In August 2012, PDSS Inc. celebrates ten years in business! During our first 10 years, PDSS has consulted or trained at over 40 companies in industries ranging from golfing equipment to cell phones, from biotech, medical device and pharma to weaponry, and from toilets to tires and many more! The books authored and co-authored by PDSS President Skip Creveling have influenced hundreds organizations and thousands of individuals. Skip has lectured every year for the last 6 years at the System Design & Management program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the topic of Critical Parameter Development & Management (CPD&M). We have published over 50 newsletter articles on topics in product development and problem prevention. In August of 2009, our 7-year anniversary, this newsletter recapped our history in chronological order.

Recap: 2009 - Present

Since 2009, PDSS has continued working for the U.S. Army ARDEC and added several new clients in the medical device, vision care and printing/computer industry. PDSS has also extended its emphasis on problem prevention to the healthcare field, with the recent collaboration between Skip Creveling and Dr. Lou Eichel, a urologist and surgeon in Rochester, NY. Together they are piloting a problem prevention project for the entire surgical process of a major hospital and co-authoring a book on the subject of Problem Prevention in Medical Processes & Procedures. Finally, PDSS has created a series of professionally produced videos of Skip Creveling leading a live class in PDSS' upgraded eight-day Critical Parameter Development & Management curriculum. This series of 52 modular training videos is now available.

PDSS and the U.S. Army ARDEC at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ

Our relationship with the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ has grown to comprise eight projects that are back-deriving key (critical) parameters for the manufacture of weapons that have been in production for many years. These projects are important for improving the safety, reliability, accuracy and cost-effectiveness of the weaponry used by our Warfighters during recent conflicts overseas. PDSS has also worked with ARDEC to develop a new innovation process and framework and a strategic front-end portfolio renewal process.

The largest and most important project at ARDEC in which PDSS has performed an essential role, however, is the development and implementation of a new, state-of-the-art technology and product development process called Vector. The project was initiated in 2007 and encompasses the entirety of PDSS' methodology for both technology and product development excellence, including training, tools and best practices, coaching, project management and gate keeping. Vector is benefiting from every lesson PDSS has learned over the last 10 years of practice. Every major value we have distilled from Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), Lean Product Development, Agile/Flexible Development, Project Management and the CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) has been integrated into the new process.

Vector was developed in a collaboration of over 250 ARDEC and Picatinny Arsenal stakeholders. The team visited and benchmarked with Cummins, Boeing, 3M and even Orange County Choppers (yes, Skip saw Paul Sr. yelling at every one to hurry up!). Vector is truly a one-of-a-kind, custom technology and product development process that is well accepted because it was "home grown" with PDSS' guidance and experience. It is PDSS' finest work to date and should be nothing less since it is all for the safety and effectiveness of our finest - our nation's Warfighters.

Vector is now being deployed at Picatinny Arsenal on 4 technology development pilot projects. Regarding these projects, ARDEC's leaders have stated they've never had more clarity from hard data to help them make critical decisions as they manage risk in this complex and dangerous environment of weapon / munition / fire control development. Vector continues to gain support and has a 10 year sustainment plan, demonstrating the Army's commitment to seeing it through as it becomes the standard process for all development projects in the future.

Problem Prevention in Medical Processes & Procedures

In 2009, Skip created a new PDSS offering; workshops on problem prevention. PDSS' methodology for problem prevention leverages the tools of DFSS and is applicable to many environments and domains beyond technology and product development.

One of the professionals from whom Skip solicited input for the program was Dr. Louis Eichel, a urologist and surgeon in Rochester, NY. Dr. Eichel, although at first unfamiliar with DFSS and Lean Six Sigma, embraced Skip's new emphasis on problem prevention methodology (as opposed to reactive problem solving) and began applying it to his own medical practice and giving presentations to other medical professionals.

In 2012, Skip and Dr. Eichel completed the manuscript for a book entitled "Problem Prevention in Medical Processes and Procedures". They have also initiated a pilot project with the surgical team at Rochester General Hospital to apply the problem prevention methodology to the procedures of surgery at the hospital. Concurrently, the book manuscript is being evaluated by a leading medical text publisher. This is an exciting new opportunity for PDSS, and although he has been required to observe, Skip has promised he will not be doing any surgery himself!

Upgrade: Critical Parameter Development & Management Curriculum

Critical (also called "Key" at the Dept. of Defense) Parameter Development and Management (CPD&M) is a powerful discipline, especially when applied to complex products with many interactions and/or pesky performance problems. The most effective way to learn and implement CPD&M is to do so under the organizational structure and work flow of Systems Engineering. PDSS' core competency, as well as our competitive advantage, is teaching CPD&M in a disciplined Systems Engineering context. We believe our CPD&M methodology and program offerings are unique among consultants and trainers.

Skip has recently upgraded an eight classroom-day curriculum of CPD&M training and materials. The upgraded materials also include an electronic text called "Critical Parameter Development & Management Leadership". This short book explains and illustrates the basics of CPD&M, with an emphasis on The Big 7 Metrics of CPD&M. The text shows how a Project Manager can measure growth in learning and the rate of learning about critical parameters in the context of The Big 7 as a leading indicator of the health of the project as it strives to meet cost, schedule and performance goals. This training is a perfect complement for those organizations already well-versed in the front end Design for Six Sigma tools, such as Voice of the Customer, KJ analysis, QFD and Concept Design.

Furthermore, in 2010, as Skip presented the CPD&M course to a class of product development engineers at a major medical device company, the sessions were professionally video-recorded. The video was annotated with the slides of the material and made into a series of 52 professionally produced and edited video lectures comprising the entire CPD&M curriculum. These videos are available as part of a license of the materials and are ideal for ongoing reviews of any of the topics for JIT application, for proctored instruction or for students who miss a session of classroom training to catch up.

We Look Forward to the Next 10 Years!