO, Square D Company and Honeywell/Phillips Medical Electronics Corp.

An excellent roadmap for engineering and/or business executives. I would love to have had this book in my toolkit years ago.

Richard McCormack

Editor and Publisher, "Manufacturing News"

A Herculean task...."Product Creation" is a whole lot more than an engineer's guide to developing new products. It is required reading for every division of every company wanting to survive and thrive in the twenty-first century. "Product Creation" is the best business book I've read in years, and I've read a lot. Francis is a virtuoso in writing about the essential ingredients for business success. This is the one business book every executive should read this year.

William White

Professor of Industrial Engineering, Northwestern University, and former CEO, Bell & Howell

From TQM to knowledge management -- using the metaphor of the waterwheel, Francis explains them all and gives you ideas on the best use of each technique. I would recommend "Product Creation" to anyone who is involved in new product development from a "greenhorn" manager to a CEO.

Kwan Rim

Chairman, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology

About the Author

Philip H. Francis is currently a Managing Partner for Management Consulting at Mascon Information Technologies. Prior to that, he was Director of Advanced Manufacturing Technology at Motorola and Chief Technology Officer at Schneider Electric (Square D) and an executive officer at AT&T. While working at the Southwest Research Institute in engineering research, he published more than seventy articles in technical journals and wrote the first book on R&D management. He also served as a Professor and Chair at Illinois Institute of Technology.