Creating a unique experience for your users is the only way to get the attention of the masses in today's competitive world. Hence, while the beats of a new product development process remain consistent, the workflow has become much different.
The fact is that everything that you have thought of till now must have crossed other people's minds. Maybe you have found a particular problem you would like to solve, but your solution is unique from the others available in the market. Or, you might have a solution that someone else is already working on.
Key Stages of New Product Development Process
When developing a new product entirely, there are eight key steps that companies might need to repeat several times to get the ultimate product.
- Idea Generation
Firstly, get all the thinkers in a room and start working on generating new and innovative ideas for products and services. The purpose of this room is to bring out the creativity of thinkers without any restrictions. Even the most absurd of ideas have a place here.
- Idea Evaluation
Now that you have accumulated a list of ideas, it is time to screen them. Here, you must evaluate each idea for its practicality. Then, you can take out the options that would become too expensive. In this stage, take out the ideas that make the least sense.
- Concept Definition
For the remaining ideas on the list, start working on defining each concept. It includes checking the technical feasibility, market potential, and product design. Research each idea well to determine if it is the right choice for you. Here, your focus should move to the only ideas that matter.
- Strategic Analysis
Each product or service you create must fit into your strategic business plans. So, run a strategic analysis to thoroughly check the concept's demand, costs, and profit margins. The final product or service must bring value to your business.
- Product Development and Testing
The new product development process is the stage to finally creating a prototype of the final product or pilot service. Create a minimum value product in this stage and test it thoroughly in a selective market.
- Market Testing
Get feedback from the selective market and make appropriate changes to the product. Customers, manufacturers, and support organizations can provide product feedback. It is a continuous process where each change rollout might come with more suggestions. In this step, the decision-makers must decide on the best time and approach to pilot the new product or service.
- Commercialization
Now that you have a product, decide on the price you want for the product or service and finalize other marketing plans.
- Product Launch
After you have made all the executive decisions about the product, it is time to launch it in the market. A well-thought-out launch plan can help create a smooth product or service introduction to the market.
Final Thoughts – The Cost-Effective Method of New Product Development Process
For most businesses, it is not feasible to create the entire product in one go if the option is available. A phased approach to the new product development process can help businesses keep everything on schedule and manage costs.
In software development, it is possible to create minimum-value products in the beginning and make changes later as per people's requirements.
Every product goes through a natural stage of development, growth, and maturity.
That’s why project managers and tech entrepreneurs rely on mapping out the various product development stages to obtain greater insight into the next steps.
Additionally, with added innovation and new features, the modern product development process becomes increasingly complex.
This is when the product is being developed and is going to be launched to the market in the coming quarters.
From an R perspective, this includes iterating on a marketable design, including widgets that will allow the product to have a unique positioning.
To know about all the stages read: Product Development Stages
