STAGES IN THE NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS:

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The new product developement process goes under various Stages and the Stages are being listed below:

Stage 1.  Idea Generation is often called the "fuzzy front end" of the NPD process
• Lots of ideas are being generated about the new product. Out of these ideas many ideas are being implemented.
Stage 2.  Idea Screening
• The object is to eliminate unsound concepts prior to devoting resources to them.
Stage 3.  Concept Development and Testing
• Develop the marketing and engineering details
• Investigate intellectual property issues and search patent data bases
• Who is the target market and who is the decision maker in the purchasing process?
• What product features must the product incorporate?
• What benefits will the product provide?
• How will consumers react to the product?
• How will the product be produced most cost effectively?
• Prove feasibility through virtual computer aided rendering, and rapid prototyping
• What will it cost to produce it?
• Testing the Concept by asking a sample of prospective customers what they think of the idea. Usually via Choice Modeling.
Stage 4.  Business Analysis
• Estimate likely selling price based upon competition and customer feedback.
• Estimate sales volume based upon size of market and such tools as the Fourt-Woodlock equation.
• Estimate profitability and break-even point
Stage 5.  Beta Testing and Market Testing
• Produce a physical prototype or mock-up
• Test the product (and its packaging)in typical usage situations
• Conduct focus group customer interviews or introduce at trade show
• Make adjustments where necessary
• Produce an initial run of the product and sell it in a test market area to determine customer acceptance
Stage 6.  Technical Implementation
• New program initiation
• Finalize Quality management system
• Resource estimation
• Requirement publication
• Publish technical communications such as data sheets
• Engineering operations planning
• Department scheduling
• Supplier collaboration
• Logistics plan
• Resource plan publication
• Program review and monitoring
• Contingencies - what-if planning
Stage 7.  Commercialization (often considered post-NPD)
• Launch the product
• Produce and place advertisements and other promotions
• Fill the distribution pipeline with product
• Critical path analysis's most useful at this stage
Stage 8.  New Product Pricing
• Impact of new product on the entire product portfolio
• Value Analysis (internal & external)
• Competition and alternative competitive technologies
• Differing value segments (price, value, and need)
• Product Costs (fixed & variable)
• Forecast of unit volumes, revenue, and profit