What do you do if your product innovation fails to meet expectations?

A failed innovation is not the end but the source of many data and insights that increase the odds of succeeding in the next attempt. Every product innovation should have set criteria to measure based on the outcome of the end delivery. Therefore, failing to achieve the desired expectation is not a challenge, rather a valuable lesson to iterate in the right direction. The rule of thumb for product innovation lifecycle is Pilot your idea > Build your MVP > a) If it gets traction, keep scaling b) if fails to get traction, iterate c) if iterations don't yield result, pause to evaluate or kill it and move on to your next experiment/hypothesis.

If the product is not used as intended, not used at all, it's not the time to cry. Find out why: 1) Test, test, test 2) Learn and document 3) Reiterate until the needs of the customer are met

Si tu innovación de producto no está funcionando significa que estás en el mundo real. Lo normal es que exista un porcentaje de innovaciones de productos que no funcionen. Si esta situación se produce necesitaremos: 1) Estar abiertos a pivotar hacia nuevos mercados, todo ello antes de eliminarlo de nuestro portfolio. 2) Deshacer el camino andado para descubrir en qué hitos fallamos. Rehacer el camino y encontrar donde se produjo el error es clave para que no exista recurrencia en cometer errores en próximas innovaciones. 3) Por encima de todo, aprende, no culpes.

The advice to accept reality is sound; recognizing failure is crucial for growth. However, the emphasis on not letting ego or pride interfere could be more constructive. It's not just about avoiding blame but about actively seeking feedback and understanding the root causes. It could also encourage leveraging the situation as a strategic pivot point. Emphasizing a forward-looking, solution-oriented approach after acceptance would be beneficial, inspiring action rather than dwelling on the setback. This section sets a good foundation but could expand on transforming acknowledgement into actionable insights and improvement strategies.

Steps to consider if your product innovation fails to meet expectations: analyze reasons for failure, seek feedback from customers and stakeholders, pivot or iterate on the product, reassess the market for opportunities, communicate transparently with stakeholders, and learn from the experience to improve future outcomes.

Once acknowledging the reality of a product innovation falling short, the next step involves a swift & thorough analysis of root causes. Delve into the intricacies of why the innovation failed to meet expectations, exploring aspects like the product itself, market dynamics, customer reception, competitive landscape, timing, & promotional strategies. Scrutinize assumptions made during the innovation process and seek feedback from customers, stakeholders, & partners. Assess the performance of metrics employed for success measurement. Tools such as surveys, interviews, analytics, & experiments aid in extracting valuable insights. This meticulous analysis serves as a crucial foundation for informed decision-making & targeted corrective actions.

Conducting a thorough root cause analysis is imperative when faced with product innovation failure. While surface-level issues may seem apparent, exploring deeper using tools like the fishbone model allows us to uncover subtle yet critical factors contributing to the failure. It enables us to scrutinize various aspects such as the product itself, market dynamics, customer feedback, and timing intricacies. By scrutinizing minute details, we can identify underlying issues that might otherwise go unnoticed, leading to more effective solutions and preventing similar failures in the future.

Deciding between pivoting and persevering is pragmatic, highlighting a critical juncture in the innovation process. However, it lacks guidance on how to weigh these factors effectively. While it lists important considerations, it doesn't provide insight into how to evaluate or prioritize them. Additionally, the advice could be more empowering by suggesting tools or methods to gather the necessary data for making this decision. Also, integrating customer feedback directly into this decision-making process could be emphasized more strongly, ensuring the product aligns with market needs. A more nuanced approach could help innovators make more informed decisions.

? Creating a value-producing pivot ? If your product innovation misses the mark, finding a discrete, tangible element you can modify to learn from is key. Doing this over a few elements and iterations may just put you back in the success zone.

Following a thorough analysis, the pivotal decision arises: to pivot or persevere with your product innovation. Pivoting involves strategic changes in your product, market, or value proposition based on insights gained from the failure. Conversely, persevering entails remaining committed to the original vision while refining aspects like the product, marketing, customer service, or operations. This decision hinges on factors such as the extent of the failure, the product's potential, customer demand, market opportunities, competitive landscape, and available resources. It demands a balanced consideration of these elements to chart the most effective path forward for sustainable success.

When product innovation doesn't hit the mark, it's not a cue for the exit stage but rather a signal for strategic introspection. First, breathe. Then, dissect the feedback like a detective analyzes clues, identifying where expectations and reality diverged. Engage with your audience; understanding their needs can turn today’s flop into tomorrow’s success. Remember, innovation is a marathon, not a sprint. Use this as a learning curve, refining your approach based on insights gained. It’s about pivoting with purpose, not retreating in defeat. Treat failure as a seasoned mentor, not a feared nemesis, and watch as your product evolves from underwhelming to indispensable.

Extract key learnings from the failure to inform future decision-making and product development efforts. Identify valuable insights, lessons learned, and best practices that can be applied to future projects to improve outcomes.

In the aftermath of a product failure, fostering a culture of adaptability is crucial. Prioritize cross-functional insights, welcome customer feedback, and adopt agile methodologies for swift innovation and effective course correction. Embrace post-failure learnings to propel future success.

Reassess the organization's goals and priorities in light of the failure. Determine whether the failed project was aligned with the organization's strategic objectives, and if not, realign future initiatives to focus on high-priority areas with the greatest potential for success.

You should be able to kill a product that is not performing in the company at one point in time and that is not showing enough promise in the medium term. This is part of the product job. Doing life support is not useful and might prove detrimental to well functioning products. However keep a close journal of the experiment and of the code because maybe later such a product correctly adapted might be worth reviving.

It is important to know where you are in the design process. If it is part way through the design process, you should have a project plan to analyse, amend, test and evaluate. If you have already gone down that path and the result is consistently the same, then it is time to for a reality check. I had this on a project last year for knife wounds. The critical hemostat component failed when integrated into the final design. Worked on its own, all parts did, but the sum of the parts did not. Analysed the results and realised that it could not be addressed to work as needed. The funding body was amazed we killed the project with money on the table, offered us more time but I had to be a realist. As long as you learn from what was done.