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The Important Role of the Process Manager
by Michelle Jones, Executive Vice President of Product Innovation, Stage-Gate International
There are two ways to win at product innovation. First, select the right projects
to invest in and probably more important, learn to eliminate poor projects sooner. The
second way to win is to execute projects the right way. Right Projects Right. To
be truly effective at the latter you need process, people and technology working together
like a well-oiled new products machine. Enter the all-important and often under- utilized
Product Innovation Process Manager.
When Dr. Cooper first introduced the best practice of a Process Manager role (to become the
driver/mechanic of this well-oiled machine), he often described the role as 'he who
shepherds the process along'. According to Wikipedia, a shepherd's job
is to supervise the migration of the 'flock/herd' and ensure they make it to
market as quickly as possible. We were impressed with how well this definition summed
up this critical role. Now, replace compliant herds with bold senior executives, inventors
and numerous cross functional experts and life suddenly gets much more interesting.
Five Important Roles Played by the Process Manager
Adapted from SG Navigator™
- NPD Process Expert
High quality idea-to-launch and portfolio management processes are the number one determinant
of new product success. Every organization that has a business strategy which
relies upon successful new products should have these robust processes in place.
The process manager becomes the internal NPD process expert. He/she stays on top
of process and performance benchmarks and new best practices that surface in the marketplace. They
garner expertise internally as well. They conduct post-launch-reviews for the purpose
of spotting new practices that work and discern patterns around what doesn’t. Their
expertise guides the day-to-day application of the process as well as its evolution.
- Educator
Successful product innovation is a cross-functional team sport involving a variety of
levels of people within an organization from senior executives to project leaders and
team members. A high quality process alone isn’t enough. The players
must understand the role they are to play and how to execute it in a high quality manner.
The process manager becomes the ‘team coach’. They deliver consistent,
high quality training to all of the roles involved, including providing performance feedback. Their
educator role should range from formal trainer at organized events to the casual coach
who successfully drops hints and tips with ideal timing.
- Scorekeeper
Top performing companies keep score. They know if they are winning or losing the
new products game and they adjust their actions and behaviors accordingly.
The process manager becomes the scorekeeper. He/she tracks and measures few but
meaningful metrics that are designed to convey the health of individual projects, processes
they flow through and the complete set (or portfolio) of projects. Given their
intimate understanding of performance they are often relied upon by executive innovation
champions to provide briefings and to explain variances.
- Facilitator
‘As goes the gate, so goes the process’ is a phrase made popular by Dr. Cooper. Quite
simply put, the better you perform at the Gates, the better you perform in the new products
game. This single practice so strongly correlates with new product success that
many top performing companies rely upon the process manager role to facilitate gate meetings.
The gatekeepers essentially succumb to a disciplined approach to decision making guided
consistently by the process manager. The facilitation role, when expertly implemented,
solicits quality contributions from the gatekeepers resulting in rich discussion which
ultimately leads to better product strategies and decisions.
- Interpreter
Accurate and timely communication is ‘table-stakes’ when it comes to accelerating
new product development. Almost every failed project has traces of poor communication.
The process manager becomes the bridge between gatekeepers and teams and often between
the various functions themselves until a truly common language of understanding is achieved
within the organization. The process manager ‘raises the bar’ through
their process requirements (e.g. requiring project plans, scorecards and records of decisions),
their actions (e.g. through questioning techniques when facilitating gates and by using
frameworks and tools to guide integrated team discussions) as well as the actions of
the senior executives within the company (e.g. scheduling executives to speak about NPD
at meetings, asking one gatekeeper to repeat all decisions back to the team during a
gate meeting).
As Dr. Cooper so often charges ‘No process ever implemented itself’. The
Process Manager is one of the most important roles for ensuring a successful implementation
of critical NPD processes. If you have a Process Manager role defined today, re-examine
their role to ensure they are fully utilized. If you don’t have a Process Manager
role defined today, consider your new product performance and whether such a role could
help your organization improve.
For more information on the important role of the Process Manager:
- SG Navigator™. The
Process Manager’s Ultimate Stage-Gate® Process Tool Kit.
- Attend Dr. Cooper’s latest seminar offering ‘Advanced Stage-Gate Systems’. Email valerie.sather@stage-gate.com for
dates, locations and brochure.
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