Chapter 4
Lean in Product Development
There is a vast productivity reserve in Product Development programs, averaging 88% of charged time. This is our opportunity to make significant progress using Lean Thinking. - as explained in this Chapter
4.1 Review of Progress
Lean Product Development (LPD) is a fast-growing field, driven by the competitive global need to develop products and systems better, faster, and cheaper. It is also driven by the dynamic creativity of engineering, the profession of unrelenting problem solvers.
Toyota is widely recognized as the leader in LPD. Its practices have been described by a number of oft-cited articles and books [Kennedy, 2003; Liker, 2004; Liker et al., 1996; Sobek, 1997a, 1997b; Sobek et al., 1998, 1999; Ward et al., 1995a, 1995b], and the comprehensive book by Morgan and Liker [2006], and are not repeated here, although some enablers listed in Chapter 7 have been inspired by these.
Clark and Fujimoto [1991] published a comprehensive approach to PD, introducing strategic metrics of automotive enterprise performance—lead time, quality, and productivity. They described PD project integration, strategy, planning, management complexity, integration of problem-solving cycles, and the Toyota and Honda project management styles, which they describe as “heavyweight.”
The need for Lean Thinking in defense PD programs was manifested by several Lean Advancement Initiative (LAI) studies of waste.1 They are discussed at length in Murman et al., [2002] ...
