You're launching a new product. How do you navigate between innovative design and practical constraints?

You can't be everything to everyone. Establishing the narrowest definition of what problems you solve and for who, will help establish pragmatic goals. Cascade everything down from that decision - products initial scope, positioning in the market, pricing and packaging, target ICPs for GTM, support.

Design Thinking has been my guide in this challenge. Recently, our team aimed to leverage AI in sales. Instead of defaulting to AI-written proposals, we used Design Thinking to probe deeper. By empathizing with our team's needs and ideating freely, we developed an innovative yet practical solution: AI-powered RFP analysis. This tool identifies key details, flags risks, and detects conflicts in RFPs, enhancing our project understanding and client interactions. Design Thinking led us to balance innovation with practicality, resulting in improved proposal quality, reduced risks, and stronger client relationships.

-Know What People Want: Focus on solving real problems that matter to customers. -Set Clear Goals: Decide what you want the innovation to accomplish. -Work as a Team: Get input from all departments R&D, production, marketing early on. -Test and Modify: Build and refine prototypes to address practical challenges. -Balance Cost and Value: Make sure the innovation is worth the cost. -Follow the Rules: Ensure the product meets safety and regulatory standards. -Think About Production: Design with manufacturing and scaling in mind. -Keep the User in Mind: Make sure the innovation improves the user experience. -Plan for Risks: Identify potential issues and have backup plans. -Be Open to Feedback: After launch, listen to users and make improvements

In today’s market, design of a product either make it or break it. Having this mindset settled in the space of product development will make it easier to negotiate and apply design practices. There are other factors like business needs, prioritization and strategy. They all do affect the phase of decision making, but this all should span in the space of innovative design, that puts customer first

In my experience, having clear goals from the outset can significantly streamline the product development process. Once, while working on a new financial product, our team spent considerable time defining the core problem we aimed to solve. This focus helped us avoid unnecessary features and ensured we stayed on track, ultimately delivering a product that met market needs effectively.

Market research is a crucial initial stage for any business, planning to launch any product or services. It helps to identify the market trends, understanding the need of the target audience, preferences of the customers and identify market gaps. Market research helps in upgrading it's products or services by making an informed decisions so that company can make a strategic plan to achieve sustainable growth and stay comptetive.

Market research can be seen as the art of "listening" in product development. Market research is like being a detective in a bustling city. Instead of just gathering data, you’re uncovering hidden insights by observing customer behaviors, listening to what’s unsaid, and finding patterns in the chaos. It’s about understanding the unique needs of different “neighborhoods” within the market and piecing together clues to reveal what customers truly want. By doing this, you turn raw data into a compelling story that guides your team to create products that resonate and stand out.

There is no single way of conducing research. But the idea is always the same... developing a better understanding of current unknowns. Qualitative research through interviews, focus groups is time consuming , but almost always a way to create more empathy for the user needs. Quantitative research (through scientifically designed surveys), when done right can help get targeted answers from a larger population size. All of these can be augmented with competitive analysis, social media , google search trends, product usage analytics for a more comprehensive research.

Go beyond traditional surveys—leverage data analytics and social listening to capture real-time customer sentiment. This method reveals hidden needs and helps prioritize innovations that resonate deeply with your audience. Innovators who master this can turn customer insights into a competitive advantage.

For market research, I completely ditch the guesswork. Please be DATA DRIVEN. Alwawy lean on data (use credible data sources) and real user insights. Also I suggest using tools like Google Trends, SEMrush, and Qualtrics for quantitative analysis, and pair them with ethnographic research or user interviews to dig into qualitative insights. I also have been using personas and JTBD frameworks to really understand my product's audience and their needs. This dual approach lets me vibe with my target-market and make the most of the opportunities as they emerge.

An example I've seen is iterative designs helps team to get to the final design they look for. So particularly, you do the design, prototype and test number of iterations. So out of these you can shortlist 2-3 close iterations on which you have to decide which one to go forward with. You can list out pros and cons of each iteration or may be even do the 3P to make the decision on one of these designs. So end result - you got your final design which is process feasible and meets your functional/customer requirements (As per 3P).

I've used prototyping not just for product design and build, but much earlier in the process.. including for early customer needs research. In most cases, the audience can better relate to a concept if they have atleast some visual reference. This obviously doesn't need to be a high fidelity working artifact (In fact it shouldn't be that). But just enough for the users to not only relate to the potential product design, but also share deeper insights and feedback around how it might help them get better at their job.

I have a design background so this part is really fun for me. This is where creativity meets constant tweaking. I personally like to use 'Agile' methodologies, with sprints and feedback loops, to rapidly prototype with tools like Figma or Sketch (or even pen paper and some postits (yeah i'm old school). Depending on the challenges I could pair this with A/B testing and heatmaps to see how real users interact with our designs. This is where innovation gets refined, so don’t be a perfectionist, and allways follow what the data tells you. Your CEO's gut isn't allways right.

Utilize rapid prototyping and user testing to swiftly refine designs. Engage cross-functional teams early to get diverse perspectives, which can preemptively address practical constraints. This collaborative approach not only saves time but also ensures a more robust and user-friendly product.

Treat design iteration as an ongoing evolution rather than a series of discrete steps. Utilize AI-powered design tools that automatically generate and test multiple iterations in real-time based on user feedback and performance data. Imagine having a "design coach" that continuously suggests optimizations and innovations based on a vast pool of user interactions and preferences. This real-time, adaptive iteration can accelerate your design process and lead to more refined and user-centric solutions.

Adopt a zero-based budgeting approach where every expense must be justified, ensuring funds are directed towards the highest-impact areas. This disciplined method encourages financial efficiency and ensures that innovative features are backed by solid business cases.

As certified Project Manager, budget management is something I don't take lightly. This isn’t just about pinching pennies, a good budget control is all about maximizing impact/result. I suggest to break down the costs with zero-based budgeting to ensure every dollar is tied to a strategic goal. There are more professional tools (for eg. check MS Project), but I like use tools like Trello or Asana for real-time budget tracking, and that allows me to keep an eye on our burn rate. As with every budget, even my personal budget, its all about prioritize spending where it counts and when the budget isn't enough I tippicaly focus on where I can have a greater impact and - whether that’s in a killer UI/UX design or a solid marketing push.

Effective budgeting is key to successful product innovation. It requires a careful balance between R&D, production, and marketing costs. Financial constraints often necessitate tough decisions, such as scaling back features or finding cost-effective alternatives. By allocating funds wisely, you can ensure that your product delivers value without compromising on quality. Remember, innovation isn't just about groundbreaking features—it's also about smart resource management to maximize impact within your budget.

Or?amento claro de acordo com o público alvo é crucial no início do projeto.. é a partir dele que entendemos qual será o caminho a seguir

Well as consultant, this "depents". Mostly it depends on the product we're launching. In production planning, we should focus on the balance between Speed, Quality and Costs. Normally the rule is that we can only focus on two of these. I came from manufacturing span through copnsulting and I'm currently on a tech startup (SaaS), so productions challenges really differ. Just make sure to leverage Gantt charts to map out timelines and dependencies. Also! make sure to incorporate Lean manufacturing principles to minimize waste, and use Six Sigma techniques to ensure quality control. Keep the supply chain agile by working closely with suppliers and using just-in-time inventory systems —because have you heard of murphy's law?

When planning production, it's crucial to consider constraints like material availability, production capacity, and quality control. Choosing the right manufacturing partner is key—they should not only meet your scale needs but also embrace innovation and collaborate on unique design elements. A strong production plan addresses these factors, ensuring that your product's innovative features are feasible and that quality isn't compromised. This strategic approach turns creative concepts into high-quality, market-ready products.

Raw material procurement and logistics plays a vital role in production planning for new innovations especially. This will affect client trust and relationships when issues arise from being unprepared in these areas

Create a vibrant community of beta testers who provide continuous feedback. Reward their contributions to keep them engaged. This community-driven approach allows you to iterate and enhance your product based on real-world usage, ensuring both innovation and practicality are maintained.

Transform your feedback loop into an "innovation ecosystem" where early adopters are integrated into a collaborative community. Use advanced analytics and AI to continuously track and analyze feedback from this community, identifying trends and predicting future needs. Imagine a platform where users not only provide feedback but also participate in co-creation sessions, contributing to the next generation of product innovations. This dynamic and engaged feedback system helps you stay ahead of trends and continuously refine your product to meet evolving user expectations.