It's Not What You Do, It's How You Do It: Improving the Product Development Process

There are a host of solutions, strategies, and technologies that promise to enhance the performance of the product development organization. However the newly released research report, titled "Getting the Process Right: A Fresh Look at PLM and Product Development," from Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), found that just as often, how an organization approaches the change process can make as much difference as the solution implemented.

Getting the process right can lead to improved efficiency, more innovation, and higher levels of profitability. Getting it wrong can potentially mean failure to achieve not only the promised gains, but an investment in tools or technology that simply aren't used. There are a number of obstacles that must be negotiated, including cultural resistance, a lack of a firm goal, or even a lack of existing processes. Aberdeen found that leading companies see significantly greater improvements over their competitors, including the ability to meet product launch dates 2.3 times as often as their competitors. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=5349 .

"Getting the process right -- with respect to not only how a company engineers and builds its products, but how well it aligns its product development efforts with its overall business objectives -- is where companies often stand to make the greatest gains," observes Amy Rowell, Product Innovation and Engineering Research Analyst at Aberdeen. "Fundamentally, the Best-in-Class are more adept at alignment of product development efforts with business objectives and determining the kinds of product enhancements that will lead to increased revenue."

The report "Getting the Process Right: A Fresh Look at PLM and Product Development," provides a comprehensive guide to how effective organizational process change can translate into both improved product design and development efficiency as well as greater market success.

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the following underwriters: Omnify Software and Siemens PLM. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=5349 .

To access all of Aberdeen's complimentary research please visit http://research.aberdeen.com .

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com .

© 2008 AberdeenGroup, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts  02210-1928
Telephone: (617) 854-5200
Fax: (617) 723-7897
 www.aberdeen.com

Media Contact: Amy Rowell Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5398 amy.rowell@aberdeen.com