Rapid Product Development Handbook

University of Oulu Finland

Research on product management in University of Oulu focuses on developing and managing products, and services, throughout their life-cycles. Product management research group has specific interests including positioning of early product development, and division of activities into new product development, rapid product development and productisation. Research on product management analyses product development processes and relevant stakeholders at business case, business model, and business ecosystem levels. Other focus areas include active product management and product portfolio management practices over product life-cycle, competitive renewal of product portfolios by introducing new products, maintaining the products and by product removal and phase-out. In addition, the research covers accelerating product development processes, lean thinking, and agile methods. Also, product and master data management concepts, processes, tools and governance models are in focus. The research by the product management research group also involves product development related knowledge and knowledge management as a more abstract viewpoint, and product data management as a technical viewpoint. One of the latest interest areas is product development related sourcing. For the efficiency of business processes the product design principles, and Design for Excellence are integral part of the research interests.

The research aims to serve companies' true needs and pursuit academic excellence by producing relevant knowledge for companies and creating high level publications and research reports. The research is realised in projects partially financed by companies.

Harri Kaikkonen

Harri Kaikkonen is a Doctoral student at Industrial Engineering and Management in the University of Oulu. He holds M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management (Technology Management) and is writing a dissertation on the application of agile development methods in rapid development as part of Product Management research at the University of Oulu. His other research interests include technology commercialization, lean thinking, software development processes, change management, and organizational management. His list of scientific publications includes several journal and conference papers on these topics.

Tarja Leinonen

M.Sc. and M.A. Tarja Leinonen received her Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Vaasa and Master's degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Oulu, Finland. She has experience working in customer interface and in demand-supply-planning in the global companies operating in forest sector and in industrial sector. At University of Oulu she has been working in several development projects, which have been implemented in cooperation with the business companies. Currently Leinonen works as a PhD student at University of Oulu. Her research interests are the professional communication skills and how to develop these skills with training.

Arto Tolonen

Dr Arto Tolonen received M.Sc. in Engineering (1992) and Dr (Tech) in Industrial Engineering and Management (2016) from the University of Oulu, Finland. Currently, he is a Senior Research Fellow in Industrial Engineering and Management at the University of Oulu. His current research interests are product management, product portfolio management, product data management and rapid product development. He has over 20 years of experience in development of business processes and operational management of Design for Excellence product design principles, delivery capability creation, supply chain management and product data management in global companies.

Tatu Kokkonen

Tatu Kokkonen received his M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management from the University of Oulu, 2017. His research interests include product portfolio management, product development, business case analysis and service design.

Abduraheem Siddique

Abduraheem Siddique received his M.Sc. in Product Management in 2016 from the University of Oulu, Finland. He currently works in the ICT industry. His research interest is on product management, agile product development and supply chain management.

Kai Hänninen

Kai Hänninen is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Micro-entrepreneurship research group at the University of Oulu, Finland. He holds a doctorate in industrial engineering and management, a master's degree in engineering (embedded systems) and bachelor's degrees in civil engineering and computer engineering. Before entering academic research, he worked for more than 25 years at various managerial levels in R&D and technology management in the telecommunications and construction industry. His primary research interest is twofold, focusing on company growth and business management, with a particular focus on service- and technology-based companies. In more detail about how companies are able to manage growth and maintain at the same time a full functionality of research and development (R&D) operations. In R&D operations, the focus is on rapid product and service development. In the area of business growth, the focus is on how to generate a new value proposition from an idea or invention into a commercial solution. Research interests are product management and project business. He has authored over 20 international scientific articles.

Janne Härkönen

Dr Janne Harkonen received his Bachelor's degree , 1st Class Honours, in Engineering Business Management from University of Greenwich in the UK and both his M.Sc. in Process Engineering and Dr , Tech, in Industrial Engineering and Management, from the University of Oulu, Finland. He has also studied in the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, USA. He has worked for many years in the IT and environmental technology industries, in the UK and in Finland. Currently, he is a senior research fellow at the University of Oulu. Dr Harkonen has authored and co-authored some fifty journal articles and also a number of other publications.

Harri Haapasalo

Dr Harri Haapasalo is a Professor of Product Management at Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Oulu in Finland. He has two main areas of research; one in product management, product development and second one in area of complex systems management, lean construction and business models. He has been very active in obtaining research projects, and active in journal publications. His list of publications contains more than 200 international items. He has supervised more than 20 doctoral theses and been external examiner for more than 20 doctoral dissertations.

Jordan Verrollot

Jordan Verrollot received M.Sc. in 2012 from the University of Technology of Troyes, France. He joined Industrial Engineering and Management, Faculty of Technology at the University of Oulu, Finland in 2014. His research interests include supply chain management, product management, product portfolio management and product development.