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Complete directory of all pages and resources on TCGen.com - product development consulting, tools, insights, and team information.

204 pages 13 sections Last updated: October 8, 2025

Core Services

Product Development

Schedule Prediction Accuracy - Anticipating Problems to Deliver On Time Schedule Prediction Accuracy. What’s New? Measuring schedules is not new, but using a simple graphical tool that allows you to quickly monitor performance to the initial plan and check key drivers tha
What is the Stage-Gate Process? Pros and Cons What is the Stage-Gate process for product development? The Stage-Gate Process divides product development into 5 stages where progress to the next stage is approved at the gate. Projects proceed to t
Product Development Life Cycle: The 4 Stages Explained What is Product Development Life Cycle Management? The product development life cycle describes the 4 stages of a product's life: 1. Introduction, 2. Growth, 3. Maturity, 4. and Decline. It is fundame
Digital Product Development Process: A Complete Breakdown Every business owner sets out to achieve one thing with their business: success. If there’s one thing that distinguishes successful businesses from unsuccessful ones it's innovation through New Produc
Product Development Strategy What is a Product Development Strategy? A product development strategy guides new product development or existing product changes to maximize sales. Product development strategy can be a subset of cor
New Product Development Process What is a New Product Development Process? A New Product Development Process refers to the entire range of activities where a company conceptualizes and realizes a new offering, often based on emergin
Medical Product Development: Creating a Successful Medical Device New medical device development is the way for medical device manufacturers to encourage innovation and provide unique solutions to customer needs. However, in the medical industry due to strict regula
Software Product Development: Definition, Importance, and Complete Process Software is a part of our everyday lives. It’s what runs our phones, computers, cars, and other products. But, despite the wider adoption and understanding of technology, as many as 19% of all softwar
9 Essential Product Development KPIs to Drive Business Growth Product development KPIs, or key performance indicators, are specific product management metrics that track and monitor business goals and give vital insights into the product development process. The
How to Develop a Successful Food Product in 2023 (Complete Process + Steps) With the wider adoption of technology throughout industries, companies seem to be making more innovative products than ever before. The food industry seemed like the last place for a formal product de
Cosmetic Product Development: 4 Simple Steps to Launch Your Successful Beauty Product The beauty industry is growing at a rapid pace. A report by Allied Market Research suggests that the global cosmetics market will grow to $463.5 billion by 2027 with a growth rate of 5.3%. With more a
A Brief Guide to Engineering Product Development New product development or NPD is the process by which businesses create new and innovative products for their customers with the hopes of gaining a competitive advantage. Businesses usually follow a
The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Product Development Creating electronic hardware is a difficult and often exhausting task. Most hardware startups fail due to unanticipated obstacles and product complexity. According to Forbes, as many as 97% of seed cr
Market Development VS Product Development: Definition & Key Differences Having an efficient long-term strategy is essential for businesses to expand and grow. Planning to expand and grow operations, however, is easier said than done which explains why 50% of small busines
Pharmaceutical Product Development All You Need to Know New product development (or NPD) in the pharmaceutical industry can be a complex and difficult process. Statistics show that the R&D budget allocated for developing new drugs is five times higher than
Fashion Product Development: A Complete Guide The fashion industry is as fierce as ever, every dollar spent, at every stage matters. Fashion product development helps to create innovative products catered to customer needs to gain a competitive a
The UX-Product Development Overlap: What Are Their Roles And How They Function Together There are many things to consider when developing a new product in our digital world. Costs, legacy mainframe modernization, and scalability are all concerns worth thinking about. Chief among them oug
Product Innovation Management (What You Need to Know) Technology has made it easier than ever to buy any product whenever and wherever you want. Likewise, the development of new tools and equipment means that businesses are more able to design and create
Lean Product Development: An Introductory Guide What is Lean Product Development (LPD)? Lean product development is a refinement in development methodologies based on cross-functional planning and collaboration. It eliminates non-value added activi
New Product Development (NPD) | 6 Stages, Company Examples | TCGen What is new product development (NPD)? New product development is the ideation, design, production, pricing, and launching of new products to your target customers to provide a solution that addresses
Product Development Metrics Teams are tasked with collecting product development metrics because they’re easy to gather rather than useful. Or they focus on validating whether they succeeded or failed instead of measuring the be
Product Development Metrics Tools These product development templates are based on real life examples, and have been tested in the field with clients on multiple engagements. We often are stuck when first getting started working on a
Product Development Process Tools These product development templates are based on real life examples, and have been tested in the field with clients on multiple engagements. We often are stuck when first getting started working on a
New Product Development | Creating Great Products | TCGen (new)
The Best New Product Development Process [Definitive Guide] (new)

Product Management

Product Portfolio Investment Map: Tying Product Strategy to Execution Product development projects are not all the same. Some represent slight modifications of an existing, time-tested product, a workhorse for your company. Other projects might represent startling, new-
Product Offering: How to Create an Effective Strategy A strong product offering is paramount for business success, combining products, services, and experiences to attract and retain customers. This article offers a brief overview, delving into key compo
Strategic Product Management: The Key to Business Success Strategic product management is crucial for developing a successful product. It involves defining the product's vision and strategy, setting goals, developing the roadmap, planning the launch, and ana
Consulting Deliverables: A Comprehensive Guide Product management consultants provide tangible and intangible outcomes to clients through consulting deliverables. Some examples of consulting deliverables include reports, presentations, assessments
Product Management in the Financial Services: Best Practices and Strategies Financial services product management is a challenging role that demands industry insight and regulatory compliance expertise. The product manager oversees new product development, manages product lif
New Product Consulting: Maximizing Your Product's Potential New product consulting is a service that helps inventors, startups, and small businesses bring their product ideas to life. The process involves market research, product innovation and design, and str
Platform Product Management: The Ultimate Guide Platform Product Management, a recent field, focuses on developing and managing platforms rather than individual products. Platforms are intricate systems comprising multiple products and services col
Product Management Methodology: A Comprehensive Guide Product management methodology is a set of structured frameworks, principles, and practices that product managers and development teams use to plan, execute, and deliver products to market. It is a cr
Product Manager vs Product Owner: Understanding the Key Differences As the world of product development has evolved, so have the roles of Product Manager and Product Owner. While the two roles are sometimes used interchangeably, they have distinct differences that are
How to Create a Product Roadmap: A Comprehensive Guide Creating a product roadmap is essential to any product manager's job. A product roadmap is a high-level visual summary that outlines a product's vision and direction over time. It helps teams to align
Product Management: What Does It Look Like at Google? Ever wondered how product management at an international tech giant like Google works? Have you ever dreamt of working as a Google PM (product manager)? Well, look no further; we have all the answers
The 15 Best Product Management Books in 2023 Product management can be difficult, but with the right information, it becomes a lot easier. Click here to learn more about the 15 product management books that are guaranteed to help you on your pro
Program Management vs. Product Management Program Management vs. Product Management The titles of program manager and product manager sound similar, but they serve quite different functions in an organization. The skills and job title descrip
Everything You Need to Know About Technology Product Management Do you know how a technical product manager is different from a product manager? This article will help you find out and learn more about tech product management . Introduction To Technology Product M
Product Management Leadership (Everything You Need to Know) Want to learn more about product management leadership? Click to find out all the information you need to know about the role of a product management leader and learn how to excel at it. Introduction
Product Mindset | Improve Customer Outcomes What is a Product Mindset? A product mindset is nothing more than a single-minded focus on creating meaningful value for customers before all else. The Scrum Guide 2020 defines a product as "a vehicle
Product Portfolio Map for Investment: Tying Product Strategy to Execution Product development projects are not all the same. Some represent slight modifications of an existing, time-tested product, a workhorse for your company. Other projects might express startling, new-to
Product Taxonomy: How it Helps IT Create Stakeholder Value What is a product taxonomy? A product taxonomy is a systematic categorization of products based on their attributes, characteristics, and relationships to other products. Usually, it is a tool for ret
Product Discovery Techniques: Importance and Application | TCGen In this guide, I'll draw on my years of work in product strategy to help you understand the product discovery process and the techniques teams use to develop valuable insights that lead to innovative
How to Use OKRs in Product Management Being a product manager nowadays may seem like a daunting task. Strict deadlines, exhaustive assignments, and being on top of customer trends can be draining. This is why successful product managers a
A Comprehensive Guide to Agile Product Management Product owners and managers are constantly looking for ways to improve the product development process . This constant search has brought to light many different techniques and tools to make the proce
What is the difference between product management and product development? Product management is about "what” and “why." Product development is about "how” and “when." Product management is about creating a product vision. It’s about understanding customers and other stakeho
A Complete Guide to Product Management Roadmaps Building effective products is no easy task. Everyone can dream of making the next big thing but product managers or product manager consultants who deliver are the ones who plan effectively. Effectiv
The 10 Best Product Management Podcasts in 2023 If there’s one thing product managers don’t have enough of, it's time. With 50% of product managers complaining about a lack of time , it can be difficult to focus on deadlines and sharpen your skills
Data Product Management: What it is and Why it’s Important With the rapid digitalization of today’s world, it is no surprise that businesses have had to revise their product management structures. As systems governing our everyday lives become automated, it i
The Product Management Process Explained What is the Product Management Process? The Product management process enables teams to develop the right solution for all stakeholders. It’s about using data and experience to establish why a certain
Product Management Performance Metrics How do companies keep track of their growth and the success of their products? The answer lies in the use of product management performance metrics. Read on to find out more. Introduction To establish
Product Owner vs Product Manager Yes, there is some overlap. But it helps to understand the distinction between product owners and product managers. Product Managers and Product Owners The titles of product owner and product manager
Product Management Frameworks: A Complete Guide Using product management frameworks is a way to dramatically improve product management and make your products a success. Read on to find the most powerful frameworks you can use to boost your busines
The Importance of Product Management Documentation for Product Development Product management is a complex process that begins with ideation and ends in the commercialization of a new product. Efficient and organized product management is key to a successful product. And the
Jump Starting Teams What’s New? New programs spin up every day, but most teams get off to a bad start. In a rush to get going, they forego a few simple steps that would help position their programs for success. What’s ne

Agile Consulting

Agile Books: Explore the 14 Must-Read Books Even if you aren't a member of the IT field, learning about Agile practices can be beneficial. Agile project management , in any industry, can teach individuals how to work better in teams and accompl
How Agilent's Global Software Team Doubled its Productivity In 2015, we undertook a lean / agile transformation journey at Agilent Technologies that resulted in doubling our productivity over three years. Along the way we learned about teaching a large global
Agile Documentation: Definition, Importance, Process, and Best Practices What is Agile Documentation? How is Documentation Prepared for Waterfall vs Agile Software Development? What to Include in Agile Documentation How to Produce Technical Agile Documentation Best Practic
Product Development Roadmap: Tips For Making Agile Roadmaps What is a product development roadmap? Product development roadmaps provide a visual explanation of a company’s strategy. They link the product vision with development. They help align Engineering, Ma
Agile Intelligence Consulting Agile Intelligence Scaled Agile Consulting for Leaders Are you looking to transform your organization's software development practices to deliver value faster and more effectively? We have helped some
Waterfall vs Agile - 9 Ways to Get the Best of Both | TCGen Waterfall vs Agile? "Agile and Waterfall methodologies are like oil and water. They don't mix." "Software development differs from hardware; Agile only works for software. " "Applying Agile is all or
5 Agile Estimation Techniques For Your Projects What is Agile Estimation? Advantages of Using Agile Estimation Techniques Five Agile Estimation Techniques to Help Make Better Estimates Six Steps for Estimating Agile Story Points Best Practices for
4 Agile Ceremonies Every Project Manager Should Know What are Agile Ceremonies? Key Roles in Agile Ceremonies Four Types of Agile Ceremonies Challenges of Implementing Agile Ceremonies Best Practices for Managing Agile Ceremonies About John Carter Conta
What is an Agile Work Environment What is an Agile Work Environment? Features of an Agile Workspace Types of Agile Work Environments Benefits of an Agile Work Environment Challenges of an Agile Work Environment About John Carter Conta
Product Development [Explainer] Definition and Examples | 2024 What is Product Development? Product Development is the capability that allows a company to realize product concepts and present them to customers – reliably and predictably. It includes the entire se
A Complete Guide to Agile Change Management What is Agile Change Management? Implementing an Agile Approach to Change Management Differences Between Agile and Traditional Change Management Benefits of Agile Change Management Challenges of Chang
Complete Guide to Agile Performance Management: Definition, Benefits, and How to Implement It What is Agile Performance Management? Differences Between Traditional and Agile Performance Management Why is Agile Performance Management Important? How to Implement Agile Performance Management Best
What is Agile Project Management? A Basic Guide What is Scrum/Agile project management? What is the difference between an Agile Project Manager and a Scrum Master? Why agile project management? What is agile methodology for project management? What
Agile Construction Management: Applying Agile Practices to the Construction Industry What is Agile Construction? Applying Agile Management to Construction Projects How to Use Agile for Construction Planning Benefits of Agile Construction Project Management Over Traditional Methods Con
What is an Agile Roles and Responsibilities Matrix? A Step-by-Step Guide What is a Matrix Organizational Structure and How Does it Work in Agile Project Management? What is a Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)? Benefits of a RACI Matrix in Agile Teams Creating a RACI M
Agile Transformation In 2015, we undertook a lean/agile transformation journey at Agilent Technologies that roughly doubled our productivity over three years. Along the way, we learned about... Teaching a large global tea
What is Agile Planning? Why is it Important for Your Business Agile project management enables businesses to respond to change, develop faster, and create customer-centric products focused on providing value. Around 95% of organizations have started to adopt agi
The Top 10 Agile Metrics You Need to be Aware of in 2024 Agile product management depends on an iterative and incremental framework with a focus on continuous improvement. It is the new norm for successful businesses. Its modern approach to the product deve
Agile Roles & Responsibilities: A Guide to Creating Agile Teams Agile software development has managed to revolutionize how businesses work. It gives companies of all shapes and sizes a framework in which they can create better products faster. By encouraging proj
Agile vs. Waterfall vs. Scrum: Similarities and Differences The product management landscape keeps evolving. Customer requirements are changing faster than ever, which requires product managers to stay on top of the latest trends. When it comes to exploring di
Agile VS Design Thinking: Similarities, Differences, and Using Them Together Business owners, product managers, and developers are always looking for the best strategies to create the ideal customer experience. Modern approaches to the development process enable businesses to
What is Refactoring in Agile? Benefits, Principles, and Techniques Have you ever looked at the back of an embroidered picture? While the front side the viewer sees is tidy and nice to look at, the flip side can be a jumble of tangled thread, messy knots, and wasteful
Agile Books: Explore the 14 Must-Read Books Even if you aren't a member of the IT field, learning about Agile practices can be beneficial. Agile project management , in any industry, can teach individuals how to work better in teams and accompl
Agile Workflow 101: What it is and How it Works Product management is difficult. This job becomes even more complicated when product managers are asked to keep up with customer trends while following a concrete plan. This is where Agile project man
Agile VS Scrum: Similarities and Differences Product management is a complex job as it incorporates software development, innovation, and growth. In the modern world of product management, there are many tools and techniques discovered day in an
Spotify Agile Model: What it is and How it Works Product development is a complicated process, what works for some might not work for others. Ever-changing business dynamics keep product managers on their toes to keep a lookout for the methodology t
Agile Burndown Graphs What’s New? Software development has migrated to some degree from the waterfall model, where there is a clear handoff from one stage to the next, to agile development, where iteration of builds is the
Capacity Models in Agile Development A good capacity model is your secret weapon for improving your ability to deliver value rapidly. This paper describes how capacity models work and steps to develop your own.
Five Habits That Can Accelerate Product Development Better development habits let your team deliver more value, faster. This paper explores five key habits that the team at Agilent’s Software division adopted to double their productivity and build competitive advantage in the contested market for laboratory informatics.
Learning Loops and Customer Satisfaction Many leaders view Net Promoter Score as the standard for measuring customer satisfaction, but by itself NPS is useless for deciding what ought to change to drive improvement. Read this paper to learn how to develop habits that drive improvement in customer outcomes.
Quality, Time, Scope - in the right order Have you made a clear decision about how to order Quality, Time, and Scope in your organization? If not, you may not be getting the results you want.

Consulting Services

Startup Founder Coaching Founders deal with so many questions of how to deal with tough situations… How do I... Focus on the big picture while keeping aware of risks and obstacles ? Create a culture of urgency and empowerment
Medical Device Product Development Consulting Services & Expertise | TCGen Increase product innovation and reduce time to market, while ensuring compliance Successful products are a company's lifeblood, and your medical device product development strategy is essential to suc
R&D Consulting Services & Expertise | TCGen TCGen’s R&D Consulting helps you develop better products, faster
Scaled Agile Consulting TCGen’s Product Management Consulting helps you develop better products, faster
Program Management Consulting What is Program Management Consulting ? Program Management Consulting helps organizations improve program management capabilities to deliver better results on time and within budget. Make IT & product
What is Project Management Consulting? Time and money are gained or lost every day at the project level. The decisions teams make at the micro level, at each hour of the day, can make the difference between meeting or breaking schedules an
Agile Consulting Services | Transformation, Scale & Speed Transform your organization with TCGen's agile consulting services. We help companies increase revenue and profit margins by building great products using agile processes, including SAFe implementation and DevOps.
Product Development Consulting Services Expert product development consulting to help you develop better products faster. Reduce time to market and increase innovation.
Product Leadership Coaching Expert product leadership coaching
Product Management Consulting | Newer Better Faster
Product Management Consulting Services Expert product management consulting to help you develop better products faster. Trusted by 3M, Amazon, Apple, and other leading brands.
Product Portfolio Management Consulting TCGen's Product Portfolio Management Consulting helps executives deliver on product development investments. Optimize your project and product management process to meet strategic objectives.
Product Strategy Consulting Expert product strategy consulting to help you develop winning product strategies. Align your roadmap with business goals and market opportunities.

Tools & Resources

Tools from Book

Attitude Influence Diagram Help identify and manage the key individuals who might impede your success by determining your project's supporters and detractors. This product development process tool is a subjective assessment tha...
Boundary Conditions Diagram Identifies the critical elements of a project and defines the conditions which must exist for a team to ship a product to market. Enables a team to plan and execute with minimal management intervention.
Change Impact Matrix A descriptive template that helps project teams prepare for the future and serves as a discussion guide for planning risk-mitigation activities.
Circle Dot Chart This simplified RACI helps you clarify who owns what decisions within a project.
Comparative Funding Model This tool helps shift the debate about funding new innovation projects from the political to the strategic. By looking at your funding levels over time, it helps to communicate to business unit manage...
Cross Functional Team Model The Cross Functional Team Model is a tool to identify the leadership, critical functions, and key individuals in a cross functional team. It is a snapshot that identifies, by name, the functional reso...
Deliverable Hit Rate Chart The Deliverable Hit Rate Chart monitors the progress of completed tasks against a target over time. It is a graph that indicates whether programs are staying on schedule by tracking the rate of task c...
Four-Fields Map The Four-Fields Map is a graphical technique most commonly applied to cross-functional processes. It emphasizes the elements of task, teamwork, and quality, with a focus on how you do the work rather...
Function Phase Matrix Helps a cross-functional project team to identify project objectives, roles & responsibilities, and key deliverables across the phases of a project. Identifies dependencies between team members and deliverables.
Innovate Products Faster Graphical Tools for Accelerating Product Development
Jump Starting Teams New programs spin up every day, but most teams get off to a bad start. In a rush to get going, they forego a few simple steps that would help position their programs for success. What’s new is a simpl...
Lite and Precise Schedule Estimating Matrices The Lite Schedule Estimating Matrix is a parametric tool that helps estimate the time to complete a given phase of a project. It creates a rough estimate using past experience combined with the critic...
Out-of-Bounds Check Realigns teams after a project has gone out of scope. Provides the team with a mechanism to conduct a root cause analysis, evaluate alternatives, and recommend a remedy to decision makers.
Product Derivative Chart A Product Derivative Chart is a diagram that depicts a set of related products over time. It shows related products that share underlying design components. It also shows the lifecycle of the platform...
Product Development Strategy Process Effective product development strategy connects long-term goals to the daily management of product concepts. A strategic product planning process links together the company's vision, with the strategi...
Product Portfolio Management Framework The Product Portfolio Management Framework enables an intentional allocation of R&D and Marketing investments that realizes a risk/reward mix as determined by overall corporate strategy. By diagrammin...
Product Radar Chart The Product Radar Chart offers a way to evaluate and communicate the factors that go into product and portfolio decisions by graphing the key dimensions of a product or concept against alternatives. I...
Product Roadmap The Product Roadmap is a visual explanation of a company's strategy. It helps align engineering, marketing, sales, support, and the C-suite toward common product development goals. Product Roadmaps in...
Product Vision & Selection Criteria Tool The Product Vision & Selection Criteria tool offers a way to evaluate the many factors that go into product and portfolio decisions by ensuring their alignment with product development strategy, and a...
Project Efficiency Chart Estimates the amount of time a project team has available to create useful work output, based on the number of projects per person. Provides a visual map of resource overload and exposes overburdened functions.
Project Escalation Map Clarifies the boundaries and channels of decision making throughout an organization. Empowers teams, and minimizes the time and attention required by senior managers at the project level.
Project Retrospective Methodology This overview of the TCGen methodology is utilized for Project Retrospectives and Process Reviews. These are conducted as a series of workshops that help a team constructively build a prioritized cons...
Requirements Management Matrix The Requirements Management Matrix applies best practices from Agile development. This light weight tool helps ensure that your key product requirements are well-defined and understood. Also included...
Risk Management Matrix The Risk Management Matrix is an elegant way to anticipate, manage, and mitigate product development risks. The matrix is a table that prompts the team to identify risks, to rate their potential impac...
Root Cause Diagram The Root Cause Diagram is a framework that helps you discover the ultimate cause of any outcome. Also known as the Fishbone or Ishikawa diagram, it is a graphical representation of an evidence-based m...
Schedule Prediction Accuracy Chart The Schedule Prediction Accuracy Chart provides an early warning when a project fails to hit the schedule. This tool allows project teams to anticipate problems before they occur, and to intervene bef...
Social Community Matrix Companies are using social solutions to help accelerate innovation and product development by creating a managed virtual community. In these communities users share ideas, build on them through collab...
Social Innovation Maturity Scorecard Social Innovation enables organizations to tap the wisdom of the crowd, both inside and outside of your company. The Social Innovation Maturity Scorecard helps determine your organization's maturity l...
Social Innovation Readiness Scorecard The Social Innovation Readiness Scorecard is a decision-making tool that provides executives and teams with an objective view of their organization's capability to implement social solutions for produ...
Staffing Ratio Matrix The Staffing Ratio Matrix identifies overloaded individual contributors and functional bottlenecks. It indicates the relative number of projects per function, enabling better resource allocation, fast...
Task Burn Down Chart Shows the team and management how much progress they are making on a project. An improvement on Gantt Charts in that it focuses on customers, and provides a more accurate estimate of the work performed on a project in-progress.
Team PERT Chart Breaks projects down into tasks, shows the dependencies of one work stream on another, and provides real estimates, created by the people who actually perform the tasks.
Technology Roadmap Technology Roadmaps help teams determine which technologies to incorporate into a given product. They help anticipate risks by enabling a degree of visibility into the future. They reveal potential ar...

Collections

Agile Tools Downloadable agile tools including boundary conditions diagrams, risk management matrices, and project escalation maps. Based on real-world examples and tested with clients on multiple engagements.
Process Improvement Tools Downloadable process improvement tools including charts, matrices, and frameworks for project management, team coordination, and quality improvement. Based on real-world examples and tested with clients.
Product Definition Studies have shown that over 70% of all delays are due to inadequate or changing Product Definition. It can make the difference between a failed launch and a blockbuster.
Product Definition Tools Downloadable product definition tools including charts, matrices, and frameworks for product strategy, roadmapping, and requirements management. Based on real-world examples and tested with clients.
Product Development Metrics Teams are tasked with collecting product development metrics because they’re easy to gather rather than useful. Or they focus on validating whether they succeeded or failed instead of measuring the be
Product Strategy and Portfolio Tools Downloadable product strategy and portfolio tools including comparative funding models, product roadmaps, and technology roadmaps. Based on real-world examples and tested with clients on multiple engagements.
High Performance Teams Tools Tools specifically designed for high-performance team management and coordination
Media TCGen publications and media coverage

Blog & Insights

Blog Posts

Product Portfolio Investment Map: Tying Product Strategy to Execution Product development projects are not all the same. Some represent slight modifications of an existing, time-tested product, a workhorse for your company. Other projects might represent startling, new- Apr 2024
Escalation Process In 4 Steps With Escalation Template An escalation process clarifies the boundaries and channels of decision-making throughout an organization to solve a problem quickly and clearly. Designed around the concept of a core project team wit Oct 2023
Innovation Best Practices: Creating Better Innovations Faster Our clients often ask us how they can become more innovative. Some seem to believe that innovation just appears as if by magic. Many believe that there is no innovation process, even though there have May 2023
The Sprint Planning Scorecard Increases Project Predictability Agile is not just for software anymore. Many companies that develop tangible products – be they hardware or mixed software/hardware systems – are applying techniques borrowed from Agile. By combining May 2023
Innovation Strategic Planning Process: A Long Term Horizon for Product Planning Figure: Product Development Strategy Diagram Before projects become products, they are ideas in the minds of your teams. They begin their life as product concepts , germs of your company's future grow May 2023
Sprints and Demos: Twin Beacons of Accountability The time has come to de-mystify Agile. Our research and client work show that even those software firms that boast about being Agile do not necessarily follow every point in the Agile Manifesto. They May 2023
Project Efficiency: Getting More Done by Doing Less Project Efficiency - What’s New? Project overloading is anything but new. However it seems to be getting worse rapidly with the increasing speed of development, especially with SAAS (Software as a Ser May 2023
Community Product Requirements Chart: Using Communities to Understand Customer Usage Our clients are finding that the savings garnered from outsourcing manufacturing have declined. Increasingly, they are looking for exciting new products in new categories as the most reliable way to g May 2023
Execution: Quickly Estimating Accurate Project Schedules We have found that many organizations are struggling with predictability. One reason is that they don’t use common sense when estimating a project’s timeline. The Lite Schedule Estimating Matrix is a May 2023
Don’t Let Functional Silos Kill Your Agile Implementation The fastest way to destroy an agile project management implementation is to let functional silos get in the way. Unfortunately, it happens all the time. And it happens because many companies underesti May 2023
Why Retrospectives are a Waste of Time Retrospectives, also known as post mortems or project histories are commonly performed after the conclusion of a release. Typically, they involve a subset of the team with a project manager or process May 2023
Predictive Metrics Tree: Measuring the Behaviors That Drive Results Many companies are measuring the wrong things and ending up with the wrong results. Many times we see organizations get stuck on measuring what’s easy instead of what’s useful. Or they focus on metric May 2023
Getting a Project Back on the Rails Out of Bounds Review - What’s new? This is a process that is lean, fast, and effective in getting teams focused and back on track when material changes are made in a project. Setting “boundary conditi May 2023
Your Company Is Not Investing Enough in Engineering Productivity, And You Know It! Can you imagine an organization that had no interest in improving its factory output, upgrading its IT, or in optimizing its financial investments? Can you imagine a company that had used the same pro May 2023
Dot Voting – Evaluating Ideas, Prioritizing Action Dot Voting - What’s New? Within the course of managing a project to completion or evaluating the delivery of a program, brainstorming sessions can be useful to creatively evaluate and solve problems. May 2023
Stop Measuring Results: Start Measuring Predictive Indicators First 3 steps to implementing Predictive Metrics and achieving better results. How you noticed how most companies have huge dash-boards and spreadsheets containing dozens of metrics? But to what end? Does a Mar 2023
New Product Development Process At Apple (4 Steps) | TCGen ANPP (Apple New Product Process) Goal to Execute and Scale Apple's New Product Development Process Case Study Many companies face internal problems because they can't see the bigger picture. I came fa Apr 2021
Is Your Recruiting Process Damaging Your Brand? In this time of slow job growth, many excellent people, either unemployed or unhappily employed, are checking job boards and sending out inquiries and resumes. It is a great time for forward-looking c May 2020
How to “Control” an Agile Development Project So-called "Waterfall" or "Phase-Gate" product development methodologies often give management the illusion that they control the project while meddling and slowing it down. Each formal gate meeting or Apr 2020
Tips For Leading a Globally Distributed Group Many of today’s leaders try to coordinate business resources that are scattered over a large geographic area – perhaps even the whole world. It is common for such people to have direct reports on two Apr 2020
Circle Dot Chart: Clarifying Responsibilities Sorting out who does what on a project with a cross functional team is pretty basic. Clear tasks with clear responsibilities and deadlines is Project Management 101. But how many projects have you man Apr 2020
Visualizing the Unexpected Project post mortems can be an excellent tool for learning from mistakes and implementing process and decision-making improvements. However, many times, these meetings, if held at all, get off to a ba Apr 2020
Staffing Ratio Matrix: Optimizing Workloads Across Functions One of the most difficult challenges our clients face is determining the optimum balance of skills on a cross functional team . Getting the right balance of functions on the team – such that it is sup Apr 2020
Forecasting the Future What is the Improvement Forecaster? The Half-Life Diagram consists of an equation, and a graphical plot of expected improvement over time. The Half-Life Diagram uses estimated degrees of technical and Mar 2020
Need to improve team performance? Find and Correct the "Pinch-Points" Teams that develop new products are challenged to produce a high-quality, valuable solutions in as short a time as possible and within a tight budget. We all know that slippage in time-to-market; decr Mar 2020
Agile Myth #1: It Can’t Work for Hardware! It's management, not Ceremonies. That is the problem and solution We repeatedly hear statements from hardware teams trying to increase speed and predictability in their product development projects bu Nov 2019
The Product Radar Chart: Making Smart Product Tradeoffs In product development limited resources (time, money, or staff) force tradeoffs both at the level of the product portfolio and within individual products. Lacking a methodology for evaluating potenti Aug 2019
Comparative Funding Models: Funding Innovation Programs Most businesses today are looking to take advantage of innovation to drive revenue growth, but they lack 1) an overall strategic planning process for innovation and 2) methods to fund the R&D expense Aug 2019
Derivative Chart: Maximizing the Value of Your Platform The Platform/Derivative distinction is a key to product development strategy . According to David Robertson, a platform is “the collection of assets that are shared by a set of products.” These assets Aug 2019
How do you quantify the probability of success of a new product? If I had the definitive answer to this, I would be a millionaire! For the sake of simplicity (and for most real situations) we will assume that this question is asked by a manager or business owners a Jul 2019
How to Manage Risk Proactively Innovation means doing something that has never been done before. And that’s fraught with risk. In new product development, innovation may entail technical risk, market risk, risk relating to outside Feb 2019
Product Vision - Between Strategy & Roadmaps Have you ever wondered how to create a great product vision? Let’s show you. Start with some examples to get your reference frame properly set. Then look at some of the formats that might work best fo Nov 2018
Empowering Teams Through Metrics at Apple Apple is an iconic brand noted for disruptive innovation. In the heat of the digital revolution that it helped spark, Apple’s products became a portfolio of increasingly complex and diverse offerings. Jul 2018
Seven Product Development Process Lessons from BOSE’s Blockbusters I had the good fortune to work with Dr. Amar Bose and with the great company he founded. I helped to bring into the world two blockbuster products – BOSE’s Noise-Cancelling Headphones and the BOSE® Wa Jul 2018
Change Impact Matrix: Understanding the Consequences of Changes With shrinking technology lifecycles, as well as economic and technology developments happening every day, people are confronting the reality of continuous organizational change management. Managers a Jul 2013
Technology Roadmaps: Anticipating Future Technology Trends We’ve been surprised lately how few companies are getting the most out of their Technology Roadmaps. We also find that clients often confuse a Technology Roadmap with an Agile Product Development Road Jun 2013
Social Community Matrix: Getting the Most Out of Social Communities We see many of our clients using virtual communities to communicate and collaborate with customers, suppliers, or other partners. They find that social solutions can accelerate innovation and product Jun 2013
Anticipating Risks: The Risk Mind Map Product development is a risky activity. Managers often ask us how they can learn to better anticipate risks and how they can prepare to face these challenges as they occur. Mindmapping is a fresh app May 2013
Optimizing Processes: Four Fields Mapping What Is the Tool? Four-Fields Process Map Originated in Japan, the Four-Fields Map is a graphical technique most commonly applied to cross-functional processes . Unlike more traditional project planni Oct 2011
Managing Project Cadence: Deliverable Hit Rate Chart What Is the Tool? Deliverable Hit Rate Chart The Deliverable Hit Rate tool monitors the progress of completed tasks against a target over time. Best applied to complex programs with a large number of Oct 2011
Are Product Roadmaps Now a Waste of Time? H. Stanley Judd: “ A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there. " exc-5ab2c733ae1f695ccdf71369 What Is a Product Roadmap? Product roadmaps ofte Sep 2011
Software Product Management – Staffing Ratios Product Management is often an understaffed, overworked function. Yet, the impact that this organization has on development is huge. The best analogy is a lever. One Product Manager can effectively mo May 2010
Why Benchmarking Often Fails to Deliver Results Like many things in life, benchmarking often fails just when you need it most. In order to motivate organizations to improve, external yardsticks are often used to motivate action. In many cases, this Feb 2010
Make Meetings the Best Use of Your Time (Instead of a Waste of Your Time)!

Insights

6 most Innovative U.S. States in 2024: What Matters? More than Money: The Top State Innovation Leaders Use Policy Too When we think of innovation, we rarely think about it in the context of the 50 United States, but we might think about companies or ind
NPI - New Product Introduction | 2023 Definitive Guide | TCGen What is New Product introduction (NPI)? New Product introduction (NPI) is the step-by-step process that takes an idea at the concept stage, moves it through a working prototype stage, and into mass pr
Guide to Design Thinking: Design Thinking is About Product Development What is Design Thinking and How Does it Relate to Product Development? Design Thinking is an innovation process inspired by empathy for the user followed by ideation and implementation. While Design T
Time To Market (TTM): What it is & Why It's Important Time to market (TTM) describes how long it takes to develop a product from conception until it is released to the market and available for sale. Learn 5 proven ways to reduce time to market.

Company

About TCGen

Brion Roberto - TCGen Principal With more than 20 years of experience, Brion is a leader focused on driving innovation and tackling challenging customer problems.
David Vermette - Research & Analysis David Vermette has over 25 years of experience as an analyst, researcher, and writer specializing in product development and R&D management.
Jeanne Bradford - TCGen Principal As Principal of TCGen, Jeanne has been a trusted advisor to leading technology companies in product development, program management, and operations.
John Carter - TCGen Principal & Founder John Carter has been a widely respected adviser to technology firms over his career. Author of Innovate Products Faster and founder of TCGen Inc.
John Sadler - TCGen Principal John Sadler focuses on helping executive leaders create the conditions for their teams to deliver value more rapidly to market, especially when software is involved.
Krista Brown - Portfolio Management Krista Brown has a proven record of identifying and removing obstacles with her transparent leadership style and relationship-building background.
Marcus Clarke - Marketing & Research Marcus has worked in B2B and B2C marketing and research for over a decade.
Nolan Myers - TCGen Principal Nolan has 20 years of experience leading product development at innovative software companies that have modernized operations in large enterprises and governments.

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Additional Pages

Innovate Products Faster The prevailing view of innovation is wrong. The traditional view of product development is that there is a fundamental dichotomy between innovation and time to market . You can have one or the other,
Background Pattern Test Plain content page to visualize the global background pattern.
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