Melodies in Marketing

Was emptying my paper tray and came across a page of notes I’d taken for a client’s web copy, regarding what the Development phase in NPD is all about. I have to laugh when I think about it though, because the very nature of creativity is such that we like to think of it best expressed as boundless force. And yet the law of restraints, considerations, and best practices come into place based on the unique aspects of the objective, the application, the artwork, the craft being performed.

The influencers to this stage are the marketing plan, business case, and design strategy.

—–>>—–>>

The substantive deliverable of this phase is a prototype that has been at least partially validated with customers, and through extensive in-house, alpha, and lab tests.

Aspects:

• Sourcing, Building, Testing.
• Multifunctional team with empowerment to cut silo-ing.
• Specially-managed plan of action with milestones.
• Timeline formed through input of development team members.
• Timeline is realistic and objective, with buffering on activities whose expected completion time is variable.
• Milestones are quantifiable and have attached timeframes.
• Great milestones are SMART - Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-Bound.
• Frequent reviews of activities and timeline with revisions as necessary.
• Concurrent activities; parallel processing by different members of the development team; Un-bundle big tasks.
• Project management tools and software
• Team-Leadership established; Defined member roles alongside creative teamwork.

If you think of anything else for me to add to this list of aspects of what Development might mean to you, please leave a comment. - Mille Grazie…

The next phase in this process is: Testing & Development

For more information on the various phases in NPD, visit the master page on The Stage-Gate Model of New Product Development

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