a method and structure for monitoring product development is provided . in accordance with the method of this invention the product development is divided into a plurality of stages . each stage in turn includes a set of requirements which must be completed in order for the stage to be completed . each requirement is provided with a unique identifier for ease of reference to the requirement . each requirement also has associated with it an indicium for indiciating the status of that requirement . each stage and its requirements are capable of being visually displayed , typically on a display unit connected to a computer system . thus a user is capable of easily determining the instantaneous status of the development of the product by reviewing each of the requirements of each of the stages of the product development and determining from the display the status of each requirement .