{"id":3204,"date":"2020-10-28T10:47:32","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T10:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.interventure.info\/?p=3204"},"modified":"2023-09-21T07:14:30","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T07:14:30","slug":"product-development-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.interventure.info\/blog\/product-development-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprising tips for a successful product development strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cNo roadmap survives contact with reality.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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So writes Jenna Bastow, co-founder and CEO of ProdPad in the foreword of the book \u2018Product Roadmaps Relaunched\u2019<\/a>. If you\u2019re currently working on a product development strategy, these words might feel soul-crushing. However, we\u2019d argue that you should perceive them as a glimpse of hope.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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When you think about it, it\u2019s reassuring to know that everyone is struggling in the process of creating something out of nothing. You\u2019re not alone, it\u2019s all trial and error.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Product development requires agility, fine-tuning, and being light on your feet. There are tons of different frameworks and methodologies that can help you increase your chances of a victorious launch. We\u2019re sure you did your research there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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What\u2019s important to know is that a) there is no single right way to create the product development strategy and b) there is something universal (an \u2018X factor\u2019 if you will) to every successful one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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But that\u2019s just the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Creating a product development strategy is easier when you stand on the shoulders of giants<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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First, let\u2019s take a moment to observe how planning and creating products evolved through time. Various factors such as the growth of international markets, changes in consumer behavior, the formation of new business verticals, and more, all influenced product development.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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According to Michael E. McGrath<\/a>, there have been several product development generations:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Significant changes happened at the turn of the century. Namely, in 2000 we witnessed a decline in the economy. This is why product managers switched their focus to R&D and started prioritizing productivity and agility.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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From trying to institutionalize new inventions and generate market demand to first rudimentary practices of project management, all the way to focusing on individual product development and finally – creative productivity\u2026 A lot has been going on in the recent past.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The rich experience of others helps you learn from their mistakes and minimize risks when creating your product development strategy. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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At InterVenture, we selected some of the most interesting concepts to creating and leading the product development strategy:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Product development strategy approach<\/strong><\/td>The key idea<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>

Amazon\u2019s \u2018backwards approach\u2019<\/a><\/td>		Customers play an active role in product development. By testing reactions before actually creating products (e.g. through mock press releases), Amazon saves a lot of time and money before officially starting the product cycle.<\/td><\/tr>


Steve Jobs and Apple\u2019s motto \u2018Think Big<\/a>\u2019<\/td>		Jobs is known for his controversial stance toward market research that can be summed into \u2018the customers don\u2019t know what they want\u2019. The quote is often misinterpreted. The idea is that, because groundbreaking innovations cannot be compared to anything that precedes them, it\u2019s hard for customers to communicate whether or not they would like to buy the product that doesn\u2019t exist yet.<\/td><\/tr>





Henry Ford, the pioneer of affordable automobiles made for the masses<\/td>		Instead of rephrasing Henry Ford\u2019s  key idea, we think it would be best to share a quote from his book<\/a>:
\u2018 There was no „demand“ for automobiles – there never is for a new article. They were accepted in much the fashion as was more recently the airplane. At first the „horseless carriage“ was considered merely a freak notion and many wise people explained with particularity why it could never be more than a toy. No man of money even thought of it as a commercial possibility. I cannot imagine why each new means of transportation meets with such opposition. \u2018
Similar to Jobs, Ford knew people had an aversion toward something revolutionary as an affordable transportation vehicle they can steer.<\/td><\/tr>
Allan Ward\u2019s lean product development<\/a><\/td>By adopting lean principles, the product development cycle is reduced, while the costs of development and production are reduced. Product development projects are categorized into three groups: wished products, wanted products, and needed products.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Tip #1:<\/strong> If you want to develop a successful product development strategy, start by challenging yourself and everything you think you know about the stages of the product cycle. Stand on the shoulders of giants. Discover your own path by exploring the already paved ones.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Product development strategy is not just about the product-market fit<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Creating a product development strategy is essentially about crafting the vision for your product. The traditional way of crafting the concept for your product implies the following:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Define the problem you want to solve -> Design the product that solves the problem<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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This is fairly logical. You want your company to prosper in a healthy market and satisfy an actual need. Many business organizations have adopted the lean approach, meaning they test their assumptions using a minimum viable product. That\u2019s how they feel the pulse of the market, gauge interest, and avoid getting caught in the law of small numbers or confirmation bias.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Of course, with today\u2019s sophisticated demand generation techniques<\/a> and the culture of consumerism that encourages us to buy things even if we don\u2019t really need them, the above-mentioned process is not set in stone. In fact, it can even go the other way around:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Design the product for the problem people are not yet aware of  -> Create demand<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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If you take a look at Sony, for instance, they are firm believers in creating <\/em>markets instead of identifying <\/em>them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Essentially, your product development<\/a> strategy should provide the what<\/em>, why<\/em>, and how <\/em>for the team. It should introduce discipline and provide a day-to-day plan that leads to a successful launch. Or, as the lean approach suggests<\/a>, the strategy should be based on two pillars – do the right thing<\/em> and do the thing right<\/em>: paced progress must be ensured, deliverables must be of defined quality and within agreed time frames.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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As someone who is responsible for creating and fine-tuning the product development strategy, you should be aware that multiple iterations are inevitable. They are a normal consequence that comes when you align what you planned with what is realistic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In addition, there has to be a founder-market fit<\/a>, which means founders need to think about their area of expertise and whether or not they are getting ahead of themselves. It\u2019s not enough to think some niche is cool and profitable in order to create great products.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Tip #2: <\/strong>When creating your product development strategy, you need to acquire sufficient knowledge and experience, or be wise enough to surround yourself with people who will poke holes in your vision. That\u2019s how you do a safe premortem without losing any resources or risking your market share.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Product development strategy and the \u2018X factor\u2019 we rarely think about<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Richard Banfield, product development expert and an author, wrote the following about the product development strategy<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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A product vision points the way; a product strategy tells the team how to deal with the obstacles and opportunities; the roadmap reminds the team what to focus their energy on; and the metrics tell them what\u2019s working and whether a reprioritization is necessary. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Such a fine summary of what strategy really means. We couldn\u2019t agree more. There is just one element that we believe is of key importance when it comes to creating a successful product development strategy. It is the \u2018X factor\u2019 that can make or break your efforts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In addition to the widely discussed what<\/em>, why<\/em>, and how<\/em>, there\u2019s also a crucial component that determines how well you will handle the obstacles and pivots down the road. Yes, you guessed it: it\u2019s the who<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Your product development team is the one responsible for turning your vision into fruition. The role of the people working unanimously toward the same goal is critical. It directly influences your speed to market, your capability to innovate, and your velocity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In IT, product engineering<\/a> has significantly changed thanks to the way companies started perceiving talent sourcing. Thanks to technology, physical distance is not required anymore in order for product development teams to thrive. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Tip #3: <\/strong>Distributed teams<\/a> have supercharged IT growth and enabled meaningful partnerships and incredibly productive collaborations. The interconnectedness of teams is achieved through shared values and a balanced diversity that allows great ideas to collide. This is how fresh, original products get to see the light of the day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Good news: InterVenture can find the right people who will help you with product development<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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At InterVenture, we believe in growing together and succeeding together. This is why we go above and beyond to match extraordinary engineering talent with companies that are looking to build their product development teams.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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We\u2019re not talking about IT outsourcing<\/a>, but the possibility of building a mutually beneficial partnership. Because the truth is – having the best individual players doesn\u2019t guarantee you will have the best team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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With our ongoing support, you can get fast access to a diverse community of high performing software engineers, test new markets, accelerate the product development process, and much more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Learn more about The Own Team Model\u2122<\/a> that\u2019s specifically designed to help you thrive in long-term product development ventures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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For additional queries, contact InterVenture<\/a> today: we can\u2019t wait to hear from you. <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNo roadmap survives contact with reality.\u201d So writes Jenna Bastow, co-founder and CEO of ProdPad in the foreword of the book \u2018Product Roadmaps Relaunched\u2019. If you\u2019re currently working on a product development strategy, these words might feel soul-crushing. However, we\u2019d argue that you should perceive them as a glimpse of hope. When you think about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-3204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-life-at-interventure","tag-product-development-strategy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.interventure.info\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.interventure.info\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.interventure.info\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.interventure.info\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.interventure.info\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.interventure.info\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.interventure.info\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.interventure.info\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.interventure.info\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.interventure.info\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}