The Informational Elements of Product Design Briefs:An Exploratory Investigation

This study investigates the contents and use of product design briefs within new product development (NPD). These documents are utilized during the NPD process to capture, codify, and communicate various requirements of a project (e.g., target market, pricing, product attributes, materials, and design language). Drawing from a proprietary sample of 68 product design briefs and a survey sample of 157 managers our study: (1) Describes 51 “informational elements” (e.g., words, text, phrases, concepts, ideas, figures) commonly present within product design briefs, (2) Defines differences between information elements as rated by managerial “Importance”, (3) Organizes information elements into a strategic framework through Exploratory Factor Analysis, and (4) Draws on related literature to offer theoretic rationale for the presence of information elements and underlying strategic dimensions. Our results provide the informational contents of successful product design briefs and become a first-step towards further understanding of these documents as integral aspects of NPD.