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Managing New Product Introduction:

Life Cycle Phases

Team Members:Team Members:

Jhon BenavidesJhon Benavides

Sabrina PatinoSabrina Patino

Russ WattRuss Watt

June 5, 2009June 5, 2009

Solar PlusSolar Plus

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President & CEO

VP Technology Evaluation

VPMarketing

VPManufacturing

VP Service

VP Engineering &

DesignVP Quality

Agent Network

Mission Statement: manufacture and distribute solar cells for commercial and personal use to improve efficiency and, at the same time, reduce cost of solar energy use.

Vision Statement: in the rapid moving solar industry, Solar Plus Inc. plans to leverage new cheaper and more efficient solar cell technology to increase our presence in the solar energy industry.

Corporate StructureCorporate Structure

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Product DescriptionProduct Description

Description?

Purpose of the product?

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Gap AnalysisGap Analysis

What exists today?• Existing Solar Cell Technologies use multi-crystaline silicon that

offers high wattage costs that hampers the diffusion of solar energy use.

Business Opportunity• Single crystal silicon enables the production of 27% more efficient

solar cells than the conventional technology available in the market today

• New cell technology reduces the cost per watt by 21% allowing to expand current available market.

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Market AnalysisMarket Analysis

Target Market• ….what market geo? …where the market is?

Solar Industry• ….required regulations?

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PLC - Phase Gate ModelPLC - Phase Gate Model

Idea Creation

Concept Evaluation

Planning & Specification

Design & Development

Evaluation

Production

Obsolescence

Phase Gate1

Phase Gate2

Phase Gate3

Phase Gate4

Phase Gate5

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Phase Gate ReviewPhase Gate Review• Members: VPs of,

– Mfg– Service– Distribution– Finance– Engineering– Purchasing

• Main deliverable: review phase progress and make decision to move forward to next phase if resources and objectives continue to align to corporate strategies.

• Outcome:– Pass– Fail– Request further information, go back to previous stage

• **Form attached to items approved by phase gate members

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• Primary Phase Owner: VP of Technology Evaluation• Solar Plus will outsource the development of solar technologies due to,

– We are a small company; it will free up substantial amount of internal resources

– Will leverage the use of new technology equipment and use of testing labs– Ensure technical expertise

• Ideas are submitted in 2 ways: – VP Technology Evaluation will attend trade shows, monitor university

studies, the National Renewable Energy Lab to identify new technologies– Any employee can submit an idea

• Ideas are entered into New Product Online System and a tracking number is assigned for traceability and accountability

• What is the New Product Online System? An online web interface tool that contains all product ideas. All members of the Technology Evaluation Committee receive an email to notify of idea submission.

Phase 0: Phase 0: Concept EvaluationConcept Evaluation

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Members: Tech Eval Committee comprised of VPs• Mfg• Service• Finance• Marketing

Frequency: monthly

Method: • each idea is presented by the person who submitted idea into

online tool. • 10min presentation to describe idea and committee to have a

chance to ask questions. • Based on team member input, list of projects is prioritized. • Projects can be approved, approved upon more info, fail to delay

at a later time, or fail (not aligned to corporate strategies).

New Product New Product Review CommitteeReview Committee

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• Outputs – Technology Readiness Level (TRL) Assessment– Preliminary Business Case– Preliminary Cost Model– Strategic Fit Summary– Risk Analysis/Identification– Preliminary Budge to complete phase– Core Team Assignments– Project Management Assignment– Metric on how long phase 0 takes to complete

• Main deliverable: a prioritized list of approved projects reviewed by Review Committee.

• Phase gate review committee will decide, at this point, for projects that are approved, whether it will be outsourced or produced in house. (Make/Buy decision)

• Outcome:– Pass– Fail– Reconvene at later date for more information– Fail, delay for future review

• **Form attached to items approved by phase gate members

Phase 0 - OutputsPhase 0 - Outputs

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• Primary Phase Owner: Project Manager

• Outputs:– Core Team is assigned– QFD used to create Product Definition (Mkt)– Risk Mitigation Plans and FMEA (Eng)– Budget for prototypes, testing, capital equipment (Finance w/ Eng

& Mfg)– Potential Supply Chain Identified (Purchasing)– Resource plan for functional areas (Core Team Member for Each

area)– Metric to complete phase 1 (Project Manager)– Schedule for Remaining Stages (Project Manager) – Preliminary Mfg Process Flow Diagrams and Cycle Time

Estimation (Mfg)

• Team is ready to move on to next phase if checklist with above required outputs in met and phase is approved by Phase Gate Committee.

Phase 1: Phase 1: Planning & SpecificationPlanning & Specification