OVERVIEW

The tension between planning and execution is a natural, healthy function of most product development activities. Likewise, thorough requirements definition and the detailed project plans that help accomplish those goals often conflict with the need for exponential leaps in design or process required to accomplish broader organizational financial and strategic goals. Mr. Mike Dumas of Newport News Shipbuilding explained an important component of the need for planning and thorough engineering when he said, "Definition (of your product design) by trial and error is expensive and slow." His point is well taken, and yet we know there are times when the unplanned event with no definition (Post-it Notes, microwave ovens, etc.) leads to unplanned breakthroughs. That leads us to dive a little further into management, because without good management, there is no execution of the innovation. It is wasted, or never cultivated at all. In this chapter we discuss an advanced planning technique used successfully to accelerate innovation. It has been used to propel both technology and the people behind it to new levels at a greater speed, reaching market sooner with a better product.

The Strategic Balancing...