ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the vital link between strategic planning and product planning. One way to illustrate the strategic planning process is to portray it as a pyramid comprising five levels. While it remains a simple representation of general product planning strategies, the product-market matrix implies that product planning becomes more complex and riskier along the diagonal of the matrix from the upper left corner to the lower right corner. Some product planners contend that the product development process begins with a company objective or strategy, which, in turn, orients the product development endeavor. The distinction of the fourth-generation product development process is that it adds a discovery stage at the front end of the product development process. A common shortcoming is the omission of a sixth product development stage of life cycle management, which should be considered and which some companies include as part of their continuous product development process.
