Product design… 101

Wow! It has been a LONG while since I have posted… Though, that was not my intention, sometimes life has different plans. So, lets jump in without any further delay!

What is product design? From Wikipedia: “Product design is concerned with the efficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products.” Yes, product design is a process… A process with one important objective: create a customer!

“The purpose of a business is to create a customer.”

– Drucker

However, unless we are philanthropists, we need to be profitable as well. As I mentioned before, the profitability equation is quite straightforward: if a firm’s revenue from selling its product or service is greater than the cost of offering it, then the firm is profitable. So, product design process is focused on:

1. creating value for the customer, so a lot of someones will buy our products, AND;
2. be effective and efficient at using our tangible and intangible resources, so our costs are comparatively lower than the value we create for our customers.

With that, product design guides our product strategy. It allows us to bridge the gap from where we are to where we want to go. It helps to answer the three main strategy questions:

• Where are we?
• Where do we want to go?
• How will we get there successfully?

Product design aims to find the “perfect balance” as it manages competing priorities and constraints between desirability + viability + functionality.

• desirability — what do they want and need?
• functionality — what form + behavior it should take?
• viability — what competencies and capabilities will make us successful?

Product design is frequently relied upon during new product development, and often at the fuzzy front end. But, it needs to play a much bigger role:

• In the product materials lifecycle
• In the product development funnel
• At all customer touch points
• And, even in our value delivery system.

Additional thoughts…

• Product design is about people. Focus on “transactions” between people and things.
• Validation should be your first step.
• Technology is an enabler, not a solution.
• A product is more than the sum of its parts.
• Match your product to its adoption curve.

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