Need for development and validation of a new product development (NPD) assessment and improvement tool: A review of literature

Maintaining the good quality of current products or services cannot anymore guarantee companies’ survival in today’s super competitive global market in which the competition gets only tougher and more challenging day in, day out. In fact, firms’ prosperity is highly dependent on the successful and timely introduction of new products and services that go beyond customers’ expectations in many aspects including quality and features. Even though the literature has highlighted the importance of new product development (NPD), the failure rate of successful completion of NPD projects suggests further exploration on the subject. This study, reviews what is already unearthed by the literature, and aims to find what is lacking for which further steps should be taken. In particular, the study tries to classify factors and aspects that are needed to be considered when assessing an NPD project. It also reveals that universal approaches deemed to be helpful in the successful implementation of NPD projects which have not statistically shown improvement in the success rate of NPD projects.   Key words: New product development, assessment tool, performance management, project success rate, process improvement.