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BETTER NEW BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT AT DuPONT–II
A “business initiative process” provides teams and their leaders with frameworks and
tools to support the application of judgment and learning to their NPD projects.
Robin A. Karol, Ross C. Loeser and Richard H. Tait
OVERVIEW: DuPont ha s de veloped a struct ura l
framework—the “Business Initiative Process”—to help
its business leadershi p and development teams navigate
successfully through the new business development
(NBD) minefield. A key element of this framework is a
comprehensive set of guideline s and tools to support the
development teams as they drive their NBD projects .
These guidelines and tools cover the full range of NBD
activiti es from business c ase development throug h
detailed development and allianc e negotiation to full
commercial launch.
DuPont is involved in a systematic effort to improve the
overall return from its investment in new busines s devel-
opment (NBD) by developing and implementing a set
of processes, tools and organizational structures to
help business management and project teams signifi-
cantly enhance NBD performance. The objectiv e of
this effort is to find or develop a set of benchmarked best
practices to support/manage the full range of NBD tasks,
from strategy developm ent through to full market
launch, with a particular focus on alliance formation and
management.
In Part I of this article (1) we presented an overview of
DuPont’s Business Initiative Process (BIP)—one of a
numbe r of frameworks DuPont has developed and
im plemente d to structur e/organize both the N BD
decision making of the business leadership team and the
work of development teams driving specific NBD
projects. This process was built on the foundation of
DuPont’s existing corporate best practice for product/
process development —(PACE, for Product And Cycle-
time Excellence (2)—but expanded on it to incorporate a
broad array of NBD best practice tools and frameworks.
BIP has been used with more than two dozen venture
projects, including more than 10 in China (an area of
major NBD activity for DuPont).
In this article we present a more comprehensive view of
the work that an NBD team must complete as it executes
a project using BIP. In particular, we describe the key
“steps” (blocks of work) that a project team completes as
it moves through the five phases of BIP (see Figure 1)
and we describe some of the tools that facilitate the
team’s work. This work has been detailed in the BIP
Guideline Manual and a number of task-specific guides,
templates and procedures that are available to DuPont’s
Robin Karol is director of innovatio n processe s for sus-
tainability, safety, health, and environmental excellence
at E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington,
Delaware. At the time this work was done, she managed
a group of internal business consultants in DuPont Con-
sulting Solutions with responsibilit y for the installatio n
of managing processes for business growth and renewal.
Karol has been w ith D uPont for 19 years. Prior to
working a t DuPont she was a professor at Baylor
College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She hold s a
Ph.D. in biochemistr y from the State University of New
York at Buffalo. Robin.A.Karol@usa.dupont.com
Ross Loeser is a business process manager with DuPont
in Charlotte, North Carolina, and currently functions as
a Master Blac k Belt in the c ompany’s Six Sig ma
program . He was the PA CE manage r for DuPont’s
DacrontPolyester business for five years. Prior to that,
he held a number of positions in the quality management
area , inclu ding se nior examine r for the Malc olm
Baldrige Nationa l Quality Award in the early 1990s.
He received his BSChE from Bucknell University.
Ross.C.Loeser@usa.dupont.com
Richard Tait is president of R. H. Tait Associates, Inc., a
West Chester, Pennsylvania management consulting
firm that helps companies excel at product innovatio n
and new business development. During the time this
work was done he was a principal consultant and project
leader in DuPont Consulting Solutio ns (DuPont’s
internal management consultin g group). He received
his Ph.D. in physic s from Cornell University.
rhtait@aol.com
March—April 2002 47
0895-6 308/02/$5.00 © 2 002 Industrial R esearch Institute , Inc.
NBD teams. Our purpose in this article is to provide a
picture of “what a team does” as it follows the process.
Business Case Phase
The first step in launching an NBD initiative (once an
opportunity has been identified) is to build the business
case. The NBD project team must define potential strat-
egies and assess their fit with the overall strategic
direction of the business. At this point, the NBD team
develops option s for what the new busines s venture
might look like when fully commercialized and develops
a preliminary plan of how the organization will reach that
point. The flow of work to develop a business case is
shown in Figure 2.
Key questions that the team needs to explore (and
options identified) include:
·Target Customers—Who are the organizations/
individuals you are targeting to purchase your product/
service? Identify the end-user and the people who control
the direct buy decision for your product/service: assess
the entire value chain down to the end user.
·Value Proposition—What is the “value” you are
offering your target customers that they will be willing
and eager to pay for? Captur e what differentiates your
offering from your competitors: what is it that customers
are “buying” from you that they cannot get elsewhere?
·Program Objectives and Criteria for Success—What
are the goals/targets for the program in terms of scale,
market penetration, growth rate, competitive position,
etc?
·Business Model—How do you plan to organize/
structure the pieces of the ente rprise to develop–
produce–support–deliver your value propositio n to your
target customers?
·Business Strategies—Identify potential business strat-
egies; explore, as appropriate, technology protection ,
country issues, infrastructure, entry barriers, legal
restrictions, etc.
·Development Plan—Show a high-leve l view of the
work required to build/establish an ongoing business
based on an assessment of the capabilities currently in
place vs. capabilities required to win in the marketplace
(“strategic gaps analysis,” next page).
Figure 1.—DuPont’s Business Initiative Process has a detailed “roadmap ” to guide project teams as they move
their initiatives through the five phases of the development process.
Research zTechnology Management
48
·Busines s Case—Describe how the busines s will
“make money” with thi s NBD initiative . This should
capture both the payoff for the customer and the payoff
for your business.
At the end of the Business Case stage, the venture team is
required to capture all of this information in a formal
“Project Proposal” document, whose table of contents is
shown in Figure 3. This document is the focus for the
discussion of the project that takes place at the Business
Case phase review with the business’ Program Approval
Committee, described in Part I.
At this phase of the venture life cycle, many of the pieces
of the vision for the enterprise and the preliminary plan to
get there will be fuzzy and incomplete. These will be
based on a high-level view of customer needs and mar-
ketplace dynamics. The likelihood is great that a number
of elements will change significantly over time as new
insights are develope d about the marketplace and the
technology. And in fact, some of these initial pieces may
be just plain wrong. But by creating this picture and plan
early, the development team can begin to identify the
issues that need clarification and will validate their
vision of the future and their path to meeting the business
goals. The Project Proposal document becomes the
framework for an Integrated Project Plan (completed
during the next phase) that captures the learnings from
the work done along the way and will be used as the
primary communication tool between the team and the
rest of the organization throughou t the life of the project.
Evaluation and Planning
The primary objective s of this phase of BIP are to fully
assess the opportunity , evaluate alternatives, select the
preferred business strategy, and validate the essentia l
feasibility of the project. The focus of the developmen t
team is to gathe rdata and develo p detailed plans based on
an in-depth analysis of that data. This phase is all about
developing—and putting in writing—all the key infor-
mation needed to guide the team once it moves to act in
the outside world.
Project Feasibility and Strategy Development
The purpose of this step is to define the new business
opportunity, using a feasibility study and strategic gaps
analysis as key inputs. The gaps analysis (see Figure 5)
and the discussion in Part I compare DuPont’s current
capabilities with what it takes to be successful and pri-
oritize key strategic needs. The feasibilit y study is a
rigorous data/information-oriente d analysis that includes
market opportunity and market dynamics, value chain
status and needs, technology options, financial analysis,
etc. From this analysis, the team develops a recom-
mended business strategy and a prioritized list of alter-
native strategies.
Market Assessment and Preliminary Market Planning
Effective new business development always begins with
a rich understanding of the marketplace. During this
stage of the NBD venture life cycle, the team completes
a comprehensive assessment of the key marketplace
dynamics that will impact their project. DuPont has
developed in-hous e capability in a variety of quantitative
and qualitative market analysis tools that business teams
tap to support their projects, including: market segmen-
tation, industr y structur e analysis, competitor bench-
marking, and competitive position assessment.
The wide-ranging marketplace information generated
here provides a firm foundatio n for setting strategy and
developing a preliminary marketing plan. In addition, as
new data emerge in later stages, the team will use that
new data to revise and update the market assessment .
The NPD team must
define potential
strategies and
assess their fit with
the overall business
direction.
Figure 2.—There is a well defined flow of
deliverables that each project team must
complete as it develops the business case for its
new business development initiative.
March—April 2002 49
Alliance Assessment and Partner Selection
One of the most common approaches to closing capabil-
ity gaps is to form an alliance with another organization
that has the missing pieces. NBD by its very nature takes
a business into new areas, and the time and resource s to
fill all gaps internally is often perceived as prohibitive.
Partnering then becomes the only viable option and at
this point the critical issue becomes selecting the right
alliance option and the “best” partner.
In DuPont, we first challenge teams to explore the full
alliance landscape (Figure 4) before finalizing a strategy
and selecting a preferred partner. Too often a team will
start with the assumptio n that one particular partnering
framework—frequently an equity joint venture—is the
“only way to go” and won’t look at alternatives. We have
often found that a less complex alternativ e can be effec-
tively structured to meet the needs.
After an alliance option is selected, the development
team is facilitated through a partner identificatio n and
evaluation proces s we have dubbed “strategic due
diligence.” The goal is to identify potential partners and
develop sufficient information about their strengths/
weaknesses and competitive position to allow the team to
complete the “option evaluation worksheet” shown in
Figure 5. In addition, this data gathering effort should
provide key information on the “3 Cs”—compatibility,
commitment and complementary capabilities—which
must be a good fit for a partnershi p to be successful. After
sufficient data has been gathered and evaluated, the team
will select the preferred partner(s) and viable alternatives
for the next phase.
Product and Process Definition
Concurrent with partner evaluation/selection, the team
will fully “define” the products/service s to be provided
and the manufacturing processes that will produce them.
This work is guided by the standard PACE guidelines
establishe d for product/process development. T he
extensive PACE manuals and templates available in
DuPont provide specific guidance on all the tasks and
deliverables required. The objective is to give clarity—to
bring hard specifications —to the outlines provided in the
“value proposition” work in the Business Case.
Conceptualizin g Comm ercial Operation s
This work is also done concurrently with product/
process definition and partner selection. The output from
this step is an integrated broad-brush picture of how the
Figure 3.—The project proposal for a specific new business initiative is the final
deliverable from the “Business Case” stage of BIP. This document captures the key
information needed by the Program Approval Committee to make a “Go/No-Go”
decision.
Research zTechnology Management
50
business will operate when fully commercialized—i.e.,
how will product components be sourced? Which manu-
facturing plants will be used? How will distribution be
handled ? How will customers be serviced? Which
administrative activities will be done in-house vs. out-
sourced, etc.? This picture will complete the “business
model” developed in the Business Case stage.
New business development project teams often start with
both a “green-field site” and an “empty office” and have
Figure 4.—The full array of potential alliance options—what we call the “alliance
landscape”—needs to be explored/assessed before a preferred alternative is selected.
Figure 5.—The “Option Evaluation Worksheet” is used to capture the results of the
strategic gaps analysis and the assessment of alternatives to close the key gaps
identified in that analysis.
March—April 2002 51
only a fuzzy, incomplete picture of what should go in
each. Developing a conceptual but comprehensive
picture of how the new business will function—where
products will be manufactured, who will handle distribu -
tion, how the operation will be staffed, etc.—is a critical
early task and should be done with lot of external input.
Integrated Project Plan (IPP)
The IPP rolls up all of the key information gathered and
shows the detailed implementatio n plan that the team
will use to take the NBD project to full commercializa-
tion. This document expands and enriches the original
Project Proposal. The IPP becomes the primary vehicle
for guiding the work of the team and communicating
information about the project to the organization.
Detailed Development and Preliminary Negotiation s
This phase takes the plans and concepts built during
Evaluation and Plannin g and begins putting them into
action both externally and internally . While the first two
phases were essentially “paper exercises” for the core
team, this phase requires them to do work “on the
ground.” Specific tasks include launching and complet-
ing t h e preli m inary ne g otiat ions with prefer r ed
partner(s), d e v e l o p i ng / t e s t i n g prototype s, a n d
validating/finalizing product and process specifications
and the marketing plan. The overall objective is to
validate/upgrade the underlying fundamentals of the
project through prototypin g and externa l testing, and to
develop confidence that the basic assumptions behind
the project are valid.
Negotiating Preliminary Agreements
After senior management has approved moving to this
phase, the core team can begin negotiat ions with
potential alliance partners. The first step is to establish a
formal negotiating team (which is distinct from the core
team) to develop and execute the negotiating strategy.
The DuPont M&A Partnership (DuPont Finance, Legal
and Corporate Plans) has identified and formalized a
number of best practices on how to structure and manage
this team. Key points include:
·Select a leader and build a negotiating team that is
broad-based, multifunctiona l and has players experi-
enced in negotiating as well as in the business.
·Clearly define the “negotiatin g box” up front.
·Create a small senior management “Direction Team”
to provide ongoing direction (and rapid response) to the
negotiating team and to review/approve general terms of
preliminary agreements.
·Hold structured negotiatin g team planning meetings
before and after each negotiating session.
·Develop a written negotiating strategy that is revisited
before and after each negotiation session.
The goal in this stage of negotia tion s is to reac h
agreement on the general plan for the joint project and
formalize that agreement (e.g., a letter of intent or memo-
randum of understanding) . The LOI/MOU could include
such items as percentage ownership, makeup of equity
contributions, technology to be transferred, management
control, project scope, etc. This agreement provides the
foundation for negotiating final binding agreements,
which will spell out the details of the alliance and the
implementation plan for the joint effort.
Government Negotiations
Many of DuPont’s NBD initiatives are established in
countries (e.g., China) where local and/or national gov-
ernment agencies are critical “partners” in any NBD
project. The government’s participation can be through
its regulatory/approval role (e.g., China’s Ministr y of
Foreign Trade and Economic Coo per ation ) or as
“owners” of the specific company DuPont is working
with (e.g., China’s petrochemical entity SINOPEC). In
either case, effective negotiations with these bodies are
critical to success and require specific negotiating tools
that have been included in the BIP.
Operations and Facility Planning
This step takes the conceptual framework develope d
earlier and begins a detailed build-ou t of the designs /
plans for the facilities and operational capabilities
needed to suppor t full commercialization . These designs/
plans are broken down into specific areas to cover the full
range of supporting infrastructure needed, including
manufacturing and distributio n facilities, supply chain
support, logistics support, information systems, and
operational staffing. In addition, the team begins to
decide how the supply of these pieces needs to be
allocated among DuPont, partners and contract suppli-
ers. The goal of this step to provide overall requirements
for the design, operation and maintenanc e of all the
facilities and operational capabilities of the full business.
The outputs include cost estimates, identifie d suppliers,
and development and operations/manufacturing plans.
Product and Process Development and Demonstration
This step is aimed at demonstrating the preferred product
and manufacturing process using prototype or full-scale
production equipment . This will provide both key data
and prototype products to help finaliz e product and
process specifications . In addition, this step will provide
process flow diagrams and the final basic data for
designing full-scale manufacturin g facilities.
Research zTechnology Management
52
Market Planning
The preliminary market plan developed in the previous
phase is also built-out here. Information is gaine d
through direct interactions with the marketplace via pre-
liminary market testing of prototyp e products with
potential customers—both DuPont’s direct customers
(e.g., carpet mills) and end-user s (e.g., developers/
builder s of commercial buildings) . In addition, more
in-depth third-part y market research can be carried out to
augment the earlier internal market assessment effort.
The goal is to develop sufficient information to enable
the team to complete a final marketing plan that contains
all of the elements listed in Figure 6.
Scale-up and Definitive Agreements
This phase is devoted to completing all of the critical
design and ground-laying elements of the project in
preparation for full implementation. At the end of this
phase, everything should be in place—final agreements
with partners, critical facilities and equipment layout /
design, key staffing, etc.—so that facilities constructio n
and the other elements of project implementation go
smoothly. This is typically the last opportunity to “tune”
the business model, modify basic plant design or stop the
project before binding commitments to partners and
major capital expenditures are made.
Definitive Agreements
The negotiating team needs to converge on specific
agreements with the partner(s) that will govern their
ongoing relationship . The definitive agreements should
spell out in appropriate detail (relative to the complexity
of the alliance) the responsibilities , roles, contributions,
and ownership of all parties. In addition, a divorce clause
must be part of the package to ensure that DuPont’s
interests are protected if/when the alliance folds. These
“definitive agreements” can be quite comprehensive and
in a number of situations require multiple stand-alone
agreements.
An additional task here is for the partners to agree on a
transition plan—i.e., a step-by-step plan to create a
business that will be in a position to operate profitably
(including a plan to keep the affected ongoing operations
running while the transition takes place). This is particu-
larly important for joint venture s where a brand new
legal entity is created. This process is detailed and
unglamorou s (the excitement being all in “doing the
deal”) and often short-changed, but it is critically
important and can make or break an NBD effort.
Due Diligence
This activity, like transition planning, is often seen as
unglamorous, overly detailed and even tedious. But like
Figure 6.—The final marketing plan is a critical deliverable of the “Scale-up and
Definitive Agreement” stage because it captures the key components of how the
initiative will impact the marketplace.
March—April 2002 53
transition planning it can make or break a project, par-
ticularly a major equity joint venture that merges assets
and resources. Due diligence is aimed at validating the
credibility of the data provide d by the partner upon
whic h the va lue of the business was determined.
Dedicated due diligence teams use detaile d checklists
covering areas like facilities, human resources, supply
chain, technology, safety/health/environment, informa-
tio n s y stems, and m a n a gement struc t u re. Once
completed, this due diligence effort will help the project
team understand in depth the assets, people, culture, and
working processes that the partner(s) will bring to the
alliance. These are key data for finalizing agreements
and the transition plan.
Test Market Evaluation
Key pieces of the detaile d marketing pla n that was
developed in the previous phase are put into action here.
Marketing communications materials are developed and
tested and the market launch communications plan is
finalized. There are full-scale test market evaluations of
prototype materials to confirm the planned positioning
and pricing of the product. Product/offering information
packages are assembled , as are sales training programs.
In addition, the detailed marketing plan is upgraded and
finalized based on data/information gathered here. By
the end of this step, the project team is fully prepared to
implement the marketing plan and launch the project
with the target customers.
Product and Process Optimization
The goal in this step is to define the optimum product
specifications and manufacturing process conditions
using test market data, pilot facilitie s and prototype
materials. Process limits are defined to be passed on to
the engineering organization doing facilities design. In
addition, data packages required for technology transfer
are begun to support full technology implementation .
Technology Transfer
This is one of the most critical steps for many DuPont
initiat ives as DuPont is a science and techno logy
company and the commercialization of new technologie s
is often at the heart of a DuPont NBD project. This
transfer c ould be “into,” “out-of ” or “within” the
company but it must be effectively managed in any of
these cases. Planning for this activity has been ongoing
since the early stages of the projec t and a formal technol-
ogy transfer agreement is routinely one of the compo-
ne nts of the definitive agreemen t w ith par tners.
However, its successful execution is often more compli-
cated than anticipated and can have a major detrimental
impact on project timing if it slows down design and con-
struction of new equipment and facilities. Some key
pieces that must be in place include:
·Technology plan—a schedule was prepared earlier
and performance vs. schedule must be tracked against
overall project plan.
·Design docum ent s, spe c ific atio ns, te chno logy
manuals, etc.— te ams routin ely under estimate the
amount and detail of documentatio n required.
·Communications process—because technology is
never effectively transferred through documents alone,
face-to-face meetings, conference calls, etc., are a must.
·Field follow-up process—this will ensure that technol-
ogy implementation is happening successfully.
Manufacturing Project Planning
Many of DuPont’s major NBD initiatives require the
construction or modification of manufacturing facilities,
frequently at partne rs’ sites. These manufacturing
projects often require capital investment in the tens to
hundreds of millions of dollars. DuPont developed the
“DuPont Engineering Guide to Project Implementation”
to improve the company ’s performance with capital
projects, and these guidelines have been incorporated
into BIP.
This document gives the BIP core team a roadmap they
can customize to scope, design and execute capital
projects and, especially, to complete the detailed
planning for implementa tion that takes place in the
Project Ramp-up and Definitive Agreement phase. More
than 120 specific activities have been defined for this
phase, coverin g selection of engineering contractors,
design/construction document development, environ-
mental permitting , equipment and facility specifications,
process hazards reviews, and detailed design and con-
struction scheduling , among others.
Operations Capability Devlopment
In conjunction with facilities design and specifications,
the BIP core team must lay out the detailed design and
specifications for all supporting operational systems and
processes, ranging from operational staffing to supply
chain support to financial management systems to
customer service frameworks. The goal is to have these
defined fully (and suppliers identified) so that at the next
phase full implementatio n can go forward rapidly and
smoothly.
Implementation and Commercialization
This phas e is the culminatio n of all the development
work that has gone on before. At the start of this phase,
the decision is made to go (or not to go) to full commer-
cialization and definitive/binding agreements are signed.
Research zTechnology Management
54
Significant money is committed for facilities, initial
inventory, and operational staffing, with more than 70
percent of all project spending typically taking place in
this phase. The team is driving to effectively start-up the
new business and successfully launch its products /
offerings into the marketplace. All the testing and design
work carried out in previous phases needs to have been
done right to ensure the project is ready for this phase.
Business Formation and Start-up
During this step, the new busines s entity is formally
created (which may be a new legal entity as well) and the
management team is named. The transition plan is imple-
mented and all legal requirements (busines s licenses,
etc.) are completed. One of the critical perspectives
about NBD is that the team is building a new business
and not simply constructin g a plant. As we discuss
below, the construction and start-up of major facilities is
often the most complex and expensive part of an NBD
project and can come to dominate the team’s attention.
But this can be a costly mistake if it distracts the team
from thinking about forming and starting the business.
Marketing Plan Implementation
The team now fully implements the detailed marketing
plan that was completed at the end of the last phase. This
includes full market launch and ongoing marketplace
support of the offering. The team must continuall y
monitor performance in the marketplace and be ready to
make quick course corrections in respons e to the flood of
marketplace input that will follow widespread rollout of
the offering.
Facilities Construction and Start-up
Typically for DuPont, this is the largest, most costly and
most time consumin g workstream. Many DuPont facili-
ties cost more than $50–100 million and can require
several years or more to construct and fully run-in.
DuPont has extensive experience in buildin g major
fa ciliti e s, in clu ding ho w to int egra te pro duct ion
engineering/design, construction, check-out, and start-
up. This experience has been captured in the “DuPont
Eng ineerin g G u i d e t o P r o ject Implem e n t a t ion”
(mentioned earlier) and the “Readiness to Operate
(RTO) Guide” and include s detailed checklists , task
descriptions, work flow diagrams, and a host of other
tools. The Business Initiative Process has been structured
to incorporate these guidelines and to effectively integrate
these tasks with the other ongoing workstreams.
Market Launch
The launch of a new product/service into the marketplace
is almost always more difficult than the development
team or senior management expect. This is particularly
true for NBD projects where the level of newness to the
organization is high. Effective launch requires a thought-
ful plan and a structured approach to early validation/
feedback on product performance and customer response
in high-volume applications. In addition, the timing of
market communications (e.g., newspaper advertising
and press releases) must be aligned with the chosen
approach to market introduction (e.g., high profile vs.
“under the radar screen”). BIP provides the team with
checklists, guideline s and templates to address many of
these issues (e.g., formal “launch partnership” guidelines
for early customers) to ensure that no key items are
omitted as products enter the market and the business
ramps-up to unrestricte d sale.
Full Operations Commercialization
This is the last step in BIP and is simply the full imple-
mentation (and follow-up) of the multiple plans (staffing,
support services, outsourcing, custome r support, etc.)
that have been developed earlier. A multitude of tasks
must be completed to ensure that a fully commercialized
business with all key capabilities is in place. This step is
all about handling the details to ramp the busines s up to
operation at planned output rates to meet the targeted
customer/market requirements in a sustained fashion.
The objectives are to ensure that:
·Manufacturing/operations can make the product at the
cost, quality and delivery positions defined in the Inte-
grated Project Plan.
·The technology is proven and can be readily used by
both customers and manufacturing /operations.
·Customers are delighted by the new product/offering.
·The project meets the strategic and financial objec-
tives defined in the IPP.
Launch of a new
product/service is
almost always more
difficult than the
development team or
senior management
expect.
March—April 2002 55
Summing Up
The BIP phase-by-phas e work guidelines and the sup-
portin g task-specific guide s and procedures we have
described have proven effective in helping a number of
DuPont teams successfully navigate the difficult waters
of new business development. Their comprehensive /
holistic structure, combined with a disciplined approach
to planning, has been particularl y effective at leading
these teams to do “the right things at the right time.”
Many teams would have postpone d critical tasks (or
skipped them entirel y) had the BIP guidelin es not
pointed out the need to complete them—e.g., developing
a detailed Business Case early-o n or completing a
detailed custome r feedback assessment prior to unre-
stricted release of the product .
But the availability of a set of guidelines has, in the end,
not been the real determinant of competitive advantage
or business success at DuPont. That success has come
from individual businesses tailoring/customizing these
guidelines to meet their unique marketplace and business
dynamics and then implementing a structured framework
to put them to work (1). The BIP guidelines provide a
baseline to bring discipline, rigor and accountability to
the NBD process, but they are only guidelines. They are
meant to provide a comprehensive framework for NBD
teams to follow but in no way can they hope to cover
every eventuality and every detail. There is simply no
substitut e for sound judgment to go along with rapid
response based on new marketplace/developmen t infor-
mation. The goal of BIP is to give teams and business
leadership frameworks/tools to support the application
of judgment and the development of a true learning
approach to their NBD project. C¶
References
1. Robin A. Karol, Ross C. Loeser, Richard H. Tait. “Better New
B u s i n e s s D e v e l o p m e n t P e r f o r m a n c e a t D u P o n t – I ”
Research zTechnology Management, Jan.-Feb. 2002, pp. 24–30.
2. M. E. McGrath, M. T. Anthony and A. R. Shapiro. Produc t Devel-
opme nt: Success Thr oug h Product And Cycle -t ime Exc ellence,
Butterworth-Heinemann, 1992. PACE—Product and Cycle-time
Excellence—is a registered service mark of Pittiglio, Robin, Todd
and McGrath.
Many teams would
have postponed or
skipped critical tasks
had the BIP
guidelines not pointed
out the need to
complete them.
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