The Process: Business Engineering Product Product Design Marketing Analysis

In
business and engineering, new product development (NPD) is the term used to describe the

complete process of bringing a newproduct or service to market. There are two parallel paths involved in
the NPD process: one involves the idea generation, product design and detail engineering; the other
involves market research and marketing analysis. Companies typically see new product development as
the first stage in generating and commercializing new products within the overall strategic process
of product life cycle management used to maintain or grow their market share.
Contents
[hide]
1 The process
2 Fuzzy Front
End
3 NPD
organizations
4 NPD strategies
5 Related fields
6 See also
7 References
[edit]The process
1. Idea Generation is often called the "fuzzy front end" of the NPD process
 Ideas for new products can be obtained from basic research using a SWOT
analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats), Market and consumer trends,
company's R&D department, competitors, focus groups, employees, salespeople, corporate
spies, trade shows, or Ethnographic discovery methods (searching for user patterns and
habits) may also be used to get an insight into new product lines or product features.
 Idea Generation or Brainstorming of new product, service, or store concepts - idea
generation techniques can begin when you have done your OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS to
support your ideas in the Idea Screening Phase (shown in the next development step).
2. Idea Screening
 The object is to eliminate unsound concepts prior to devoting resources to them.
 The screeners should ask several questions:
 Will the customer in the target market benefit from the product?
 What is the size and growth forecasts of the market segment/target market?
 What is the current or expected competitive pressure for the product idea?
 What are the industry sales and market trends the product idea is based on?
 Is it technically feasible to manufacture the product?
 Will the product be profitable when manufactured and delivered to the customer
at the target price?
3. Concept Development and Testing
 Develop the marketing and engineering details
 Investigate intellectual property issues and search patent data bases
 Who is the target market and who is the decision maker in the purchasing
process?
 What product features must the product incorporate?
 What benefits will the product provide?
 How will consumers react to the product?
 How will the product be produced most cost effectively?
 Prove feasibility through virtual computer aided rendering, and rapid prototyping
 What will it cost to produce it?
 Testing the Concept by asking a sample of prospective customers what they think of the
idea. Usually via Choice Modelling.
4. Business Analysis
 Estimate likely selling price based upon competition and customer feedback
 Estimate sales volume based upon size of market and such tools as the Fourt-Woodlock
equation
 Estimate profitability and breakeven point
5. Beta Testing and Market Testing
 Produce a physical prototype or mock-up
 Test the product (and its packaging) in typical usage situations
 Conduct focus group customer interviews or introduce at trade show
 Make adjustments where necessary
 Produce an initial run of the product and sell it in a test market area to determine
customer acceptance
6. Technical Implementation
 New program initiation
 Finalize Quality management system
 Resource estimation
 Requirement publication
 Publish technical communications such as data sheets
 Engineering operations planning
 Department scheduling
 Supplier collaboration
 Logistics plan
 Resource plan publication
 Program review and monitoring
 Contingencies - what-if planning
7. Commercialization (often considered post-NPD)
 Launch the product
 Produce and place advertisements and other promotions
 Fill the distribution pipeline with product
 Critical path analysis is most useful at this stage
8. New Product Pricing
 Impact of new product on the entire product portfolio
 Value Analysis (internal & external)
 Competition and alternative competitive technologies
 Differing value segments (price, value, and need)
 Product Costs (fixed & variable)
 Forecast of unit volumes, revenue, and profit
These steps may be iterated as needed. Some steps may be eliminated. To reduce the time that the NPD
process takes, many companies are completing several steps at the same time (referred to
as concurrent engineering or time to market). Most industry leaders see new product development as
a proactive process where resources are allocated to identify market changes and seize upon new
product opportunities before they occur (in contrast to a reactive strategy in which nothing is done until
problems occur or the competitor introduces an innovation). Many industry leaders see new product
development as an ongoing process (referred to as continuous development) in which the entire
organization is always looking for opportunities.
For the more innovative products indicated on the diagram above, great amounts of uncertainty and
change may exist, which makes it difficult or impossible to plan the complete project before starting it. In
this case, a more flexible approach may be advisable.
Because the NPD process typically requires both engineering and marketing expertise, cross-functional
teams are a common way of organizing projects. The team is responsible for all aspects of the project,
from initial idea generation to final commercialization, and they usually report to senior management
(often to a vice president or Program Manager). In those industries where products are technically
complex, development research is typically expensive, and product life cycles are relatively short,
strategic alliances among several organizations helps to spread the costs, provide access to a wider skill
set, and speeds the overall process.
Also, notice that because engineering and marketing expertise are usually both critical to the process,
choosing an appropriate blend of the two is important. Observe (for example, by looking at the See
also or References sections below) that this article is slanted more toward the marketing side. For more
of an engineering slant, see the Ulrich and Eppinger, Ullman references below.[1][2]
People respond to new products in different ways. The adoption of a new technology can be analyzed
using a variety of diffusion theoriessuch as the Diffusion of innovations theory.
A new product pricing process is important to reduce risk and increase confidence in the pricing and
marketing decisions to be made. Bernstein and Macias describe an integrated process that breaks down
the complex task of new product pricing into manageable elements.[3] rahul

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