|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Systematic idea development: a crucial element of successful product development
”New-product ideas: where do they actually come from?” This question is frequently asked whenever we visit companies. But the real question is whether the process can be improved. Research shows that the best ideas usually result from a deliberate development process, and systematizing this process results in a continuous flow of interesting ideas and commercial opportunities. Establish active idea collection “Even major companies—with many in-house developers—often lack an organized idea development process in which they actively seek the ideas on which the company is to exist three to five years down the road,” says Jens Arleth, who has been a consultant in the field for more than 25 years. An active idea acquisition process is imperative. One of the best methods involves listening to any problems and wishes of customers and users related to current products. But the idea-development process should also ensure that other idea sources are identified and exploited to the outmost. Idea processing is crucial It is very important to systematize the processing of new ideas. The best companies have an idea recipient, i.e., someone to whom ideas can be submitted. The idea recipient receives ideas from the entire company and makes sure the ideas are processed and evaluated. The idea recipient is also responsible for giving feedback to the idea submitter and for providing guidelines for the information to be included in an idea proposal. The idea-evaluation and selection criteria should also be in writing and common knowledge within the organisation. Idea Bank protects ideas A professional idea bank is another cornerstone of successful product development. The idea bank is also a practical instrument for collecting, processing and selecting the ideas with the greatest success potential. Many idea development pitfalls Establishing an idea-development process can be complicated. The process should not only be logical, user-friendly and inviting, it must also be ’sold’ to the organization so everyone knows it exists. We can help We hold seminars, etc., where we review the best methods for getting new ideas from customers and users, actively and effectively. We also help in developing idea-development processes and tailoring them to company needs. Lastly, we assume the role of organizing idea-development meetings and cooperating with customers, e.g., by setting up and running focus groups and workshops and meeting with particularly innovative users and customers. |
||||||||||||||||||||||
