We believe there are only three fundamental aspects to any product development endeavor, that there are substantial opportunities for innovation within each, and that only by doing all three well will your idea deliver it's full potential.
Needs
Being the first to recognize an unmet market need creates potential value. That value is maximized if you can establish a complete view of all the needs- not just from the Customer
view but also everyone involved in the supply, production, regulatory approval and support roles. If you miss any of these, you place the entire design cycle at risk and make life way too easy for your competition.
Alternatives
Buried in alternatives? Worried you can't tell the winners from the losers? Does your comparison process seem to go on forever, or get re-directed with each management review or new player that comes along? It isn't just how many choices you consider, but whether or not your process can rapidly identify and distinguish the winners. Even ideas you choose not to pursue can be valuable as licensed IP, or IP you lock up to keep away from a potential competitor.
Solutions
No matter how good your idea, it will still require solid design, engineering, and scientific insight to transform it into a viable product. To gain maximum value from your idea, you'll want to apply proven design and engineering methods, identify, manage and eliminate risks, take advantage of developmental testing and computational analysis tools where appropriate, and constantly compare the emerging solution against established needs.
