Participants at an October 2008 conference on Lean Product Development (Profiting From Lean Product Development: Toyota Methods and Beyond, Chicago, IL) heard a broad cross-section of speakers assessing the lean landscape for product development today ? and tomorrow. The conference demonstrated that for all the insight and knowledge accumulated thus far, lean product development is still in its infancy. However, with budgets facing growing pressure and new constraints daily, lean practice offers an expanding set of opportunities for leveraging thin resources. It also points the way toward more effective decision-making that can reduce risk. In a case study presented at the conference, Dr. Terence Barnhart, Senior Director for Strategic Management at Pfizer Global Research and Development, reported that lean methods had contributed toward both leveraging resources and reduced risk in the form of a substantial cut in product development lead times. This article is available to registered users of FastTrack. Please note that becoming a registered user of Fast Track is free, and every month we make exclusive, member-only, Fast Track articles available to our registered users. Join Today!

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