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Product Development

Business people looking at a chart put on the wall

Product development refers to the process that is involved in planning, designing, executing and getting a product to market. There are many different ways of developing a product.

What Is Product Development?

A product is something that a consumer sees benefits from. Product development is generally the first stage in generating a new product. It is very important to use the strategic process in the product life cycle management. There are many different stages involved in creating and developing a product. Idea generation is the first part of product development. A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis is usually performed using research, focus groups, trade shows, surveys and competitors. Brainstorming may result in many different ideas that may even seem unrelated, but they will be screened in the next section. Idea screening eliminates many of the ideas by reviewing if there is a market for them, possible growth, price and more. Concept development and testing will ensure the product is what the customer would want. Business analysis, beta testing, technical implementation are all stages in which the product is further developed and refined. Commercialization is when the product has been launched. The last step includes pricing and checking out sales.

What Industries Use Product Development?

Almost all commercial industries will use product development at some point. New product development can be applied to many different industries including electronics, automotive, clothing, food and more. Product development may also be involved in creating new machines and tools for industrial sectors including construction and manufacturing. A product’s life cycle is deemed over when it no longer sells or a new product comes along that has improved features or benefits. When a current product is no longer sought after many industries will consider new product development. Technology has greatly helped to aid the development of new products.

Benefits

There are many different benefits to developing a new product to market. Having the right patents in place can help to secure the product. New product development can allow companies to stay current with their product offerings allowing them to remain competitive.