1 Explain why there is not one best organisational structure for new product development.
2 Explain how sales representatives, especially with technology-intensive products, play a crucial role in the success or not of a new product and illustrate how their image as ‘second-hand car dealers’ is pejorative and incorrect.
3 Examine whether the virtual world (such as Second Life) may be able to help firms trial new products.
4 Explain why the ‘Valley of Death’ presents a genuine challenge to product champions or project leaders.
5 ‘New products are a necessary evil.’ From whose viewpoint are they necessary and from whose viewpoint are they evil?
6 Discuss the many reasons why so many new products fail. Are there additional reasons?
