Before You Apply - Check

Before you apply, check your progress in meeting the following requirements 

1. Identifying Customer Needs ( What do users want?)                                                                       

• Identify the users and buyers.

• Gather raw data through interviews, focused group and observations.

• Interpret raw data to understand needs.

• Identify the important / pressing needs.

• Cross check the perceived importance with user groups.

• Reflect on the process to improve understanding of customer buying behaviour.

2. Generate Product Concepts ( How to meet the need ?)

• Decompose problem, state the output and corresponding inputs.

• Search for solutions that transform inputs into the desired output ( discuss with lead users, benchmark with competing products, take advise of experts, read patents & literature).

• Generate many concepts - creativity lies in identifying alternatives.

• Check to see whether different concepts can be combined to come with an unique solution.

3. Select concept ( Why is it better?)

• Perform concept selection for each of consumer group.

• The goal of concept selection is not to press ahead with the pre-conceived idea.

• The goal is to develop the best concept.

• Refine the concepts to develop the better ones.

4. Communicate the concept ( Do I share my idea clearly ?)

You can communicate with :

• Verbal description.

• Sketch

• Photograph / video of previous work.

• Computer simulation of system.

• Physical model. 

5. Why I need a prototype ( Check the roadmap to commercial production)

• For demonstrating proof-of-concept to check the feasibility.

• For demonstration – to improve design with feedback .

• To test hardware and later with software.

• For integrating sub-systems into a system model.

Last Updated: November 8, 2007