Lean product development principles and practices

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze articles about Lean Product Development. The works were classified according to principles and practices, the countries that have the applications, the sectors where it is being applied, the journals that publish articles about the issue and other relevant factors. In conclusion, the article presents a table of the authors and practices used. The methodology was a search on Emerald Insight and ISI Web of Knowledge, resulted in a universe of 289 articles published between 2007 and 2011. This paper synthesizes the trends in the literature and the results that are being obtained from the lean product development approach. The results showed that electronics, auto industry and capital goods sectors are those with the most lean product development practices presented in the articles. In terms of methodology, case studies predominate. The countries with the most applications are the United States and the United Kingdom. The lean approach is not always cited directly, in many situations the practices are applied in an isolated manner, given that in 77% of the work a direct connection was found with a lean method. In relation to the practices, the five most common were Simultaneous Engineering-Integration, Process Standardization, Early Supplier Involvement (ESI), Learning Network and Voice of Customer (VOC). Could be observed by the paper's originality that even with many studies in the field, there is still a gap to be explored, which is that there are no indicators to manage the new product development process. Thus, it explores the state of the art about Lean Product Development practices and principles, providing a definition of concepts and a framework for benchmarking to later evaluate how lean are Product Development Processes at the companies.