
Hosted in partnership with Oakland University, this event is part of the
LEI Lean Transformation Community-Building and Workshop Series.
This two-day workshop provides an immersive experience in applying LPPD principles and practices to develop a new product or service, which will help you launch better products and services faster — and with less frustration.
Most product development teams struggle with rework, missed deadlines, cost overruns, low morale, and many other issues. Also, although the decisions made in product development determine 70% of the ongoing costs of making products, many organizations aren’t structured to engage the cross-functional organization throughout product development to get the right people involved at the right time to make the right decisions to design an efficient value stream up-front. Learning to LPPD principles and practices will help you address and overcome these problems.

The decisions made in product development determine 70% of the ongoing costs of making products. LPPD principles and practices help you engage the cross–functional organization throughout the development process to ensure you involve the right people at the right time to make the right decisions when designing a product and its .
In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn primarily by experience as you apply the LPPD principles and practices to complete a simulated development project with a cross–functional team. In addition to hands-on activities, you’ll also gain practical insights from expert coaches, case studies from several different industries, and the perspectives of fellow attendees. Additionally, through guided self-reflection, you’ll create a plan to begin improving your development system using principles and practices.
Ultimately, this workshop will help you discover how to use the LPPD framework to integrate people, processes, and tools with a set of unique principles and practices that enable your development team to reliably and repeatedly deliver top-quality products and services to capture and maintain a competitive advantage.
Who Will Benefit?
- Product development leaders, managers, and engineers who want to escape the frustrations and overcome the problems of traditional development practices
- Leaders and managers across the enterprise, such as operations, supply chain, purchasing, logistics, delivery, service, marketing, and sales professionals, who are tired of having new products and services “thrown over the wall” and of dealing with the costly waste of rework late in projects
- Executives and continuous improvement professionals seeking to extend lean thinking and practices into product development
What Will I Learn?
Upon completion, you will be able to:
- Understand how to begin applying the guiding principles of lean product and process development.
- Implement practices that enable effective and timely collaboration across cross-functional work teams.
- Utilize the practices that help align all stakeholders toward a common objective.
- Manage development work visually in an obeya room to ensure the project team quickly addresses issues, keeping the project moving forward and avoiding rework.
- Understand how LPPD practices enable people to achieve their full potential.
Group Discount
Register three or more attendees for the same workshop and save 12.5% off every registration. To receive a group discount, register as a group through the registration link and the discount will automatically apply.
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel your registration for in-person workshops four weeks before the course start date for a full refund. A cancellation occurring within four weeks of the workshop dates will be subject to a $350 fee. To cancel, please call LEI at (617) 871-2900 or email registrar@lean.org.
Coursework
I. Introduction:
- Lean product and process development guiding principles
- Product development wastes
II. Study phase:
- Concept paper – align and enroll the organization
- Obeya – understanding and collaborating
- Decision flow – synchronizing work
III. Execution phase:
- Visual schedule – synchronizing work
- Obeya – collaborating and solving problems together
IV. Putting people first – using LPPD practices to enable people to perform better
V. Case studies – examples of organizations that have improved product development performance using lean product and process development
VI. Developing a plan – planning the next steps for improving product and process
Katrina Appell, PhD
Senior Coach
Product and Process Development
Lean Enterprise Institute
President, Katrina Appell Consulting
With over 15 years of coaching, facilitating, training, and team development experience, Katrina is passionate about supporting organizations in lean transformation. She has coached lean principles and practices at many companies in various industries, including Caterpillar, Michigan Medicine, Pella Windows & Doors, TechnipFMC, US Synthetic, and Whirlpool. At LEI, Katrina co-developed and teaches LEI’s Designing […]
Read more about Katrina Appell, PhD
John Drogosz, PhD
Senior Coach and Chief Engineer
Product and Process Development
Lean Enterprise Institute
Vice President, Liker Lean Advisors
John has over 25 years of lean manufacturing, product development, and above-shop-floor experience. As a coach, he has led lean transformations in numerous companies and industries, including Northrop Grumman, Johnson Controls, Areva, Peugeot-Citroen, Tenneco, Eaton, Hertz, Schlumberger, Harley-Davidson, Embraer, and Caterpillar. As LEI’s chief engineer, process and product development, John leads the development of learning […]
Read more about John Drogosz, PhD