The Chief Engineer Function

All the books about Toyota's product development system describe the critical importance of the chief engineer. Books like Jeffrey Liker's The Toyota Way have told the stories of legendary chief engineers like Takeshi Uhiyamada, chief engineer for the first Prius and Ichiro Suzuki, chief engineer for the first Lexus. The chief engineer is the person who shepherds a car through the development program, providing deep knowledge, a guiding vision and the day-to-day decision-making that create exceptional products.

With the recent ruling that Toyota's chief engineer for the 2007 Camry Hybrid died from overwork, it is no surprise that questions come up about whether or not a single person can handle all the responsibilities embodied in Toyota's chief engineer, and whether or not that role is required for an organization to reap the benefits of lean product development.

Of all the practices within lean product development, the chief engineer is one that is guaranteed to raise questions and eyebrows during my presentations. I hear everything from, "That can never happen here!" to "They just named me the chief engineer. What am I supposed to do?" Assigning a single person is impossible today in most U.S. companies because old conventional wisdom about product development discourages people from developing into the kind of person who can be a true chief engineer.

In American companies, even creating the role of a chief engineer is often fraught with political difficulties, because it upsets the power structure within product development. A true chief engineer will interact with engineering, marketing, manufacturing AND senior management in ways that run counter to the way most of us think about product development. If the company is ready for that type of disruptive change, this is a good thing - since the thinking patterns that resist the chief engineer are the same ones that slow down product development, increase costs and lower product quality needlessly.

For most companies, however, changing all those thinking patterns takes time. Rather than throwing a new chief engineer at the problem and hoping for the best, it is better to take a more measured approach while the company develops its lean thinking skills. If we can't assign a single person, we can at least ensure that the current product development leadership structure has the ability to perform the same integrating function as a chief engineer.

The "chief engineer function" is the ability of an organization to integrate its best customer, technical and process knowledge into outstanding products. One good first step is to tear down the wall between marketing and engineering, perhaps by assigning marketing leads who co-locate with their product engineering teams. I have seen groups assign a marketing lead and a technical lead - and then give them a shared office with just a few feet between them, so that they are in constant communication.

Over time, the company's needs and ability for a chief engineer will develop. As the company leans out its development process (especially project status reporting waste), develops a strong base of shared knowledge about its products and processes, and deepens its customer knowledge by having the senior technical staff go-and-see customers for themselves, the chief engineer function will grow. The people who are capable of becoming chief engineers will emerge - sometimes from unexpected places. At the same time, the need for this integrating function to happen as fast as possible will arise. At that time, it may make sense to designate a chief engineer - and then give that person everything he or she needs to succeed in that role.