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)
Explains protocols for an accuracy and operational feasibility study.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Conducts a feasibility study to understand the impact of the requirements on the existing product.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Reviews feasibility studies and documentation for new proposals.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Guides a team of individuals in performing feasibility studies.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Designs models to conduct feasibility studies that reduce the risk of project failure.
Skill definition-Creating, reviewing, and implementing engineering change requests, orders, and notifications.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Explains the effects of the uncoordinated implementation of engineering change management on the overall business.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Supports the implementation of change documentation activities to eliminate error.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Performs engineering change control and processes all technical data requests for classified documentation.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Manages engineering product or process changes to determine the affected areas within the business operations.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Explains provisions for configuration identification, change control and configuration audits.
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)
Explains the importance of market research in elevating business success.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Helps in translating market research findings into strategic decisions.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Interprets market research data to make actionable recommendations to senior executives.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Guides the team in reviewing changes to the marketplace and adjusts our marketing plans accordingly.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Constructs qualitative and quantitative market research plans for products in all stages of the development life cycle.
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)
Explains the principles and concepts of product development.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Enters all project-related information into the software tracking tool.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Manages various phases of product development, including design, development, and implementation.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Oversees all facets of a product development initiative, from site map creation to launch.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Leads the execution of a product roadmap based on planned product development activities.
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)
Explains our key business strategies and priorities.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Reports and communicates market and competitor status regularly to the management team.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Evaluates supply chain efficiency with an eye toward improving shortcomings.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Optimizes business processes based on deep insight into various business unit functions.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Designs and implements feedback loops to identify and promptly address business problems.
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)
Explains the importance of budget reporting and forecasting in our workplace.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Produces budget reports showing planned vs. actual variances highlighted and explained.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Reviews and helps approve major budget adjustments to negotiate and reconcile line variances.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Provides in-depth training to our entire organization about the zero based budgeting methodology.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Forecasts asset needs to leverage available inventory and data compilation for annual budgeting.
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.
