Concept Generation
After the opportunity identification phase, new product development phase moves into the concept generation phase. The diagram above illustrates the concept generation phase.
Required inputs to the creation process are:
A product concept is a verbal or prototype statement of what is going to be changed and how the customer stands to gain or lose. We need all three inputs to have a new product.
Some patterns are evident when a firm generates concept:
Methods for generating new product concepts:
Creativity in Concept Generation phase:
Required inputs to the creation process are:
- Form - A physical thing or a set of steps by which a service will be created
- Technology - The source by which a form is to be attained.
- Benefit/Need - Benefit to the customer/Need fulfillment
A product concept is a verbal or prototype statement of what is going to be changed and how the customer stands to gain or lose. We need all three inputs to have a new product.
Some patterns are evident when a firm generates concept:
- Customer need -> firm develops technology -> produces form
- Firm develops technology -> matches a customer segment in the market -> produces form
- Firm envisions form -> develops technology to product form -> tests with customer to see what benefits are delivered
Methods for generating new product concepts:
- Gathering ready-made product concepts
- New Product Employees
- End Users/Lead Users
- Resellers, Vendors, Suppliers
- Competitors
- Idea exploration firms and consulting engineers
- Miscellaneous - Consultants, Marketing Research firm, Industrial designers, Universities, Research laboratories etc.
- Managed Process run by the new product team
- Open innovation - The process by which a firm searches for research, innovation, technologies and products.
- Crowd-Sourcing - Open idea solicitation from customers
Creativity in Concept Generation phase:
- Attribute Dependency - Find a functional dependency between two attributes.
- Replacement - Remove a component and replace with one from another environment.
- Displacement - Remove a component and its function to change the product.
- Component Control -Find a new connection between a component internal to the product and one external to the product.
- Other Methods: Lateral Search techniques
- Free association
- Lateral thinking - avoidance
- Use of the ridiculous
Problem Analysis
General Procedure:
1. Determine product or activity category for study.
2. Identify heavy users.
3. Gather set of problems associated with product category.
–Avoid “omniscient proximity” — rate importance of benefits and levels of satisfaction.
4. Sort and rank the problems according to severity or importance.
Sources and Methodologies:
•Experts
•Published Sources
•Contacts with Your Business Customers or Consumers
–Interviewing
–Focus groups
–Observation of product in use
–Role playing
Example of Problem Analysis:
•Conventional fan problems:
–Spinning blades chop airflow
–Hard to clean
–Blades can be dangerous to children
–Fan tips over
–Energy inefficient
• Air Multiplier: bladeless (uses technology adapted from hand dryers), and attractively designed.
–Airstream is smooth and danger is eliminated
–Low center of gravity eliminates tipping
–Much more effective and efficient cooling
–No blades to clean
Brainstorming Techniques:
Analytic Tools & Techniques for problem analysis:
Qualitative attribute analysis techniques:
Two Key dimensions for successful new product ideas are:
General Procedure:
1. Determine product or activity category for study.
2. Identify heavy users.
3. Gather set of problems associated with product category.
–Avoid “omniscient proximity” — rate importance of benefits and levels of satisfaction.
4. Sort and rank the problems according to severity or importance.
Sources and Methodologies:
•Experts
•Published Sources
•Contacts with Your Business Customers or Consumers
–Interviewing
–Focus groups
–Observation of product in use
–Role playing
Example of Problem Analysis:
•Conventional fan problems:
–Spinning blades chop airflow
–Hard to clean
–Blades can be dangerous to children
–Fan tips over
–Energy inefficient
• Air Multiplier: bladeless (uses technology adapted from hand dryers), and attractively designed.
–Airstream is smooth and danger is eliminated
–Low center of gravity eliminates tipping
–Much more effective and efficient cooling
–No blades to clean
Brainstorming Techniques:
- Brainstorming circle
- Reverse brainstorming
- Tear-down
- Phillips 66 groups (buzz groups)
- Delphi method
Analytic Tools & Techniques for problem analysis:
- Gap analysis
- Factor analysis
- Cluster analysis
- Trade-off(Conjoint) analysis
Qualitative attribute analysis techniques:
- Dimensional analysis
- Relationship analysis
- Checklists
Two Key dimensions for successful new product ideas are:
- Utility lever - How the product will affect the customer’s life
- Buyer’s experience cycle -The stage when/where the product will affect the customer