Software Tools for Product Development

What role do software tools play in support of product development improvement? To answer this question, it is important we first understand the deliverable of the product development process. The deliverable, or expressed another way, the output of the process, is a set of drawings (i.e. drawing package) that define the product that is designed.

This drawing package merely conveys INFORMATION – in the form of graphics that provide the pictorial representation of the product, dimensions that define its size, and notes that define the material and other requirements.

The data that defines the final product configuration, and represented on the drawing package, has evolved throughout the product development process. In other words, the “thing” that is going through the product development process is information – information that defines the product being developed!

Companies that are truly successful with their product development processes understand this very point: Using data efficiently, by providing it to the right people at the right time throughout the development process, is the key to success. This includes leveraging existing company knowledge (and eliminating the need to reinvent the wheel).

Given this explanation we are now ready to answer our original question: What role does software tools play in support of product development improvement?

The answer is: Software tools play a critical role in supporting product development improvement by providing the right information, to the right people, at the right time. But here’s the key – To be truly successful, the software tool needs to possess functionality that is aligned with the process it is supporting.

Many companies have made the classic mistake of spending huge sums of money purchasing a new tool hoping it would solve their problems. Quite often, however, this results in failure. In many instances, the underlying reason for this is because the company fails to adjust or even examine the process that the tool is supporting. The ultimate results of this are high degrees of inefficiency in the process, frustration and even abandonment of the tool on the part of the users, and bewilderment by management as to why their well-intentioned purchase has not solved the problem.

A software tool can be a key enabler in a successful process, but can also be catastrophic failure if its role is not well understood in the process it is supporting.