During the product development process you’ll be looking to get the product made in the most effective and timely manner possible. When planning for this, it’s so easy to start believing some of the myths that are out there. Don’t believe any of the following myths, as they won’t help you develop your product in the best way possible.
This is one of the most popular myths out there when it comes to product development. It makes sense, right? If you’re using all your resources at 100%, then you’re going to get the maximum possible performance. This is true when it comes to machinery. If you increase the production volume by 50%, you’re going to get 50% more output.
The same cannot be said about your staff. They’re human, and so the same rules do not apply. If you make your team run at full speeds 100% of the time, you’re not going to get the increase in production that you’re looking for. In fact, what will happen is you’ll see the team make compromises to reach this vision. In the end, you’re not going to get the results you want.
You put a lot of time into developing a plan for your development process. Now that you’ve started production, you don’t want to change it for anything. After all, the plan is good so why change it?
‘This is a dangerous idea as things change all the time’ says product owner Stephen Bowley from Boom Essays and Paper Fellows. ‘You need to be adaptable, as problems or changes will crop up and you want to be able to work with them.’ If, for example, you can’t get a certain part on schedule, you don’t want everything to grind to a halt. You need to be able to adapt and work around the problem.
You probably believe this because there are some benefits to bulk manufacturing. You can reap cost benefits this way, and so many manufacturers believe its the best way to work. While it is a good method in some processes, it’s not right for every product developer.
Many manufacturers have started using ‘lean manufacturing’, which uses a just in time approach to manufacturing. This allows you to reduce waste and costs, as well as many other benefits. You’ll need to investigate and understand which manufacturing method works for your product.
It’s so tempting to keep adding features to a product. After all, the more features it has, the better it will be, right? There have been studies that show that consumers feel a product is better value if there are more features to it.
This is true, but only to a certain point. ‘You need to find the right balance between the number of features and the usability of the product’ says business writer Graham Lauder, from State of writing and Essay Roo. ‘When there are too many features, the product becomes unwieldy and difficult to use’. This is where rigorous user testing should be applied.
Many product developers feel they have to get everything right first time. If you do get it right on your first try, it does save money and time. However, believing this means you don’t understand the non linear nature of product development.
There are always going to be set backs as you develop a product. There may be budget constraints, technical issues, performance problems, and so on. It get discouraging, but the fact is you need these set backs. These show you where the issues in your design lie, and so you can correct them before release. Remember, no product is made perfect right away.
There are so many myths around product development, but these are some of the most common ones out there. It’s important to understand that set backs and less than 100% efficiency are all part of the process. When you do, you’ll be able to create the best product possible.
Sara Sparrow is a technical writer and project coordinator at Do my research paper and Write my essay. She writes about all things tech. She also contributes articles to online magazines and blogs, such as OX Essays.
