The Hindu Business Line : Product design is rock climbing, not free fall

DESIGN is not a last-minute gloss after `real product development,' writes Bruce Nussbaum in his foreword to Creating Breakthrough Products, by Jonathan Cagan and Craig M. Vogel, and published by Pearson Education (www.ft-ph.com) . "Design is fast becoming a key corporate asset, essential to establishing and extending brands, transforming new technologies into usable products, and bridging company identities and customer loyalties," adds Nussbaum.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that consumers want more functionalities, because the opposite could be true. It is design that works like a filter to multiple options thrown by technology, "fitting them appropriately to what people actually want and need."

For the authors, both from Carnegie Mellon University, new product development is like rock climbing that needs the right tools, plan and team. It is "not a free fall" where magic hands would help you glide through to profit land. "Form follows function is no longer relevant. We are now in a period when form and function must fulfil fantasy." Your product should `connect.' With what? "With the values of customers." Else, it fails. Remember: "The road from the patent office is strewn with good ideas that never made the leap from concept to market."

Well, to fill a POG (product opportunity gap, that is), your radar-sweep must encompass SET (short for social trends, economic forces and technological advances). Then, there is `psycheconometrics': the psychological spending profile of a niche market that determines what people perceive is worth spending money on. There are also a set of opportunities to add value to a product, called value opportunities (VOs), and these fall into seven classes.

"Most recently, techniques used in the field of anthropology have been employed to add in the preliminary stages of new product development through the use of ethnographic methods," state the authors. What is ethnography? It is the art and science of describing a group or culture. As applied to business, new product ethnography can be used "for predicting consumer preferences for product features, form, material and colour, and patterns of use and purchase." Here is a valuable tip: "Ethnography can help see changes in the marketplace before they occur by observing the frustrations and enthusiasm of customers to aspects of technology, style, and activity."

A valuable discussion is tucked away in epilogue: `Future trends.' In this, the authors talk about specific areas such as aging, bio-medical, personal health systems, vehicle design, energy efficiency, smart products, disaster management and needs of emerging economies. "During the 20th century, companies developed products and services targeting people between the ages of 0 and 50. In contrast, the 21st century will present significant product opportunities for people between the ages of 50 and 100," is a take-home idea you can work on. Similarly, there will be greater demand for diagnostic systems "that will provide constant feedback to allow people to continuously maximise their daily routine."

Product development is a success not only when the customer is satisfied but when also the team involved in the exercise is. "Every product should come with a list of credits just like movies," is a daring suggestion from the authors. "A movie and physical product have a lot in common. They both need to make a profit."

Don't wait to read the book till it is made into a movie.

BookMark@TheHindu.co.in

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