Product Development Process Simulation

A well-known home appliance manufacturer.

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As part of their product development process training, our client (a well-known home appliance manufacturer), wanted to develop a team-based, hands-on experience to engage learners and demonstrate best practices. This synchronous, remote experience would bring together employees with a wide variety of jobs and experience levels.

We created a series of seven facilitator-led, virtual team meetings and exercises. During every team meeting, participants work together to complete stages in the product development process and ultimately “design and build” a new-to-the-world appliance.

This immersive simulation is part of a one-week remote instructor-led course. Before the simulation begins, the course instructor divides the class into two teams who will compete to find the optimal solution. Each team is assigned one facilitator who guides participants and manages the technology so that they can focus on the activities.

• At the beginning of the simulation, every team member is assigned to a role and given information and tasks specific to that role.
• During every team meeting, participants complete a combination of individual and group activities—presentations, games, information-sharing discussions, planning and technical documents, and decision-making exercises—that lead them down the path to a new product.
• At every stage, the team makes choices that impact their decisions at later stages.
• At the end of each team meeting, the team plays a game in The Training Arcade®, a game authoring tool, that recaps what they learned.
• After the last team meeting, the two teams reconvene to share results and lessons learned and compete in a Virtual Instructor Led (VILT) JEOPARDY!® game.

In addition to demonstrating the product development process in a fun and tangible way, this simulation highlights the importance of effective communication and collaboration. As participants work together to complete each step in the process, they develop a greater understanding of project requirements and the challenges that other team members face. As they see the impact of their choices, they learn why it’s important to share information and how information gaps can impact their ultimate success. Feedback has been positive, with participants noting that it is a very helpful introduction to the process at a high level.

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