Survey and Analysis of Utilization of Tools and Methods in Product Development

Abstract

This paper reports a questionnaire survey on utilization of various tools and methods in the product development process of Japanese manufacturing industries. After its background and purpose are described, the result of the survey carried out in the autumn of 2002 is shown, and the awareness and utilization of tools and methods, their relationships with promotion activities, types of industry, organizational structure, etc. are discussed. Further, the gotten result is partially compared with the preceding studies in some Western countries to reveal the underling mechanism in promotion of product development tools and methods. The analysis reveals that organizational and systematic promotion of tools and methods should be indispensable for enhancing product development performance and that the appropriate shape of their utilization depends on the type of industry, style of bossiness, etc.