Product Definition
Defining objectives and opportunities is the first challenge leading to product design ideation. Our creative team members can develop bluesky concepts with the best of them and often we're called on by clients to pin back our ears and move quickly into ideation. But even bluesky ideation requires the laying of groundwork to feed the product design ideation process. As detailed in our strategic planning and research phase descriptions, research and consensus building are critical. Effective research helps our team create hypotheses or constructs from which ideation can flow. The same rules apply when we work with our clients to create product improvements and line extensions. We synthesize the information into logical paths for the design team to follow and then execute. Some specific tasks include:
Patent search to identify IP landmines
Competitive analysis
User profile development
Opportunity assessment
Creation and prioritization of optional ideation paths
Consensus building with the project team
Feature development
Technical risk analysis
Manufacturing overview:
Production feasibility
Vendor sourcing - domestic and off shore
Production partnering evaluation
