Roadmap to a Successful Product Development

Abstract

This study details a product development process that accurately predicts the successful implementation of a new product into the market. This product development process evaluates the product development stage of a multi-stage-gate new product development system. It offers a systematic and a rational platform that describes multiple phases that allow for the determination of project viability at the onset of any small to medium product development process. These phases detail interconnected steps with a feedback loop that carry a product concept through a conceptual stage (Phase I) and the generation of a “proof of concept” or an alpha prototype that allows for the initiation of estimates for development cost, market risk analysis, performance evaluation, and product manufacturing cost estimation (Phase II). The final steps are the pre-product design stage (Phase III), which is an expansion of the broader development cost estimates generated in Phase II providing additional rigorous estimates of the product development costs. Notably, modification or redesign of failed product concepts and their conversion into successful prospects that garner market profitability is another tangible objective of the described product development process.