How IPD Structures Decision Review Meetings for Effective Product Development

IPD Overview and Decision Review Points

IPD (Integrated Product Development) draws its philosophy from the PACE theory of the U.S. company PRTM and was validated through IBM implementations, forming a systematic engineering approach that includes a product development mindset, model, and tools.

The IPD process is explicitly divided into six stages: Concept, Planning, Development, Verification, Release, and Lifecycle. Within this flow, clear decision‑review checkpoints are defined. Unlike technical reviews, these checkpoints focus on business aspects such as market positioning and profitability, and they enforce a consistent measurement standard—only when the required work is completed can a decision point advance to the next.

Decision Review Meeting Process

The decision‑review meeting follows a structured preparation method to increase effectiveness. The flow (illustrated in the accompanying diagram) consists of the following steps:

PDT members and their functional department managers review development activities and deliverables to ensure no surprises in the DCP review materials.

The review material package is distributed to IPMT members five working days before the formal meeting.

PDT and IPMT members discuss the DCP material one‑on‑one to surface issues.

Only IPMT and PDT participants attend the meeting.

The PDT manager reports to the IPMT according to the agenda, while the IPMT asks clarifying questions.

IPMT members pose deeper questions to PDT to provide background for the decision.

IPMT makes the decision; the PDT manager stays present to fully understand the outcome, and the IPMT secretary records the decision.

Basic Rules for Decision Review Meetings

If any IPMT member cannot attend a meeting, they must inform the IPMT executive secretary so the schedule can be adjusted accordingly.

A key IPMT rule is that only in exceptional circumstances may an IPMT member send a representative to a Concept or Planning decision‑review meeting. The representative must have full authority to make commitments on behalf of the absent member, and the member cannot later overturn those decisions. If the overall IPMT attendance falls below three‑quarters, the decision‑review meeting is cancelled and rescheduled.