It is quite surprising that I had not even heard of Prof. Robert Cooper or his books one month ago and now whatever we do about New Products, is based on either what he taught us in a two day seminar or what has been written by him in his books!
His book Winning at New Products is the foundation for New Products Management!

The book reads like a graduate student paper, very heavy on citation of the theories in technology management, very light on original research. A typical statement in the book would be "this theory, backed by our extensive research)" proceeding to just quote the original theory. The book does not provide any eye-openers about winning in today's marketplace, but rather summarizes existing theories, like stage gate, house of quality, development funnel, etc.. It lacks the depth in any particular subject, and perhaps could be a good overview for somebody, just not sure who.

Robert Coopers "Winning at New Products" is "the classic" on product development (at least according to him) and is the book that introduces the Stage-Gate model that made some companies product development a lot better... and some companies a mess. I did not expected too much from the book, but it was better than I expected, except for some parts of it.

The book broadly consists of three different parts. The first provides a background, the second provides guidelines for stage-gate and the last looks at strategy.

The first four chapters try to convince the reader that new products and Robert Coopers ideas (stage-gate and the product he sells) are very good ideas. It's full of research 'evidence', but it seems to be coming from the same few sources. Also some of the conclusions from the research evidence are somewhat far fetched, in my opinion. Anyways, it did contain some useful information, like the effort spend on market research in early phases of a product is often not enough.

The second part occupies most of the book and looks at the different stages in the stage-gate process. The focus of the book is actually NOT so much on the product development itself, but mainly on the marketing and product management aspect. This is important to realize, if you wanted a book on product development, you better look at other books like Don Reinertsens "Managing the Design Factory". Chapter 8 is a sidetrack chapter which talks about portfolio management. Chapter 10 is suppose to talk about the lat stage, but instead it seems to be a summary of the marketing issues needed throughout the whole development, which makes me wonder a little about the things that actually need to be done on the last stage.

Some of the problems I had and have with stage-gate is that it does provide a very serial view on developing products. First start with marketing and "nail down the spec". Hand it over to development and then do testing. Cooper tries to explain that this is not the case, but it is very hard to make that conclusion when, on the next page, he says "nail down the spec before the development starts." He sometimes doesn't seem to know what he is actually advising. In that sense, the book did not convince me at all that stage-gate is a good idea, especially in fast cycle time products and software development.

The last chapter covered strategy, but did so in a very minor way. It was still useful to include it to make the book one whole.

I actually liked Coopers book. It had a strong marketing focus and I learned from that. I do not agree with some of the ideas Cooper has and also his references seem to be limited. Though, his writing style is absolutely awful. It's so popular! He uses exclamation marks every other sentence! Writes in absolutes! It really annoyed me!

I thinking between 3 and 4 stars. Its certainly not "the product development bible" as Cooper claims himself. I decided to go for three stars mainly because of his annoying writing style and because the book could be written in 1/4th the amount of pages (a lot of blah blah). If you read one book on product development, this is not it. If you want to study the area more broadly, this book certainly needs to be included.

This is an excellent book! It's clearly presented, with each point backed by serious research studies. The logic is flawless and the book informs in a friendly, easy-to-digest manner. I highly recommend this book for anyone involved in any way shape or form of the product launch/marketing process.

I had this book as part of the review material for my product management certification. I like the build up of its chronology. I also like the statistics presented. It discusses in detail the new product process and the decision/questions that need to be thought of before proceeding to the next stage. Very useful, if you are in the product development group deveoping your process, checklist, decision points.

The book introduces the Stage-Gate process by its author. The Stage-Gate is a process for disciplined innovation used to move ideas to commercial products. The process basically divides the new product process into five main stages: Scoping, Building Business Case, Development, Testing and Validation, and Launch. Before each Stage there is a Gate that opens the door for more investment and commitment. The process seems common sense at first but the research and studies behind it flesh it out with invaluable tips and checklists that build your confidence to adopt them in your own domain. The book is full of diagrams, tables and charts that help you understand important studies and concepts.

On the downside, I found little details on the Gates, the focus is primarily on the Stages. I also think the book is little bit lengthy for the amount of wisdom embedded, I found many of the concepts repeated throughout, some might consider this a plus as it helps emphasizing the concepts. I also think that some of the the studies should have been moved to an appendix to make the reading flow smoother. . Finally, the book could have been structured differently; for example, chapter 12 (Product Innovation and Technology Strategy) and chapter 8 (Portfolio Management) could have been (at least partially) moved earlier in the book.

Overall, I think the book is a great value, I found it useful as my first product management reading, it is easy to read and follow.The book is a recommended reading by the Product Management Association.

The author is obviously a big believer in the "tell the reader what you are going to teach them, tell them in more detail and then tell them what you've told them".

If you are a numbers and figures person that wants to see proof and likes the same information reiterated, then you will love this book. It references many studies and uses a lot of graphs to support their theories.

If, on the other hand, you a big-picture person and you prefer information in a story format then this book is going to be a long, tedious book to read and you will likely start skimming very early in the book.

This book turned out to be not unlike most other books out there on the subject of New Product Development. I guess I was looking for something different, something more Power Point in Style, even if it were in black and white. I took it with me to the mountains to read on a three day vacation, but it was a struggle to get through it. My background is Industrial Design and I am always interested in books like this. It just was not my cup of tea.

The author is obviously a big believer in the "tell the reader what you are going to teach them, tell them in more detail and then tell them what you've told them".

If you are a numbers and figures person that wants to see proof and likes the same information reiterated, then you will love this book. It references many studies and uses a lot of graphs to support their theories.

If, on the other hand, you a big-picture person and you prefer information in a story format then this book is going to be a long, tedious book to read and you will likely start skimming very early in the book.

Its a book for practitioners. Very well written and really easy to read.
If you are serious about product development, you can't really miss this book.
Have fun !!

Its a book for practitioners. Very well written and really easy to read.
If you are serious about product development, you can't really miss this book.
Have fun !!

Dr. Cooper has provided an excellent and easy to understand process for guiding organizations from ideation to launch of successful new products. Although many of the steps are intuitive, the framework suggests that if the checklist for each of the five gates is followed, an organization can fill that it has done its homework and can proceed confidently in making go-no go decisions. I am using this text in my graduates school courses at Mercy College and in lectures for student seminars organized by the Direct Marketing Association. A great read for everyone in new product development roles.

Dr. Cooper has provided an excellent and easy to understand process for guiding organizations from ideation to launch of successful new products. Although many of the steps are intuitive, the framework suggests that if the checklist for each of the five gates is followed, an organization can fill that it has done its homework and can proceed confidently in making go-no go decisions. I am using this text in my graduates school courses at Mercy College and in lectures for student seminars organized by the Direct Marketing Association. A great read for everyone in new product development roles.

This book is a very practical guide to help managers to achieve theirs goals in product developmente process.

The person who first described the "stage-gate" process presents an excellent and in-depth discussion of the product development process and how companies are successful with new products. Each stage and gate are expanded with excellent detail and clear presentation. I found it to be an excellent reference and an accompanying text for a class I am teaching in engineering management.

Bob Cooper, the author of this book, is the originator of the stage-gate approach to new product development, and is recognized as such by the federal government who registered this phrase under his company. He initially described the approach in a couple of excellent articles written in the late 1970s but this book, first written in the late 1980s and updated twice since, is really the best source for the stage-gate process. Although his writing can be dry and his tone preachy, you can't argue with the base information and the conclusions. He studied 3000 new products in hundreds of companies to identify what separates the winners from the losers in new products, and stage-gates are one of the keys, along with cross-functional teams and a clear understanding of the customer's needs. Today over 96% of companies in a recent survey use stage-gates, and the best at bringing new products to market, the organizations that are the most profitable and growing the fastest, do it well. This book lays out how to do it well. If you want to install a stage-gate process, and you need to, if your company doesn't have one, this is your best source.

This book is both instructional and inspirational with plenty of data to support its message.

New products accelerate consumerism and a truly innovative launch can re-ignite corporate balance sheets, but new product attrition is high. For every seven new product ideas floated, about four enter development, one and a half are launched and only one succeeds (25% to 45% of new products flop). Yet intrepid corporations innovate and live to recount their tales to happy shareholders. The book presents every conceivable detail of the launch process - evaluation, management, best practices, game plans and even the seemingly impossible, incorporating new ideas into corporate thinking. So, what are the shortcomings? Well, there's not enough service industry info and there is too much redundancy. Processes are listed, sub-processes are listed and sub-sub-processes, until the reader gets lost in lists and stages. Still, if you retain the energy to try, this book provides the theoretical and operational framework for launching new products. All you need is that billion dollar idea. We recommend this book to idea people in marketing, technology, R & D and sales.

REVIEW: (Rev of 2nd edition) It is now widely accepted that innovation is a core competence that is required by nearly all organizations. As a result, many companies have been very successful at generating new innovations. However, generating innovations is just the first step and an excess of innovations in many companies has created a need for good management processes to deal with them. These are the issues addressed by this book and there may be no other place where these issues are addressed as thoroughly and well as here. The author provides a thorough review and analysis of each step of the development process from idea to commercial launch. While the book can be slow reading at times, I firmly believe the author's method of separating the process into stages and providing screening mechanisms between the stage are excellent advice. Following these methods should lead to: (1) accelerated product development, (2) increased success rate of new products, and (3) a more effective and efficient new products development process. Accordingly, the book should be especially useful to those managers responsible for portfolios of new products. If this is you, this book is highly recommended.

STRENGTHS: The book provides a very thorough review and analysis of the new product development process from innovation through to launch. The author has done a very thorough review of the research in this field and the book does an excellent job of citing other material. The book also contains an appropriate use of graphics for illustrating some points.

WEAKNESSES: While the book doesn't focus on any particular industry, its teachings are probably most applicable to more traditional product companies (e.g. P&G, DuPont). Also, (and this maybe an unfair comment for a book targeted at products) the book probably isn't that helpful for innovations in services which may be even more important in modern companies than product innovation (e.g. GE and IBM are currently pushing services). Another concern, the book is fairly "textbook like" and only those seriously interested in the subject may find it easy/enjoyable to read. Some passages seem to drag on and I often wished the author would have been more concise and not tried to so thoroughly justify every point.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: Product development managers, new business managers, and others responsible for bringing innovations to market should read this book. Those responsible for _portfolios_ of new products/innovations may especially find this book useful.

ALSO CONSIDER: Jeffrey A Timmons - New Venture Creation; Guy Kawasaki - Rules for Revolutionaries; Peter F. Drucker - Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Bob Cooper provides a clear roadmap for new product success. Figuring out the smartest, most consistent way to create winning products can be the key to long term success. Yet setting up systems and process to help employees achieve these results without burdening them with unecessary bureaucracy is a challenging task. Using a solid research base and the experiences of dozens of corporations, Bob Cooper lays out a clear yet flexible blueprint for managing new product development. Its all here for those who are interested. I have read many books on this subject but this is the one I use and refer too all the time. An excellent resource.

Cooper does a great job presenting the value of his "stage gate" system for developing and launching new products while minimizing risk of failure. A bit academic, but useful advice for all product managers in any industry.