Innovation & Product Development

Many people believe innovation just happens or can only be achieved by a creative genius like Steve Jobs.  We disagree and we teach processes and techniques that can be used systemically to harness Creativity, drive Innovation and Design feasible and transformative solutions.



Innovation & Creativity

  • Creating a POP! Culture - Applying the Positive Outlook Principle to Achieve Innovation
    • Creating a POP! Culture - Applying the Positive Outlook Principle to Achieve Innovation

      Course Number:
      6-3-RT 
      Recommended Duration: 1/2 Day

      Intended Audience: Teams/Groups That Will Be Working Together

      Course Overview

      Using practical exercise and fun activities (such as improvisational comedy exercises), this workshop teaches participants how to create an innovative culture within their team, group, department, or organization.

      Objectives/Topics

      As a result of taking this course:
      • Each participant will have the tools and a roadmap to develop an innovative work environment back on the job.
      Prerequisites: None

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  • Creative Spaces: Fostering Innovative Thinking at Work
    • Creative Spaces: Fostering Innovative Thinking at Work

      Course Number:
      6-1-JF 
      Recommended Duration: 2 Days

      Intended Audience: All Employees

      Course Overview

      This course explores the design and implementation of the creative workplace… a place where all team members are encouraged and expected to explore possibilities, think beyond established boundaries, take measured risks, and discover new pathways for individual, team and organizational success. This session begins the process of putting a cutting edge on the capacity for practicing, applying and leading creativity and innovative thinking in the workplace.

      Objectives/Topics

      As a result of taking this course, you will:
      • Explore the essential nature of creativity to organizational and personal success.
      • Identify the individual and organizational barriers to creativity and discover ways to overcome them.
      • Learn and practice strategies and techniques for sharpening creative thinking.
      • Understand the process and discipline of innovation.
      • Discover approaches for developing a creative thinking attitude and nurturing an innovative environment.
      • Explore innovation case studies and identify innovation benchmarks and best practices.
      • Apply creativity and innovative thinking to real life organizational challenges.
      • Develop an action plan for promoting and fostering a more innovative workplace.
      Prerequisites: None

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  • Cutting Edge Creativity
    • Cutting Edge Creativity

      Course Number:
      6-2-KMJF 
      Recommended Duration: 1 Day

      Intended Audience: All Employees

      Course Overview

      Turn on the power - The power of creative thinking.  This session explores the practical application of creativity - how we can tap into the power of creative thinking and boost productivity and performance.

      Objectives/Topics

      As a result of taking this course, you will:
      • Gain insight into your creative abilities.  
      • Learn to recognize and break the mental chanins that lock out creative thinking.  
      • Develop a toolbox of practical techniques for enhancing creativity and apply them to situations from your real life.
      Prerequisites: None

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  • Design Thinking Bootcamp
    • Design Thinking Bootcamp

      Course Number:
      6-4-CA 
      Recommended Duration: 1-4 Months

      Intended Audience: Front Line, Middle Management, Senior Management

      Course Overview

      Developed by Stanford University, Design Thinking is a fully immersive method of problem solving that is centered on the user – the person that solutions serve. Best- learned by doing, Design Thinking involves a series of five steps: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test. It has been effective in addressing complex ambiguous problems ranging from the development of new products and services to entire processes and strategies for private and public organizations.

      Objectives/Topics

      As a result of taking this course, you will learn to:
      • n/a
      Prerequisites: None

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Product Development

  • Design for Manufacturability
    • Design for Manufacturability

      Course Number:
      6-7-RS 
      Recommended Duration: 2 Days

      Intended Audience: All Employees

      Course Overview

      This two-day course will identify the major tools and techniques used in DFM and provide a highly interactive, hands-on environment for practicing their application. In addition to the case studies and exercises, the participants are encouraged to bring a product from their company to be used in an analysis done during class. The course will include a discussion on the implementation of DFM into your existing design process.

      Objectives/Topics

      As a result of taking this course, you will learn to:
      • n/a
      Prerequisites: None

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  • Design for Six Sigma
    • Design for Six Sigma

      Course Number:
      6-6-RS
      Recommended Duration: 5 Days

      Intended Audience: All Employees

      Course Overview

      Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) applies six sigma principles to the product development process. DFSS combines statistical tools, such as Design of Experiments, with classic design tools such as Quality Function Deployment and Concept Generation to provide a methodology that ensures the right product is developed and that the business is fully prepared to successfully operationalize the product. The DFSS methodology provides a systematic process for development of the design process.

      Objectives/Topics

      DFSS has five phases, referred to as DMADV:
      Define - basic product gaps are defined from a market and business strategy perspective. 
      Measure - specific product performance targets are set based upon measuring the customer planned use of the product. 
      Analyze- concepts, both product and business operations, are evaluated to determine the approach for development. 
      Design - product and business operations processes are designed in detail. 
      Verify/Validate - product and processes undergo verification and validation with both the customer and appropriate regulatory bodies, so as to create a baseline of both product and processes that are ready for market introduction and can be statistically controlled.

      PPI’s Design for Six Sigma program is a five day, non-sequential course, focusing one day on each of the five DFSS phases. This training is an overview of DFSS principles and approach. A case study tailored for the company is used and allows participants to practice the techniques that are appropriate for each of the five phases.

      Prerequisites: None

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  • Innovation with Lean and Six Sigma
    • Leap and the Net Will Appear: Balancing Risk and Fear

      Course Number:
      6-9-RS 
      Recommended Duration: 2 Days

      Intended Audience: All Employees

      Course Overview

      This course will discuss the impact of paradigm-shifting innovation techniques and show how to embed them in the Lean Six Sigma methodologies.

      Objectives/Topics

      As a result of taking this course, you will:
      • Understand why Lean and Six Sigma methodologies inhibit innovation.
      • Be able to apply innovation techniques on a technical projects.
      • Understand how to augment Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to enable innovation.
      Prerequisites: None

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  • Managing Design Transfer
    • Managing Design Transfer

      Course Number:
      6-11-RS 
      Recommended Duration: 1 Day

      Intended Audience: All Employees

      Course Overview

      Even though a product development team has designed a great product, that does not ensure business success. The company must still get that product into production; often in multiple sites around the world. The design transfer process can be a larger and more challenging project than product development. This course will discuss the principles for effective design transfer and share the best practices that have proven effective.

      Objectives/Topics

      As a result of taking this course, you will learn to:
      • n/a
      Prerequisites: None

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  • Managing New Product Development Projects
    • Managing New Product Development Projects

      Course Number:
      6-5-RS 
      Recommended Duration: 2 Days

      Intended Audience: All Employees

      Course Overview

      The course will take you through the entire product development process beginning with customer needs identification and moving to specification development and team building. The course then introduces a variety of DFX techniques including the various design considerations and the introduction of the new product to manufacturing, sales, and the customer support. The course includes the use of many checklists for different stages of product development.

      Objectives/Topics

      Topics covered:
      • The new product development process.
      • Customer needs identification and benchmarking.
      • Program specification development.
      • Concurrent engineering.
      • Product line strategy and concept generation.
      • New product project team.
      • Product lifecycle and rapid prototyping.
      • Design for target costing, quality and service, manufacturability, and the environment.
      • Product certification.
      • Manufacturing, distribution/sales, and customer introduction.
      Prerequisites: None

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  • Product Line Strategy and Portfolio Management
    • Product Line Strategy and Portfolio Management

      Course Number:
      6-10-RS 
      Recommended Duration: 2 Days

      Intended Audience: All Employees

      Course Overview

      A product line strategy is the roadmap for how a product will evolve in a manner that implements the business strategy in the marketplace and in the business operations. From this definition it is obvious that to develop a product line strategy there must be four elements: 1) a business strategy, 2) a clear understanding of the marketplace, 3) a clear understanding of operational strengths and weaknesses, and 4) an iterative plan for how these will change over time. This program will show how all of these must work together to create an effective product line strategy and to manage the product portfolio.

      Objectives/Topics

      Participants will be able to: 
      • Understand how to link business strategy to platform and product line strategy.
      • Create a product line strategy.
      • Prioritize projects and resources within a project portfolio.
      • Manage product positioning and pricing within a portfolio.
      Prerequisites: None

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  • Voice of the Customer
    • Voice of the Customer

      Course Number:
      6-8-RS 
      Recommended Duration: 1 Day

      Intended Audience: All Employees

      Course Overview

      Everyone says that they want the voice of the customer to be reflected in their product requirements and product designs, yet often they have no methodology for capturing and analyzing this information. It is not enough to just repeat a few anecdotes, a systematic approach should be used to both understand what the customer wants and to translate that into design requirements. This course reviews several techniques for doing both of those.

      Objectives/Topics

      As a result of taking this course, you will learn to:
      • n/a
      Prerequisites: None

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