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product development

Can Nerds Serve the Customer?

I’m a self-admitting nerd.  My educational background is in engineering and I enjoy learning how things fit together.  I love to watch movies, but I never know the names of actors or actresses.  I fail miserably at the literature questions in Trivial Pursuit™. 

Yet, I love math, logic, and reasoning.  In recent years my fondness to “figure out how things work” has become a study of people, leaders, and teams.  Successful innovation teams have a different culture than others. 

A friend and colleague mentioned that her son was studying mechanical engineering.  She encouraged him to take a Design Thinking class so he could learn about human-centered design.  I agree wholeheartedly with her!  Engineers have an isolated educational experience driven by high-level calculus an intense theory of physics.  Of course, accountants, sociologists, and architects also have educational experiences driven by depth of knowledge, rather than breadth.

So, can nerds learn to serve the customer?

The Customer

First, we have to take a step back.  Any free economy functions to produce goods and services that generate profit for the seller.  Buyers pay a price for goods and services that give them utility and functionality at their own perceived value.  The buyer (or customer) seeks a benefit in purchasing a product that is greater than the price they pay.  Moreover, the price that the buyer pays must include a margin of profit for the producer.  If not, the producer will cease to offer those goods or services. 

A seller learns what to sell by studying customers and markets.  Customers are the key element in designing and developing new products.  My friend was very astute to encourage her son to broaden his studies beyond engineering.  New Product Development Professionals (NPDP) blend the unique skills of technology understanding, market perception, and product knowledge to successfully innovate profitable goods and services. 

Engineers, like other innovation leaders, have an intense curiosity about how things work.  Yes, we are nerds because we enjoy tinkering and troubleshooting.  So, trying to solve a customer’s problem by designing a new widget is exactly a perfect fit!

Design Thinking

Again, my friend gave her son a huge gift toward his employability by encouraging him to supplement engineering classes with Design Thinking.  Design Thinking is both a process and a set of tools.  From the process perspective, Design Thinking teaches us to collaborate with fellow nerds, customers, and any function that will help solve the problem.  From the tools point of view, Design Thinking gives us templates and techniques to elicit even the most obscure unarticulated customer needs. 

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At the core of Design Thinking is empathy – an understanding of the feelings, thoughts, and attitudes of another person.  In the case of product development, the product development engineers build empathy for the customers by interviewing, shadowing, and observing their interactions with the product.  When we understand the struggle that a customer has to open a package or assemble the parts, we improve the features and functions of that product. 

For example, IKEA includes a small (cheap) hex wrench with its ready-to-assemble furniture (such as a bookshelf).  The packaging is small (a benefit to customers and transportation) but only nerds have a full tool chest available to assemble a bookshelf.  So, for most folks, the cheap hex wrench is a huge time-saver.  Parts are clearly labeled and the visual instruction sheet from IKEA gives simple directions to assemble the parts using the tools (hex wrench) provided.  Both the seller and buyer benefit – higher profit margins and enhanced perception of the product’s value. 

Image from Creative Commons

Engineers and Design Thinking

Yes, nerds can serve the customer!  Engineers are great at trouble-shooting and finding creative solutions to problems.  Augmenting our technical training with customer empathy creates a superhero innovation leader. 

If you don’t know the basic tools and process of design thinking, that’s okay.  Register here for an interactive, online workshop, led by a full-fledged nerd. 

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Innovation in the Product Life Cycle

I recently ran across notes I had taken while reading a book that summarized management skills.  I no longer remember the title or author’s name, but the book was an overview of all the subjects covered in an MBA program 20 years ago.  Of course, MBA programs have changed a lot in this time frame, yet a lot of the basic tools we use for decisions have not changed.   

For instance, managers need to understand finance and accounting.  Managers need to know how to create a strategic plan.  And managers need to understand operations, distribution, and supply chain.  Managers also need to understand the product development process, including aspects of technology and marketing.   

The Product Life Cycle

The product life cycle (PLC) is not a new concept, yet it supports the work of a product manager today still.  Just like every living thing has a life cycle – birth, growth, maturity, and death – so do products.  The PLC covers the introduction of a new product to a market, growth of the product in both market share and market penetration, maturity to a commodity-like product, and decline.   

image from creative commons

Introduction

In the introductory stage of the PLC a product is first released for sale.   Sometimes new products are new-to-the-world and sometimes they are only new-to-the-company.  The decision to develop a new product, though, starts long before it is introduced to the market

Product managers are constantly on the lookout for new product ideas.   They gather concept ideas from existing customers.  Innovation managers also continually scan the horizon for new product opportunities.  A new product might consist of a new technology applied to an existing market or a new market altogether.   

I found a new product the other day – most likely an application of existing technology to a new market.  My cats love gravy.  They will drink the gravy out of the bowl and leave the particles of food behind.  They really love a treat, called “Gravy-licious”.   It is a crunchy treat with a “gravy” coating.  At the store the other day , I found a 3-pound bag of regular food made entirely of gravy-coated particles.   I knew it would be a hit – the bowl was empty in no time!  

While gravy-covered treats and gravy-covered food are not radically different from my point of view (or apparently the cats’ view either), these are different products.   Consider the scale of manufacturing for a treat versus that of a large volume food product.  Also consider packaging, distribution, and promotion.   Each element must be adequately addressed to introduce a new product to consumers.   

Growth

During the growth stage, a new product is adopted by a majority of consumers in a market.  Remember that adoption by a passionate few can then drive mainline purchases by your target market.  In fact, product innovation leaders will gain insights to the quality, pricing, and feature sets of new products from the introduction and early growth stages.   

Growth is characterized by extended promotion of the product.   For a new-to-the-world product, profits begin to accumulate.   Manufacturing is streamlined as are supply chain and distribution.   

Maturity

As the product continues to grow in market penetration, competitors enter the market.  The term market penetration means that existing customers are buying more of the product and as many customers that want the product can buy it.  Market saturation occurs when every customer who wants a product can – and does – purchase it.   

This maturation of a market means that the product is becoming commoditized.  There is often little differentiation among competitors and profit margins decline due to pricing pressures.  A lot of companies take the strategy of lowest cost during the maturity stage which, unfortunately, sinks the whole market.   

Decline

Fighting for the lowest cost leads to overall decline of the product – or death in the product life cycle.   Manufacturers do not want to make a product that has no profit margin as there is greater utility for equipment to make another product.  In some cases, it is more cost effective to sell a factory rather than continue to produce goods that generate financial losses.   

Yet, a lot of product managers fail to recognize the signs of decline.   Heroic efforts will not save a dying product.  Instead, innovation leaders must take a long, hard look at customers markets, technologies, brands, competitors, and products to generate a strategic plan.   Do you sunset the product or reinvest to launch a next a next generation new product?  Not an easy decision.   

Innovating in the PLC

One word that repeats itself when describing the product life cycle is competition.   Even with a new-to-the-world product, we do not operate in a vacuum.  Competition is working on new technologies and new promotions in our target markets.  We must be ready – at every stage of the PLC – to address competitive threats.   

Do you know your competition?  Do you have a formal strategy to address new product competition?  Are your profit margins strong against all product competition?

If you answered “NO” to just one of these questions, it’s time for a tune-up in your PLC!  Join the self-paced Competitive Analysis course here.  You will earn 2 PDH and save 20% with discount code “Intro” through 15 April 2021.

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Innovation Project Scheduling

Time.  It is the only resource for which there is no true price and the only resource that cannot be recovered.  Once we spend a minute, an hour, or a day, it is gone.  We cannot re-use the time or re-purpose it. 

image from creative commons with free to use and share designation

Yet, time is a resource that is often wasted.  Personally, I can waste time by watching television or chasing rabbit trails on the Internet.  On a recent evening, for instance, I watched a re-run of “I Dream of Jeannie” and then spent several minutes looking at the Wikipedia histories of Larry Hagman and Barbara Eden.  While I might guess a trivia question correctly in the future, I probably did not use my time to my highest productive ability. 

Innovation Project activities

Likewise, we do not always use our project time effectively when we develop new products.  Innovation can present a lot of “rabbit trails” from both the technology and market perspectives.  When a lab test looks interesting, organizations often devote all their resources (including time) to duplicating and validating the result.  Similarly, when a focus group gives positive feedback on a feature, our innovation focus narrows, and we dedicate more time to understanding that particular customer need.  In retrospect, these might be the right (or wrong) decisions.  Only time will tell.

Dedicated innovation project resources are the hallmark of a successful new product development (NPD) strategy.  However, a singular focus can lead us to miss alternate approaches or business models.  Not only do we have to be aware of our natural biases as an organization, we also must be aware of competitor actions in the field. 

One way to counter a narrow innovation focus is to conduct parallel product development activities.  Especially in the early phases of NPD project work, innovation teams can – and should – investigate multiple ideas, concepts, and feature sets.  Some key activities in early phase new product development are as follows. 

  • Ideation
  • Concept Trials
  • Customer Shadowing
  • Needs Assessment
  • Strategy Alignment
  • Competitive analysis
  • Prototype Testing
  • Pilot Testing
  • Quality validation
  • Market Tests
  • Performance Verification

Roadmapping

At the highest level, scheduling of innovation activities occurs through roadmapping.  A roadmap is a visual representation of key product development activities and milestones that guide the product innovation team to an expected outcome.  For example, if we know we need to launch a new product at a specific trade show in December, then we can draw a roadmap of activities that will allow us to meet that deadline. 

Example of a Simple Product Roadmap

Backward Pass Scheduling

In formal project management “language,” the term backward pass scheduling is used to describe building a roadmap (or schedule) from the required end date to our current date.  So, if we must have a new product ready in December, we will have to do prototype testing in September.  To have a realistic prototype in September, we will need to have a feature list by July period to have a list of critical features in July, we need to conduct focus groups on different concepts by May.  And that means we need to hold ideation and design thinking workshops in March.  We plot our key innovation activities on the roadmap which gives us a rough schedule for the project. 

Detailed Scheduling

Once we have generated a roadmap of activities for the new product project, we will undertake detailed scheduling.  Software tools are invaluable for both roadmapping and detailed scheduling.  All project development tasks are input along with the required resources (by name and position) and activity duration.  Capacity management is key to success at this stage.  Some tasks include dependencies with other tasks and resources cannot be used twice in the same period.  A typical output of scheduling software is a Gantt chart, which we overlay on the roadmap. 

Innovation Project Scheduling

In this post, we’ve only touched on a few of the important elements in creating an innovation project schedule.  The figure below summarizes these steps.  (Note that monitoring and controlling a project is a separate topic.)

While getting the details right is important, the most crucial element for successful innovation leaders is getting the process right.  This includes understanding customer needs and required innovation activities.  Join me on 22 and 23 April 2021 for the WAGILE Product Development workshop.  In this interactive online class, you will tackle your biggest innovation scheduling challenges, streamline customer feedback processes, and improve speed-to-market.  If you find you are launching ho-hum products too late in a crowded marketplace, you must learn WAGILE now!  Register here.

Learn how to make your innovation process flexible!

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Who Is Your Competition?

Recently, I was asked to submit a proposal for work with an existing client.  The work broadened their horizons, pushing both their approach and my creativity.  After learning their scope of work (boundaries and constraints), budget, and time frame, I submitted a proposal. 

As is the case sometimes, the company chose a different consultant.  In fact, I was pretty sure they had someone else in mind to do the work when I held conversations with them.  What is important to learn is not just what the winning bid was but who was the competition. 

Elements of Competition

Competition as a consultant, a product development professional, or engineering manager is not always obvious.  Our response to competition is part of our organizational strategy.  As I say over and over again, strategies overarching framework for innovation.  Strategy defines who we are as an organization and directs our actions.  So, the first element of competition is strategy. 

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  1. Strategy
  2. Presence
  3. Willingness
  4. Capacity

Strategy

Strategy seems simple.  Just decide what you’re going to do.  Yet, in product innovation, strategy is more than that.  Our organizational mission drives decisions and rate of technical expansion.  Our values direct how we interact in marketplaces.  Our vision determines how aggressive we are in development. 

Strategy also determines the tactics of everyday business life.  How big is the budget?  How many resources are committed to R&D?  What is our quality goal?  Spend some time on your strategy to be successful.  Learn more in our Exclusive Strategy Reset Workshop here. 

Presence

The second element of competition is presence.  Though it is annoying, campaign posters and yard signs spring up every election season.  Why?  Name recognition results in votes.  You may not know the candidate’s stand on a policy, but you’ve seen his face on a campaign poster and you know his name.  The same goes with real estate agents and personal injury lawyers.  Their advertising – including billboards, television spots, and newspaper ads – all include a photograph.  When we see a face, we know they are present. 

In product development, we must establish presence by interacting with our customers on a regular basis.  They know us, trust us, and give us feedback.  Working directly with customers in co-creation leads to competitive advantage. 

Do you have presence in your industry?

Willingness

Another element of competition is willingness.  Some of you might remember that willingness is my word of the year for 2021 (read more here).  Willingness means acceptance and patience while being bold and courageous at the same time.  Willingness also means working in areas that are strategically aligned with business goals and objectives.  The work that my existing client was seeking was work I was willing to do.  My competition was also willing to do it.  But there are hundreds of consultants who would have said “no” right off the bat. 

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It is important in product innovation to know what you’re willing to do – again, what is the strategy?  If your organizational vision is to serve a global market, you might turn away local-only product development effort.  If your mission statement includes “being a cost leader” you are putting reasonable boundaries on the target customer. 

Determine your markets and willingness to serve them.  Focus on design and development for product innovation where the organization is willing and able to work profitably. 

Capacity

In thinking about who is your competition, you want to also consider capacity to do project work.  If your design team is stretched thin on multiple next generation products already, should you enter another competitive market?  On the other hand, if your products are entering maturity and decline phases in the product life cycle, should you strategically increase capacity and R&D?

While your organizational capacity to take on new product development innovation work is different than your competitors, you must gauge their approach versus market growth.  A tool that I love for this is the SWOT analysis – strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats.  It’s a simple way to thoroughly analyze internal capabilities and consider external factors impacting business growth. 

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Understand your Competition

Competition comes at us from known sources and unexpected places.  Taking a look at the four key elements of competition can help you be more successful in product innovation (and save both time and money!).  First, be firm in your strategy – what are you doing, how are you doing it, and why are you doing it?

Next, understand that a market presence gives the impression of a competitive advantage.  If your customers are involved with you in product development, you will shorten project development times and achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction.  Then, determine your willingness to design and develop new products within various target markets.  In some situations, leave the new products to competitors – especially if they do not align with your strategy.  Finally, if you’ve got strategic alignment, market presence, and a willingness to do the work, check your capacity.  Hiring and training more staff for new product development projects might be viewed as expensive but you don’t want to miss any key opportunities!

Learn More

If you want to learn how to implement effective strategic goals to beat the competition, please join me for the Exclusive Reset Your Strategy Workshop on Monday, 15 March (Part 1) and on Monday, 22 March 2021(Part 2).  Special discounts for the unemployed as you navigate new competition.  Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com for more information.

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A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching.  I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith.   It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders.  Teresa Jurgens-Kowal is an experienced innovation professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making.  My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator.  Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

What is WAGILE?

WAGILE is an emerging approach to product innovation.  You might ask, “Why do we need yet another, new approach to managing product development?”  The answer is that every system has advantages and that over time, we can recognize process improvements.  A secondary answer is more data-based.  Studies indicate that revamping and revitalizing your new product development (NPD) process can not only enhance participation but yield improved results, such as creative solutions, time-to-market, and profitability.

Traditional NPD Processes

Organizations implement NPD processes to manage risk.  Risk in innovation is more loosely defined than in traditional project management.  Innovation professionals encounter risk from two perspectives:  understanding the product or project requirements and developing the required technology.  These are identified as “requirements uncertainty” and “technical uncertainty” in the figure.

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A traditional NPD process, such as the staged-and-gated process, is designed primarily to manage investment risk.  Each stage of work involves more resources but as the project advances through the various stages, technical risks are addressed.  Each subsequent stage of work encounters less uncertainty.  In this way, financial risk is minimized because there is little investment for small-scale experiments during initial stages and as more knowledge is gained, the investments will grow but with reduced uncertainty in the outcomes.  Sometimes these processes are called “waterfall” since each step flows to the next; however, there is no easy way to go “backward” in the system.

To counter the bureaucracy that many large companies incorporate alongside traditional NPD processes, the Agile methodology intentionally leaves the overall requirements uncertain.  Theoretically, the customer provides feedback after each incremental development step (called a “sprint”) so that the requirements uncertainty is reduced.  A drawback of Agile is that real customers are often not included in the process.  Further, it is difficult to determine when a project is “done” in terms of meeting market requirements.

What is WAGILE?

WAGILE is a hybrid process that blends the best of the traditional waterfall systems with Agile philosophy (“W” + “Agile”).  The rigor of a staged-and-gated project management approach is coupled with required customer feedback in each phase.  Incremental and iterative work within a stage allows innovation teams to adequately address design and development needs.  Yet repeating a phase of work is done only when necessary.  The WAGILE philosophy incorporates key ideas from these innovation approaches.

  • Move fast
  • Practice discipline
  • Understand risks
  • Engage customers
  • Provide autonomy

You can read more about the WAGILE Philosophy here.

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WAGILE Roles

Roles and responsibilities are defined clearly for Agile processes, such as Scrum, as well as in traditional project management.  Many of these roles are similar to those utilized in WAGILE.  Some key roles and responsibilities for WAGILE are described below.  You can read more about the WAGILE Roles here.

  • Project Leader:  Somewhat like a traditional brand manager, the Project Leader in WAGILE is responsible for the overall product life cycle and drives product innovation.
  • Customer Representative:  In Scrum, the product owner represents the voice of the customer.  In WAGILE, the Customer Representative carries out this responsibility and helps to translate or articulate customer needs for the innovation team.
  • Team Leader:  In many ways, the team leader in WAGILE is similar to a traditional project manager with tactical and operational responsibility for the execution of the project.  Team leaders are servant leaders yet maintain autonomy for project decisions within the scope of the project.
  • Cross-Functional Team:  Like all new product development teams, successful innovation under a WAGILE approach requires participation from all relevant departments and functions.  Team members are generalist-specialists, as in an Agile approach and the core team maintains continuity throughout the project effort.

Some WAGILE Tools

WAGILE tools are based primarily on Design Thinking to incorporate customer feedback at each stage of development.  Each individual WAGILE project will use several complementary tools to complete the work of a given phase.  Depending on the scale, scope, and breadth of the innovation work, several tools are used at multiple points during development.  A fundamental decision point in selecting feedback techniques is to use the data gathering, testing, and experimentation tools that provide the highest density of customer information.  Read more about WAGILE Tools here – a list of some of my favorite tools follows.

  • Customer empathy map
  • Customer journey map
  • Affinity diagrams
  • Product Portfolio Management
  • Scrum board
  • Business model canvas
  • Paper prototypes

Benefits of WAGILE

Again, you might be asking, “Why do I need a new system to manage product development?”  Often the NPD process becomes stale and the links to customer feedback become broken.  You need WAGILE if you find your innovation teams bogged down in idea generation stages or if recent product launches are met with “ho-hum” market responses.  The biggest benefit of WAGILE is that it is a flexible, risk-based process to get new products into competitive markets.  We measure success of product innovation in WAGILE via market success:  customer satisfaction, market share, and profitability.

What’s Next? 

If you’d like to learn more about WAGILE, please join our WAGILE class on 18 and 19 February.  We will dig deeper into each of these concepts.  Your homework during the course allows you to begin transitioning to a more flexible and adaptable approach to innovation within the governance of a risk-adjusted process.  For personalized problem-solving or customized training, contact me at info@globalnpsolutions.com for innovation consulting.   

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching.  I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith.   It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders.  Teresa Jurgens-Kowal is an experienced innovation professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making.  My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator.  Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

Unless otherwise indicated, images used under Creative Commons.

Roles in Wagile Product Development

When I was in graduate school, I spent the better part of one day organizing our tool chest.  In one drawer, I put all of our metric wrenches and sockets and then laid them out by size .  Not only did it look tidy, but it was much more convenient to grab the right tool when you needed it.  Everything had an assigned storage place and organizing the parts and pieces according to the job increased our efficiency in the lab. 

People are what makes systems work.  We assign roles and responsibilities within organizations to ensure that activities and tasks are completed.  Similar to a tool chest, assigning job roles to different people ensures they are trained appropriately to conduct tasks as expected.  The system itself often is less important than how the people assigned to various roles and responsibilities carry out their tasks within that process. 

Wagile Product Development Reviewed

In the Wagile system of product development (read more here), certain roles and responsibilities are assigned to ensure an efficient product innovation effort accomplishes timely goals.  As a quick recap, Wagile is a hybrid approach to traditional waterfall project management and the Agile philosophy commonly applied to software development.  The advantage of Wagile over other new product development (NPD) systems is that it enhances the frequency of customer feedback during design and development.  Another advantage of Wagile is that it applies iterative development within predetermined boundaries (e.g. budget and schedule).  Finally, the biggest advantage of Wagile is enhanced communication and team collaboration.  Read more about Wagile here. 

Roles in Wagile

In every project management and product innovation system, it is critical to include customer perspectives, internal stakeholder viewpoints, and contributions of vendors and suppliers.  The key roles of internal stakeholders in a Wagile process include the Project Leader, the Customer Representative, the Team Leader, and the Cross-Functional Team. 

Project Leader

Because Wagile adopts the Agile philosophy, the process succeeds at improving time-to-market of new products by reducing hierarchy and bureaucracy.  The role of Project Leader is much like a Scrum Master.  The Project Leader serves the team to reduce barriers to efficiency and productivity.  In addition, s/he interacts with senior executives, external stakeholders, and the Customer Representative to ensure the product development effort is on target.  Some Project Leaders act in a dual role as a brand manager or product manager, tracking the overall life cycle value of the new product. 

Customer Representative

No product development project can be successful without customer input.  The role of Customer Representative in Wagile is to build trust with customers, to collect end-user data, and to organize market research activities for the target customer segment.  In Scrum, the voice of customer is delegated to the Product Owner role.  (Read more about typical Scrum roles here.)  Yet, in practice, the product owner often bypasses true customer insights and reflects internal priorities for project execution instead.  A critical performance metric for the customer representative in Wagile is the number of external customer, consumer, and end-user interactions. 

Team Leader

The Team Leader and the Project Leader are like an old, married couple.  They work together to accomplish the project goals and complement one another.  While the Project Leader often focuses on longer term strategic objectives, the Team Leader focuses on operational and tactical goals.  The Team Leader is charismatic and builds collaborative skills for the team.  S/he also manages the new product development scope, schedule, and budget but has autonomy for decisions for project outcomes. 

Cross-Functional Team

Not all project teams are created equal.  The Wagile Cross-Functional Team brings together the “generalist–specialist” mentality of Scrum team members while also capitalizing on the depth of skills needed in a traditional project team.  While teams are generally small in Wagile as in scrum, scalability is less of an issue. 

Small teams allow for quicker and better decisions, so Wagile uses intimate Cross-Functional Teams to complete the tasks of the new product development project.  However, as product innovation advances to later phases and requires greater talent investment, sub-teams form to accomplish specific goals and objectives.  Communication among Cross-Functional Teams (and sub-teams) is vital to the success of any project, regardless of the project management system. 

Roles for Wagile Product Development

Like any system, Wagile product development relies on the people to do the work of the project and to progress toward goals.  Understanding the roles and responsibilities of key players within the system allows each person to access necessary training, streamline workflows, and improve communication.  Critical roles in Wagile include the Project Leader, the Customer Representative, the Team Leader, and the Cross-Functional Team. 

Learn More

Learn more about Wagile Product Development in my Webcast with PDMA on 10 September (register here).  Contact me at info@globalnpsolutions.com for a complimentary 30-minute innovation coaching session. 

  • Check out where I’m speaking next (click here) and book me for your next event.
  • Get your copy of The Innovation ANSWER Book available at Amazon (now available on Kindle).
  • Reference the new PDMA Body of Knowledge, available at Amazon.
  • Get your NPDP Certification!  Join our October online class (Thursdays) following the brand new, 2nd edition PDMA Body of Knowledge.  REGISTER HERE!

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and speaking at great professional events.  I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith.   It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders.  Teresa Jurgens-Kowal is an experienced innovation professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making.  My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator.  Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

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A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

What is Emotional Design?

Watch the ultra-short video and then read on for full details.

I am a DiSC-certified facilitator.  There are four primary work styles:  “D” for dominance, “i” for influence, “S” for steadiness, and “C” for conscientiousness.  My own work style is CD, meaning I prefer to focus on data to make a decision and I will generally take action quickly once I have the data analysis in hand. 

People with “i” and “S” work styles tend to focus more on the needs of other people and will make decisions based on emotion even with little or no data.  And while people with strong “C” and “D” work styles might puzzle over such behaviors, as product innovation professionals, we all know that customers make decisions based on emotion (to some degree or another). 

That’s why the theory and practice of Emotional Design is important. 

Emotional Design

Emotional design is part of specifying product requirements within the product design process.  You can learn more about the overall product design process in another post (click here).  Designers use the emotions that customers associate with product usage to identify and prioritize product features.  When customers express positive emotions about a product, they tend to demonstrate more trust and loyalty to a specific product or brand.  This often results in increased revenue. 

Three Types of Emotional Design Information

Emotional design is based on the level of emotion and how individuals process information.  We call thee levels:  visceral, behavioral, and reflective.  Let’s take a quick look at what these mean to product innovation. 

Visceral Emotional Design

According to Dictionary.com, visceral means “characterized by … instinct rather than intellect”.  This is our “animal brain” taking charge.  We process certain emotions using a low level of basic motor skills and senses.  So, visceral design is associated with physical senses, like the aesthetics or color of a product. 

Consider, for example, a red sports car.  It appeals to our basic senses and emotions because the styling is generally pleasing and implies speed (something that humans have craved throughout all time).  Red as a color, in most societies, is associated with power.  Therefore, on a visceral level, a red sports car represents a strong emotional design. 

Behavioral Emotional Design

At a mid-level of emotional design are customers’ responses to an innovation according to memory and learning.  Thus, the behavioral level of emotional design emphasizes the functionality and usability of a product. 

Let’s use the red sports car as an example again.  Many sports cars use a manual transmission to increase performance and to give the driver more control.  However, very few Americans know how to drive a manual transmission.  In order to be satisfied with the design, they would need to learn a new behavior.  Yet, a car enthusiast already knows the skill of driving a stick shift and finds the design even more appealing. 

Reflective Emotional Design

Finally, the highest level of emotional design is related to self-identity.  The reflective level deals with feelings and emotions that determine understanding, reasoning, and interpretation.  A wealthy bachelor feels that the red sports car reflects his personality.  It is an extension of his “self” by showing power, strength, and speed.  On the other hand, a mom with five kids would view the sports car as frivolous and not serving her important tasks of driving to school and soccer practice. 

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Why is Emotional Design Important?

As indicated, customers rarely buy a product based on data sheets and specifications alone.  Emotion – whether explicit or subconscious – plays a role in all of our purchases.  I’m not a fan of the color brown, personally, and I prefer bright colors for clothes and home decorations.  My visceral emotions drive me away from earth tones.  These are deep internal perceptions that have no explanation but are in parts of my subconscious brain (or soul).

Yet, I love learning new things.  For my hobbies, I will test and buy products that I think will make my life easier or tasks quicker to finish.  I am seeking functionalities for to improve behaviors.  I want to use products and services that are easy. 

What complicates product innovation at the behavioral and reflective levels is differentiating between a desire to learn and the status quo.  Oftentimes, new products that add simplicity or convenience for a customer require a level of learning or new behaviors that require too much change.  Customers will only accept a new level of features when the learning curve is a low hurdle. 

Lastly, products that make us feel good are those that can command a price premium.  (More information on pricing strategies is found here.)  Experiences and luxury items appeal to our personal sense of self and identity.  Reflective emotional design builds emotions and personality into product development.  While basic aesthetics and form can be tested for broad market acceptance, reflective design often focuses on narrower target customer segments who share similar values.  You may want to consider a segmentation strategy when your product innovation depends on reflective emotional design. 

Learn More

  • Check out where I’m speaking next (click here). You can book me for speaking by contacting me directly or through Innovation Women.
  • Get your copy of The Innovation ANSWER Book.  Available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle version.
  • Reference the new PDMA Body of Knowledge, available at Amazon.
  • Do you know your strategy?  Is it time to narrow your focus or expand to serve more customers?  Join me for the two-part Reset Your Strategy workshop on 18 and 20 August.  Register here – special discounts for the unemployed.

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching.  I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith.   It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders.  Teresa Jurgens-Kowal is an experienced innovation professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making.  My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator.  Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

Product Design Process

New products do not magically appear overnight.  Despite our collective image of a lone scientist working over a smoldering beaker of neon-colored fluid, most innovations are born of a rigorous process.  In fact, studies show that firms with flexible product design processes generate repeatable new product success more than their competitors who approach innovation in an ad-hoc manner. 

Watch the short overview video and then read the full blog for details.

Often called the new product development (NPD) process or product innovation process, a product design process takes the innovation team on a journey.  We must first identify what strategic needs our customers have, what problems trouble them, and how we can help them solve those problems efficiently.  The product design process delivers both steps to advance innovation as well as a set of tools to understand and quantify customer needs. 

Steps in The Product Design Process

Most product development processes focus on the deliverables.  In Stage X, you must have a fully fleshed-out business case.  At Phase Y, you need to have built a functional prototype.  What’s different about the product design process is that it focuses on actions that lead new product innovation from rigorous ideas to commercial products. 

Step 1 – Ideation

Ideation is a creative process to generate, develop, and communicate new ideas.  It involves searching for customer problems and defining the problem space.  The two categories of tools deployed in ideation are divergent thinking and convergent thinking. 

Divergent thinking tools seek to expand the question and derive alternate concepts.  Sometimes we misinterpret a customer’s problem through our own biases (please see the blog on Optimism Bias).  Other times, we jump to solutions without considering the whole scope of the problem.  This can make products overly complex while they do not satisfy customers most basic needs.  Consider the long list of micro-print included with prescription drugs.  The warnings might be justified, but an 80-year old patient with macular degeneration cannot possibly determine appropriate dosage. 

In convergent thinking, we take the creative ideas and solutions generated by cross-functional teams and collate them.  The purpose of this step in the design process is to find common themes or concepts that will address large market segments so that we can move forward in the product design process.  It is impossible – and fraught with risk and expense – to pursue all ideas. 

Step 2 – Concept Design

Concept design introduces clarity and alignment for the product.  It provides a way to explain what the product will do, how it will function, and how it will solve the customer’s problem.  Often the concept design is a simple narrative description or sketch.  This yields high-level feedback from customers to validate that the problem definition is correct.  When organizations skip this step, they end up designing and selling products that only almost solve a customer’s problem.  Unfortunately, this leaves a big gap for competition to fill with a better product that satisfies customer needs with better quality. 

Step 3 – Embodiment

As a product moves from concept design into more detailed design, a product innovation team accounts for technical and economic feasibility.  Customers will exchange hard earned money for products that offer convenience, simplification, or luxury experiences.  The embodiment of the product must balance the features and attributes of the design against cost of manufacturing and, ultimately, the selling price. 

Conjoint analysis is a common tool used at this stage of the product design process.  This tool allows customers to rank and prioritize a select set of features against prices.  The outcome of a conjoint analysis provides the product innovation team with a list of the most important features that must be included in a final product.  Results of the study are important since it links desired features and quality levels with willingness to pay. 

Step 4 – Draft Product Specifications

At this point in the design process, the “what” and “why” of the product are well defined.  The next step is to determine “how”.  The initial product specifications lay out physical dimensions and manufacturability.  A key tool in this phase is D4X, or Design for X, where X may represent assembly, maintenance, or usability. 

The expected outcome of the draft product design specification stage is to quantify and clarify the product design.  Communication of the purpose of the product, quality levels of individual features, and the cost/benefit of the product are also important outcomes.  Since the next stage is determining final product development and manufacturing methods, the draft product design specifications should be complete and reflect all key characteristics that the product must deliver. 

Step 5 – Detailed Design

copyright Global NP Solutions, LLC

A primary tool in the detailed design process is QFD (Quality Function Deployment).  This methodology converts the draft design specifications into specific manufacturing and engineering criteria.  In other words, QFD translates the customer needs into measurable requirements.  QFD is a sophisticated tool with matching, prioritization, and scaling of customer needs, competitive responses, and design attributes, combined with cost to create engineering metrics for new product manufacturing.  QFD originated in the automotive industry and uses a graphic called the House of Quality.  (Read more in the blog post Innovation Tools:  What is QFD?)

Step 6 – Final Production

Sometimes called “Fabrication and Assembly”, the last step in the design process for new product development is manufacturing and producing the product.  This includes prototype testing, market testing, and systems integration.  Prototype testing ensures that the product works as it was designed to work and meets customer needs.  Companies should test a variety of prototypes from those with just a few relevant features (e.g. the minimally viable product, MVP) to a high-fidelity working prototype.  It is less expensive to modify the manufacturing and distribution process is before finalizing specifications and production moves to large scale.  

The Product Design Process

The product design process does not replace a traditional or emergent project management process (like Stage-Gate® or Scrum).  Instead, product design lies parallel to the project management decisions.  Product design forces enhanced communication and interaction with customers resulting in better overall product designs and reception in the marketplace.  While we have only briefly touched on some of the important product design tools here, you can read about them in depth in the comprehensive text, Product Design and Innovation by Carlos Rodriguez.  He includes a lot of very thorough examples to lead you through the entire product design process. 

How Do You Use Product Design?

Every industry, company, and product is different.  You may know your market well, so that a new product simply needs limited design and testing.  Or you may be developing brand new technology and need to conduct extensive testing with potential and existing customers to ensure strategic alignment.  In this case, you will want to explore more of the product design phases and tools with more depth. 

The most important part of any product innovation processes to ensure strategic business alignment.  Developing product strategy precedes the product design process.  Start with our Reset Your Strategy workshop in August 2020.  Pre-register here.  Contact me at info@globalnpsolutions.com for more information. 

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching.  I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith.   It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders.  Teresa Jurgens-Kowal is an experienced innovation professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making.  My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator.  Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

Using PESTLE in a Recovery Strategy

Watch the short video (<1 minute) and then read on for all the details!

While our country has never before shuttered the economy, we have also never been faced with such challenges in innovation in business.  “Experts” predict V-shaped and U-s0haped recoveries.  Personally, the prediction of a “swoosh”-shaped recovery seems more reasonable; and it gives me hope for fan-based sports in its terminology, too. 

Regardless of size or scope of your business, the so-called “reopening” allows you a chance to reset your strategy.  In an earlier post, we discussed using SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) as a strategic assessment of your internal capabilities.  Opportunities and threats are external drivers in the model, yet how do you ascertain competitor actions when the shape of the business landscape has shifted irreversibly?

This is where another strategy planning tool can be of essence in resetting your business and innovation strategies.  PESTLE is a technique that forces an organization to examine trends outside their control, narrowing the possible scenarios for future conditions.  The acronym PESTLE represents political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental situations and trends. 

Political

In the US, the corona-panic has illuminated some strong political trends that are likely to continue unabated into the future.  First, increased socialism and government control is likely.  American citizens have demonstrated they will give up fundamental rights (e.g. the right to assembly and the right to religious freedom) when threatened with an unspecified health fear.  It is unwise to trust that all elected and appointed government officials will treat their power with fairness and justice. 

Second, policy makers have realized that using the word “science” in any conversation is effective to convince the electorate to succumb any personal responsibility or liberty.  Many US citizens have only a limited math or science education (and, unfortunately, we continue to fall behind most other first world nations), so telling someone it is “science” without providing factual data is proof enough for most. 

How do these political trends impact your business and innovation strategies?  Are you positioned to take advantage of growing government bureaucracies?  Will you be nimble enough to navigate a flurry and inconsistent network of illogical rules and regulations again?

Economic

There are not enough words in my vocabulary to describe the economic damage of the corona-panic.  As we plan new business and innovation strategies, one key economic trend stands out.  Debt.  Before the corona-panic, the US economy was already headed toward an unsustainable debt-to-GDP ratio.  With massive stimulus bills and shrinking output, the debt-to-GDP ratio is at astronomical levels, never seen before – even in times of war. 

With a fiat currency (meaning printed money and not based on bullion value), increased debt means inflation and higher taxes.  How can you incorporate these threats into your business and innovation strategies going forward?  What does it mean for product pricing strategies?

Social

Social trends are yet to be determined coming out of the corona-panic.  There are some people who had readily believe the disastrously wrong models from government agencies and consequently believe any social interaction will result in immediate death.  Many of us have looked at the data and will continue to want to live our lives with normal human contact:  going to the movies, concerts, and trade shows. 

As an individual, I dread the trend away from face-to-face events.  It is nearly impossible to meet new people and to connect in a virtual world.  The coffee pot conversations, lunch discussions, and happy hour connections at events allow us to interact as human beings were designed to do.  No one should be expected to sit in front of a computer screen for hours (or days) on end and expect to build an important relationship. 

Yet, as you reset your business and innovation strategies, virtual meetings are, at least, a short-term reality.  How can you involve customers in your product innovation work in a virtual world?  How will you plan for qualitative feedback when you can’t see your potential customers?  What does “moving online” mean for your business?

Technology

With the advent of doing everything virtually and without contact, your business and innovation strategies must incorporate technological changes.  We are sure to see a slew of new technical tools (other than zoom, I hope!) to run our business in a digital, nonhuman world.  There are also going to be more frequent and more numerous cyberattacks.  Are you building IT strength into your business and innovation strategies?  Digital transformation trends will continue to dominate physical product development.  Are you linking “digital” applications with all hardware development?

Legal

There is no doubt that legal implications will continue to grow as the world emerges from the corona-panic.  HR experts will tell you that if your employees are afraid of getting sick at work, you will need to make a legal disability accommodation and let them work from home.  How will you monitor project work and schedules when your staff does not meet together?

Further, if one of your team members coughs or sneezes, how do you treat that?  If another team member catches a cold, will she sue you?  I believe there will be a whole host of new illnesses arising from the overuse of cleaning products.  Government “experts” are encouraging nearly continuous use of hand sanitizer, yet I am reminded that it is the only solution I use to effectively remove bicycle grease.  Once I spilled a few drops of hand sanitizer on my desk and it removed the varnish.  Are you prepared for a trend of chronic diseases from chemical usage in a workplace?  What other legal implications threaten your business or the introduction of a new product?

Environmental

As a result of the corona-panic, I believe there are favorable environmental trends to influence our business and innovation strategies.  The tremendous hit that oil and gas took during the panic creates opportunities for petrochemical manufacturing.  Distribution costs should decline as diesel and jet fuel are less expensive.  Peoples’ fears regarding short-term environmental destruction have been replaced with an immediate health and safety fear.  While both fears are completely irrational (and not based on existing data but so-called “science”), environmental restrictions will be loosened in many areas so business can get going again.  For example, allowing a truck driver to haul two trailers in tandem versus a single trailer might benefit how your products get to market. 

Use PESTLE to Design a Recovery Strategy

Every business, large or small, must deeply probe its innovation strategy today.  Understanding and studying external opportunities and threats can help you formulate an effective recovery strategy.  Use PESTLE to identify trends impacting innovation and business conditions during “reopening”. 

What political trends are happening locally or nationally to threaten your business?  Will the economic conditions (especially increasing debt, inflation, and taxes) cause a change in your business structure?  Which societal trends will allow you to grow and which fears of society might threaten your innovation programs?

Examine technology advances and incorporate enhanced cyber security into your strategies.  Be prepared for a slew of legal actions, especially as elections are anticipated and the way we vote in a democracy is changed away from secure and known trends.  How will employee behaviors influence your strategies to prepare for health and safety lawsuits?  Finally, are there any environmental trends that can open opportunities or provide a benefit to your innovation strategy?

Learn More about Strategy

Strategy lays the groundwork for all innovation work.  If you don’t know what your strategy is, you cannot succeed.  Contact me at area code 281, phone 787-3979 for a complimentary 30-minute innovation coaching session.  We will discuss how you can apply SWOT and PESTLE in your own unique business situation to immediately see results. 

Other Resources

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching.  I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith.   It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders.  Teresa Jurgens-Kowal is an experienced innovation professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making.  My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator.  Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

Identifying Your New Innovation Workflow

In a recent blog, we discussed how to Use SWOT to Reset Your Business and Innovation Strategy.  As has been said, execution overrules strategy any day.  Strategy is important because you have to know where you’re going and to explain why you’re headed there.  But how you get there and when you get there is even more important. 

I often think of strategy as a destination.  An analogy is found in planning a vacation.  The destination (for me) is often a National Park (where I’m going) so I can go hiking (why I’m going).  The SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) yields insights to help in the decision-making process of laying out a business destination and innovation goals that will increase revenue and lead to customer satisfaction. 

Yellowstone National Park, 2018

How I get to a National Park and the timing of vacation are related to workflows.  I could fly to a nearby city and rent a car or drive to the park directly from home.  Driving usually takes longer but allows me to easily carry bicycles and camping gear.  In the end, flying or driving achieves the same goal – hiking in a beautiful place – but the execution of the plan is quite different for each case. 

What is a Workflow?

We often don’t think a lot about workflows.  Somehow work just gets done.  If tasks or activities are behind schedule, someone calls a meeting to figure out why.  But it is more efficient to establish processes upfront and follow a standardized path – a workflow – to achieve repeatable success.  A workflow is thus a system or process. 

Even for tasks and activities as unpredictable as developing a new product or service, we need a process that informs the project team how to convert an idea into a saleable product or service.  The workflow illustrates a series of steps with assigned roles and responsibilities.  The system also includes decision-making criteria to indicate whether a particular initiative should continue to advance.  These decisions are particularly important for product innovation as trends in customer needs, markets, and technology can change during the development life cycle. 

Workflow is NOT a Schedule

As good project managers, we always prepare project schedules.  These include key milestones and deliverables.  Innovation systems often use gate reviews to establish the continued attractiveness of a product idea through design and development.  Product portfolio management reviews determine strategic alignment and value-add for innovation projects.  The workflow captures these hand-offs and decision points as well as responsible team members to accomplish the work. 

A schedule is different than a workflow in that it shows (often as a Gantt chart) which tasks must be done and in what order.  A schedule shows overlaps in activities and highlights the critical path that determines the earliest possible completion date for a project.  Project managers are held accountable for delayed schedules.  In my vacation analogy, the airline has a specific schedule and if I miss the flight, my entire vacation is delayed. 

Designing an Innovation Workflow

First, remembering that a workflow is not a schedule, list all the tasks that must be done to transform an idea into a product innovation.  The list should include direct tasks (such as prototype testing) as well as indirect activities (such as applying for a patent).  Next, as shown in the figure, order and prioritize these tasks to optimize the project goal.  Remember that activities like concept testing can be conducted in parallel with technical development and production testing. 

Innovation Workflow, copyright Global NP Solutions

As you begin to order the required tasks and activities, you will find that some are dependent on others.  This is not unlike putting together a project schedule but as you create a workflow, you can identify methods to optimize your resources when you recognize a dependency.  In scheduling, we must increase the time if Task A must be fully completed before Task B starts.  Yet in a workflow, or systems analysis, we can collate certain dependent activities or decisions for a management council or portfolio review. 

The workflow considers roles and responsibilities, skills and competencies, and training needs of functional staff to complete activities.  An effective workflow identifies cross-functional relationships as well as cross-training for various roles so that the project work progresses continually.  Then, when hold times or transfers and hand-offs are unacceptable, resource allocation is optimized to eliminate overload (Step 5). 

As with all innovation projects, the innovation system itself should be tested.  Prototype the workflow on a “typical” new product development (NPD) project to identify bugs, holdups, or bottlenecks in the workflow.  Then, as you implement the workflow across all projects and functions, relentlessly streamline the process.  Continuous improvement and being aware of bureaucratic sand traps is key to successfully maintaining optimized workflows. 

Innovation Workflows

Learn more about the innovation workflow matrix here.  You will see many of the common project and innovation management systems categorized by serial or integrated teams on the x-axis and via waterfall or Agile philosophy on the y-axis.  Learn more about product innovation in New Product Development Professional (NPDP) certification self-study course.  Then, join me on 18 June 2020 at noon CDT (1 pm EDT, 10 am PDT) for a free Q&A webinar on the Life Design Master Mind group where you will apply the Design Thinking workflow to current challenges for knowledge workers maintaining full employment.  Register here and we’ll see you soon!

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A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.