Vital need for common vision in aerospace and defence product development

PTC, the product development company, has published a study on the aerospace and defence markets that found product development in those industries suffering from a significant lack of coherent vision, management and execution.

The study, 'Forging A Common Vision: PTC Survey on Improving Product Development in the Aerospace and Defense Industry' revealed that aerospace and defence (A&D) industry, senior management executives and operational executives see the world in fundamentally different and conflicting ways.

Management and operational executives disagree on a wide range of important issues - including the importance of breakthrough innovation in creating new markets, the need to increase the efficiency of the development process, the importance of skilled personnel, and the role of internal IT departments in product development.

PTC commissioned Bayer Consulting, an independent research firm, to conduct the survey of 151 senior executives at major A&D companies in the US, Canada, the UK, France, and Germany. Half the interviews were conducted with senior management executives who had direct experience with how their company uses product development to achieve its business goals and create value.

The remaining interviews involved operational executives with direct responsibility for implementing product development strategies. The companies included both prime contractors and suppliers.

While the study found that management and operational executives were in accord on the importance of continually improving product quality and performance, there was a divergence of opinion on the importance of breakthrough innovation to develop new markets. This is a critical issue in an industry where the cost of designing a new aircraft or weapons system can run into the billions of dollars.

Most management executives reported that their company was focused on achieving incremental improvements to current products, rather than in using innovation to create entirely new markets. In sharp contrast, most operational executives said that their companies relied greatly on a strategy of breakthrough innovation designed to develop new markets.

This divide reflects a long-standing tension between the corporate centre and its major programs. Their divergent views clearly demonstrate a need to create a common understanding of strategic goals. Management executives may also lack an appreciation of the operational realities of product development.