ABOUT THIS BOOKLean product development (LPD) is the application of lean principles to product development, aiming to develop new or improved products that are successful in the market. It is a cross-functional activity that seeks to uncover product knowledge hidden within the end-to-end production flow, typically in the hand-over points between functional units. LPD deals with the complete process from gathering and generating ideas, through assessing potential success, to developing concepts, evaluating them to create a best concept, detailing the product, testing/developing it and handing over to the manufacture. LPD is performed against a background of continuously assessing and reducing risk of market failure.