Abstract

The literature emphasizes the great importance of new product development (NPD) for the continuing success of a business. Its contribution to the growth of companies, its influence on profit performance, and its role as a key factor in business planning have been well documented. The competitive environment in which new products are marketed is undergoing fundamental changes. These changes are the key factors driving the NPD activities in service and manufacturing industries. New product development has been an important managerial issue for many firms as the number of new products marketed has grown and product life cycles have shortened. This thesis explores and analyzes the NPD process in detail. The focus is to develop a framework that identifies the critical success factors (CSF) of each phase in the NPD process, and proposes metrics to measure them. Furthermore, the tools and techniques that can be used to evaluate each metric forms an integral part of this framework. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)