Improving success rates

The success rate of new product offerings is dire (and that includes those developed by Apple). It's difficult to get an accurate figure on new product success rates because there is not one universal definition of success within and between firms. Plus, firms often don't like to talk about their failures. The exact figure isn't that important anyway, because all firms want to do is improve their current success rate.

What are some of factors that contribute to product "failure"?

Many recurring themes occur in the literature, such as: a failure to listen to the voice of the customer; poor up-front pre-development homework; unstable product definition; poor quality of execution of key NPD tasks; and poorly structured, ineffectual project teams (Cooper, 1993; Montoya-Weiss and Calantone, 1994; Song and Parry, 1996).

So there's another check-list that you can use:

- Are we really understanding customers? (e.g. Do old people really value a phone with a camera? Do people really want to look at photos on their MP3 player?)

- Have we observed the way people use these products as they solve their day-to-day problems?

- What is the real function of the product? What problem does it solve for customers?

- Are we good at getting things done? How much energy and how many resources do we have for this product development project? Are we spread to thin?

- How are our teams structured? Are they knackered?

Often, one of the best ways to improve product success rates is to just cut down the number of products that are currently being developed. It takes a lot of guts and confidence to say no to a product that, on the surface, seems to be perfectly good.

Which ones, though?

innovation, innovation management, China, Taiwan