On a broad level, industries can be classified on the basis on what they do. Agriculture was one of the first industries that humankind undertook in order to survive, and it is still considered as the primary industry. Some activities like mining, fishing and other activities that directly interact with nature are also considered as primary industries. They are still extremely important and relevant for our survival. Manufacturing, which adds value to raw materials that we get from nature, is considered as the second category of industries. Just as an example, processing of food stuffs produced by agricultural activity is considered as a secondary industry. Services, such as software development, engineering services, financial services, etc. is the third classification of industry.
Product development is at the core of manufacturing activity.The progress and the course of a manufacturing company, enterprise or corporation is directly linked with the course of its products. A manufacturer exists to sell products and as long as the product sales do well so will the business. Products, like everything else in life have a certain life cycle. Each product goes through this life cycle and eventually phases out. Products, which were once a household name, have disappeared from the market as they entered the decline phase of their life cycle. In addition, it is not sufficient to develop products and rest on your laurels. There are recent examples of companies that were the leaders in their fields, but failed to keep pace with technological developments and changing customer tastes. Product development companies must always be on their toes, keeping abreast of the latest disruptive technology (like 3D printing, IoT, IIoT, AI, etc.) and gauging what the people want.
The Basics of Product Development
While it is quite easy to theorize, developing a new product is fraught with risks. And though flawed products will not last in the first place, there are instances where successful products too had to be taken off the shelf because of inadequate planning. According to Harvard Business Research (https://hbr.org/2011/04/why-most-product-launches-fail), here are a few reasons why even good or successful products may fail:
It is therefore quite necessary to chalk a roadmap that ensures that the product will be a success, all the while ensuring that the development cost will be kept to a minimum. Such a roadmap is a tool that can help companies and organizations to successfully develop new products or upgrade existing ones through a series of logical steps, starting from the process of idea generation and ending at the launch of the product into a market. There are logical steps that a company needs to undertake before launching a new product, and while there may be slight differences in the stages defined below, the basic concepts remain more or less same. Product development is the set of activities beginning with the perception of a market opportunity and ending in the production, sale, and delivery of a product.
The most common stages of product development include:
Idea generation: Every new product and every new product development process starts with the idea generation. Idea generation is a process in which creative thinking is used to produce large amount of ideas for new products. It is very important that the business garner all ideas at this stage, no matter how absurd or extreme they may sound.
Research and Brainstorming: The next stage involves intense discussions within the organization about the relative merits and demerits of the idea. The primary objective of this stage is to focus on ideas that are in line with the company’s customer value and financial goals. The process is repeated until a common consensus is arrived at.
Concept Development and Testing: After an idea is finalized, the next step is to develop a product concept based on it. This product concept should be an innovative solution that will be sold in the marketplace and produce revenue for the business. The concept generation process involves the evaluation of several product concepts all based on a single product idea.
Business Analysis and Market Testing: Once the product concept has been finalized, the next step is to figure out the development cost, potential revenue expected once it is launched, and marketing strategies. If all of these are in accord with the company's policies and financial capabilities, the product development moves to the next stage.
Market Testing: At this stage, the new product is ready to be tested commercially. The test plan should include test cases or scenarios which should be designed to represent typical and extreme situations that may occur during the product's life. For testing, a sample size of authentic potential consumer is selected, and their feedback recorded and evaluated carefully.
Commercialization: This is the final stage wherein the product is manufactured and made available for commercial distribution.
Product Development Software
The concepts of PLM and Product Lifecycle Management play a very important role in product development of project management. Even after everything, there comes a time when the product comes to the end of its useful life. It is then necessary to retire or improve the product. Today, there are many sophisticated PLM software tools – like PTC Windchill – that makes it possible to handle all the requirements of a product’s lifecycle. With the right software tool and good business acumen, a company can achieve high commercial success in developing a product.