I want to commend the author on both "what" he decided to cover and "how" he chose to introduce critical concepts to understanding and Improving Product Development processes (ie performance). There are many books which discuss the theory and the application of Lean Product Development at Toyota, however this is the first book that avoids the temptation of saying that "Toyota's way is THE way for every situation."
Our industry has a myriad of books about 'Lean tools'. What we all realized (in manufacturing) is the notion that it is not in the emulation of Toyota that "Lean" is best applied to an organization or Business Situation. Mr Locher's book introduces a practical approach to identifying those specific aspects of Lean Product Development that one can extract and implement within their processes. Drews message is not one that says you must "abandon" your current processes, nor does it say which tools you must utilize. It is a book that effectively puts into perspective the concepts,tools, theory and practices that comprise effective (and continuously learning) Product Development Value Streams.
At the end of the day, it simply is not good enough to do 'stuff' in Product Development that sounds 'lean' (ie copy what everyone thinks Toyota does every time). Where the author is exceptional is how he introduces the concepts, approach and methodology in such a way as to allow the reader to 'see' how different techniques can be used to improve process/project performance (specifically .. Speed to Market, Quality of result, productivity of resources).
If one was ever looking for a practical understanding of 3P, QFD, VOC, Obeya, Design for manufacturability, concurrent engineering .. etc the final chapters and the appendix of this book are worth the investment itself. Without question, we all need the theory of 'text books' on Lean Product Development on our shelves. However we also need something (or someone) to serve as a practical guide to help us 'see' how the right concepts, applied in the right areas (processes), looking for the 'right wastes' can be used to improve our performance metrics. This book is a must read....