Nurturing a product from ideation through the process to a final marketable product takes a good degree of skill, innovative thinking and time. No matter what industry you operate in, successful product development is critical to your commercial success.
Despite this, many myths still surround the process of new product development. To help streamline your process, here are some of the most common myths and the underlying truth behind them:
1. You should stick rigidly to the development plan
A development plan is vital tool in your arsenal, but it shouldn’t be treated as infallible. During any product development activity, there will inevitably be setbacks and hurdles to overcome. Sticking rigidly to a development plan does not allow the project to accommodate incoming feedback, which could mean it is doomed to failure. By updating your development plan in response to external factors and to data produced throughout the process, you can craft a more effective, functional, and marketable product.
2. Feedback follows development
A successful product is something your target audience wants or needs to purchase. As any inventor, developer, or marketer knows, user feedback is essential to the development process. If you wait until development is complete to obtain feedback, however, you are missing out on critical information and potentially incurring unnecessary losses.
By making user feedback an integral part of every stage of product development, you gain crucial data throughout the process. User research software provides an effective way to gather the data you need in minimal time and can be utilised at all stages of the development process. By accessing user feedback at every stage and updating your development plan accordingly, your subsequent product will benefit from added value and increased marketability.
3. More features equal more sales
Choosing which features to incorporate into your product is a difficult decision and not one that should be rushed. Some companies assume that more features will automatically make a product more attractive to consumers, but this is not necessarily the case. Often, the addition of unnecessary features can have the opposite effect.
This is an element of product development that requires user input, so be sure to access reliable and verifiable data from your target audience. Some demographics will value an array of features, while others may prefer a more streamlined design. Until you gather feedback from the specific audience you are targeting, you won’t have the information you need to make critical development decisions.
What’s more, incorporating a wide range of features in first-generation products could leave you with little room for improvement. If you plan on releasing second or third-gen lines of a product, it’s important that they have value-added feature additions.
By taking a strategic approach when determining what features to include – and which to leave out – you can develop a product with a winning formula and create a sure-fire scheme for future success.
Developing a successful product
With a range of product development tools on offer, it’s important to find the right fit for your business and your sector. By leveraging your resources and retaining flexibility, you can develop successful products while minimising your costs and maximising your outputs.
Members can find further coverage of product development and product lifecycle management in our dedicated content silo.