The Shortest Distance Between You and Your New Product, 2nd Edition

“rlci has shown how to pull together a combination of agile software management techniques within a phase gate development, with a process to follow, and made it easier to ask my organization to implement it.  we have had two kickoff events and the response has been very positive. ”

—Jason Anderson, Trimble Corporation, Auckland, New Zealand;

“Easy to read and a must for everybody involved in improving product ;development.”

—Christophe Gregoir,  Atlas Copco, Antwerpen, Belgium;

“The Rapid Learning Cycles framework is a useful tool to challenge existing product development paradigms because it focuses on the importance of knowledge.”

—Chris Hill, Navico, Auckland, New Zealand

“the author presents a well-tested and adaptable framework for managing the thousand-and-one unknowns in new product development in a way which significantly accelerates progress.” 

—Kathy Iberle, Iberle Consulting, Vancouver, Washington

“i was concerned that the r & d executives would not buy into this.  but the simplicity and logic of the approach made this an easier sell.”

—Vaas Conradie, Gallagher, Hamilton, New Zealand

Katherine Radeka has a rare combination of business acumen, scientific depth and ability to untangle the organizational knots to remove the barriers to change. Since 2005, Whittier Consulting Group, Inc. has helped some of the world's leading companies get their products to market faster. She has a global reach with clients in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand.

As of May 2017, the Rapid Learning Cycles framework is being used by over 500 teams, and over 60 new products have been released via the framework since Katherine began developing the framework in 2010. Her work has received public endorsements from Philips, Steelcase, Whirlpool, Novo Nordisk and other companies that deliver tangible products to market.

Katherine is the author of the Shingo Research Award winning book The Mastery of Innovation: A Field Guide to Lean Product Development. This book contains 19 case studies of companies who have used lean product development to get their ideas to market faster.

She has published over 200 articles at the Lean Product Development Resource Center and in other venues, including AME's Target Magazine, PDMA's Visions, the Journal for Product Innovation Management, and Real Innovation.

In 2007, she co-founded the Lean Product & Process Development Exchange with Durward Sobek. The organization conducts two conferences per year, one in Europe and one in North America, focused on the principles and practices of Lean Product Development.

Katherine has climbed seven of the tallest peaks in the Cascade Mountains and spent ten days alone on the Pacific Crest Trail, until an encounter with a bear convinced her that she needed a change in strategic direction.

introduction: get your best ideas to market faster

part one: the shortest distance between you and your product

• Chapter 1:  Why Rapid Learning Cycles?


• Chapter 2: What’s Different About Rapid Learning Cycles?


• Chapter 3: The Rapid Learning Cycles Framework

part two: the rapid learning cycles program

• Chapter 4: The Foundations of the Framework


• Chapter 5: The Core Hypothesis


• Chapter 6: Key Decisions


• Chatper 7: Knowledge Gaps


• Chapter 8: Cadence and the Learning Cycles Plan


• Chapter 9: Rapid Learning Cycle Events

part three: inside the learning cycle

• Chapter 10: Building and Capturing Knowledge


• Chapter 11: Convergent Decision Making


• Chapter 12: The Rapid Learning Cycles Program Leader

part four: rapid learning cycles in the product development organization

• Chapter 13: The Lean Startup with Rapid Learning Cycles


• Chapter 14: Rapid Learning Cycles Across PD


• Chapter 15: Tracking Rapid Learning Cycle Team Progress


• Chapter 16: Options, Obstacles and Speed Bumps

epilogue: don’t just break the rules—make your own

appendices

• Appendix A: Rapid Learning Cycle Pilot Team Guide


• Appendix B: Book Study Group Guide


• Appendix C: Tools to Support Rapid Learning Cycles


• Appendix D: How to Learn More About Rapid Learning Cycles