Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1529411
70 PCB007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2024 To achieve this, continuous improvement of the product development process is essen- tial. Continuous improvement requires mea- suring key process variables to understand and improve the process. BET is a project-related business metric. It measures all cash flows (profits and expenses) resulting from a project. BET also encom- passes the entire product development process from inception of the project through product sales. It is a cross-functional measure of perfor- mance, including project-related expenses and profits from all functional areas. When BET is used to predict performance, profit is forecasted using marketing estimates of sales volumes, selling prices and discounts, manufacturing and R&D product cost esti- mates, and financial factors. When used to measure past performance, the actual develop- ment times, costs, and sales volumes are com- pared to the estimates. BET Uses Project/product managers can use the BET metric in many areas of the new product devel- opment process. Uses include the following: • What-if scenarios: Project and product managers can conduct what-if scenarios and allow comparisons of project alterna- tives. e impact of varying BET parame- ters can be evaluated, such as factory cost, price, development schedule, and volume of a new product. • Project selection: BET provides a consis- tent framework that is useful when decid- ing which project to pursue given limited resources, costs, and sales uncertainties. • In-process control: Aer management has decided to invest in a given project, BET can assist with monitoring and controlling the execution of the project. At product development process checkpoint reviews, initial estimates of investments, costs, and sales of new and affected products can be compared to actual performances or updated estimates. • Should more resources be applied to the project? BET analyses allow a proj- ect/product manager to see if additional resources can move up the implementa- tion time and improve the higher profit early returns. • Process improvement: An entity can improve its new product development process by incorporating BET analy- ses into its project checkpoint reviews. By repeatedly taking financial snapshots of each project at successive checkpoint reviews and contrasting actual results with earlier estimates, the entity can identify areas of the product development process in need of improvement. For example, if the estimated profit levels for projects are decreasing during the development of the products, then additional market research or improved forecasting methods may be required. As a consistent, reliable history