Product Development for the Little Guy

Apply big-boy New Product Development (NPD) strategies at your small company.

Smaller companies can benefit just as much as large corporations when it comes to having a formal, New Product Development (NPD) process. According to the Product Strategy Blog, a typical New Product Development program includes:

• A review board that provides resources to development programs.

• A core team responsible for managing development implementation.

• Management reviews for milestones during development.

• Clearly defined objectives and deliverables for each management review.

While many of these process parameters translate to small business, some special considerations come into play. These include:

• A lack of a dedicated product manager or product management resources.

• Less R&D dollars.

• A non-existent or informal company strategy.

• Smaller development teams.

The Product Strategy Blog explains these special considerations, and how they affect small company strategy in the full article (link below).