Knowledge Gaps in New Product Development

In this paper, the knowledge gaps in the process of producing a new product are researched, and the mathematical models for the knowledge gaps are constructed. In the new product development process, the total knowledge gap is formed by the accumulation of the knowledge gaps produced from the stages of the development process. In a knowledge process cycle, the knowledge gaps increase nonlinearly with the knowledge process, and the knowledge gaps produced in the initial phases make more contributions to the total knowledge gap. The total knowledge gap in a new product development process equals the summation of the knowledge gaps produced in each knowledge process cycle.