There is an intersection of challenges where society’s social and ecological problems coincide with the industrial firm’s challenge to maintain profitability in a globalizing world. Products connect these challenges. The development of these products together with services (product-service systems) therefore provides a critical intervention point to address these challenges. This includes e.g. defining what the products and services are, how they will deliver value to users, and the business models that enable them to be realized, as well as how these can contribute to sustainable development of society. The overarching goal of this research is to contribute to sustainable development of society by better understanding how a strategic sustainable development perspective based on backcasting from basic principles for a sustainable society can be brought into and guide product-service system innovation. Interviews with industry professionals, workshops with both manufacturing companies and within student projects, and industrial cases studies, together with a review of literature and theoretical considerations, provide the methodological basis for this work. This thesis contributes to clarifying theoretical and practical possibilities and limitations for a strategic sustainable development perspective to guide product-service system innovation and provides a basis for the integration of these concepts. The findings indicate that the co-innovation of products and services in product-service systems can contribute to sustainable development of society both by supporting reduced material and energy use and by supporting improved life cycle management of materials. Further, a strategic sustainable development perspective can contribute to the refinement of existing tools and methods in product-service system innovation by providing an operational definition of sustainability articulated in the form of first-order principles that describe the boundary conditions for a sustainable society, and by providing guidelines for how to approach a vision of success inside those boundaries in a strategic way. In order to identify solutions that meet society’s pressing challenges, new solution spaces may need to be identified, and this can be enabled by a shift from product development with service as “add-ons” to their co-innovation in product-service systems. An initial approach for how this could be enabled through bringing together set-based approaches to design product-service systems with a strategic sustainable development perspective is presented.

The gradually increasing competition that occurs in mature markets, pushes the companies to consider new ways of competing. The more mature the market becomes the higher level of competitive fulfillment and edge is needed. E.g. for Scania the dimension high quality was until now considered a competitive advantage, but is currently evolving towards a dimension that is necessary to fulfill to even act within the market. Thus, companies such as Scania have to push their limits everywhere possible across their organization. One way to push the limits of R&D and product development (PD) is, based on this thesis and other work, implementing a simulation based product development (SBPD) process. The aim of this thesis has been, by applying a quality function deployment (QFD) model, to show the influence a SBPD process can have on increased competitiveness. By combining published literature within the field with empirical results mostly gained from interviews, nine components representing a SBPD process could be found. These components were characterized in the following categories: IT-infrastructure, design, model & test, and organizational. Depending on the level of fulfillment of these components the SBPD process is more or less implemented within the company. The two components that are considered the most important for Scania in terms of both increased competitiveness and a possible transition towards a SBPD process are Virtual representa-tion of the product and the process throughout the whole PD process and A model driven/model based approach. The work of this thesis has also shown, in correlations with previous published literature, that a SBPD process can significantly decrease the lead-time and cost of development, and at the same time increase the knowledge about the product and the process. The research has also shown that a SBPD process can considerably improve both the internal and the external collaboration. However attaining such a process where these competitive advantages can be gained affects the whole organization, the way development is performed and also the way resources are used. A fully implemented SBPD process has been shown to positively impact the following competitive dimensions; Frequency of product introductions, Lead-time of development, PD process flexibility, Degree of innovation, Customization of the offer, Collaboration with internal and external partners, Knowledge about products and processes, R&D cost, manufacturing cost, Focus on customers operational economics, Product quality, Product safety and Focus on environmental sustainability of the product & the processes. But, to get a positive impact on all these dimensions the components representing a SBPD process must be implemented and applied. Furthermore, this thesis also provides a framework for other companies to evaluate the impact a SBPD process can have on their competitiveness. The analysis model aims to guide companies that want to adopt a SBPD process. The framework can indicate how a SBPD process would impact the firm's competitive strategy. But also to provide guidance to which components that would be more important to implement in order to reach a competitive SBPD process. / Den gradvis ökande konkurrens som uppstår på mogna marknader driver företagen att finna nya sätt att konkurrera. Ju mer mogen marknaden blir desto högre blir kraven på konkurrens. För Scania har faktorn hög kvalitet tills nu betraktas som en konkurrensfördel, men utveckling sker istället mot att det kommer att vara en faktor som är nödvändig att uppfylla för att ens kunna agera på marknaden. Företag som Scania måste således utvecklas över hela organisationen. Ett sätt att tänja på gränserna för FoU och produktutveckling (PD) är, baserat på detta arbete och annan tidigare forskning, att genomföra en förändring mot en simulering baserad produktutvecklings-process (SBPD). Syftet med detta examensarbete har varit att, genom att tillämpa en quality function deployment (QFD) modell, visa effekten en SBPD-process kan ha på ökad konkurrenskraft. Genom att kombinera tidigare publicerad litteratur inom området med empiriska resultat, mestadels insamlat genom intervjuer, kunde nio komponenter som utgör en SBPD-process finnas. Dessa komponenter karakteriserades i följande kategorier: IT-infrastruktur, design, modellera och testa och organisatorisk. Beroende på graden av uppfyllnad på dessa komponenter blir den SBPD-processen mer eller mindre implementerad inom företaget. De två komponenterna som anses viktigast för Scania i form av både ökad konkurrenskraft och en eventuell övergång till en SBPD-process är Virtuell representation av produkten och processen genom hela PD-processen och Ett modellbaserat/ modelldrivet arbetssätt används. Arbetet har också visat i korrelation med tidigare publicerad litteratur, att en SBPD-process kommer att minska ledtiden och kostnaden för utveckling avsevärt och samtidigt öka kunskapen om produkten och processen. Denna studie har också visat att en SBPD-process kan förbättra både interna och externa samarbeten. Men att uppnå en sådan process där dessa konkurrens-fördelar kan vinnas kommer att påverka hela organisationen, det sätt som utveckling utförs på och också hur resurserna används. En fullt implementerad SBPD-process har visat positivt påverkan följande konkurrens faktorer; frekvens av produktlanseringar, ledtiden för utveckling, PD-processflexibilitet, innovationsgrad, anpassning av erbjudandet, samarbete med interna och externa partners, kunskap om produkter och processer, FoU kostnader, tillverkningskostnad, fokus på kundernas driftsekonomi, produktkvalitet, produktsäkerhet och miljöpåverkan av både produkten och processen. För att få en positiv inverkan på alla dessa faktorer måste alla komponenter som utgör en SBPD-process implementeras och tillämpas. Dessutom så presenteras även ett ramverk för andra företag att utvärdera effekterna en SBPD-process skulle ha på deras konkurrenskraft. Analysmodellen syftar till att vägleda företag som vill övergå till en SBPD-process. Ramverket kan ange hur en SBPD-process skulle kunna påverka företagets konkurrensstrategi men också ge vägledning om vilka komponenter som kan vara viktigare att börja implementera för att nå en konkurrenskraftig SBPD-process.

This diploma work project is a product development project which purpose is to redesign a braking system for a walking frame. The system that was developed diverges the force from the user to braking power, and includes a service brake as well as a parking brake. The most important components of the system are a grip handle on where the user holds on to and a braking handle on which the user operates the brake from. The system also includes a power transmission component, braking package and other mechanical components. All of the components wasn’t developed in this project, several off them has been reused from the existing system. This product has been developed to meet the requirements and standards presented from the principal, Ahlberg Leber. The needs of the future users have also been to importance of the project. These needs where defined thru a marketing analysis, which took place during the first phase of the project. The results from this were so interesting, not only did it function as a basic data; it also is representing an important part of this projects result. During the next phase of the project the product development process took place. You can divide this development work into two separate parts that has developed parallel. The purpose of the first one was to develop the mechanical parts that enable the user to operate the brake. The other one was to design the both handles. During the course of the development process two different product development methods have been used to decide the design of the braking operating. The first one was used to design a conceptual solution and the second one was used to determine the final solution. The approach of these methods is to develop several different proposals from which one is selected and moves on to the next phase of the project. During the course of the project several ideas and proposals has been developed and later on documented. According to the developers - these ideas makes the most important part of the result of the project. Since most of them are interesting and has potential, it is curtain that the designers of Ahlberg Leber will have usage of these ideas in the future. Hopefully they will contribute to new ideas of how the product of tomorrow might look like. The parking brake of the product that is presented as the final one is to be operated by the use of a button. When the braking handle moves over a certain location, the parking brake is automatically activated and the button is then used to deactivate it. The most important result of the grip handle design is that the user may choose between different position of there hands. These positions are preferable in different situations and the options give the user a better chance to cope with the every day life. / Detta examensarbete är ett produktutvecklingsprojekt som har gått ut på att omkonstruera ett bromssystem tillhörande en rollator. Systemet som utvecklats har som syfte att omvandla brukarens kraft till bromsverkan, och det innehåller både färd- och parkeringsbroms. Systemets viktigaste delar är ett grepphandtag som brukaren håller sig i, ett bromshandtag som brukaren använder för att manövrera bromsen, kraftöverföringselement, bromspaket samt mekaniska komponenter. Alla dessa komponenter har inte utvecklats i detta projekt utan många av dem har återanvänts från det befintliga systemet. Produkten har utvecklats för att uppfylla de krav och önskemål som har ställts av uppdragsgivaren, Ahlberg Leber, men även de framtida brukarnas behov har varit viktiga. Dessa behovs identifierades i en marknadsundersökning som utfördes under projektets första del. Under denna så framkom information som var så pass intressant att den inte bara har fungerat som underlag utan den har också presenterats som en viktig del av projektets resultat. I nästa del av projektet började utvecklingen av produkten. Detta utvecklingsarbete kan delas upp i två separata delprojekt som har bedrivits parallellt med varandra. Det ena gick ut på att utveckla de mekaniska delarna, som ser till att brukaren kan manövrera bromsen, och den andra gick ut på att utforma grepphandtaget och bromshandtaget. Under utvecklingsarbetet har två olika produktutvecklingsmetoder använts för att bestämma hur manövreringen av färd- och parkeringsbroms ska ske. Den första användes för att ta fram en konceptlösning och den andra användes för att utveckla denna till den slutliga lösningen. Metodernas tillvägagångssätt är att flera olika förslag utvecklas och mot slutet så väljs ett av dessa ut för att gå vidare till nästa fas i projektet. Under projektets gång så har flera olika idéer och förslag framkommit och alla dessa har efterhand dokumenterats. Enligt projektmedlemmarna så utgör dessa idéer och förslag den viktigaste delen av projektets resultat. De flesta är intressanta och många av dem har potential, och därför kommer konstruktörerna på Ahlberg Leber garanterat att ha nytta av dem i framtiden. Förhoppningen är att dessa ska bidra till nya idéer om hur framtidens produkter kan se ut. Parkeringsbromsen på den produkt som har presenterats som den slutliga manövreras med hjälp av en knapp. Då bromshandtaget rör sig över ett visst läge så aktiveras parkeringsbromsen automatiskt och knappen används sedan för att avaktivera den. Det viktigaste resultatet från utformningen av grepphandtaget var att brukaren kan välja mellan olika positioner på sina händer. Dessa positioner fungerar olika bra i olika situationer vilket betyder att brukaren är bättre rustad för att klara av sin vardag.

<p>This diploma work project is a product development project which purpose is to redesign a braking system for a walking frame. The system that was developed diverges the force from the user to braking power, and includes a service brake as well as a parking brake. The most important components of the system are a grip handle on where the user holds on to and a braking handle on which the user operates the brake from. The system also includes a power transmission component, braking package and other mechanical components. All of the components wasn’t developed in this project, several off them has been reused from the existing system.</p><p>This product has been developed to meet the requirements and standards presented from the principal, Ahlberg Leber. The needs of the future users have also been to importance of the project. These needs where defined thru a marketing analysis, which took place during the first phase of the project. The results from this were so interesting, not only did it function as a basic data; it also is representing an important part of this projects result.</p><p>During the next phase of the project the product development process took place. You can divide this development work into two separate parts that has developed parallel. The purpose of the first one was to develop the mechanical parts that enable the user to operate the brake. The other one was to design the both handles.</p><p>During the course of the development process two different product development methods have been used to decide the design of the braking operating. The first one was used to design a conceptual solution and the second one was used to determine the final solution. The approach of these methods is to develop several different proposals from which one is selected and moves on to the next phase of the project. During the course of the project several ideas and proposals has been developed and later on documented. According to the developers - these ideas makes the most important part of the result of the project. Since most of them are interesting and has potential, it is curtain that the designers of Ahlberg Leber will have usage of these ideas in the future. Hopefully they will contribute to new ideas of how the product of tomorrow might look like.</p><p>The parking brake of the product that is presented as the final one is to be operated by the use of a button. When the braking handle moves over a certain location, the parking brake is automatically activated and the button is then used to deactivate it.</p><p>The most important result of the grip handle design is that the user may choose between different position of there hands. These positions are preferable in different situations and the options give the user a better chance to cope with the every day life.</p> / <p>Detta examensarbete är ett produktutvecklingsprojekt som har gått ut på att omkonstruera ett bromssystem tillhörande en rollator. Systemet som utvecklats har som syfte att omvandla brukarens kraft till bromsverkan, och det innehåller både färd- och parkeringsbroms. Systemets viktigaste delar är ett grepphandtag som brukaren håller sig i, ett bromshandtag som brukaren använder för att manövrera bromsen, kraftöverföringselement, bromspaket samt mekaniska komponenter. Alla dessa komponenter har inte utvecklats i detta projekt utan många av dem har återanvänts från det befintliga systemet.</p><p>Produkten har utvecklats för att uppfylla de krav och önskemål som har ställts av uppdragsgivaren, Ahlberg Leber, men även de framtida brukarnas behov har varit viktiga. Dessa behovs identifierades i en marknadsundersökning som utfördes under projektets första del. Under denna så framkom information som var så pass intressant att den inte bara har fungerat som underlag utan den har också presenterats som en viktig del av projektets resultat.</p><p>I nästa del av projektet började utvecklingen av produkten. Detta utvecklingsarbete kan delas upp i två separata delprojekt som har bedrivits parallellt med varandra. Det ena gick ut på att utveckla de mekaniska delarna, som ser till att brukaren kan manövrera bromsen, och den andra gick ut på att utforma grepphandtaget och bromshandtaget.</p><p>Under utvecklingsarbetet har två olika produktutvecklingsmetoder använts för att bestämma hur manövreringen av färd- och parkeringsbroms ska ske. Den första användes för att ta fram en konceptlösning och den andra användes för att utveckla denna till den slutliga lösningen. Metodernas tillvägagångssätt är att flera olika förslag utvecklas och mot slutet så väljs ett av dessa ut för att gå vidare till nästa fas i projektet. Under projektets gång så har flera olika idéer och förslag framkommit och alla dessa har efterhand dokumenterats. Enligt projektmedlemmarna så utgör dessa idéer och förslag den viktigaste delen av projektets resultat. De flesta är intressanta och många av dem har potential, och därför kommer konstruktörerna på Ahlberg Leber garanterat att ha nytta av dem i framtiden. Förhoppningen är att dessa ska bidra till nya idéer om hur framtidens produkter kan se ut.</p><p>Parkeringsbromsen på den produkt som har presenterats som den slutliga manövreras med hjälp av en knapp. Då bromshandtaget rör sig över ett visst läge så aktiveras parkeringsbromsen automatiskt och knappen används sedan för att avaktivera den.</p><p>Det viktigaste resultatet från utformningen av grepphandtaget var att brukaren kan välja mellan olika positioner på sina händer. Dessa positioner fungerar olika bra i olika situationer vilket betyder att brukaren är bättre rustad för att klara av sin vardag.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:51:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissMMO.pdf: 1788461 bytes, checksum: c91e5052b5a23718a605943ed35a8163 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-08-09 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / The capacity of introducing new products in the market has been considered as an important factor for companies competitiveness. This is the reality of the food industry that adopts technological and organizational changes in their productive processes, the materials supply and the products distribution, mainly for products differentiation. These changes evidence the suppliers and distributors growing to the food processed supply chain. Then, the importance of this study: its contribution for the understanding of the supplier s paper in the new beverage development process. Besides, the researched theme has relevance considering the shortage of works that analyze the relationship of ingredients suppliers in the food chain. It is had as presupposition, based on the literature, that the supplier involvement in the product development process propitiates time and cost reduction in the product development, quality improvement of the acquired materials and larger access facility and technology application. The analysis of the suppliers involvement in the supply chain focused in their participation in the buyer s new product development process, narrowing to the ingredients suppliers. This work was developed with multiple cases studies in four companies of the segments of no alcoholic drinks (fresh juice and powdered soft drinks) and drunk milky and a common ingredient supplier to those companies. Those segments were chosen due to the great growth of the demand by these products, given the appeal of their functional (health) and convenience (comfort). It was observed, mainly, that the responsibility degree of the supplier in the product development is function of its technical competence (knowledge and experience). It was also verified that the supplier s participation that happens in the initial phases of the new beverage process development, facilitates the access and technology application in the food product development process. / A capacidade de introduzir novos produtos no mercado tem sido considerada como importante fator de competitividade das empresas. Esta é a realidade da indústria de alimentos que adota mudanças tecnológicas e organizacionais em seus processos produtivos, no suprimento de seus materiais e na distribuição de seus produtos, principalmente para diferenciação de produtos. Estas mudanças evidenciam a crescente integração dos fornecedores (a montante) e de distribuidores (a jusante) à cadeia de suprimentos de processadoras de alimentos. Daí importância deste estudo: sua contribuição para a compreensão do papel do fornecedor no processo de desenvolvimento de novas bebidas. Além disso, o tema pesquisado tem relevância considerando a escassez de trabalhos que analisam a relação de fornecedores de ingredientes na cadeia de alimentos. Tem-se como pressuposto, baseado na literatura, que o envolvimento do fornecedor no processo de desenvolvimento de produto propicia redução de tempo e de custos no desenvolvimento de produtos, melhora da qualidade dos materiais adquiridos e maior facilidade de acesso e aplicação de tecnologia. A análise do envolvimento de fornecedores na cadeia de suprimento focou na sua participação no processo de desenvolvimento de novos produtos junto ao cliente industrial, restringindo-se aos fornecedores de ingredientes. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido com estudo de múltiplos casos em quatro empresas dos segmentos de bebidas não alcoólicas (sucos pronto para beber e refresco em pó) e bebidas lácteas e um fornecedor de ingrediente comum às empresas. Esses segmentos foram escolhidos devido ao grande crescimento da demanda por estes produtos, dado o apelo de serem funcionais (saúde) e de conveniência (comodidade). Observou-se, principalmente, que o grau de responsabilidade do fornecedor no desenvolvimento de produto é função de sua competência técnica (conhecimento e experiência). Constatou-se também que a participação do fornecedor que ocorre nas fases iniciais do processo de desenvolvimento de novas bebidas, facilita o acesso e aplicação de tecnologia no processo de desenvolvimento de produtos alimentícios.

A decade ago, Toyota, an automobile manufacturer from Japan, came up with a new production system which started the automobile industry called “Lean manufacturing”. Over time, the popularity of the system became apparent and it became the Toyota Production System (TPS). Following this technological development, “Len enterprise” a new concept was produced with the sole purpose of eliminating wastes in every function of the entire organization. As of present, as far as product developing companies are concerned, the development process has become more complex. For instance, in Scrum software development as well as in Lean product development, tools for planning a project using walls and boards have been developed. These methods have so far proved to be very efficient, in so far as the visualization of the work performed, as well as the prioritization of new tasks is concerned. However, there are notable challenges in synchronization, version control and traceability among a company’s different projects. This thesis, investigates how Physical Pulse Board is used and how it can be improved through the introduction of a web-based application for eliminating of difficulties of using Pulse board especially in global environment where different people from various locations might need to join the meeting. The paper consists of three parts. In the first part one set of interviews were conducted along with an observation to figure out related difficulties with the use of Physical Pulse Board especially in global environment. Following this, another set of interviews were conducted to help find out how these issues can be eliminated or resolved. Considering that good principles can never be useful, unless they are applied and used in reality, in the second part of this report, a web-based application was developed to help bring improvements using Pulse Board in global environment based on the finding from the first part. It was then that evaluation of implemented software was done through a workshop with Hellström, and Dr. Amer Ćatić. It is worth noting that the two persons are the Lean Product Development Specialist chosen for market analysis given that the two had implemented the Physical Pulse Board in their organization.

The Templates for Sustainable Product Development (TSPD) is a tool for sustainability practitioners to assist product development teams with bringing sustainability considerations to the early phases of product development in a strategic, quick and resource-efficient way. This thesis project builds on the earlier TSPD work by investigating the ways in which sustainability practitioners could apply the TSPD in order to improve the outcomes. The factors influencing the quality of the outcomes of a TSPD application were investigated. Then, support was developed for use by sustainability practitioners to address these factors. This support was field tested and refined in four iterations. It was discovered that achieving high quality outcomes from a TSPD application is dependent on having both high quality strategic sustainable product development content and high quality facilitation of the people considering this content. The quality of both content and facilitation influences the participants’ level of engagement, which influences the quality of the outcomes of the TSPD application. The support was developed such that it assists sustainability practitioners in addressing both content and facilitation through a participatory approach. There is some evidence that use of the developed support contributed to both high level of participants’ engagement and high quality outcomes of the TSPD applications. / <p>Blog at http://sustainableproductdevelopment.blogspot.se/</p>

Driven by rapid technological developments, greater customer expectations, and increased product complexity,product development processes increasingly rely on the integration of dispersed specialist knowledge.Consequently, many industrial firms are changing the way they approach product development. Productdevelopment increasingly relies on knowledge integration across firm boundaries. Customers are one of the mostindispensable sources of knowledge, and their knowledge needs to be integrated during product development.However, little is known about the processes and mechanisms used to integrate customer knowledge in productdevelopment.Therefore, firms must devise processes and mechanisms that support knowledge integration withcustomers. This thesis aims to investigate knowledge integration with customers in collaborative productdevelopment. The work described in this thesis combines a case study with a survey approach. More specifically, five casestudies were conducted at three industrial manufacturing firms. Data were collected in 46 interviews, along withinformal discussions, workshops, and secondary material. The case studies revealed the role of knowledgeintegration, knowledge integration mechanisms, and the importance of contextual factors related to the customer’stechnical capability, and the locus of initiative for the product development project. A cross-sectional survey wasperformed in order to ascertain the role of knowledge integration and its effect on innovation performance and theeffect of firms and customers’ technical capability and locus of initiative on knowledge integration withcustomers. The survey study generated 216 responses from firms operating in the Swedish manufacturingindustry. This thesis consists of a compiled summary and five appended papers. The results in these provide the basis formodelling knowledge integration with customers. The findings confirm that integrating knowledge withcustomers in product development is associated with better innovation performance. Further, the results point tothe dynamic characteristics of knowledge integration in product development processes. More specifically, firmstend to apply different combinations of mechanisms in different phases, depending on the intended content of theknowledge contribution of the customer and the requirements of each phase in the development process. Inaddition, the degree of technical capability, internal integration capability, and locus of initiative are importantfactors influencing knowledge integration processes. This thesis sheds new light on collaborative productdevelopment with customers by demonstrating that knowledge, and particularly the integration of knowledgeacross firm boundaries, is a central property of product development. The study focuses on industrial andmanufacturing firms, complementing current perspectives on the role of customers in other sectors. In thisparticular sector, complexity and system-wide implications need to be resolved together with customers throughknowledge integration activities. An important implication of the thesis is that firms need to devise mechanismsfor knowledge integration with customers, and be prepared to redevise these as the firm progresses through theproduct development phases.

Produktutveckling och innovation är ett systematiskt arbete för att generera nya produkter. Det är en kostsam process och de små företagen är extra sårbara vilket gör att rätt handling i produktutvecklingsarbetet är av stor vikt. När det gäller framställning av nya produkter är produktutvecklingsarbetet avgörande för konkurrenskraften. I takt med den ökade globaliseringen behöver företag ta hänsyn till en dynamisk och ofta föränderlig marknad för att överleva. Att ha kontroll på produkten genom hela produktutvecklingsarbetet skapar möjligheter till utveckling och förbättring och därigenom bättre utnyttjande av resurser. Produktutveckling genererar kostnader och resurser för företagen vilket gör att det blir allt viktigare att handla rätt redan från start och vidare genom hela produktutvecklingsarbetet. Genom att effektivisera utnyttjandet av resurser skapas en mer hållbar produktion och produkt. Syftet är att, i mindre företag, belysa några av de kritiska faktorer som kan inverka på effektiviteten i dryckesbranschens produktutvecklingsarbete. En kvalitativ studie innehållande semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem mindre dryckesföretag. Intervjuerna pågick i cirka 20 minuter. Data från informanterna spelades in och transkriberades för att sedan genomgå en tematisk analys. Företagen valdes utifrån ett målstyrt urval. Då intervjuerna utfördes genom fysiskt möte valdes företag belägna inom en 10 mils radie från Malmö. Den tematiska analysen resulterade i tre teman vilka var styrning/kontroll, erfarenheter, samt omvärldsbevakning. Dessa teman utgör kritiska faktorer som alla har en avgörande roll i produktutvecklingsarbetet. Småföretagen påverkar ofta sitt produktutvecklingsarbete genom beslut utifrån tidigare förvärvade yrkes erfarenheter och kunskaper samt genom informella beslut allteftersom problem och frågor uppkommer. Styrning/kontroll, erfarenheter samt omvärldsbevakning är tre kritiska faktorer som alla inverkar på produktutvecklingsarbetet. Småföretagen agerar ofta utifrån tidigare yrkeskunskaper och erfarenheter när beslut ska fattas. Detta har orsakat ökade kostnader, förlängt produktutvecklingsarbetet samt gett svårigheter som krävt nya beslut. Detta har påverkat företagens produktutvecklingsarbete i negativ riktning. Genom att kombinera teoretiska verktyg och praktiska erfarenheter skapas det effektivaste produktutvecklingsarbetet. Omvärldsbevakning med en ökad marknads och konsumentorientering bidrar till ett bättre produktutvecklingsarbete tillsammans med beslut som fattas med förhöjd grad av styrning och kontroll samt med bidrag från tidigare yrkeskunnande. / Introduction Product development and innovation is a systematic endeavor to generate new products. This is  a costly process and the small companies are extra vulnerable which makes the right work in product development of great importance. In terms of production, product development work is crucial for competitiveness. In line with increased globalisation, companies need to consider the dynamic and often changing market in order to survive. Having control of the product throughout the product development work creates opportunities for development and improvement, and thereby better utilisation of resources. Product development generates costs and resources for the companies, which means that it is becoming increasingly important to manage correctly from the outset, and onwards throughout the entire product development work. By making more efficient use of resources, a more sustainable production and product is created. Purpose The aim is to highlight some of the critical factors in smaller companies that may affect the efficiency of product development work within the beverage industry. Method A qualitative study made up of semi-structured interviews at five smaller beverage companies. The interviews lasted approximately 20 minutes. Information from the informers was recorded and transcribed, and later underwent thematic analysis. The companies were chosen on the basis of a target-driven selection. As the interviews were carried out in the form of a physical meeting, companies were chosen within a 6,2 miles radius of Malmö. Results The thematic analysis resulted in three themes, which were experiences, intelligence gathering and governability/control. These themes represent critical aspects where everyone can play a crucial role in product development work. Small businesses often influence their product development work through decisions based on previously acquired experience and knowledge and make informal decisions as problems and questions arise. Conclusion Governability/control, experiences and intelligence gathering are three critical factors that all influence the product development work. Small businesses often act on the basis of previous professional knowledge and experience when making decisions. This has caused increased costs, prolonged  product development work and given difficulties that required new decisions, which had a negative impact on the companies' product development work. Combining theoretical tools and practical experience are the most effective product development work. Intelligence gathering with an increased market and consumer orientation contributes to better product development work, together with decisions made with a increased degree of governability/control and with contributions from previous professional expertise.

Abstract Management of product development activities has become increasingly important, as cycle times of product development have shortened. Smaller product development projects are often conducted rapidly at companies based on customer or sales requests to answer the need for faster cycle times. However, this is often done without fully realizing the impact of the new projects on the larger project portfolio or organizational effectiveness. The main objective of this dissertation is to increase knowledge on the use of agile development methods in small, rapid product development projects, and on the implementation of a rapid product development model. The dissertation is formulated as a qualitative, inductive study based on the research results of four original publications and a summary combining the results. The results of the dissertation show that it is beneficial to separate a rapid product development process for certain types of customer- or sales-initiated projects. A new rapid development model with principles and guidelines is introduced to help organizations facilitate this separation. The implementation of the model can be supported with agile development practices, of which self-managing teams are studied in more detail. There is significant overlap between case companies’ perceived success factors for rapid development and self-management. The results imply that a functional rapid development model can be utilized as a strategic asset at companies. The results also provide empirical evidence that agile development practices can be utilized in product development. In addition to providing empirical evidence in scientific discussion about combining product development and agile software development practices, the results can be used to create better definitions of product development processes in general. / Tiivistelmä Tuotekehityksen johtamisesta ja hallinnasta on tullut entistä haastavampaa ja tärkeämpää, kun tuotekehitysprojektien läpimenoajat ovat lyhentyneet. Yritykset tekevät kasvamassa määrin lyhyitä tuotekehitysprojekteja asiakaspyyntöjen tai myynnin aloitteesta vastatakseen markkinoiden vaatimuksiin nopeasta kehityksestä. Tällaisten nopeiden tuotekehitysprojektien käynnistäminen ja toteutus tehdään usein ymmärtämättä yksittäisen projektin vaikutusta koko projektiportfolioon tai organisaation tehokkuuteen. Tämän väitöskirjan päätavoitteena on tutkia ohjelmistokehityksestä tunnettujen ketterien kehitysmenetelmien käyttöä nopeissa tuotekehitysprojekteissa ja uudenlaisen nopean tuotekehityksen mallin käyttöönotossa. Tutkimus on tehty laadullisena ja induktiivisena tutkimuksena perustuen neljään itsenäiseen tutkimusartikkeliin ja näiden tulokset kokoavaan kokoelmaosaan. Tutkimus osoittaa, että yrityksille on hyödyllistä erottaa erillinen prosessi tietyntyyppisille nopeille tuotekehitysprojekteille. Tutkimuksen tuloksena esitellään malli, joka tukee tätä erottamista periaatteiden ja ohjeiden avulla. Tätä mallia pystytään tukemaan ketterillä kehitysmenetelmillä, joihin liittyen on erityisesti tutkittu itseohjautuvia kehitystiimejä. Case-yritysten havainnoimilla nopean tuotekehityksen menestystekijöillä ja itseohjautuvien tiimien ominaisuuksilla on havaittavissa suurta päällekkäisyyttä. Tulokset osoittavat, että hyvin käytetty ja määritetty nopean tuotekehityksen malli voi olla strateginen kilpailuetu yrityksille. Tulokset lisäävät myös empiiristä tietoa ketterien menetelmien käytöstä tuotekehityksessä ja hyödyntävät siten ajankohtaista tieteellistä keskustelua. Tuloksia voidaan myös hyödyntää muiden tuotekehitysprosessien käyttötarkoituksen tarkempaan määrittämiseen.