[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-240808-105":53,"doc-detail-240808-en":127},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":120,"head_meta":122,"extra_data":124,"updated_unix":126},105,"en","using-project-templates-to-improve-new-product-development-march-1996-pm-network-action","Using Project Templates to Improve New Product Development - March 1996 - PM Network Action","","Using project templates to guide new product development (NPD) helps teams plan work with reusable WBS, OBS, and activity network structures. Templates improve sequencing of activities and deliverables, reduce the effort needed to create new plans, and provide shared language and yardsticks for tracking progress across stakeholders. Teams can also challenge templates to achieve critical-path reductions and accelerate development cycles. Templates further support continuous NPD process improvement by transferring lessons learned and enabling evaluation of alternative work flows.",{"@graph":63,"@context":119},[64,80,102],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":11,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/presentations/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/using-project-templates-to-improve-new-product-development-march-1996-pm-network-action/240808/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/using-project-templates-to-improve-new-product-development-march-1996-pm-network-action/240808.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Rhys","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-09-11",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":101},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":103,"mainEntity":104},"FAQPage",[105,111,115],{"name":106,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":108},"What are the three basic functions of an NPD project template?","Question",{"text":109,"@type":110},"A project template improves planning, aids in tracking and communicating progress, and provides a focus for continuous NPD process improvement.","Answer",{"name":112,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":113},"How can teams use templates for improved planning without following them blindly?",{"text":114,"@type":110},"Teams should challenge the template against specific project requirements, removing unnecessary deliverables and applying more efficient methods to reduce critical-path time.",{"name":116,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How do templates help with tracking and communicating project progress?",{"text":118,"@type":110},"Templates provide common language and a common yardstick, helping stakeholders visualize status and compare progress across multiple NPD efforts.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":121,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":123,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":125,"site_id":56},240808,1791731994,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":128},{"doc_id":125,"user_id":129,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":130,"doc_module":9,"category_id":8,"category_name":11,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":131,"file_id":132,"file_url":133,"file_type":134,"file_size":135,"view_count":101,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":76,"language":136,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":140,"read_time":9},687207024643,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","Using Project Templates to Improve New Product Development  \nD éja vu can be a familiar feeling  \namong product developers; a given  \nfirm’s new product development projects often have a lot in common. This is due in part because of common technology and market factors, and in part because these projects are taking place against a backdrop of common business, product development, and production processes.  \nThese similarities make it possible to construct project templates: generic project plans, each describing the typical activities, durations, logic, and resources required to conduct agiven class of NPD efforts. (For the purposes of this article, a product class is defined asa set of products sharing a number of key attributes, including intended use, market segment, technology content, and regulatory issues.) As illustrated in Table 1 and described in this article, templates can help us plan and manage projects, as well as provide a framework for continuous NPD process improvement.  \nBenefits of Using Project Templates  \nA project template typically consists of a WBS, OBS, and an activity network, though as noted below, new software tools are making it possible to include still more information in easy-to-use forms. Templates have three basic functions:  \n• To improve project planning  \n• To aid in tracking and communicating project progress  \n• To provide a focus for continuous NPD process improvement.  \nImproved Planning. A project template is a good starting point for developing the plan for a specific NPD effort because:  \n• The template already contains all of the normally required development activities.  \n• Task dependencies have already been defined, so the resulting project plan should sequence activities and intermediate deliverables properly.  \n• Using a WBS, OBS, and task scopes that are common among several NPD efforts decreases the time and effort required to develop a new plan.  \nWhile a template makes a good starting point for planning, following it slavishly can lead to less-than-optimal results. Each project team needs to challenge its template in light of specific project requirements. Significant critical path reductions can result when a team recognizes that:  \n• A deliverable included in the template isnot required for their particular project.  \n• More efficient work methods can be applied that shorten tasks on the critical path or permit normally sequential activities to proceed in parallel.  \nIn a recent project, the template served this vital role particularly well: specific challenges by the project team shortened the development cycle by one-third.  \nTracking and Communicating. A project template aids in tracking and communicating project progress by providing stakeholders with a:  \n• Common language. Over time, project team members and senior managers will become familiar with a template’s structure and set of activity scope statements, allowing people with diverse backgrounds to communicate more effectively.  \n• Common yardstick for evaluating progress. A template’s common set of  \nA good NPD project template allows creativity to flourish, improves communication, and provides a focus for process improvement.  \nBarry J. Brownstein, PMP  \nPM Network • March 1996 39  \n■ USING TEMPLATES TO IMPROVE NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT  \n\n| Table 1. Impact of Project Templates |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| PM Function\u003Cbr>Scope\u003Cbr>Quality\u003Cbr>Time\u003Cbr>Cost\u003Cbr>Risk\u003Cbr>Human Resources\u003Cbr>Contract/ Procurement\u003Cbr>Communications | NPD Challenge\u003Cbr>Scope constantly under challenge from new market information. Ensure critical functions are performed and can be audited.\u003Cbr>Continual pressure to shorten NPD cycle times.\u003Cbr>Manage development costs to maintain product margin; apply Design-To-Cost (DTC) methodology to meet unit/life cycle cost goals.\u003Cbr>Progressively less time to react to problems and more extreme measures required to solve them. Rapidly build an exceptionally multidisciplinary technical, business, and manuf","cbCaiocq1XYzemWU","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiocq1XYzemWU","pdf",33875,"English","# Benefits of Using Project Templates\n## Improved Planning\n## Tracking and Communicating\n## Providing Focus for Process Improvement\n# Lessons Learned Developing Project Templates\n## Gaining Top Management Commitment","[{\"question\":\"What are the three basic functions of an NPD project template?\",\"answer\":\"A project template improves planning, aids in tracking and communicating progress, and provides a focus for continuous NPD process improvement.\"},{\"question\":\"How can teams use templates for improved planning without following them blindly?\",\"answer\":\"Teams should challenge the template against specific project requirements, removing unnecessary deliverables and applying more efficient methods to reduce critical-path time.\"},{\"question\":\"How do templates help with tracking and communicating project progress?\",\"answer\":\"Templates provide common language and a common yardstick, helping stakeholders visualize status and compare progress across multiple NPD efforts.\"}]","Using Project Templates to Improve New Product Development - March 1996 - PM Network Action | PDF",1789165961]