How do you decide whether to launch or kill a product innovation project?

1 Identify your goals

Before you start any product innovation project, you need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and how you will measure success. Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). For example, you might want to increase your market share, solve a customer problem, or create a competitive advantage. Your goals will help you define your scope, budget, timeline, and criteria for your product innovation project.

2 Conduct market research

Market research is essential to understand your target customers, their needs, problems, preferences, and behaviors. You can use various methods to gather market insights, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or data analysis. Market research will help you validate your product idea, identify market opportunities, and assess the demand and potential of your product innovation project.

3 Prototype and test

Prototyping and testing are crucial steps to turn your product idea into a tangible and usable product. You can use different tools and techniques to create prototypes, such as sketches, wireframes, mockups, or 3D models. Prototyping and testing will help you get feedback from your customers, stakeholders, and users, and improve your product design, functionality, and usability. You will also be able to identify and fix any errors, flaws, or gaps in your product innovation project.

4 Evaluate the feasibility

Feasibility evaluation is a necessary process when analyzing the technical, operational, and financial aspects of your product innovation project. You need to consider questions such as whether you have the resources and capabilities to develop and deliver your project, how it will fit into existing processes and systems, and how much it will cost to launch and maintain. Additionally, you should assess the potential revenue and profit generated from the project. Ultimately, feasibility evaluation will help you determine the viability and sustainability of your product innovation project.

5 Compare the alternatives

Comparing the alternatives is the process of weighing the pros and cons of your product innovation project against other possible solutions or options. You can use different tools and methods to compare the alternatives, such as SWOT analysis, decision matrix, or cost-benefit analysis. Comparing the alternatives will help you identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your product innovation project, and how it compares to your competitors or substitutes.

6 Make the decision

Making the decision is the final step to decide whether to launch or kill your product innovation project. You need to consider the results of your previous steps, and evaluate your product innovation project based on your goals, market research, prototyping and testing, feasibility evaluation, and comparison of alternatives. You also need to consider the risks, uncertainties, and assumptions involved in your product innovation project, and how they might affect your outcomes. Making the decision will help you choose the best option for your business and customers, and communicate your rationale and justification to your stakeholders and team members.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?