The paper is concerned with the concept that the form of concurrent engineering employed to improve the process of introducing new products is contingent upon external forces acting on the company. A framework is presented which illustrates how the combination of external forces acts to change the form-elements of the product introduction process (PIP). A set of congruent heuristics which relate the PIP forces to the PIP form-elements, and configuration heuristics which relate the form-elements to each other, are described. The combination of the framework and the heuristics supports industrial managers in the activities related to optimising the performance of their PIP.