PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS STEPS

Step 1. Research
Step2. Design
Step3. Design analysis
Step4. Testing
Step5. Hazard Analysis
Step6. Manufacture and Release

STEP 1. RESEARCH

Research can be market research or performance research. Market research, on existing prototypes or markets, leads toward new products or upgrades that meet consumer desires. Performance research leads to product improvements for competitive markets, or the invention of innovative new products. This step leads directly to the parameters and concepts that govern the design step.

STEP 2. DESIGN

The Design Step carries a concept to a finished set of drawings or other media that govern how to build a physical prototype.

Sometimes a product is composed of one or a few individual parts. In that case the design process is a single step. As the number of pieces or components in a product grows, then it is useful to break the design process into two parts, or sub-steps, Preliminary and Final Design.

Preliminary Design:

If the product is considerably more than a single part made on one machine, such as a typical bicycle with hundreds of parts, then a preliminary design step is useful. This sets the goal for the appearance and performance of the product, with less concern about how to manufacture. The result becomes the framework to organize and direct a detailed, final design.

The preliminary design is an 'overall' step. It determines the overall geometry and performance of the product. This step may result in multiple approaches, or concepts, that compete mostly on overall appearance.

Final Design

The Final design step is concerned with making the concept manufacturable. It specifies everything needed to govern production. It considers everything on a part level. This results in a complete Bill of Material, drawings, CAD files and plans to source and assemble.

STEP 3. DESIGN ANALYSES

Analyses, such as the finite element analysis above (Glidecycle rear fork), are performed on a design prior to prototyping and testing. These verify peformance, like fit or strength or weight, prior to building a physical prototype. This step lowers the cost and performance risks associated with prototype and test.

STEP 4. TESTING (PRE-PRODUCTION PROTOTYPES)

Testing of the final 'production-like' prototype is performed to ensure that the performance is met prior to moving the product into production. This step is very similar to the Research step. Testing of the prototype performance maybe be both market analysis, as well as use-testing.

Pre-production testing also includes any documented test methods and standards that may exist for the product type. These tests would be repeated for production articles. Testing prototypes lowers the risk of non-compliance with deliverable items.

Note: After first articles are received from production, quality assurance testing is done to ensure and document compliance with established regulations and standard. In consumer products/child products, this step requires a third party test lab certified by CPSC.

STEP 5. HAZARD ANALYSIS

The Hazard Analysis is conducted throughout the development process. It is finalized before the product is in production. The goal of the hazard analysis is to identify any potential safety issues that may be presented by the product. If possible, the issues are addressed by design. If not, they are addressed both in instructional literature and product specific warning labels.

STEP 6. MANUFACTURE AND RELEASE

The final part of the development process is placing the product into production. For an in-house manufacture, this includes a product assembly plan. The most expensive part of a new product development is the capital for of the production process required to make it.

The manufacturing process is one that can always find improvement, often times the improvement points toward changes in product components. Addtionally, customer responses from use may also point to ways to improve product performance. As long as a product remains in the market, the Product Development Process remains open.