The Idea
Any design or product development arises to identify a need or opportunity for improvement. Whether it is made under a methodical process, as is a market study or identify needs and trends, or simply a moment of inventive inspiration where we can think of an easier, better or more attractive way of doing something or solve a problem. We can call this an IDEA.
Research
As a second step, the research process is very important in any product design. This is where the hypotheses collaborated on the initial ideas emerge. Here we discover how viable is our idea, if it really serves a need, if you have demand and what are the implications and problems that we confront to develop and market and have opportunities to develop and successfully market the product. In product design consultancy, this phase usually has a document called “brief”, “Product Profile” or “product specification.” This allows you to clearly communicate with the development team what objectives to be achieved. The research stage can be divided into several parts, including;
Quantitative Market Research
It helps us understand the potential impact our product demand, size and market fragmentation, key competitors and distribution channels. For this research, we rely on statistics, reports and can collect data from different sources.
Qualitative Research
This stage of research allows you to learn that there are opportunities for improvement in the market, and this would determine whether our ideas are accepted and what motivates or detonate consumption of our product. These are done through interviews and surveys. Try to identify the needs of different users and allows us to define a target market.
Consumption Research
This stage helps you observe how people use a number of similar products that you design or perform the work or satisfy a need or solve the problem that we want to attack. This can be done by remote monitoring (spying) or a series of dynamic, with a focus group.
Trends Research
Study how the use of a product or is changing, that changes can provide that change consumer behaviour or how to buy or use the product we have in mind. These trends can be aesthetic, functional, technological or other kinds.
Products and Competitor Research
Get to know all the options that a consumer and user has to meet the need we want to attack. It is important to know both the existing products target market as in other markets. Understanding competitor research is aimed to market each of the offers, price and features that differentiate them.
Technology Research
Technologies evolve month by month and this is a very crucial stage and part of any product design consultancy. Be clear of any technological limitations that exist to develop the product, which technologies exist and can be used and that technology needs to be developed.
Intellectual Property Research
Allows you to perform a search on prior art in the area and have it defined that the innovations can be protected which may result in patent infringement. In some cases buying existing patent licenses can be a good strategy of protecting all technological development on your intellectual property since preventing potential competitors is a must.
Legal Research
Know the rules, legal framework, restrictions, tariffs and any other legal constraint to be met by the product.