So you just got an idea that can bring revolution or just make a difference in the lives of the people and you want to develop a software or a mobile app for the same. However, it is not a simple job to do as it might require proper planning, resources and a team of skilled professionals to accomplish the software development project. Above all, you need a new product development process that can be followed and executed well to develop a new product.
The concept of the new product development process is not new. You must have followed the process in the past too. However, it is interesting to know that you need to come up with a new product development process every time you want to develop a new product.
What is the need for following a product development process?
You might think to start developing software on your own without following a product development process, but if you know the advantages of following the process, you, certainly will not start without it. Here is a list of some of the benefits of following a product development process.
Better planning means a better outcome
When you plan accordingly, you know where to make efforts and where to put your resources. It simply will enhance the overall product quality and smooth running of all the development cycles. To create a new product, it is essential that you plan in advance to avoid unwanted situations, isn't it?
Clear responsibilities
In addition to that, when you follow the product development process, all the team members have a clear idea about their responsibilities. It will make things easier for them to contribute to the project with their cent per cent.
Better use of resources
To accomplish software development smoothly and fluently, it is important that you allocate resources responsibly, especially when you have limited resources. With a new product development process, you will be able to allocate resources smartly and it will lead to an excellent outcome.
Quick identification and resolution of issues
One of the best advantages of following a product development process is that you can identify the issue when it occurs. It means better control over issues and it will lead to instant resolution of issues too.
Risk mitigation
Also, when you have a planned execution of the project, it will mitigate the risks too.
Now, you know the benefits of following the new product development process, let's discuss product development stages.
There is a total of six stages of product development. Let's see how to create a new product.
Ideation, conceptualisation and analysis
First of all, you need to conceptualise the solution for the problem customers are facing all the while. You need to have a better understanding of the problem so that you can come up with the solution. Once you have a formula of the solution, you need to analyze it thoroughly with a list of design features and functionalities to develop a new product.
Product Architecture
Whether you want to go for software development or mobile app development, you need to create a product Architecture. The product Architecture consists of key elements required to develop a new product, hosting network and data modules. The main aim of designing the product Architecture is to ensure that the solution that you have finalized meets the requirements and needs of the customers. Product Architecture design is essential for any product to check the scalability of the product you are about to develop.
Design and development
Once the product Architecture is designed and the technical and personnel resources are procured, the next step is design and development. Once the requirement gathering document is designed, human resources are allocated to each process of the product development module. Also, technical resources are allocated to each individual with a clear explanation of their duties and responsibilities. Workflows and platforms are identified and shared among teams. Also, some of the crucial documents such as design document, functional requirement specification document and others are created and shared.
Quality assurance
To develop a product, you need to ensure that you end up having a quality product that runs smoothly and meets all the requirements. Remember, quality is the crucial aspect of the software or mobile product. Hence, quality assurance is one of the most important aspects of the product development process. Here, quality analysts will take care of bug fixing, build installation, system testing and test report generation. Quality testing continues even after the product is released. When issues are found, quality analysts fix them as soon as possible.
Training and transfer
Just making software or an app is not enough, especially when you have developed software. You need to pass the product knowledge to the customers from your team and it is a crucial step of the product development process. Here, you need to prepare different types of documents such as change requests, impact analysis, product manual documents and other pending documents. The development team hands over these aspects such as software licenses, documents and codes to the customers.
Sustainable product engineering
Most of the software are not static software, but dynamic ones that can be evolved with time. You must have noticed new and latest updates notifications for your apps and software. Software updates are very significant to meet up new challenges customers face and to support other relevant concepts. Achieving sustainability is very important to be in the market and to improve your revenues and profits. It depends on many factors such as availability of resources, product maturity level, and the size of the relevant community and the importance of the product.
Why follow the agile product development process?
There are several different product development methodologies available in the market such as Waterfall, Scrum and Agile, but across the globe, developers prefer agile methodology to develop a new product. There are certain benefits if it. Stay tuned.
The agile approach is all about iteration in which new product releases are offered to the customers at a regular time interval. It facilitates developers to test more features and add them in the product to test again after receiving customer reviews. Here, all the teams are working in parallel to improve and sustain product quality. It is a cost and time effective product development methodology.
Also, it improves communication amongst developers and other team members through direct channels. Also, it facilitates stakeholders to check the product development process.
Sanjay Kidecha
CMO
by Sagar Bagsariya
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by Manav Patel
