Measuring effectiveness and efficiency of a new product development project using performance matrix – The PROTON case

Abstract

This paper presents a study on the development of a performance matrix to measure the new product development project performance for a small car producer in Malaysia. This study was carried out through open-ended interview sessions, involving a couple of project managers, a new product introduction manager and senior product planning manager and engineers. The questionnaires were developed based on the literatures and pre-tested prior the interview sessions. The feedbacks were used to identify the most important internal and external performance outcomes that crucial to the car producer. The development lead-time represents the efficiency, while the market share represents the effectiveness of the product development process. The performance matrix was successfully developed and the relation between the development lead time and market share is asymmetric. This performance matrix is best used for comparing NPD performances between plan and actual of a developed project, as well as between actual performances of a previous project and a new project that are having a similar project scopes and contents. The application of the performance matrix through a case study indicates that the success or failure status of the new product development project can be determined. The performance matrix is found to be viable and suitable for this indigenous car producer.