During NPD RiskAssessor Team Reviews team members assigned to a new product project use the RiskAssessor Statistical Model to advance their dialogue and uncover key strengths and weaknesses of their project. This service receives tremendous reviews by teams and top management. It is both a project focusing and a team building service.

Guided by an experienced facilitator, NPD RiskAssessor Team Reviews enable project contributors to explore individual opinions along side known facts, see an integrated view of the project, and share a full analysis and diagnosis of the project based on their own inputs. (See: Why Assess Risk)

Through an online survey, thirty questions about their project are posed to each team member. Each question requires a subjective rating (zero-to-ten scale) and an indication of how sure or confident they are with each rating. Comments, insights and concerns are also collected for each question. The questions deal with strategic issues such as the nature of the marketplace; the degree of fit or synergy; and the differential advantage of the product.

RiskAssessor mathematically analyzes the opinions and displays the composite or integrated view of the project. Areas of major disagreement and questions where confidences are low (uncertainty is high) become highlighted for easy identification and discussion. RiskAssessor then calculates nine key factors that underlie new product success. These key factors are orthogonal (mathematically independent from one another). Each is calculated by using responses to all of the 30 initial questions. The nine key factors are:

1. Product superiority/quality ... the competitive advantage the product has by virtue of features, benefits, quality, uniqueness, etc.
2. Economic advantage to the user ... the product's value for money for the customer.
3. Overall, company/project fit ... the product's synergy with the company.
4. Technological compatibility ... the technological synergy with the company.
5. Familiarity to the company ... how familiar or "close to home" the project is to the company (as opposed to new or "step out").
6. Market need, growth & size ... the magnitude of the market opportunity.
7. Competitive situation ... how easy to penetrate the market is from a competitive standpoint (as opposed to a tough and competitive market).
8. Defined opportunity ... whether the product has a well-defined category and established market (as opposed to a true innovation and new category of products).
9. Project definition ... how well defined the product and project are.

Adept's trained facilitator guides the team through in-depth discussions on these nine key factors, helping to identify the strengths and weaknesses project. The team also reviews the aggregate level of risk in the project. rs and to calculate overall scores for likelihood of success. In addition, sensitivity analyses are performed that look at the results under "what if" scenarios. The outputs are displayed graphically for easy interpretation and understanding.

Online Input
RiskAssessor Online makes inputting and compiling data and insights makes fast and easy. Team members receive an email with instructions to click on a link to a secure RiskAssessor input form. Once at the site, they merely state their name and enter their responses. This usually takes between fifteen and twenty minutes. For the thirty factors in the RiskAssessor model, respondents input a numerical rating, a numerical confidence and comments about the project as it relates to the specific factor. In addition, the online survey also gathers qualitative statements and perceptions about project issues, magnitude, training, target markets, and product definitions.

NPD RiskAssessor Team Reviews ... bringing focus and a shared understanding to NPD projects.