Oversees and implements product development policies, objectives, and initiatives.
Leads research for new products, product enhancements, and product redesign. Evaluates the potential and practicality of products in development.
Salary.com identifies five increasing levels of proficiency for each skill/competency. Some jobs require only a relatively low level of proficiency in each skill/competency, while other jobs will require a more advanced level of proficiency in the same skill/competency. These levels rate the degree of proficiency (skill level, expertise) we expect the incumbent to perform in the given skill/competency for the given job. Note that we intentionally do not associate timeframes or years of experience in performing the skill/competency because that can be misleading. Proficiency levels identify what the incumbent knows and can do rather than how long they have been doing it. Also, note that the proficiency levels are cumulative, e.g., a level 4 proficiency implies the ability to perform all the behaviors at the lower levels.
Check each Product Development Director skill and competencie below to view definitions.
Skill definition-Analyzing economic, technical, and legal considerations to determine the cost and risks of projects.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Lists the applications used in a feasibility study.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Supports the feasibility study processes, including reviews and studies of budget proposals.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Works with management to conduct feasibility studies to implement proposed project requirements.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Oversees the feasibility study process to develop contingency plans for projects.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Establishes and shares strategic statistical input, feasibility assessments, and follow-ups.
Skill definition-Creating, reviewing, and implementing engineering change requests, orders, and notifications.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Names the common workflows and approaches used for change management across the engineering industry.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Tracks cost and engineering changes during production processes in the database.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Reviews released engineering change data to ensure high-quality deliverables and submittals.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Oversees the application of change processes to ensure alignment with the overall engineering design process.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Improves engineering change management in version control, status accounting and release scheduling.
Skill definition-Gathering information about a business's potential customers to determine the feasibility of a new product or service.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Lists the basic steps in conducting market research.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Identifies and applies appropriate research methods in conducting market research.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Leverages market research data to gain valuable insights into customer needs.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Plans and executes market research projects to support the growth of our brand strategies.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Develops SOPs for researching market conditions, competitors, and consumer trends.
Skill definition-Overseeing the creation of new products or improvement of the performance, cost, or quality of existing products to achieve business goals.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Lists the processes in creating a product development plan.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Gathers relevant data to assist leaders with idea generation and new product brainstorming.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Performs product and market analysis to identify the need for product enhancement.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Oversees the execution phase, including finding defects or further changes to the new product.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Oversees the transformation of consumer needs to product benefits and specifications.
Skill definition-Insight into our organization's business, goals, and values. Ability to design and implement initiatives that facilitate successful outcomes.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Names our key stakeholders from a business value chain perspective.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Supports the planning, implementation, and management of training programs that foster process improvements.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Participates in the redesign of organizational structures to reflect business priorities.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Trains others on various business and operation topics.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Forecasts the short-term and long-term impact of various business cases on P&L performance.
Skill definition-Applying specific policies, tools and practices to plan and prepare projected revenues, expenses, cash flows, and capital expenditures.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Lists the elements and the steps on how to conduct budgeting.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Tracks and reports financial inefficiencies to ensure smooth functioning of our budgeting processes.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Works with senior management in creating appropriate budget amounts.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Recommends alternative budgeting strategies for resolving budgeting issues in our workplace.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Introduces technologies, policies, and programs for more effective budget management.
There are 6 hard skills for Product Development Director, Feasibility Study, Engineering Change Management, Value Engineering, etc.
3 general skills for Product Development Director, Market Research, Product Development, Product Marketing.
15 soft skills for Product Development Director, Business Acumen, Budgeting, Planning and Organizing, etc.
While the list totals 24 distinct skills, it's important to note that not all are required to be mastered to the same degree. Some skills may only need a basic understanding, whereas others demand a higher level of expertise.
For instance, as a Product Development Director, he or she needs to be skilled in Business Acumen, be skilled in Budgeting, and be skilled in Planning and Organizing.
