A work in process: How to maximise value in product development
In this online exclusive, Jessica Foreman, freelance writer who works within the life sciences sector, reveals her guide on how to ensure you are maximising value at each stage of product development.
Whatever industry you’re in, you’re bound to have a product development process of some sort. And if you’re lucky, it’s working well. But there’s always room for improvement, and it’s well worth making the effort to improve as it means you maximise value at various stages of the process. If you’d like to adjust yours to get a little to boost in profitability, an enhanced reputation and a better product offering, here are a few ideas:
Improve the value of your brainstorms
If you’re brainstorming a new product (or new method of producing an existing product), you’ll hopefully come up with plenty of ideas. But how do you know you’re not going down a rabbit hole with one of them? Well, in addition to making sure you have the most ingenious minds in the room (after all, their best ideas are likely to be the ones that provide the most valuable for your business), ensure you take the time to analyse the market place.
This means you’ll need to look externally to see if your new idea is viable and profitable, and if possible, whether or not your competitors are also doing it. The nature of this validation process will change depending on your industry (it might be appropriate to take to social media or focus groups for example), and it’s a stage of the cycle that will significantly improve the value of the beginning stage of product development.
Find better ways to work together
A product development life cycle is going to require collaboration from individuals from multiple backgrounds in your organisation, including marketing, R&D, design, finance, regulatory, purchasing, manufacturing, shipping and more. As a result, it’s important you give some thought to how everyone can best work together.
The best way to do this to map out your current product development process, asking everyone to contribute their opinions for where the pain points currently are. Reviewing the existing process will highlight stages that require improvement, and will also ensure that you don’t make changes in a bid to maximise value at various stages while inadvertently doing damage to others.
After that, think about how everyone in the product development process can better work together to extract more value at each stage. For example, regular communication is vital, and so is understanding how one department’s function impacts another’s. Take the opportunity to remind your team that no department independently makes a final decision, too: product development is very much a collaborative effort.
Ask for an outsider’s opinion
However, even the strongest team may benefit from an outsider’s fresh perspective. Specialist consultants in your industry might be able to help you to maximise each stage of your productive development, so if you have budget for their time, it’s well worth considering talking to them. Whether it’s life sciences consultants (such as Alacrita) advising on clinical development or research and IP evaluation, or business development consultants advising on consumer demand and improving manufacturing methods to reduce complaints and returns, they’re bound to have valuable insights to help you maximise various stages of product development.
A committed organisational environment
Finally, extracting more value from various stages of the product development life cycle can be achieved by giving some thought to the environment you’re operating in. Typically, the organisational environment isn’t given much consideration, but it does have the potential to significantly impact the outcome. For example, you could seek to improve the clarity of direction at various stages, bolster commitment from managers, facilitate a little more flexibility within the chain, or perhaps even dish out rewards when goals are achieved.
Ultimately, you’ll maximise value in your product development process if you validate early ideas, facilitate cross-functionality and good communication, seek outsider expertise, and foster a committed organisational environment. Make the necessary changes this year and see what kind of output you’ve produced 12 months from now.
Jessica Foreman is a Durham University graduate specialising in business and lifestyle based writing. She has developed her skills on projects surrounding The British Broadcasting Company, and running a print and online based magazine whilst at university. She is currently looking towards starting her Masters in Mobile and Personal Communications as well as broadening her horizons through travelling.