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Virtual Product Development (VPD) The Stage Gate Product Development Process was

ID: 352050 • Letter: V

Question

Virtual Product Development (VPD)

The Stage Gate Product Development Process was developed during the 1980’s by Dr. Cooper. Many functional societies, highly innovative management consultants and individual company driven initiatives have improved that process. The need to better predict the success and failure of the product development cycle has accelerated the advancement and use of new development and manufacturing technologies.

Virtual Product Development was slow to evolve but it is now accelerating the pace at which we design, develop and manufacture new products. Write a short essay describing how you believe VPD will impact the future of the stage gate process.   Use examples of commercially available products to highlight your statements where possible.  

Explanation / Answer

Virtual Product Development (VPD) is the usage of 2D/3D environment in developing and prototyping products. VPD has four main components namely:

Stage gate process is one of the project management techniques in which the project is divided into different phases and they separated by decision points also known as ‘gates’. At each decision point, the continuation of the phase is decided by a manager, or a government body or any steering committee. The decision is based on the forecast or any resource available at the time of taking the decision.

VPD helps the engineers to evaluate the design and the feasibility of production before the prototype is developed. This helps the firm to reduce considerable cost in research and development. Virtual product in manufacturing firms compliments the stage gate process by helping the process engineers to plan and model new manufacturing technology in each phase. This plan is then implemented in the production line. In today’s digital era, VPD plays a vital role in stage gate process. The production engineers define production facility and equipment required to produce the product developed through VPD. Once these factors are defined, the next step is to analyze any change in the production process such as throughput, cycle time, product count, down time, etc. Since VPD is directly connected to the stage gate process, there is a considerable reduction in the firm’s overall cost.

VPD will have a direct and positive influence in stage gate process. The growing digital era infuses innovation and technology which are pertinent for VPD. The project management technique stage gate process requires innovative methods to complete the project smoothly and this is achieved via VPD.

Conclusion- Thus, VPD and stage gate process go hand-in-hand for increasing the efficiency of the organization. VPD plays an integral role in the stage gate process for providing innovative ways of project completion.

Virtual Product Development (VPD) is the usage of 2D/3D environment in developing and prototyping products. VPD has four main components namely:

Stage gate process is one of the project management techniques in which the project is divided into different phases and they separated by decision points also known as ‘gates’. At each decision point, the continuation of the phase is decided by a manager, or a government body or any steering committee. The decision is based on the forecast or any resource available at the time of taking the decision.

VPD helps the engineers to evaluate the design and the feasibility of production before the prototype is developed. This helps the firm to reduce considerable cost in research and development. Virtual product in manufacturing firms compliments the stage gate process by helping the process engineers to plan and model new manufacturing technology in each phase. This plan is then implemented in the production line. In today’s digital era, VPD plays a vital role in stage gate process. The production engineers define production facility and equipment required to produce the product developed through VPD. Once these factors are defined, the next step is to analyze any change in the production process such as throughput, cycle time, product count, down time, etc. Since VPD is directly connected to the stage gate process, there is a considerable reduction in the firm’s overall cost.

VPD will have a direct and positive influence in stage gate process. The growing digital era infuses innovation and technology which are pertinent for VPD. The project management technique stage gate process requires innovative methods to complete the project smoothly and this is achieved via VPD.

A classic example is Nissan introducing Infiniti automobile line. The innovative product was to be created in large scale. The commercialization required the help of VPD in different stages or phases of production. Thus the project was successfully integrated both Stage Gate Process and VPD to produce on a large scale within a short span of time. The innovation was used in designing the product.

Conclusion- Thus, VPD and stage gate process go hand-in-hand for increasing the efficiency of the production process. Stage Gate process is a project management tool which focuses on product innovation. VPD plays an integral role in the stage gate process for providing innovative ways for the product production.