How can you evaluate product concepts in product R&D?

1 Define your criteria

Before you start evaluating your product concepts, you need to define your criteria for success. What are the goals and objectives of your product R&D? What are the key metrics and indicators that you will use to measure your progress and outcomes? What are the minimum requirements and expectations for your product concepts? You can use frameworks such as SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) or OKR (Objectives and Key Results) to set clear and realistic criteria for your product R&D.

3 Build prototypes

The next step is to build prototypes of your selected product concepts. Prototypes are simplified and tangible representations of your product concepts that you can use to test and communicate them. You can use different levels of fidelity for your prototypes, depending on your goals and resources. For example, you can use low-fidelity prototypes, such as sketches, wireframes, or mockups, to test the basic functionality and usability of your product concepts. You can use high-fidelity prototypes, such as interactive or functional prototypes, to test the performance and feasibility of your product concepts.

4 Conduct experiments

After you have your prototypes, you can conduct experiments to evaluate your product concepts. Experiments are systematic and structured methods to test your assumptions and hypotheses about your product concepts. You can use different types of experiments, such as A/B testing, multivariate testing, or user testing, to collect data and feedback from your target users, customers, or stakeholders. You can also use tools and platforms, such as Google Optimize, Optimizely, or UserTesting, to design, run, and analyze your experiments.