Richard M. Franza

Investing in product development and production capabilities: The crucial linkage between time-to-market and ramp-up time

Shorter product life cycles, more rapid product obsolescence, and the increasing intensity of global competition have driven firms to strive for a more rapid introduction of new products to market. We introduce a normative model which yields insights concerning several key new product development (NPD) decisions. First, we examine investment strategies related to the timing and duration for investments in both design and process capacity over a given planning horizon. Second, the model offers guidance regarding the optimal time-to-market and ramp-up time necessary to meet peak demand for the new product. The model thus provides both theoretical and managerial insights into the crucial linkage between time-to-market and ramp-up time decisions. Finally, the implications of several specific NPD investment mechanisms on these NPD metrics are explored.

Barriers and Bridges for Successful Environmental Technology Transfer

Governmental policy, social factors, individual behavior, and technology play critical roles in improving the environment. The Department of Defense is not immune to these factors as its actions have, and will continue, to impact its operational environments.This research analyzes the technological aspect of improving environmental conditions. Of particular interest, are the barriers encountered when laboratories transfer environmental technology to an end-user, and the bridges used to mitigate these barriers. A case study methodology is utilized analyzing five environmental technology transfers within the U.S. Air Force.Several key barriers and bridges are specific to the transfer of environmental technologies. They include environmental regulatory agency oversight, difficulty in clearly defining the end-user, and the need to demonstrate technologies to potential end-users. However, many barriers and bridges encountered in the environmental technology transfer, are also encountered in the transfer of other technologies. Based on these findings, recommendations are provided for improving the environmental technology transfer process.

Improving Federal to Private Sector Technology Transfer

OVERVIEW: Technology transfer has become an increasingly important mission of federal laboratories in the United States, with results that benefit the government, private companies, and the U.S. economy. However, the performance of this mission over the past decade has been a mix of successes and failures. Research performed to improve this performance by identifying the characteristics of successful public to private sector technology transfers identified several critical success factors. These include a “transfer culture” in both the government laboratory and private organization, shared personnel of the federal and private organizations throughout the transfer project life cycle, the private organizations ability and intent to adequately fund the transfer project, and the private organizations completion of a business plan for the commercialization of the transferred technology prior to transfer initiation.

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS): A Case Study

This paper provides a demonstration of how design for six sigma (DFSS) is utilized to design and engineer a new product. At the center of DFSS approach, is a five-step process, DMADV which is an acronym - define, measure, analyze, design, and verify. We find that when the product is clearly identified in the Define stage, rest of the DMADV application proceeds in sequential and rational manner. However, if we find that if the product is not clearly defined in the define stage, the rest of DMADV application proceeds in recursive and reflective manner. Over time, as DMADV approach is applied, the rate of progress dramatically decreases and the speed of product development becomes painfully slow, which was at times a very frustrating experience for the developer. We provide additional insights for implementing the DFSS approach to develop new products, which is important for both practicing managers and academicians. Most importantly, we conclude that DFSS appears to work well in new product development projects for evolutionary or derivative products, but not so well for revolutionary or breakthrough product projects.

An implementation model for six sigma programs

Despite the pervasiveness of Six Sigma programs, there is a rising concern regarding implementation failures. One reason many of these implementations fail is because rigorous research is lacking on how to effectively guide implementation. Using a successful Six Sigma program in a network technology company as a case study, this research develops a six-step implementation model. The first step is to perform market-driven strategic analysis. The second is to establish a cross-functional team to drive the initiative. The third step is to identify overall improvement tools. The fourth is to perform process mapping and prioritize improvement opportunities. The fifth step is to develop a detailed plan for low-level improvement teams, and the final step is to implement, document, and revise as needed. We identify key managerial implications of our implementation experience and provide several directions for future research.