Product Development

Product development is the whole process of creating a product or developing an existing one for consumers. Several different product categories can be supported, from software to hardware to consumer products and services. In the early stages of conceptualization, a consistent product development process offers organizations a way to test innovative product concepts and learn what clients want. The aim is to ensure that the new or improved product serves a specific consumer need and helps the company achieve business objectives.

Process of Product Development

• Identifying a market need – the process should begin to define an issue that needs to be solved. Conversations with potential customers, surveys, and other user testing activities will inform this process.
• Conceptualizing the product – some solutions may be evident, while others may be less intuitive. This is where the team puts in the effort and applies its creative thinking to devising how a product could meet its needs.
• Validating the solution – if the proposed approach is feasible should be tested until too much time is spent on prototyping and design. At the conceptual level, this can still happen. Nonetheless, it is an early test to see whether the specific product design is worth further exploring or whether it would be rejected or only mildly accepted by the target consumer.
• Building the product roadmap – product management should set up the product roadmap with a legitimate product idea in hand, determining which themes and priorities are central to developing first to address the most significant pain points and ignite acceptance.
• Releasing the MVP to users – to gauge interest, prioritize marketing platforms and communications, tests can be carried out, and start testing the waters around price sensitivity and packaging. It also kicks off the feedback loop to prioritize ideas, concerns, and suggestions to populate the product backlog.
• Continuous iteration based on feedback from users and strategic objectives – with a product on the market, user feedback collected via different channels will drive improvements, expansions, and modifications. The product roadmap will evolve over time based on this learning and the company’s goals set for this product. This stage never ends until it’s finally time to sunset a product at the end of its lifecycle.

Read about product development below.