Product Development Process

Has your organization experienced declining success in new product development? Have some products languished in development? Have unforeseen developments severely impacted your budget, timeline, or product specifications? These are typical consequences of the failure to identify or manage product uncertainty and risk.

In this user guide, we present Exploratory Product Development (ExPD), a strategy-to-launch product development approach that is adaptable and can respond nimbly to environments that are increasingly complex and uncertain. Using the ExPD approach, you can discover how to accelerate your product development process by removing bureaucracy and rework, learning through experimentation, and shifting your focus to the most critical product priorities.

We examine the constraints imposed by a traditional phased-and-gated product development process and demonstrate the transformational role of the ExPD approach in adapting to individual product needs.

This user guide is for product developers in established enterprises looking to install a new or improved product development process. Product developers in start-ups will also benefit from many of the ideas, tools, and techniques covered in this guide. We provide case studies and examples that transition these concepts from theory into practice.

Implementing the ExPD approach will result in a product development function that is stronger, more focused, and more resilient to change. You will better understand the role strategy and business models play in product development and how to build a productive idea pipeline. Also, you will gain a new appreciation for the need to identify, assess and resolve uncertainty and risk before investing in a product, giving you greater confidence in your ability to win savings in resources and time to market and ultimately achieve greater product success.