An empirical investigation of complexity and its management in new product development

New product development (NPD) programmes are increasingly complex and difficult to manage. The consequences of poorly managed development complexity can be highly visible and even lead to project failure. To effectively screen new product proposals and manage NPD projects more efficiently, NPD teams need to be equipped with the capacity to identify development complexity and possess the knowledge to manage it. Unfortunately, there have been few studies which specifically illuminate the challenges and experiences product developers face in dealing with complexity. Our research attempts to help fill this gap. Our study is based on exploratory field interviews with 32 project leaders and team members. We first focus on identifying the specific complexity issues encountered in NPD. We then identify what NPD teams actually do to minimise the potential adverse consequences of complexity. Finally, we examine whether a company's development process reduces or increases the complexities NPD teams encounter. Based upon our research, we present our results and conclude by offering several recommendations for complexity management as well as suggestions for future research.