Faster to Market

Abstract

This article highlights that unless top management is truly interested in faster product development, lower level managers can do little that will have a sustained effect on time to market. Managers must saturate the company with the awareness that faster cycle time is a high priority, as well as why it is a high priority. The more people involved in decision-making, the more slowly decisions get made. For this reason, to hasten development, the development team must first be given what they need to function autonomously and then cut loose from all those in the organization who do not have a clear stake in the project’s outcome. New approaches will sometimes result in mistakes, and without a clear mandate from management that the process changes are worth the risk of error, no one will dare risk anything substantial. In addition to this, if management expects that its exhortations of faster time to market be taken seriously, it must recognize and reinforce all reasonable steps in that direction.