(116d) PDP to RIP - Are You Developing Your Products to Death?

Developing a product to death usually occurs during the product development process where the team has just been formed, the concept has been discussed, and the team is charged with determining the viability of the product. From an R&D perspective, it is a case of: How can we make this? From a Marketing standpoint it is: How much can we sell? The issue here is not within the questions; they are both valid and must be answered. It is, however, a matter of HOW they are answered that causes project timelines to extend weeks, months, even years beyond the originally established launch date. What causes these delays?

We'll take a look at the Product Development Process to see if there are inherent gaps that would allow these types of time delays. This Process is typically divided into four phases: Concept, Development, Implementation and Maintenance. We'll start by reviewing each Phase, and then examining five ways to avoid the inherent traps. The Product Development Process is a series of steps taken by an organization to formalize product development from concept to launch. Although the exact terminology varies, nearly every company uses a version of Concept, Development and Launch Phases. It is not the structure however, that determines the success of the program. Project success is determined by the quality of the group: size, personality make-up and cross-functional ability. Only with a small team of high-performing individuals, can a project be expected to meet deadlines, under budget and with the highest quality possible. Any other combination is open to a number of issues that will eventually slow down the process, costing valuable time that should be spent with product in the consumer's hands