A
Team Approach to New Product Development
(Marketing Memo, December, 2003)
Cell
phones with screens and other "new" products are really product extensions
or modifications. Team effectiveness, market knowledge, and company
support are three of the factors that contribute to successful development
of new products and product extensions, according to an expert on product
innovation (1) and a product manager whom we recently interviewed. (2)
TEAM
EFFECTIVENESS
Varied
backgrounds: The most effective new product teams have different
backgrounds and have developed a variety of products for a variety of
customers, says product innovation guru, Andrew Hargadon in Emerald
Now.(1) For instance, the product manager whom we interviewed was part
of a team that included experienced designers, engineers, market strategists
and marketing communications people. They developed items found in most
homes and businesses.
'Holistic'
approach: Teams with varied backgrounds are more likely to think
"in several boxes rather than 'outside the box.'" And, they are likely
to take a "holistic," approach to new product development (NPD), Sarah
Powell said in an interview of Hargadon.(1) They see the big picture.
A
fresh look at a legacy product: The product manager's NPD team focused
on why each segment used the product. They did not focus on just features
and benefits. For example, regard cell phones in terms of their multiple
purposes, not battery life: teenagers use them for chatting, sales people
use them to manage the sales process, and truck drivers use them to
navigate.
MARKET
KNOWLEDGE
Market
research: To gain insight, team members used the products in their
own lives. Also, a market research firm observed customers using the
product in their own environments. Then, the NPD team conducted quantitative
research to bolster findings from the field studies.
Visibility:
Upper management gave the project priority status. This helped motivate
designers to temporarily put aside work on more glamorous product lines.
Resources:
Management provided additional resources besides a large NPD team. Management
authorized the NPD team to hire market research firms and web developers,
and management gave the NPD contiguous offices with the hope that this
would facilitate collaboration.
Rewards:
Management rewarded team members for rapidly developing innovative new
designs. Within a few months the team designed a sleeker, more fashionable
version of a plain product, using different manufacturing processes,
different materials, and a more colorful, more contemporary palette.
Winett
Associates provides market research and writing services.
(1) "Spotlight
on Andrew Hargadon," Emerald Now, November, 2003.
(2) Interview
of Product Manager, consumer and other products, October, 2003.
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