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, our team members bring a broad range of New Product Development (NPD) experience. We have worked on everything from large-scale projects involving hundreds of designers to small-scale efforts with only two experts, navigating both highly structured processes and more fluid, day-to-day planning.

Throughout these various experiences, we have identified several key attributes that consistently help ensure successful product launches:

1. Experience and wisdom… of all stakeholders contributing to the project.  The collective insight of all stakeholders is vital. Deep knowledge of user needs leads to better specifications, an astute understanding of the industry optimizes marketing and sales efforts, and technical experience ensures a smoother development path.
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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