Managing product development isn’t easy and every project and product is unique. Come on a journey with us through the twists and turns of multi-disciplinary product development, to arrive at commercialisation! Find out how to work closely with a product development firm to take a product from good to great – smoothly and efficiently.
We’ve broken the process down into ten key steps.
- start big picture, then go small
- get the design brief right
- collaborate
- plan it out
- establish resourcing and responsibilities – champions
- feel surprise and delight
- visualise and mockup early
- iterate early and often
- be flexible, but beware the dynamic target
- communicate
1. start big picture, then go small
ure questions before you launch into developing a product.
- Why should this product exist?
- Who would buy it?
- What is the unique value proposition?
- What would a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) look like?
- What problem(s) does it solve?
If you can’t clearly answer or articulate the problems that the product will solve, that’s a big red flag.
Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.
This principle also applies to the design of the product.
Make sure you get the product format right before defining and refining the details.
A good analogy is house design – the layout is the most important factor, and everything builds on that.
2. get the design brief right
The design brief sets the foundation of a good project. Take the time to get it right.
- draft a reverse brief if necessary
- ask a lot of questions fill in the gaps and do your homework
- challenge any items that seem uncertain or not quite right
- list all assumptions
- highlight the key challenges
- review them with your team to ensure you’re on the same page
A good design brief leads naturally to a detailed product specification and proposal. Don’t be afraid of ambiguity. You can’t be expected to have all the answers at the beginning, especially on a research and development project, but make sure both you and your team are clear on which questions are unanswered, and how you plan to answer them.
Talking to a product development firm like Dedes Lab Design can help here.
3. collaborate with a product development team
Establish a spirit of cooperation early on with a professional product development firm that empathises with your aspirations. This collaboration will be win-win.
A good product development firm will –
- be honest with advice
- educate you on the process, timeframes and costs
- allow you to contribute to the project where practical
- help you to limit risk with checks and balances
- be efficient and effective
- make sure you see the big picture before you commit
- balance optimism and enthusiasm with level-headed objectivity
Remember a trusted product development firm has walked this road before, and can provide you with wisdom and guidance.
4. plan it out
A product development firm will plan out all the stages and tasks for you. They formulate a strategy to achieve the project goals while managing costs and risks. The plan translates into a proposal by an experienced Project Manager or Estimator once each of the tasks are given a
- time and cost budget
- responsible resource
Your product development project plan should include –
- contingencies and lags
- third party and materials costs
- iterative loops including prototyping
- other external professional costs
- inclusions and exclusions
Remember later stage estimates can be fuzzy. As the project proceeds, later stage plans get clearer during the project.
5. establish resourcing and responsibilities
At this point you have a design brief, draft specification, a plan, a proposal and acceptance.
Now the product development project needs a champion on both sides of the fence.
One person on your side and one person on the developer side must maintain an overview of the project and resources; what is being done, what is going well, what is not, what key decisions need to be made and when; what will need more effort than expected, or less, etc.
If you’re the founder of a small startup or scale-up, you may have to be the main contact, until your project or company grows and you can build your team.
If you have a larger business and multi-disciplinary projects, you can assign parallel resources and encourage them to communicate frequently and directly.
A large product development firm can usually fill any talent or skill gaps on the product development team.
