Lean Product Development Resource Center Whittier Consulting Group, Inc.


Whittier Consulting Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 859
Camas, WA. 98607
206-274-6179
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Do you need to get your ideas to market faster without spending more money or compromising quality?

Do you really understand where the waste is in product development? Do you know which parts of product development deliver more value? Wouldn't your new products get to market faster if you could eliminate the root causes of problems in late development that drag out product development schedules?

If you don't understand why your products take as long as they do to get to market, you could be leaving a lot of value on the table for your company and your customers, without even realizing it!

Lean product development helps you understand the drivers of value, the sources of waste and the best practices that help product development flow through the system. It eliminates the friction in product development so that you can get your ideas to market faster without compromising quality or increasing cost.


Start Here:
The Lean Product Development Resource Center

The Lean Product Development Resource Center is a free knowledge supermarket for lean product developers. It contains a wealth of information to give you ideas and insights into the sources of value and waste in product development.

The resources here will help you use lean product development to get your best ideas out into the market faster, by improving the flow of work in product development from strategy development through ideation, concept evaluation, detailed design and launch.

I have a wealth of templates and examples, Knowledge Briefs on many specific elements of lean product development, Visual Planning forms and more!

 

The Purpose of the Resource Center

If you got here by Googling lean product development, I know you had to wade through a lot of dross to find anything useful. There are a lot of bombastic claims, sensational stories and proscriptive advice.

There is precious little available to help you figure out how lean product development should work - for you and your colleagues. Your company is not Toyota, and especially in the spring of 2010, you probably don't want to be Toyota. You just want to get your own new products into the market and give them the best possible chance to succeed.

This web site is meant to provide the best available information about lean product development, including best practices for maximizing value in product development, implementation strategies, leading cultural change and building sustainable product development frameworks.

 

Why Is Everything Here Free?

Every lean product development champion at every company that I've visited has passed through the stage of exploring lean product development and experimenting with it in small ways before sharing these methods with others.

I still remember what that was like - how hungry I was for information that would help me build a case for change. There are more books and general articles available now than there were in 2002, when I started my lean journey.

Still, general books and articles can only go so far before you're ready for more specifics. The Knowledge Briefs are short articles that go into depth on one aspect of lean product development. The templates and examples help you use this information right away.

 

“Katherine's experience as a product development manager, insightful teacher and LPD expert is unique and rare in the Western hemisphere.”

Jorge Wong, VP of Operational Excellence, MedTech Group
West Haven, Connecticut, USA

“Katherine helped us build a solid foundation for lean product development.” See more videos here.

Do You Want the Basics First?

You have come to the right place. Here are three articles to get you off to a good start:

Three More Reasons Why You Should Sign Up

  • The knowledge on this site is actionable, pragmatic and grounded in over twenty years of product development experience, eight of it with lean product development.
  • My clients and friends have tested these ideas for you, and they are happy to share how our work has helped them get their ideas to market faster.
  • The Resource Center is constantly growing. I launched the site six months ago with twenty resources. Now there are over fifty. I write at least one Knowledge Brief each week, and often devise a template or example to go with it. Only the members of the Resource Center get access to the newest resources.

Finally, please join me for the next
Knowledge Brief of the Week

Each Friday, I publish a new Knowledge Brief to jump-start a conversation on a fascinating aspect of lean product development. Join us for these complimentary sessions on Friday morning. Not only will this help accelerate your learning process, it will also help you get to know other lean product development explorers who are part of this community.

Click here to sign up and join the community.

Best regards,

 

Katherine Radeka
Your Guide to Lean Product Development That Works For You


 

 

Ready for More?

Katherine Radeka helps you get your ideas to market faster. When you are ready to get serious about putting lean product development into practice to help you shorten time to market, increase R & D capacity or lower costs, she is ready to help.

She knows how to tailor lean product development to meet the needs of companies ranging from the Fortune 100 to family firms earning $10 - $50 million per year, in a wide variety of industries.

Her clients say that she is tough where it counts, but easy to work with and deeply knowledgeable.

Learn more about how she works at Whittier Consulting Group, Inc.

Learn More

Knowledge Brief of the Week

Join us each Friday for a complimentary discussion on a fascinating aspect of lean product development.

Next session:

September 3, 2010 - 8 am PDT / 11 am EDT
Go-and-See Visits: Get the Voice of the Customer at the Source

Learn More

Web Classes

These interactive 8 session classes provide opportunities to learn more about lean product development from the comfort of your own office.

Dial in live, watch the video or listen to the mp3 recording afterwards.

  • Fundamentals of Lean Product Development:
    Eliminate Late Design Changes

    First Class: Friday, September 17

  • How to Maximize Flow in Knowledge Creation Value Streams
    First Class: Thursday, September 16

  • How to Build Support for Lean Product Development
    First Class: Friday, November 12

Learn More

Katherine's Blog:

Field Notes
Read More