When this occurs typically a company will have to scramble to explain why all their commitments about a new product only partially were delivered, if at all. This and the precise market positioning of a new product to ensure existing products are not cannibalized require product managers to have a unique and expert-level skill set (Guide, Li, 2010).
Why the Industry Needs the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) and New Product Development Professional (NPNP) Certifications
The role of the PDMA is to support the continual education and attainment of excellence in product development and management, creating opportunities for professional advancement for its members while ensuring a consistently high level of professionalism and thought leadership. The PDMA often hosts seminars and promotes opportunities for learning among its membership base, which is global in scope. In addition to its commitment to continual learning, the PDMA also works to define and continually improve on best practices in each area of product development and product management. As a result, the association has created one of the worlds' most extensive collection of new product development, new product introduction, product management, pricing, and team leadership knowledge available globally today (Pickton, 2003). The PDMA also sponsors the annual global conference on Product Innovation Management and sponsors events that further learning and best practices in product lifecycle and product management. The PDMA is best known in many communities for its extensive support in local chapter meetings and its ability to attract senior managers, directors and CEOs who have experience in product management as speakers at their monthly meeting. Product management training organization Pragmatic Marketing for example is often invited to PDMA chapter meetings to present on a variety of product management topics....
Based on all these attributes, it is apparent that the PDMA is a very valuable organization for anyone entering into a career or already working in the field of product management.
The New Product Development Professional (NPDP) certification is highly valuable for any product management professional because it provides a solid foundation of tools and techniques in the areas of strategy, portfolio management, the new product development and launch process, and the use of tools and metrics. The NPDP certification also provides useful knowledge on which market research techniques are best to use for a given information need, in addition to providing guidance on how to succeed as a cross-functional leader. These are all skills that are indispensible for any product management professional, and the methodology the NPDP certification integrates them all together into a cohesive foundation of knowledge. The testing and scoring are rigorous and also bring an element of personal achievement to the process, which further acts as a motivator to learn more. Anyone going into product management as a career needs to seriously consider the NPDP certification as a foundation of lifelong learning.
References
Choi, J., Kristiansen, E., & Nahm, J.. (2010). VAPORWARE. International Economic Review, 51(3), 653.
Guide, V., & Li, J.. (2010). The Potential for Cannibalization of New Products Sales by Remanufactured Products. Decision Sciences, 41(3), 547.
David Pickton. (2003). The PDMA Toolbook for New Product Development. R & D. Management, 33(4), 459-461.
Schmidt, J., Sarangee, K., & Montoya, M.. (2009). Exploring New Product Development Project Review Practices. The Journal of Product Innovation Management, 26(5), 520.
Hobart Swan, & Dennis Pitta. (2010). The ultimate in new product design: molding the product…
