In business, New Product Development (NPD) is the complete process of bringing a new product into the market. The New Product Development process is also referred to as The Stage-Gate innovation process. It was developed by Dr. Robert G. Cooper as a result of his comprehensive research on reasons why products succeed and why they fail.
The New Product Development Process is crucial and Companies follow different types of NPD system. New product development process has eight stages. These stages will be discussed briefly below:
Idea Generation
The first stage of a new product development process begins with an idea of the product. Ideas for new products can be obtained from basic research using a SWOT analysis. Market and consumer trends, company's Research and Development department, competitors, focus groups, employees, sales personnel, corporate spies, trade shows, or ethnographic discovery methods may also be used to get an insight into new product lines or product features.
Idea Screening
The objective of the screening stage is to eliminate unsound concepts prior to devoting resources to them. This process involves shifting through the ideas generated and selecting the ones which are feasible and workable to develop. Pursing non feasible ideas can clearly be costly for the company.
Concept Development and Testing
Organization may have come across what they believe to be a feasible idea; however, the idea needs to be taken to a number of prospective customers, what do they think about the idea? Will it be practical and feasible? Will it offer the benefit that the organization hopes it will? Or have they overlooked certain issues? We need to be aware that the idea taken to the target audience is not a working sample, but just a concept.
Marketing Strategy and Development How will the product/service idea be launched within the market? A proposed marketing strategy will be written