Now you need to add those ideas generated from your Brainstorming session to your Product Roadmap. We suggest the following process:-
1) The first key step is to match the New Product Ideas to the Technology Roadmap. If the Idea does not match up to the Technology available then the capability to bring it to market will be extremely limited and the cost of developing the appropriate technology will have to be taken into consideration.
2) The Business Case should be thoroughly reviewed in terms of potential Market, Unit Cost, Selling Price, Volume, Resources etc
3) Products generating the greatest IRR (Internal Rate of Return) should be given priority.
4) Only when the above process has been followed and New Product Ideas meet the required Company criteria should the New Product Development commence.
By pursuing a New Product Development process which follows a defined Product Roadmapping process you will ensure that New Product Developments are resourced effectively and time to market is minimized which brings maximum returns.
Henry Ford once commented that if he’d asked his customers what they wanted they would have replied “Give me a faster horse”.
The Mac TV was released in 1993 and was Apple’s first attempt to integrate the functionality of a P.C with a cable ready T.V. Unforthunately it’s slow bus speed of 16 MHz made for a slow P.C compared to it’s rivals and a very expensive T.V at over $2000. Needless to say it flopped and only 10k were produced.
Apple’s first attempt at a portable computer was the Macintosh portable. Released in 1989 it was way ahead of its time, and so it should have been at a whopping $6500. It weighed in at a hefty 7.2kg and had an active matrix LCD screen which was fantastic but the major contributor to its cost.
In 1995 Apple licensed its PIPPIN technology to Bandai to make a PC based game consol. The only problem was the competition, SEGA, SONY, Nintendo and PC based systems were already dominating the market. Only 42,000 PIPPIN units sold and it was withdrawn from the market.
I was recently asked “how do you deal with negative customer feedback ?”
The news today that Toyota plans on recalling several hundred Prius due to brake problems follows hot on the heels of rumours last week that 19 people had died due to faulty accellerator pedals on Toyota vehicles in the U.S.A alone.
Dubai has officially unveiled “The Burj” - now the worlds tallest building at 828m & visible from over 60 miles away !
when.
The Brain Machine….
Friday, March 12th, 2010Such debate is welcome and well overdue. With manufacturing in the U.K shrinking to around 10% of GDP we urgently need a strategy which focuses on what we do best – Innovation.
There is no way we can compete with Far East manufacturers on cost (labor or Capital) but we can and do compete strongly when it comes to Innovative design and technology. This is partly due to our strong engineering history and professional project management skills. It is also down to our open and democratic culture which leads to a rigorous debate of ideas.
We have a wealth of scientific and engineering talent in the U.K which we can exploit to deliver new and innovative products to the worlds markets.
We need to rev up the Brain Machine.
chris@projectsguru.co.uk
www.projectsguru.co.uk
Tags: #pmot, business, design process, Innovation, manufacturing, project management, social commentary
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