Difference Between Product Design and Product Development
The difference between product design and product development lies in two parts of the overall process. Product design is the creative end, which involves taking an idea from a mere concept and turning it into a functioning product. Product development is the process of taking it to the marketplace.
What is Product Design?
Product design is the process of taking an idea and turning it into a physical product. It starts with that idea and then utilizes extensive market research to determine customer needs and problems, competitors, and the like. Once that’s established, engineers begin sketching out concepts that will solve that problem. Eventually, they come up with a prototype that can be tested for various issues such as useability, safety, sustainability, and aesthetic appeal.
Part of testing may involve sharing it with consumers to ensure that it addresses their needs in an appealing, easy-to-use way. Then, that feedback can be used to further refine the product to its ultimate version.
What is Product Development?
Product development encompasses product design in the sense that it moves the technical process along to ensure that various milestones and deadlines are met. It also ensures product quality and coordinates the different teams involved, such as research, ideation, design, testing, and preparing it for production.
A product development company creates a roadmap to ensure that each stage of creating a product (or improving an existing one) and bringing it to market is met successfully.
Stages of Product Design
A product design company begins with an idea, either for a new product or improvements to an existing one. To determine feasibility, extensive market research is done (trends, consumer demand, marketplace competition, and the like). Having gathered all that information through interviews, surveys, or existing data, engineers can begin brainstorming possible solutions to the customer problem that’s been uncovered.
A blueprint or vision specification is created and a prototype is built. Today’s technology, such as laser cutting or 3D printing, can generate a workable prototypes in record time.
The prototype allows for insights and improvements to useability, materials, visual appeal, and more. It reveals any design flaws or concerns so that they can be addressed before manufacturing, thus saving time and money.
Ideation
Ideation is the creative part of the product design process. Using market research and analysis, the initial concept is tested for viability in the marketplace. What’s the best way to solve the problem? What are the associated consumer behaviors, needs, and frustrations? These insights start the brainstorming process, ultimately resulting in sketches and blueprints.
Feasibility study
Part of product design solutions is a feasibility study that uncovers whether or not it’s worth developing and manufacturing. Will it work technically? Is it cost-effective to produce and will it be profitable? A feasibility study looks at every aspect of the creation and manufacturing process, helping a business minimize risk and make the most of its resources.
Preliminary design
The research and studies done at the start of the product design process provide the input to create sketches and ultimately, a blueprint of the new product. That allows for the production of a prototype. Having a physical version of the preliminary design allows the team to see it operate in a real-world way. Improvements can be made and potential issues rectified before getting to the manufacturing process, saving time and money.
Testing
The prototype allows for critical testing of the new product. Does it work? Is it easy to use? Does it have visual appeal? Will it hold up to safety standards? Are there more cost-effective ways to manufacture it? What improvements in functionality or appearance can be made? Testing is an essential step in the product design and development process.
Stages of Product Development
A product development company like Enki Product Development guides a product from the idea stage all the way to best positioning its entry into the marketplace. It begins with looking at the idea, and then fleshing it into a workable concept through effective market research and a smart design. From there, the design is tested to ensure it lives up to its promise. The product development company then does a deep dive into the marketplace conditions (both present and future) to uncover the best ways to market the new product. The process is about creating a new product, then giving it the best chance of success and on the fastest timeline possible.
Idea Generation & Screening
A product development company works to flesh out a basic idea into a workable product. That requires reviewing and conducting research into the marketplace to uncover opportunities and needs. Then the brainstorming begins, utilizing all that data to start developing a market-ready product.
Concept development
Concept development takes all the brainstorming ideas and works to refine them. They’re evaluated based on feasibility, profitability, demand, and other factors. Ultimately, a clear vision arises; we see how the product would work and how it meets the needs of the end user.
Business analysis
This is looking at the opportunities and the market for the new product, and then creating a strategy to take advantage of them. Business analysis helps sidestep costly mistakes and make better use of the resources used in creating, manufacturing, and marketing the new product.
Product development
Product development involves creating and maintaining a timeline to keep the design and development processes on track. It involves establishing realistic milestones (based on hard data and experience) and delivering them on time. Product development pulls together all the teams and establishes communication practices and transparency during the entire development lifecycle.
Commercialization
Having a finished product isn’t the end of product development; it’s just the beginning! Now that there’s a tested, marketable product, the development company turns its attention to how to best get it through the manufacturing and marketing processes. It requires discipline and smart use of resources. It requires a product development company that understands the various barriers to entry and how to best navigate them in order to get the product out there faster and give it its best chance of commercial success.
Conclusion
So the difference between product design and product development is that they’re just two aspects of a single thing: creating a new product and successfully bringing it to market. Product design takes the grain of an idea for a product or an improvement to an existing one, then works through the various steps of researching, brainstorming and creating a workable design. The design team creates a functioning prototype, rigorously tests it, and then prepares it for manufacturing and marketing.
Meanwhile, the product development team is guiding the process at every step. They stay on top of the design process to ensure that milestones are being met and facilitate communication between team members and the client.
Product development has the role of analyzing data, consumer behavior, and opportunities that position the new product so that it enjoys its best chance for success.
Enki Product Development is both a product design company and a product development company. We offer a complete line of services and experts with the sole mission of bringing your great idea to life and getting it to market faster.