Basics of Product Development Management (PDM)

Ever find yourself needing to educate an audience on the basics of PDM? Wish you could concisely explain the basics of strategic PDM versus project PDM? Could you explain how PDM and Project Management differ? Then this article is for you.


Attempting to explain Product Development Management (PDM) to an audience unfamiliar with the discipline can, at least initially, seem to be too difficult a challenge. After all, New Product Development is a broad topic ranging all the way from the how to discover ideas to how to manage the ideas (or product portfolios) once they have entered into the decline stage. It would be quite easy to digress into discussions regarding research methodologies, product lifecycle, pipeline management, technology development, or even Six Sigma or TQM. 

However, by following a few basic presentation principles, focusing on the theoretical approach, and following the sample template provided in this article, you'll find that it's not as daunting a task as you may have initially thought.

To make it as easy a process as possible, I have provided a real life example outline. I originally created this outline while volunteering on a marketing committee for a non-profit organization. Afterward I found myself using it every time I ran across an organization or committee that was grasping for a proven approach around which they could organize their efforts. I have found this particular version to be the most effective when talking to an audience that has very little or no understanding of PDM.

Organizing your Presentation
Organize your presentation in to two large sections.

In the first section provide a very high level view of the theory around Product Development Management. In the example provided, the first section explains that PDM is a cyclical, 4-stage discipline that can be applied to strategic planning activities as well as to single project or product development activities.