5 Tips for Navigating New Product Development

Effective product leadership is focused on defining just the right problem to solve and then solving it effectively.


SHARE THIS

By Frank Long

Building a new product presents a host of challenges for even the most experienced product team. Effective product leadership is focused on defining just the right problem to solve and then solving it effectively. This is easier said than done, and mistakes made at the early stage can be costly in the long run. Over 25 years, working with 100s of companies, we have refined a strategic product ideation process that hones the business opportunity, evaluates customer needs and details the development roadmap. 

Here are 5 lessons we have learned

Cutting your cloth to measure: Securing an adequate budget is often one of the biggest challenges for product teams. Developing hardware or software requires significant financial resources. Most teams will adopt a minimum viable product (MVP) approach which is sensible – however we would put emphasis on the V in MVP, ensuring that the product delivers customer value is critical – you need to know what adds value and what customers expectations are.

Think like a customer: Understanding the market opportunity is usually a starting point – however understanding the customer within that market is sometimes overlooked. Finding the right product fit can be elusive and may require iterations and adjustments. Many teams struggle to conduct effective customer research on a tight budget. This is more challenging in the early stages when the product is still conceptual. But in order to succeed, you need to understand your product from the customers perspective.

Map the user journey: Products are no longer standalone solutions. Walkthrough the product experience in your customer’s shoes. Understanding the entire context of use, and how you deliver value to your customers. Creating a user journey map which documents the tasks, thoughts and emotional aspects of using your product is a valuable way to appreciate problems from the customer perspective. Companies can have tunnel vision when it comes to internal product development, if you only solve business problems, as opposed to customer problems, you may miss the mark. 

Plan moments of magic. Magic doesn’t just happen, it is the result of careful planning. Consider not just how, but when you will deliver value to customers. The user relationship with a product is an evolving one, based on needs and experience. From unboxing through to first-task completion and on to more meaningful user interactions, defining the product value plan will help build stronger bonds with users, delivering moments of magic and driving customer engagement.

Do the right thing: Do the thing right. Once the product has been well defined – building the solution is a much more straightforward task. We advocate continuing cycles of user research, product design combined with prototyping & user testing. It’s critical to incorporate customer feedback into your product development process. 

Product Pathfinder Workshop.

Over 25 years we have helped companies at every stage of development navigate the challenges of new product innovation. Whether in finance, healthcare or enterprise software our approach has proven to accelerate innovation, minimize outlay and to significantly shorten the time to market. We help teams hone their business strategy and streamline their development roadmap by mapping the user journey, identifying unmet needs and prioritizing feature development. 

Talk to us about the Product Pathfinder Workshop. A collaborative online/offline workshop we provide to help our clients navigate the pitfalls of new product innovation. It provides a powerful way to identify and reframe current market challenges, It facilitates a more nuanced understanding of the end user requirements, and ultimately it highlights opportunities for an enhanced customer experience, while also creating a development roadmap in line with business and human resource needs.

To find out more about our Product Pathfinder Workshop or to talk to us about how we might be able to help contact us at frank@frontend.com or visit our website for more information.



SHARE THIS