In recent articles I focused on a ‘linear’ approach to product development by understanding customer needs, establishing requirements (“what the design provides”), establishing a conceptual design, etc.
In this article, I’ll discuss a framework whereby an idea for a product or design might kick-off the process.
Also, rather than a commercialized product, we will assume our goal is to successfully demonstrate the idea’s feasibility. (This is common for a start-up company, where the business model might be to demonstrate product success with a goal of obtaining more venture capital, or to sell the intellectual property. Alternatively, a large company might want a separate idea development process that takes invention off the critical path.)