Requirements for Product Development Self-Assessment Tools

The successful execution of complex PD projects still poses major challenges for companies. One approach companies can use to improve their performance is self-assessment tools to optimize their organization and processes. This paper investigates the requirements regarding self-assessment tools for PD organizations. It summarizes the current literature on PD-related self-assessment tools and derives tool requirements from an industry focus group (US aerospace and defense industry) as well as from interviews at a major American defense contractor. The resulting requirements are: 1. Focus on proven PD best practices; 2. Formalized implementation process; 3. Tool customization guidelines; and 4. Integration with other process improvement approaches. A gap analysis comparing these requirements to the previously identified tools is performed. The paper concludes with the outline of an example PD self-assessment tool that addresses these requirements.