What makes a new product truly successful? From the conception of an idea, to that idea becoming a manufactured product, there are several vital aspects to consider – Most of which, demand an innovative mind as well as an excellent understanding of mechanical concepts. New product development (NPD) is a specialist area, primarily based within the business and engineering sectors.
Working Parallels
There are two parallels that must work side by side to ensure the successful development of a new product concept. On one side, launching a new product involves the development of an idea by making it tangible; by actually creating a physical product. Alongside this, a thorough market analysis is needed to establish the product’s strengths and weaknesses within the marketplace: To understand consumer trends and requirements.
From the gathering research many new ideas will form and many will be implemented. To which, the initial product concept evolves and develops into a tangible, manufacturable and marketable product. Many of the world’s industry leaders in product design and development believe that the process is wholly and essentially “proactive” not “reactive”: Hence, both market analysis as well as innovative engineering is considered essential, to identify problems sooner, rather than later: And to ultimately create a “successful” new product.
Risk Management
Proper planning is essential to the development of a new product. One of the biggest risks of project development is setting unrealistic schedules. When time-lines are short the temptation is to eliminate some aspects of the product development: Aspects that may be vital to that products marketing success. New product design and development is a process that “evolves”: Initial ideas often need to be reworked, sometimes quite considerably. It is possible that issues can arise from even the most refined evaluations: This in itself is one of the major risks of new product design and development – To which, modifying the schedule should not necessarily be regarded as a “fail” – Not if that re-scheduling will reduce the “risk” of product failure: Either with regards to product manufacture or its success in the market place.
The Most Reliable Approach
Being proactive is the most reliable approach with regards to new product design and development. Understanding what the consumer (customer) wants – NEEDS – from that product should be a major consideration during the preliminary part of the design process. Being proactive from the very beginning can in fact save time and so help to keep development costs down: And in an ever competitive world, keeping the consumer happy as well as costs down should be major concerns.