A Message from the PDMA Pittsburgh Chapter President - April 2014

We started our 2014 programming slate in January with a screening of the documentary Design and Thinking.  It was a great event, and it's a topic that really epitomizes the PDMA community.  We are a collection of practicing professionals, academic researchers and service providers who look to combine empathy, creativity and rationality to solve problems and drive innovation and strategy.  Our Chapter is a platform for connecting, sharing experiences and exploring new thinking, and we encourage individuals, teams and organizations to join PDMA to become a part of this knowledge base. 

As a member, you get discounts on all Chapter events, and we have some excellent Innovation Forums planned for the coming months.  Topics include hardware accelerators, the power of adjacency, additive manufacturing and hybrid R&D. Please check your email and our Chapter website for dates and times.  Our Programming Committee does an outstanding job of bringing relevant content and some of the most notable industry experts to our area, but much of what they do is guided by input from our Chapter Community. Every good product developer knows the value of lending an empathetic ear to the voice of our customers, so we want to hear from you! Next month you will receive a survey via email asking for feedback about our Chapter and the events we offer.  Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts.  What are some of the topics you are interested in?  How important is networking?  The results will help shape our events and other programs in the months ahead. 

As a volunteer-driven organization, we attribute our success to all the outstanding people who support our events and give of their time and talent to make our Chapter a valuable resource for product development and innovation management.  I am proud to part of such a great organization and offer my sincere thanks to our board, our members and our guests.  I look forward to seeing you at our June event. Until then stay connected through our website, Twitter and LinkedIn.  Also feel free to contact me directly at randyr@ballydesign.com to share any and all things Pittsburgh PDMA! 

   

Randy Rossi

President, PDMA Pittsburgh
President, Bally Design 

Thank you to our sponsors! @Kennametal @KoppGlass @BallyDesign @CarnegieMellon @newhazlett @MadeinSWPA @DraegerNews #amgresearch

Thank you to our sponsors! @Kennametal @KoppGlass @BallyDesign @CarnegieMellon @newhazlett @MadeinSWPA @DraegerNews #amgresearch

A Message from the PDMA Chapter President - Randy Rossi, Bally Design

It was another great year for our Chapter! I'd like to extend a sincere thank you to PDMA members, students, guests and sponsors for your support throughout 2013.  Your participation and engagement throughout the year, coupled with the dedication and leadership from our Board Members, help us accelerate the contribution that innovation makes to the economic and professional growth of people, businesses and societies in our region.

We continue to strive to bring you the latest thinking and insights into the issues and topics most relevant to anyone involved in product development.  Innovation excellence is a phenomenon that every company wants more of and yet, whether large or small, public or private companies struggle with what it is and how it happens. It's a dichotomy - on one hand, innovation comes from the relatively loose "fuzzy" front end but also requires a highly structured and disciplined back end. Although organizations look to put innovation policies, processes and practices in place, there is still ambiguity, disconnects and limited sustainable success.

One of the new developments from PDMA (in conjunction with the Total Innovation Management (TIM) Foundation) that we are really excited about is the introduction of the "International Innovation Management Standard."  This new standard is designed to help organizations pragmatically organize all innovation activities to improve innovation performance.  It provides structure with uniform guidelines, tools, processes and terminology, but can be tailored to meet a company's unique needs. Our Chapter will roll out more information on the International Innovation Management Standard in 2014, so please check the website and event calendar in the months ahead to learn more.

As we look ahead to 2014, our Programming Committee has another excellent slate of events coming up.  We will be starting the year off with a regional premiere of the documentary "Design & Thinking."  We've also assembled a panel of design professionals to discuss the film and the design process immediately following the movie. This event is scheduled for January 29th, and if you register before December 23rd, you'll have a chance to win two tickets to the December 29th Steelers Game. 

Other future program topics include open innovation, the use of accelerators, and using Big Data to address customer needs. Please plan to join us for these relevant and valuable Innovation Forum events. Look for dates and times on the website, via our Chapter emails, and on Twitter, LinkedIn and the PDMA blog.

Whether you are a seasoned veteran, an emerging professional or a student, I encourage you and your colleagues to join the innovation conversation through PDMA.  Follow us on social media.  Become a member.  Participate in our events.  Consider a local or corporate sponsor.   If you are interested in learning more, please feel free to contact me at randyr@ballydesign.com. 

On behalf of the Pittsburgh Chapter Board Members, I want to wish you and your families a Happy Holiday Season and best wishes for a Healthy and Happy New Year. 

 

I look forward to seeing you "at the movies" in January!   

 

Randy Rossi

President, PDMA Pittsburgh
President, Bally Design 

A Message from the PDMA Pittsburgh Chapter President

Welcome to the Pittsburgh PDMA! I am honored to serve as Chapter President for 2013-2014. As I stepped into this role, the Chapter was recognized as a Top Tier Chapter in the Nation! This is a testament to the response and support of our members and guests, the tremendous talent and dedication of our Board and the leadership and vision of our past Presidents – Jeff Thompson and Mark Adkins. I am excited and proud to be part of this growing and vibrant community of practitioners, academics and service providers engaged in the principles, practices and processes of effective product innovation.

This is one of the most dynamic times in history for innovation and product development. Bill Gates suggests in Bloomberg Businessweek: “We’ve had more progress in the last decade than ever before.” For innovators, product developers, designers and engineers, advancements in technology (real and virtual) have created a vast body of knowledge and resources including the advent of some of the most creative and unique product development platforms in history—crowd sourcing, open innovation, rapid manufacturing and the maker movement, just to name a few. There has never been a more exciting time for innovation and product development yet organizations, regardless of size, openly admit to ongoing struggles with sustainable growth through their product portfolios and pipelines. We continue to hear of the high number of new product failures and the lament over incremental product improvement.

The mission of our Chapter is to impact the success of product development by growing and unifying the knowledge, talent and resources in our region. With the connection to the international PDMA organization, we also enable wider access to global resources. This coming together of professionals from different perspectives, disciplines and backgrounds, creates a valuable forum for genuine dialogue about current best practices, methods, challenges, opportunities and new thinking.

I encourage you and your colleagues to become part of the innovation conversation and join the Pittsburgh PDMA community. Whether through membership, sponsorship, event participation or volunteerism, there are many ways PDMA can fit your schedule and interests.

See you at the next PDMA Innovation Forum on September 16th!

Randy Rossi
President, PDMA Pittsburgh
President, Bally Design

Networking By Design - PDMA Mix & Mingle Event

Thursday, June 6, 2013
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Bally Design
810 Penn Avenue
PIttsburgh, PA 15222

As our chapter begins its fourth year, we want to conclude the Spring 2013 Program Series with a sincere Thank You for your support and participation. We invite our members and guests to join us at Bally Design for a mix and mingle networking session on Thursday, June 6, 2013 at 6 pm.

You’ll get an inside look at the tools and techniques that drive innovation and creativity in product design for industrial, medical and consumer products while enjoying a “taste of Pittsburgh” and connecting with friends and colleagues—all by design!

Cost: Members: $10;  Non-Members: $20

We hope you can join us.  

REGISTER TODAY

PDMA Pittsburgh Sponsors, Gold Sponsors, and Sponsoring Partners

The free admissions that you receive with your sponsorship apply to this event.