New Product Development Processes Are Like [__]*… Everyone Has Got One.

A review of the Wikipedia page for “New Product Development” (NPD) brought to our attention what is a somewhat confusing and arguably poorly written article on the concepts, terminologies, and processes to bring a new product to market.  With such an article as background, it should be no surprise that new product introductions have relatively high failure rates – from roughly 40% for more established companies to 65% for crowdfunded / Kickstarter projects (based on only funding and failure to deliver).

At our firm we have team members that have broad NPD experiences: from single-product projects that involved hundreds of designers and developers, to projects that required only two experts; from projects with detailed and lengthy processes that were painstakingly followed, to witnessing projects that did not plan beyond one day.  Not surprisingly, successes and failures occurred in all combinations.  Regardless of the processes followed, the following is a list of attributes and considerations that we felt helped better-ensure successful product launches:

1. Experience and wisdom… of all stakeholders contributing to the project.  In-depth knowledge of user desires and needs leads to better product specifications; astute understanding of the industry leads to the optimal balance of marketing and sales efforts; and, experience and wisdom in design and development projects helps to ensure successful new product launches.
2. Checklists.  The design and development of products involves many different technical disciplines and expertises which can vary immensely based on the type of product being developed: electrical and mechanical engineers, industrial and human-centered designers, firmware & mobile applications developers are just a subset of the entire team.  Having well thought-out checklists in use throughout the project team – including those indirectly articulated within industry standards (e.g., ISO 14971, IEC 62366, & IEC 60601-1) – helps expose overlooked viewpoints, mitigate project risks, and provides a framework for the prioritization of design and development efforts. 
3. Balancing the efforts against weighted, yet flexible, objectives.  There are often diminishing rates of returns on increasing the time and efforts expended on projects. A contextual understanding of the project plan, and product objectives, allows for flexible and balanced decisions on expenditures.

*Bellybuttons

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