Research and insight

All product development starts with gathering information. This can be tightly focused or expansive and everything in between. It depends on the type of product that is being developed. The research and insight process is about asking ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘who’, ‘why’ and ‘how’:

• • What features and functions should the product have?
• • Who is going to use the product? What do they need and want from it?
• • Where is the product going to be used?
• • What is the competition?
• • Why would the product be bought instead of the competition?
• • What standards and regulations must be adhered to?
• • What is the size of the potential market?
• • What are the constraints and objectives for “Return on Investment”
• • How is the product going to be manufactured?

There are many research methods involved, including:

• • Internet searches for articles, reviews, aCADemic papers
• • Competing products analysis; teardown and benchmarking
• • User focus groups
• • Observation of users interacting with products in the field
• • Brainstorming sessions

As more is learnt about the requirements for the product, it is distilled into a product specification. This will determine the new product’s feasibility, the customer’s demands and wishes for the product, the targets that need to be met and the product’s ‘core benefit’; the reason why it will be bought in preference to competing products.

The specification is not set in stone but should be as resolved as possible. The time and effort spent on this first step in the development process can be the most decisive factor in ensuring the product succeeds and is profitable.

Contact the Cube3 team today