Targeted Convergence
| Targeted Convergence Corporation | |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | SaaS |
| Founded | 2004 in Texas |
| Founders |
|
Key people |
|
| Products | Success Assured |
Number of employees | 23 |
| Website | targetedconvergence |
Targeted Convergence is a privately held, information technology company based in Texas, United States.
History
[edit]Before founding Targeted Convergence Corporation, Michael N. Kennedy worked as senior member technical staff at Texas Instruments.[1] He collaborated with Dr. Allen Ward from the University of Michigan, teaching the Toyota Product Development System (TPDS).[2][3] Based on their work, Michael wrote and published the first book on the TPDS, called Product Development for the Lean Enterprise.[4]
In 2004, Michael Kennedy and his son, Brian Kennedy, co-founded Targeted Convergence in Texas, United States. Michael served as the CEO up until his death in 2024.[5]
Business Model
[edit]To help companies meld the TPDS learning into their own development practices, Targeted Convergence Corporation (TCC) developed a series of workshops to teach the required skills and make the appropriate process adjustments. TCC named the modified development process "Learning-First Product Development" to highlight the necessary shift for organizations.[6] The main goal of this process was to prevent delays and cost overruns caused by extensive rework when design decisions needed to be changed late in the process.[7]
These workshops consistently achieved success in reducing rework and preventing delays and cost overruns for many small to medium-sized companies that TCC worked with, including Fisher & Paykel Appliances,[8] Teledyne Benthos,[9] PING,[10] TRW,[11] and several medical device companies like Boston Scientific.[12] Case studies for Fisher & Paykel Appliances and Teledyne Benthos were featured in TCC’s second book, Ready, Set, Dominate, published in 2008.[6]
Other notable clients of Targeted Convergence include: Intel,[13][14] Kongsberg Automotive,[15] aerospace companies like Boeing, Bombardier,[16] Honeywell,[17] and Pratt & Whitney.[18] A case study for their work with Pratt & Whitney was featured in TCC’s third book, Success is Assured, published in 2019, which also included the learning from their work with other aerospace companies. To support the teaching of the Learning-First Product Development process through their workshops, TCC created software tools originally called Set-Based Thinking Tools, that have since been developed out into the Success Assured collaboration software.
References
[edit]- ^ "Implementing the Principles of the Toyota Development System — Myths and Realities" (PDF). www.ame.org. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ Ii, Durward K. Sobek; Ward, Allen C.; Liker, Jeffrey K. (1999-01-15). "Toyota's Principles of Set-Based Concurrent Engineering". MIT Sloan Management Review.
- ^ Ward, Allen; Liker, Jeffrey K.; Cristiano, John J.; Ii, Durward K. Sobek (1995-04-15). "The Second Toyota Paradox: How Delaying Decisions Can Make Better Cars Faster". MIT Sloan Management Review.
- ^ Kennedy, Michael N. (2003). Product Development for the Lean Enterprise: Why Toyota's System is Four Times More Productive and how You Can Implement it. Oaklea Press. ISBN 978-1-892538-09-3.
- ^ "Tribute to Michael N. Kennedy, a leader not easily replaced". Target Convergence Release. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
- ^ a b Hardenbrook, Donovan R. (2009). "Ready, Set, Dominate: Implement Toyota's Set-Based Learning for Developing Products and Nobody Can Catch You! by Michael Kennedy, Kent Harmon, and Ed Minnock". Journal of Product Innovation Management. 26 (6): 687–689. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5885.2009.00693_1.x.
- ^ Kennedy, Brian M.; Sobek, Durward K.; Kennedy, Michael N. (2014). "Reducing Rework by Applying Set-Based Practices Early in the Systems Engineering Process". Systems Engineering. 17 (3): 278–296. doi:10.1002/sys.21269. S2CID 19383777.
- ^ C. Gilchrist, A Participative Approach to Lean Product Development: The Journey Begins at Fisher & Paykel Appliances, AME Chicago 2007.
- ^ Panchak, Patricia. "Teledyne Benthos Adapts the Toyota Product Development System" (PDF).
- ^ León, Hilda C. Martínez; Farris, Jennifer A. (2011). "Lean Product Development Research: Current State and Future Directions". Engineering Management Journal. 23 (1): 29–51. doi:10.1080/10429247.2011.11431885. ISSN 1042-9247. S2CID 109216411.
- ^ W.B. Butler, TRW and Honda: The Roll-Over Airbag Inflator Development, Lean Product & Process Development Exchange, April 6–8, 2009.
- ^ T. Ebertowski, Knowledge-Driven Product Development: Making it Real at Boston Scientific, Lean Product & Process Development Exchange, Apr 21-22, 2010.
- ^ P. Elwer, Achieving 3x Improvement in Development of Intel’s Chip Testing, AME 2011.
- ^ M. Poppendieck, T. Poppendieck, The Lean Mindset: Ask the Right Questions, Upper Saddle River, NJ, Pearson, 2014, pp 45-55.
- ^ C. Lundh, Implementing Set-Based Learning at Kongsberg Automotive, Lean Product & Process Exchange Europe, Sep 20, 2011.
- ^ R. May, O. Contras, N. Perkins, Bombardier's Journey to Lean Product Development, Lean Product & Process Development Exchange, Apr 21-22, 2010.
- ^ R. Raman, Creating a Knowledge Value Stream, Lean Product & Process Development Exchange Europe, April 2016.
- ^ Cloft, Penny W.; Kennedy, Michael N.; Kennedy, Brian M. (2018-09-03). Success is Assured: Satisfy Your Customers On Time and On Budget by Optimizing Decisions Collaboratively Using Reusable Visual Models. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-85110-7.