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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
Case Teaching Notes for Part III
CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL
Chapter 8
This case should lead to a free discussion of the concept evaluation procedures seen in this
chapter and/or the next. The student has to evaluate the “organic” concept for its believability,
and also whether it is too “preachy” to adequately communicate to the target audience (company
management appears to have been very careful about this, but it can still be tested). The relative
importance of the organic, no-hormones positioning, especially considering it involves a price
point increase, is important to assess: while the success of Whole Foods seems to suggest the
market is there, its success in a fast-food concept is unknown. Conjoint (tradeoff) analysis, first
introduced in the discussion of concept generation in Chapter 4, would be ideally suited to
gathering this kind of tradeoff information.
To get precise price point information (i.e., how high does price have to become before
market shares and/or profitability is affected), tradeoff analysis can be conducted. The wrong
way to do this would be to try a sliding scale with respondents. For example, “Would you pay
Working along these lines, students will undoubtedly come up with other aspects of the
product concept that they can test. For example, if the offerings are, say, 80% organic, is that
enough, or should they continue to work harder to improve? If 80%, then where are the
customers most picky, and where should we focus our efforts? Is it good enough to say all the
pork is sourced naturally, and would customer flock to Chipotle if they increase the level of
As a final note, try checking out the company website at www.chipotle.com to see what new
products are on the menu.
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Chapter 8
This case, of course, is an introduction to the subject of concept evaluation. It should be used to
give the overview, but it can accomplish some specific objectives as well:
1. Differentiate between types of products by emphasizing the concept of services, since the firm
will have a line of services and a line of tangible goods.
2. Introduce the issue of the small, start-up type of firm.
3. Speak to attitudes--since it is easy to anticipate that these three people were not really
interested in finding that their ideas were bad!
First, the instructor should insist that students think about the overall evaluation task.
What step in evaluation will be the most difficult? What are the real issues operating here? In
our opinion, they needed answers to every possible question, but probably these stood out: (1)
Do the concepts make sense to the intended buyers? (2) How should the concepts best be
Second, there should be discussion of services. The book talks about variations for
services many times, but here is an actual case setting. Everyone seems to agree that tangible
Third, this being a start-up firm provokes student interest, since many of them now hope to
have their own start-up some time. Well, here are three people, poor as the proverbial church
mouse, unable to buy virtually any market research. What should they do? Forget evaluation,
Fourth, the attitudes of these three people were exciting, stimulating, encouraging, and
solidly against evaluation! At the beginning, they were willing to be pragmatic; they realized
they might be wrong. But as their funds dwindled, as idea after idea slithered away, they reached
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
I have no trouble with this posture, except that evaluation should be bypassed only when
there are no creative ways it can be gotten fast and cheap. To overlook such opportunities is
dramatic, but foolhardy.
The case also gives the instructor a chance to clear up questions about any of the special
concepts given in the chapter--e.g., the timing of expenditures, the decay curve, and surrogates.
In fact, this group used the worst surrogate of all: do we like it?
The outcome was as might be expected. Eventually they had to close their office, then one
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
DOMINO’S
Chapter 9
The case is about the Pizza Turnaround conducted by Domino’s in response to falling market
share and can be used to illustrate customer value proposition, competitive strategy, and the use
of analytical attribute techniques. The instructor can show a video on the Pizza Turnaround as a
basis for discussion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH5R56jILag).
Consumer research showed that the value proposition that had made Domino’s a success
and had carried it for decades (hot, cheap pizza delivered within 30 minutes) was no longer
competitive The case and video provide adequate information on the level of discontent voiced
by customers at the time of the case. The value proposition was no longer adequate because it
had become obsolete. Years ago, Domino’s promise of cheap, fast pizza gave it a nice customer
niche (in particular in college towns, where Domino’s made an excellent accompaniment to
late-night cramming), and the fact that it may not have been the best quality pizza available
Domino’s executed an aggressive competitive strategy, in which the goal was to develop
the best tasting pizza possible, and to actually be perceived as better than leading brands such as
Papa John’s. This is an important concept in this case. Marginally better than existing Domino’s
is only an incremental improvement and would not give the customer enough of a reason to
switch (or switch back) to Domino’s. Even a little better than the competition is probably not
enough. This was a full-speed-ahead rethinking of the company’s core product – incredibly risky,
but viewed by senior management as the only way to get competitive again. Domino’s Russell
Weiner is quoted in the Visions article (source of this case) as saying,
“Companies are often locked into the way that they’ve been doing things. People don’t
want to do anything, because the answers are tough. Often it means that they risk
bankruptcy before they are ready to do anything…You [have to] empower the troops and
blow up the bridge, so there is no possibility of retreat. When we said the pizza tastes
like cardboard, we couldn’t go back.”
This quote illustrates the level of commitment to taste and quality that senior management
prioritized, and shows some of the behind-the-scenes action at Domino’s. The Pizza Turnaround
Finally, the case serves as a simple but effective illustration of analytical attribute
techniques. As we see in the case, the personnel responsible for the pizza turnaround broke the
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
In any event, as the case points out, the Pizza Turnaround was a major success for
Domino’s, in terms of both improved quality (encouraging scores in blind taste tests) and also
profitability.
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
COMPARING SMARTPHONES (B)
Chapter 9
Using the data from the (A) case, the following positioning maps can be drawn for screen size
and talk time (the first is a regular positioning map and the second is a per-dollar map scaled to
$100).
3.8 4 4.2 4.4 4.6 4.8 5 5.2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
17
10
14
8
19
Scree n Size
Talk T ime
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
3.86
1.82
2.42
1.23
3.28
Scree n Size
Talk T ime
Looking at the regular positioning map, iPhone seems to be poorly positioned. Sony and
Samsung seem to be the closest to the screen size segment (Segment 1). The largest segment,
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
The per dollar map tells a slightly different story. Sony appeals to Segment 1, HTC and
Nokia appeal to Segment 2, and only Nokia really appeals to Segment 3. Samsung potentially
captures a large share of Segment 3 if it can cut price and push its position out closer to Nokia’s.
The iPhone strategy is a little more complex. It can do the same, and cut price and try to
Another possibility for the iPhone is performance improvement. If it launches a larger
screen size, it will approach Sony’s position and compete against Sony for market share in
As in the (A) case, choosing different attributes would result in a more favorable position
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
LOGITECH (A)
Chapter 10
This case offers several potential uses. The stated purpose is to have the students develop a
simple five-factor scoring model, but the questions near the end show it can be used for protocol
and some organizational dynamics as well. Also, one could use it to explore the matter of
background research, as discussed in Chapter 9. First, consider the scoring model.
This project (if the student undertakes a full scoring model) can take a lot of time, so it is
good to make instructions clear. You should not undertake the work during class; it just goes too
Three, ask students to use the scoring model given in Figure 10-4, and revise it as
necessary to make it fit the WiLife situation. Or the instructor can do this ahead of time.
Four, all focus can be put on one section of the scoring model (e.g., marketing or technical)
and ask the students to spell out the five best factors. This limited version can be done in class.
Whatever, the purpose is to bring out the key issues. First, what factors are the best
predictors of probable success? This is not easy, and the students will differ, using the
experiences related in the case. Second, how should each factor be weighted? Third, who
Note what is going on: The scoring model is trying to predict the ability of the firm to
come up with something that works, and the ability of the firm to sell enough of it to make a
profit. Technical success, commercial success.
Logitech has a good presentation of all of its security cameras on their website,
www.logitech.com. It is worth visiting this site during class to give the students a good view of
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
BAY CITY ELECTRONICS
Chapter 11
This case is not for the purpose of letting the students actually prepare a net present value
calculation in the new product setting; in previous editions of the text it was proposed for that
purpose, but rarely so used because of the time it took and the fact that students typically learned
the capital budgeting NPV calculation methods in finance courses. Several users of the book
suggested that the actual calculations be given, and that the case be used for study and reaction.
Too, without an "answer" we got into some problems settling on the best methodology (see
below). No matter how much we explain the different situations, there will be honest differences
of opinion. This is partly due to variances in instructions given in the other courses taken by
As the authors, however, we can do this, so we presented the worksheet in the revised Bay
City Electronics case in Chapter 11. This opens us up for the pot shots, and the instructor is free
to move around the criticism and draw positive ideas from it. After all, there is no magic in
Another side value comes from the sensitivity testing, done near the end on the changed
assumptions. Nothing quiets arguments about the financial aspects of new product planning as
The spreadsheet given in the case shows the figures that should be there. Be alert to the
possibility of errors in the calculation--one was found in the first use of this case, the 3rd edition,
in spite of intensive efforts to avoid it! Give first-finder credit to Professor Pablo Lesevic, of San
Jose State for noting that depreciation of equipment purchased during development will begin in
Year 0, not Year 1. (This was corrected in the 4th edition.) There was also an appreciated
The new version of the case still leaves the questions Bill Roberts was wrestling with while
waiting to see the banker. Are the numbers good? Yes and no. They show a profit that would
probably be acceptable, but the profit is heavily weighted into the later years. A banker would
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
quite conservative, considering the overheads assigned, the large marketing budget, and the
relatively low cost of building facilities.
Regarding LazyBoy and 3M, yes, they probably would be using a financial calculation
similar to this one, though new viewpoints were expressed in the chapter. For example, Bill's
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
FISHER & PAYKEL
Chapter 12
The Fisher & Paykel case is almost a perfect textbook illustration of the House of Quality.
Fisher & Paykel had correctly identified an opportunity in the marketplace: a continuous positive
airway pressure (CPAP) device for use in the home. Patients using this device would normally
be in the hospital, so the size, appearance, and functionality of the hospital use product would not
be that important: it didn’t matter if it was huge or didn’t look elegant, as it was just another big
piece of hospital equipment. But such a clunky-looking product would not do for home use: it
would need to be small so as to not take up too much room in the patient’s bedroom (if it was
We can go further here. Since the patient him/herself is likely to be using the product,
and possibly is older and with weaker eyesight, it makes sense to have large digit displays. How
about this? What is the patient probably doing at the time he/she is hooked up to the machine?
Sleeping, in a dark room. So the readouts should be legible in the dark, and also should be
Whom should the marketing people speak to in doing the research for this product?
Certainly patients themselves, who could use non-working or partially-functional prototypes and
comment on their ease of use. But doctors and other health care professionals would certainly
need to be consulted during design and testing stages. For example, the hospital unit probably
The case gives the students a partial list of customer (patient) wants, and students can be
encouraged to add to this list. The case list appears below:
In each case, students should try to come up with at least one “engineering characteristic” that
corresponds to the “customer want.” “Small footprint” might mean that it is about the size of a
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
dimensions, like maybe 12 inches x 12 inches. Let the students creatively come up with these
linkages.
The chapter stresses the need to express the list of customer wants in terms of benefits
sought, so as not to constrain the designers or engineers. Most of the above customer wants are
indeed benefits: appropriate color, built in alarm, etc. Something like “design tube for better
delivery” is a perfect example. It doesn’t tell the engineers that they have to make the tube out of
The case also illustrates the use of spiral product development, as three major and 80
minor redesigns were done iteratively with the use of “block models.” Additionally, CAD and
rapid prototyping was used to finalize features. Non-working prototypes were used as a basis for
conducting 30-minute interviews with customers (conducted in a sleep lab to simulate the
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
DUPONT
Chapter 12
This case goes into New Product Blueprinting and how it is successfully used at DuPont. The
case suggests that DuPont was not getting sufficient customer insights using traditional
voice-of-the-customer methods. The VOC meetings were turning into customer chats that, while
pleasant enough, were just not producing innovative new ideas. Further, DuPont was more adept
at getting inputs from its direct customers but not from their customer’s customers, resulting in
“wishful-thinking” new products that might, or might not, really address the final customers’
needs.
The case does not imply that VOC techniques are wrong or inappropriate. Rather, in the
case of DuPont, the problem seemed to be implementation: not enough input from final
customers, and not thorough enough interaction to result in radically-innovative products. There
is nothing wrong with complementing a familiar technique with a newer one. Given the nature
of DuPont’s business, focused primarily on B2B product development, the New Product
Blueprinting approach seemed to be especially suitable. The case describes it in detail.
New Product Blueprinting complements VOC in that it brings in direct customers, who
for a B2B supplier like DuPont, are a critical source of knowledge. It seems to have provided
focus for DuPont on high-potential new product ideas, something that was lacking in their VOC
efforts at the time. A consumer-goods company like Campbell Soup still relies heavily on VOC
(customer here meaning the final customer), but of course also relies on intermediaries (retailers)
and also sells to institutional markets (organizations, hospitals, etc.). To answer the question
about whether New Product Blueprinting would work for a firm like Campbell Soup, or for a
service provider like a hospital, one could turn to the “potholes” discussion of Chapter 8. What
information is most critical to success at Campbell Soup, what is likely to trip up a new product
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
consumers as part of the blueprinting exercise, but DuPont would have to decide who would be
the best customers to bring to the table, and whether they would have the needed insights to
really stimulate the discussion.
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
LOGITECH (B)
Chapter 12
Part (B) of the case presumes the full screen for the security system was passed, and that we are
now ready to write the protocol.
Given that some students in the class will be familiar with security systems at home or
work, there will be immediate reaction to the new product concept, and some of it might be
negative. "It wouldn't be safe enough," or "I think those cameras would be too easy to knock out
of line."
Beyond that, the assignment to write out five benefit items for a protocol will be fairly
easy--too easy in fact. Students will put forth the obvious (cheaper, easier to install, etc.) The
discussion needs to probe for the full set of important benefits, not forgetting to keep those
benefits given by the current competitive alternatives. If there are conflicts, trade-offs are
necessary. Keep pushing for those benefits that, if met, will most likely insure sales. And
remember to include all persons/organizations out there in the market.
Then go back to the sample protocol (Figure 12-3) for examples of requirements other than
benefits. A marketing class should already be aware of such requirements as awareness and trial,
The discussion can be capped off by asking about how one prepares to write a protocol?
What kinds of research or analysis? The answer to this comes from the sequence of steps in the
concept/project evaluation phase--the PIC, basic market analysis, concept testing (where we gain
much more than just opinions on the concept), and discussions at the time of the full screen.
Though some students will protest (correctly) that we really don't know all of the requirements at
this time, push to on what this means. No instructions to marketing? No instructions to
Postscript: In 2006, WiLife announced the launch of LukWerks (pronounced “Look
Works”). Sold through Radio Shack, the basic LukWerks product is a security camera, hidden in
a fully functional digital clock, and accompanying software, retailing for $299. One could buy
up to as many as five extra cameras if needed, costing about $229 per camera. The user
downloads the software to his or her PC, which takes about fifteen minutes and works smoothly.
In fact, while waiting for the software to download, the user could actually go around and install
The user has to spend a little time thinking about good locations to put the cameras. For
example, one might stick a camera on a window (via suction cup) near the front door to spot
intruders breaking in, but not every house will have a window so close to the front door. There
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
are wall and ceiling mounts available, as well as desktop mounts, should these be better
locations.
The cameras record only when motion is detected, though one could watch whatever the
cameras were viewing right on the PC screen. The software allocates about 20% of the
hard-drive space for recording (this amount is adjustable by the user), and when this space is
It is possible to view video remotely via the Internet, and it is also possible to have
LukWerks send an e-mail or text message as an alarm. A shopkeeper could, for example,
monitor his store while away, literally through his BlackBerry. All this is password-protected, so
others can’t watch your video.
The initial product offering was for indoor use only, but a few months later WiLife
introduced the external version, at a similar purchase price.
The assessment is that LukWerks is probably not the best system for someone with
unusual security needs, such as for a jewelry store, but the average user (shopkeeper or small
Once they hear this “what really happened” story, students could be asked to go back
through their product protocol, and to see if they thought of all the marketing or commercial
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New Products Management 11e / Crawford & Di Benedetto Part III Concept/Project Evaluation
Course Concepts for Part III
These are the primary concepts that students should take from Part III. As stated before, the
choice of concepts is personal, and each instructor is encouraged to develop his/her own list.
1. Evaluation goes on at all times.
2. Concept of an evaluation system, not fixed, created for each situation.
3. Simultaneous development of product and marketing plan.
4. Cumulative expenditures curve, decay curve, and risk matrix, as used in decision to
forward project or cancel it.
5. Surrogates for key evaluation facts needed, but unobtainable.
6. Potholes and how they help drive an evaluation system.
7. New product concept (as distinguished from idea and completed product).
8. Concept statement, with variations.
9. Top-two-boxes.
10. Concept testing/development: how and why.
11. Benefit segmentation, and using cluster analysis to identify benefit segments.
12. Joint-space maps using ideal points and ideal vectors.
13. Scoring models, structure and use.
14. How to evaluate a new product financial analysis sheet.
15. Methods to aid in managing financial analysis in a world of inadequate data.
16. Protocol, and how to write one.
17. Quality Function Deployment and the House of Quality.
18. Options pricing theory.
19. Oobeya room.
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