Developing New Products and Services

Reviewed by S. Mirchandani, Adjunct Faculty, East Tennessee State University on 11/7/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Excellent; wonderful coverage of real world case studies

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Exceptional references and breadth

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Very relevant; Will plan to use in my Entrepreneurship Class

Clarity rating: 5

Well written; easy to follow

Consistency rating: 5

Quality and style consistent throughout the book

Modularity rating: 5

Well thought modularity - by dividing into smaller and recognizable sections

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Well structured from overview into relevant detailed chapters; bite/consumable approach excellent

Interface rating: 5

No problems in navigating, wish I had a side panel for a quick back-shift list of chapters

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

no grammatical errors!!

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Top gun

Comments

None- excellent

Reviewed by Pedro Tonhozi de Oliveira, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Missouri-Kansas City on 8/2/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The book navigates the product development process with management in mind as opposed to the engineering process. Thus, instead of focusing on the process itself, it looks more towards competition, differentiation, strategic planning, business plan and project management. I would recommend this book over other NPD textbooks for someone teaching undergrads and leaning towards entrepreneurship and early stage NPD which are not interested in the in-depth description of the product development itself (e.g., product specifications, concept generation, selection and testing, product architecture, industrial design).

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The book provides an accurate content related to NPD. Some of its assumptions and definitions might contradict or be incomplete comparing with others textbooks in entrepreneurship and innovation, but can be easily remedied (e.g., the definition of entrepreneurship and innovation in chapter 1).

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The nature of the content and the citations provided make this book valuable in the longtime. There are examples in the book that will always need to be updated, for example, when it talks about Moore's law and technology (1.10) it cites technologies from 2008. However, the concepts are unlikely to change in the short-term.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is written in an appropriate level for an undergraduate New Product Development class. It is easy to read and give the flexibility to change the order of the chapters to adapt to the classroom. In my perspective, all technical terminology are well explained.

Consistency rating: 4

The text is internally consistent regarding terminology and framework. There are some terms that conflict with the entrepreneurship literature though. If a teacher is using this for an entrepreneurship class, it is recommended to keep that in mind.

Modularity rating: 4

This book can be entirely deconstructed to fit any NPD course, but it would take a considerable amount of work since the pdf version has issues with chapters (no page break between them) and figures (low quality). It could be improved. Also having the citation at the end of each chapter instead of Chapter 16 would better the book's modularity.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

I have been looking for a book for an undergraduate level course in NPD for a long time. This is the first one I came across that is not too advanced and has a nice flow to fit this type of class. Color and a better design/ organization of the content would improve its appeal to students.

Interface rating: 3

Images in the pdf are low quality, and some are barely readable. Chapter breaks are nonexistent in the pdf version. The web version does a better job on those, but many students prefer the pdf version or printed from the pdf.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Overall it is good. There are some minor spelling errors, use of the passive voice, sometimes unclear antecedents, sometimes wordy, and overuse of some words.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I don't think this question applies to this book. The nature of the content is very neutral.

Comments

Congratulations, this is a book that addresses a gap in NPD textbooks for management undergrads. It would be helpful to have some questions at the end of each chapter as well as the references there. I would also like to see more integration of entrepreneurship concepts into the book, maybe cases.

Reviewed by Babu John Mariadoss, Associate Professor, Washington State University on 5/21/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The textbook covers several important areas that are not covered in other 'New Product Development' textbooks. However, the book has not touched upon some of the process issues such as the New Product Development (NPD) process. This is because, in the author's words, the book focuses on the early stages of Product Development. Further traditional New Product textbooks devote almost all space to elaborate the different stages, but that cannot be done here, because of the other important topics that are covered. However, the author can devote some space to acknowledge the existence of the stage-gate or another process model very briefly.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The textbook takes a technology management and development perspective. From that perspective, the content is accurate and error-free. As the author states, the chapters are biased towards the early stages of the New Product Development process. When the New Product Development course is taught in a Marketing class, the textbooks used for that purpose may need some focus on the other stages too (e.g., idea generation/development, concept testing, branding/commercialization, etc.) Having said that, I also acknowledge that there is a chapter devoted to Branding.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Due to inclusion of strong theory to state the concepts, the content presented will not make the textbook obsolete in a short period of time. All concepts are stated with appropriate citations, s the reader is aware of when the research was conducted, and can decide accordingly about their applicability.

Clarity rating: 4

The sections are concise and clear with a lot of examples. Usage of jargon is done at level appropriate to a New Product Development course. The textbook prose is well-written and a pleasure to read.

Consistency rating: 4

The material in the textbook is internally consistent within the textbook in terms of the frameworks used, and also consistent with the terminology used in the literature in technology management and development.

Modularity rating: 4

The material is provided in small sections, that can be helpful to instructors using it in class or pre-class reading. The material has been broken up with appropriate sub-headings for easy reference.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The chapters and the topics within the chapter have a logical arrangement based on how the New Product Development starts and can be understood. The initial presentation of the conceits at the beginning of the chapters, and in the chapters at the beginning of the textbook helps in clear understanding of the basics, ahead of reading more complex material.

Interface rating: 4

The interface is very helpful in that we can either navigate at chapter levels, by reading chapter by chapter, or choose to read it section by section. The charts and images are fine.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

As far as I can read, there are no glaring grammar errors. There are typos, though: for example, in the table of contents page, 'Licesning Information'; in section 1.3, " reality.Arora et al. (2008)".

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The topic of cultural relevance is not very applicable, except in places where new product teams, customer needs, and branding may be introduced, but since the textbook does not focus much on these topics, this issue not very relevant.

Comments

This textbook is a fresh look at the topic of developing New Products and Services since most other textbooks take a very 'Marketing' and/or a Process perspective. The introduction of concepts from economics and the technology focus makes differentiates the textbook from others on the same topic.

Reviewed by Amanda Davis, Department Chair, Full time Instructor, Portland Community College on 1/7/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text has a wonderfully approachable "tone". The author is an instructor so the prose is that of teacher.

The layout makes sense. I am reviewing this text in regards to what it may offer graduates of our interior design program.

The "set up" of Midas vs Hermes is an interesting one. I appreciate the way this theme is woven throughout the text.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The book reads as a good combination of textbook and professional reference text.

It is up to date and relevant.. G. Lawrence Sanders references current trends in business: technology, interpersonal and struggle to paint a story of the responsibility the entrepreneur faces in this time frame.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Given the subject matter, I think the book is the appropriate length. There are places where redundancy happens - particularly in chapters 10 and 11.

This could be talked about in the narrative of the book.

Suggestion: more self reflection questions! The ones I answered were great and got me engaged!

Clarity rating: 5

The dialogue throughout is the importance of "struggle" which has been a theme from the beginning of business and product development.

Using company names such as Apple and others may date the text. I am not so sure this is a problem. The author speaks about Silicon Valley and approaches used to individualize responses to company issues. This may reference an important time in product development even if the hub of technological advances or creativity in that realm moves to a new location.

Consistency rating: 4

I appreciate the author's use of a narrative/ myth: Hermes vs Midas. It really helps bring a sense of creativity to the subject.

I felt the subject of creativity could have used more influence from disparate sources: more writers, artists and even consumers. Consumers are by and large creative.

Modularity rating: 4

this needs help.

The online version is "wonky".

The subject matter is broken down well and I am especially drawn to Chapters 6 and 7 as relevant to creative development types like Interior Designers who have to compete with carpenters, furniture dealers and builders.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

I think it is well developed.

Your use of diagrams is helpful. You used the same one on pages 5 and 298. I would suggest that these be in color if possible. Diagrams are helpful.

I did not see appendix in chapter list. The case studies in the appendix were great.

Interface rating: 4

I think this references the question above.

The online version is not easy to navigate.

This is not the fault of the author but rather the website.

The appendix is so rich. Reference that throughout the text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

There are places where the "tone" of the author is too familiar, too casual.

While it is important considering who is making real change today in 2015, a defaulting to casual discussion is not a good idea.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

As mentioned above, the inclusion of topics such as "Silicon Valley" and references to current business successes in a good way to begin. The discussion of monopolistic competition is good as a warning to those entering the field(s) as the CURRENT situation. the fact that Etsy.com has become a publicly-held business proves that there are MANY aternatives out there.

Comments

I enjoyed reading this book. I will incorporate a few of the chapters into our professional practice courses. Interior Design students will benefit from this creative approach (using archetypes to explain dichotomous positions) to their professional goals.

We are always looking for ways to open doors for out students regarding business and entrepreneurship. I think that including a few chapters from this text will allow that to happen.

Thank you for this opportunity.

Reviewed by Craig Connors, Part Time Instructor, Clackamas Community College on 1/7/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book covers the topic very well. The ideas and principles that are discussed center around Lean thinking. Learn by Doing and deep thinking about the process. As an experienced Lean practitioner and thinker, I am very impressed by the material presented in this well written text. One drawback to this text is that it doesn't contain an index or glossary.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text is very accurate. The content is error-free and unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This book has very relevant content. The principles and concepts are really timeless. You could apply these ideas across many industries.

Clarity rating: 4

The clarity of this book is good. It is easy to read. The context is appropriate. I am slightly biased being a long-time study of the product development process.

Consistency rating: 5

This book is very consistent. The framework and terminology is well done throughout the entire text.

Modularity rating: 5

The chapters are very modular. The idea of the text is to coordinate with a class structure where each chapter is a section of the course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization and structure are very nice. I think the flow of information is good. The book is very logical and the order is clear and builds upon itself, but not too dependent on the previous chapters.

Interface rating: 4

Some of the books images are slightly hard to read. The text in some graphs are fuzzy. Overall, the images are very simple and easy to read, understand.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There are no grammar errors that I found.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I didn't find any of the content in this book offensive. It is very neutral from a cultural standpoint.

Comments

I really liked this book. It is hard to find a book that talks about product development that incorporates Lean thinking principles.