PRODUCT PLANNING

PRODUCT PLANNING is a periodic process that considers the portfolio of product development project to be executed

THE STEP PROCESS Identify opportunity Evaluate and prioritize project Allocate resources and plan timing Complete pre-project planning Reflect on the result and the process

1. IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITY Identification of product development opportunity come from several sources : Marketing and sales personnel Research and technology development Current product development teams Manufacturing and operations organizations Current or potential customer Third parties (supplier, investor, bussines partner)

The proactive approaches Document frustrations and complaints Interview lead user Consider implication of trends Systematically gather suggestion of customer Carefully study competitor’s product etc

2. EVALUATE AND PRIORITIZE PROJECT COMPETITIVE STRATEGY : Technology leadership, cost leadership, customer focus, imitative MARKET SEGMENTATION : dividing market into segments TECHNOLOGICAL TRAJECTORIES : technology S-curves PRODUCT PLATFORM PLANNING EVALUATING FUNDAMENTALLY NEW PRODUCT OPPORTUNITY : market size, market growth rate, competitive intensity, depth of the firm’s existing knowledge of the market BALANCING THE PORTFOLIO

3. ALLOCATE RESOURCES AND PLAN TIMING Resources Allocation Project timing The product plan

4. COMPLETE PRE-PROJECT PLANNING Once the project has been approved, but before substantial resources are applied, a pre-project planning activity takes place. MISSION STATEMENTS : product description, key business goals, target market, stakeholder ASSUMTIONS AND CONSTRAINS of manufacturing, service, environment STAFFING AND OTHER PRE-PROJECT PLANNING ACTIVITIES

5. REFLECT ON RESULT AND PROCESS The team ask several questions to assess the quality of both the process and the results. Does the product plan support the competitive strategy of the firm? Are the elements if the mission statement consistent etc

IDENTIFY CUSTOMER NEED

THE METHODS GATHER RAW DATA FROM CUSTOMER : interview, focus groups, observing the product in use. INTERPRET RAW DATA IN TERM OF CUSTOMER NEEDS : 1. Express the need in term of what the product has to do 2. Express the need as specially as the raw data 3. Express the need as an attribute of the product 4. Avoid the words must and should

ORGANIZE THE NEED INTO HIERARCHY (primer, sekunder, tertier) ESTABLISH THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF NEED REFLECT ON THE RESULT AND THE PROCESS