Fast Product Development: Balancing Speed and Quality
When it comes to product development, it’s commonly believed that a quality product is more important than a fast-to-market one. However, for some businesses, speed is critical to keep up with competition and maintain customer attention. So, is it possible to balance speed and quality? The answer is yes, and in this guide, we’ll show you how.
Critical Factors for Fast Product Development
To shorten your development cycle and get your product to market fast, you need to have the following:
- High-functioning management
- Extremely talented creatives
- Excellent distribution channels
- Targeted advertising
- Reactive customer service
- Expertise in the marketplace
- Customer need
- Sufficient capital
With these factors in place, the time it takes to get to market will only depend on whether your product meets your company’s strategic goals. Your core products will maintain a competitive edge, regardless of their quality.
Parallel Approach for Fast Product Development
Working in a parallel approach is another way to keep your development cycles short. This can be done in two ways: by having multifunctional teams working in parallel, or by completing as many tasks as possible in parallel. To achieve this, you need process maps and senior managers’ support. Other aspects of fast parallel product development include:
- Empowered teams that can make good decisions
- Parallel task assignment
- Path project management
- Assigned managerial champions for each project
- Defined products
- Pre-production testing
- Expert Advice on Product Development
According to Sarah Meerschaert, a Project Manager for R&D at CenTrak, the newer or more unique a new product is compared to your current offerings, the more risks associated with it. She advises that small improvements over time can be a safer option. However, emerging technologies and emerging markets can create opportunities for building a new product further outside the wheelhouse.
Meerschaert also highlights that while software can quickly adapt, the product world cannot. However, quick prototyping innovations like 3D printing have allowed for quicker turnaround times in product development. With less time needed, more innovation is taking place. Meerschaert also stresses that product development is a journey of discovery and encourages newbies to be flexible in their approach. Product development is a journey of discovery, and developers need to be flexible in their approach. Sarah also emphasizes the importance of understanding product development methodologies and spending time on collaborative efforts made by development teams, often on open source products created purely for the joy of creation.
Building a Captivating Brand
When you are ready to start your product development journey, building an interesting and captivating brand is a good starting point. Additionally, identifying and solving a customer pain point, following your passion, and looking for an opportunity gap can also help you achieve a captivating brand.
Finding the Right Market for Your Product
Identifying the right market for your product is crucial. You need to evaluate whether your market is saturated, whether your product is different from your competition, and whether it can meet your potential clients’ needs.
Achieving Product-Market Fit
To achieve product-market fit, you need to understand your customers’ needs, both current and future, and build credibility. It’s also important to choose a specific demographic to target, such as gender, income level, occupation, ethnic background, and psychographic variables like personalities, values, lifestyle, attitude, etc.
In conclusion, fast product development is achievable if you have the right factors in place, such as management, creative talent, distribution channels, advertising, customer service, expertise, customer need, and capital. Working in parallel can also help shorten your development cycle. When starting your product development journey, it’s important to build an interesting and captivating brand, identify the right market, and achieve product-market fit.
