Customer FeedbackThe following answers were given by Hugo Vifian, General Manager, Anritsu Microwave Measurements Division, a current user of PD-Trak, in response to questions from a potential customer. 1. How long have you been using the PD-Trak software? "Anritsu MMD (Microwave Measurements Division) has been using the predecessor to the current PD-Trak software since 1998 and we are currently evaluating the advantages of upgrading to the current release of the software." 2. Did you use a Stage Gate process prior to using PD-Trak? "Yes, Anritsu MMD had such a documented NPD process prior to the PD-Trak tools. It was a classic stage-gate process but it was not applied by all project teams and certainly not consistently. The PD-Trak tools were actually implemented as an enhancement of the existing stage-gate process." 3. If you used the Stage Gate process before using PD-Trak, what impact has PD-Trak had on the process? "The PD-Trak tools have been very powerful in guiding the project teams through the product development process. The teams could easily to follow the process and organize their project information as well as providing critically important management summary information. Whereas before they always got stuck and had to develop or search for templates that were not too useful. Usually they designed their own tools and eventually every team followed their own process because they had some sort of documentation for it. "Now everybody uses the same forms and speaks the same language and the communication with the other teams and functions has dramatically improved. For example, the Master Project Schedule is reviewed weekly in our management staff meeting and it has become a vital tool for tracking and communicating the project status. It allows the management team to provide the necessary support and guidance to the projects and make necessary resource tradeoffs when needed." 4. What did you use to manage you product development process before you started using PD-Trak? An inconsistent and ineffective collection of forms, as described above. 5. What have the benefits been of using PD-Trak over "old practices" before PD-Trak? "The product definition and the project management skills have greatly improved because the PD-Trak process provides more guidance such that even less experienced project leaders can succeed. The project goals are more clearly defined and the investment justification is much more meaningful and consistent. We have a structured method for starting new projects and tracking them through all stages. Several of the old style projects have been canceled due to the more rigorous evaluation, where previously they may have continued with lots of resources wasted. "Passing ISO audits is another significant aspect of PD-Trak. The auditors just love the system because they can find most of what they need from a computer terminal, by browsing the project files." 6. What percentage of PD-Trak's process do you actually use? "I assume that you are referring to the contents of the task plans. Anritsu MMD adapted the task plans to create their own set of checkpoint checklists. At Anritsu, the process involved the senior managers to ensure that the task plans were effective for the particular business or organization. And also to ensure buy-in and a thorough understanding of the task plan contents." 7. What were the critical success factors in implementing the PD-Trak software? "1) Optimizing the project file template (adjusting the task plans, defining the standard set of document templates). 2) Training on the NPD process and the PD-Trak software tools. 3) Setting up an administrator to maintain the master project schedule. 4) Integrating the master project schedule review into the weekly management staff meeting." 8. How well did the users adapt to the approach used by PD-Trak (e.g., do they feel themselves restricted by a strict approach or do they feel guided in the right way)? "The initial reaction to the implementation of the PD-Trak tools was generally favorable, but in a large organization there are always some people that will resist change. However, the tools were adopted quickly and virtually all project team members today like the system and use it on a daily basis. The tools were generally not seen as restrictive by the project teams but rather providing guidance and help in (self) assessing the progress the project is making. Because the tools are based around Microsoft Office, all team members were able to add worksheets, Word document, PowerPoint files to the project files as needed. From a management point of view the process added a lot of consistency and accountability among the teams." 9. Did you have a need to customize the PD-Trak software and, if so, to what extent? "Much of the functionality of today's PD-Trak software was developed for Anritsu's MMD division but it was mapped into two other divisions with different product portfolios without any customizing, if I remember correctly? I would expect that in many cases new users of PD-Trak would be able to use it without any customization, given that the software can be configured to any serialized stage-gate process. You may want to duplicate existing management reports for consistency." 10. How long did it take to implement PD-Trak? "Again, much of the functionality of today's PD-Trak software was developed for Anritsu MMD and evolved over an extended period of time. Basically improvements were added that are now integrated into PD-Trak." 11. Has a cost / benefit analysis been done on the use of PD-Trak compared to the old method? "No. The overhaul of the NPD process and implementation of the PD-Trak tools were part of the management team's strategic plan to improve the organization's performance in developing successful new products. We have not attempted to measure the financial benefits directly, but the general view of the management team is that they have been very significant. We have certainly significantly reduced the time to market with our new product developments and we are working on fewer and better projects. But we also benefited from many indirect aspects of the PD-Trak system for example our director of QA is convinced that it was instrumental in earning us the ISO 9001 certification for the company." 12. Do you have any additional information that would be useful for us to take into consideration in our decision process on whether or not to use PD-Trak? "In summary, Anritsu MMD has found these tools to be extremely valuable. The value is appreciated by our employees, management team, customers and ISO auditors." For further information, please contact us at: info@pd-trak.com or at 925-484-8436. Portfolio Management Software
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