Product Development is the integration of a wide range of disciplines, working in close collaboration, to produce goods that answer a need of society. Because of this wide variety of disciplines, it is essential to have not only a team that covers these areas of expertise, but also the management processes to integrate them all seamlessly.
McKinsey & Co (1996, 2000) have found that high-tech products that come to market six months late but on budget will earn 33% less profit over 5 years. In contrast, coming out on time and 50% over budget cuts profit by only 4%. Getting to market a month earlier improves profits an average 3.1%. Beating the competition by six months improves profits by nearly 12%.
