Model of abstraction levels for the early phases of product development

Through turbulent environments companies are forced to develop faster better products, which cannot afford to fail the market. Within these environments every phase of the product development process must be optimized to support the companies' survival. Focusing on the early phases of the product development process, companies can use this special phase to improve its products and its time-to-market. Based on a former systematic literature review, where the impact of diversity on the early phases of product development was explored, this study analyses what impact different abstraction levels have for the development process, used in diverse teams. A Model with three different abstraction levels is proposed and the impact of the abstraction level on solving strategies is determined. This paper shows what companies can gain, if they use diverse teams and work with the right abstraction level, regarding the developed model. To identify the right opportunity and develop products faster, companies can use the model of abstraction levels and recommendations given in this paper.