Press Releases

Product Development Institute Continues to Grow!

ANCASTER, ONTARIO, CANADA -July 5, 2002-Product Development Institute announced today that its corporate office has moved to 34 Stone Church Rd., Suite 111, Ancaster, Ontario, L9K 1P4, Canada. The new larger office will better accommodate PDI's growing staff and clientele. It has held operations in Ancaster since 1996.

"We are extremely excited by our new office, as it will allow us to continue to grow our business vigorously, and provide improved flexibility for our daily operations", Scott J. Edgett, Chief Executive Officer, Product Development Institute. PMnetwork Features Dr. Robert G. Cooper and Dr. Scott J. Edgett With a Cover Article on Portfolio Management

ANCASTER, ONTARIO, CANADA-April, 2002-Dr. Robert G. Cooper and Dr. Scott J. Edgett, internationally recognized experts in the field of new product development, and co-authors of Portfolio Management for New Products, Second Edition, discuss the importance and surrounding issues of Portfolio Management, in "Priority Decisions", published in the April issue of the Professional Management Institute's magazine PMnetwork.

Having conducted numerous portfolio management consulting projects, Cooper and Edgett address the increasing importance of selecting and supporting winning new product development projects. They explain that Portfolio Management can drastically improve organizational decision making, aligning resource allocation with overall business strategy, and more effective execution and management of individual projects.

The article examines the importance of using a proper new product development process, such as Stage-Gate^® in conjunction with a Portfolio Management process. The Stage-Gate^® process helps to weed-out weaker projects, while Portfolio Management helps to better allocate resources to the more desirable projects that continue through the new product development process. The result: more efficient use of company resources and more successful projects.

The article also looks at the consequences of using predominantly financially based project prioritization criteria. Most organizations rely on NPV or ECV analysis to rank projects, but data integrity can be problematic, especially in the early stages of new product development. Issues with these types of analysis are examined, and alternative approaches to project valuation are discussed.

About Product Development Institute
Product Development Institute (www.prod-dev.com) is dedicated to helping companies improve their approach to new product development and portfolio management. Led by internationally recognized experts in the field of product development, Drs. Robert Cooper and Scott Edgett, PDI provides executives and managers with a wide range of products and services aimed at improving companies' new product success rates. Cooper and Edgett have worked with more than 800 businesses, including most Fortune 500 companies, and have compiled the largest knowledge base on product development best-practices in the world.

For further information please contact:

Scott J. Edgett
Product Development Institute
Tel: +1 905 304 8798
edgett@prod-dev.com