Bloom’s Taxonomy: LV & LVI
Definition
- LI. Remembering: Exhibit memory of previously learned material by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts and answers.
- LII. Understanding: Demonstrate understanding of facts and ideas by organizing, comparing, translating, interpreting, giving descriptions and stating main ideas.
- LIII. Applying: Solve problems in new situations by applying acquired knowledge, facts, techniques and rules in a different way.
- LIV. Analyzing: Examine and break information into parts by identifying motives or causes. Make inferences and find evidence to support generalizations.
- LV. Evaluating: Present and defend opinions by making judgments about information, validity of ideas, or quality of work based on a set of criteria.
- LVI. Creating: Compile information together in a different way by combining elements in a new pattern or proposing alternative solutions.
Topic Description
Developing new and innovative products for the market is the backbone of food manufacturing. Product Development Managers must identify and validate new opportunities and ensure that the product is feasible to manufacture and will have success in the marketplace. Product Development Managers also oversee project logistics and team management, ensuring that the corporate culture fosters innovation. Product Development Managers are responsible for coordinating the project management cycle and evaluating the lifecycle of products in the marketplace.
Learning Objectives
Creating and exploring ideas for new product development and knowing the motivations behind them are essential to the process. The Manager’s role is to figure out how to get new ideas, to characterize and define them to help develop the right one. Ultimately, the goal is to choose the right ideas that have the best chance of achieving business success.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Identify sources of new ideas that align with business priorities.
- a. In the marketplace
- b. Within the company
- c. Environment outside the marketplace
- P2. Get new ideas
- a. Review of current products and products lines
- b. Brainstorming
- c. Research
- d. Observation
- e. Mind mapping
- f. Experimentation
- g. Networking
- h. Food Industry Events, Conferences, and Trade Shows
- P3. Explore data generated by Artificial Intelligence tools and machine learning (such as ChatGPT) to generate ideas.
- P4. Characterize new food product ideas.
- a. Line extensions of an existing product
- b. Reposition of an existing product
- c. New form of existing products
- d. Reformulation of existing products
- e. New packaging of existing products
- f. Innovative, creative products
- g. Genetically Modified Products
- P5. Define the motive behind the new product development.
- a. Answer the company avenues for growth and profitability.
- b. Create new opportunities in the marketplace for new product development.
- c. Use technological advances to drive new product development.
- d. Changes in regulations and government influenced new product development.
- e. Satisfy customer needs and wants by incorporating their voice “Voice of Customer” (VOC) into a new product design.
- P6. Identify the regulatory compliance needs (preapproval requirement).
- P7. Align the new product design with the sustainability objective of the organization.
- P8. Identify the environmental footprint (carbon, water, and others) of the new product.
New products must serve a need, create value, improve costs, and/or provide meaningful uniqueness in the marketplace. The Manager’s role includes evaluating both the creative idea and the application of marketing analytics to optimize the business opportunity from the new product.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Define the product’s strategic goal within the company’s product portfolio.
- P2. Describe the new product concept needed within the marketplace.
- P3. Utilize marketing data and consumer behaviour analytics to identify opportunity.
- P4. Strategize how consumers may react to the new product through focus groups, innovation mapping tools, and other validation analytics.
- P5. Evaluate the direct need for the product, as well as replacement, substitution, and proximal need.
- P6. Characterize the opinions and behaviors of non-users and convertible users to evaluate potential for expanding market reach.
- P7. Generate critical customer requirements relative to the products.
- P8. Define the factors that are most valuable and critical to customer satisfaction.
New products need to be cost competitive and meet perceived values. Evaluating pricing strategy on new product concepts is performed by managers during new product development to evaluate the profitability of new products.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Evaluate comparable products in the market for pricing structure.
- P2. Evaluate typical contribution margins for products within similar sales categories.
- P3. Create a price strategy – cost pricing, value pricing, competitive pricing, skimming, or penetration pricing.
- P4. Estimate cost of goods manufactured (COGM) and cost of goods sold (COGS) on new products, including risk tolerance and input price forecasting.
- P5. Evaluate overhead, fixed, and variable costs for break-even analysis.
- P6. Perform sales success forecast models such as Bass Modelling, Fourt-Woodlock, or other artificial intelligence forecasting tools to estimate product sales volumes and repeat sales.
- P7. Investigate intellectual property, patents, and trademarks on the proposed product concept.
- P8. Identify funding incentives and tax credits for product development and research and development projects.
- P9. Evaluate financial risk on product launch.
Management has a role in evaluating the manufacturing capabilities for the new product concept. This may include evaluation of production capacity on existing equipment, investment in new equipment for expanded or novel processes, or development of co-manufacturing partnerships.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Validate the regulatory compliance.
- P2. Define the process flow, product processing parameters, process controls, packaging requirements, and other specifications for the new product.
- P3. Determine the potential process capability (Ppk) to meet Critical to Quality (CTQ).
- P4. Evaluate the raw materials supply chains to ensure availability, reliability, and cost effectiveness.
- P5. Evaluate established unit operations within the facility against the requirements for the new product.
- P6. Quantify the existing and forecast production capacity with the new product production.
- P7. Identify new equipment or capital expenditures required for manufacturing the new product.
- P8. Develop timeline or timeframe for launching the new product.
- P9. Evaluate co-manufacturing options as a means of launching a product with no physical infrastructure requirements.
When launching a new product, there are often two levels of customer – the consumer, and the retailer or other distributor. Products must meet the needs of the consumer, while also meeting the needs of the retail business, ensuring the product meets the retailer’s or distributor’s requirements.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Evaluate sales and distribution channels to best reach the target consumer.
- P2. Justify the use of a broker or distributor to enhance the sales channel success.
- P3. Forecast sales scheduling for promotions and seasonal fluctuations in demand.
- P4. Determine product specification and manufacturing requirements from the retailer or distributor (e.g., case and pallet configuration, planogram specification formats, shelf space tolerances, etc.).
- P5. Evaluate traceability and enterprise resource planning interoperability with the proposed distribution network.
- P6. Verify food safety management systems and other method of production requirements (for example Kosher, Organic) complies with distribution network requirements.
- P7. Develop a sales pitch and marketing package.
While success is always the goal of new products, most products have a lifespan in the market. Evaluation of lifecycle dynamics on any new product launch allows managers to know when an innovation is successful, versus when to pivot product development strategies.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Research market analytics for new product launches.
- P2. Determine where the product concept fits into the new product lifecycle – introduction, growth, maturity, or decline.
- P3. Determine the long-term viability of the concept and apply the appropriate market commercialization strategy.
- P4. Determine when to launch and when to withdraw a product from the marketplace for the best financial and reputational impact.
Managers provide leadership to product development teams and oversee activities. They provide fiscal oversight on budgets. They also oversee the human resources requirements for project management.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Calculate budgets for product development and research activities.
- P2. Determine human resource requirements for product development and research activities.
- P3. Design the organization chart to define roles and responsibilities within the organization.
- P4. Coordinate product development team members’ workloads through delegation of tasks.
- P5. Evaluate team performance.
- P6. Provide feedback for continuous improvement of the team, and continuous improvement of the product.
- P7. Establish methodology for product and project approvals such as Stage-Gate methodology.
Product development managers are project managers, overseeing and organizing the core elements of project management as part of the product development process.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Define the project concept and initiation.
- P2. Define the project plan, scope, budget, workplan, communications and risk management.
- P3. Define the project launch, tracking progress, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), quality, and completion.
- P4. Define the project objectives and deliverables, effort, and performance.
- P5. Define the end of the project, providing closure, reporting, and evaluation.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Leverage six sigma tools, such as Design of Experiment (DOE) and quality tools such as Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA) to design high quality products, that meet and exceed customer expectations.
- P2. Develop work instructions and check lists to monitor the manufacturing of the new product.
- P3. Develop simulations, prototyping, pilot testing, and validate that Critical to Quality are met before moving to large scale production.
- P4. Adjust the voice of process to align to voice of customer if any gaps in process capability and performance are detected.
- P5. Conduct sensory analysis and validate the projected consumer quality index with a degustation panel made of external (potential consumers) and internal panelists.
- P6. Define key performance indicators for the new products.
- P7. Develop the statistical process control to minimize process variability from batch to batch.
- P8. Sustain the product quality by continuously improving the process with proven techniques such as Plan Do Check Act (PDCA), Define Measure Analyze Improve Control (DMAIC), Kaizen, Standardized work, etc.
Product development managers set the cultural dynamic for their teams, helping foster positive attitudes among colleagues and when working in high pressure fast paced environments.
Detailed Competencies = Performance indicators include but are not limited to:
- P1. Encourage idea generation and risk taking to foster creativity.
- P2. Monitor for too much risk-taking and scope-creep by team members to remain realistic and on-task.
- P3. Provide constructive feedback in a way that encourages personal and team growth, corrective action, and minimizes shame and fear.
- P4. Manage workloads and delegate tasks fairly and equitably.
- P5. Arbitrate conflicts between team members.
- P6. Celebrate successes within the team.
Links to existing courses
Approved Accredited Training Programs (Academic, Industries, Private Trainer)
Recognition of worker skills = Certification
Evaluation technics / assessment
- Quizzes
- Written tests
- Multiple choice questions
- Self-assessment and reflection
