Bringing truly innovative technology to market is no small victory. Good product ideas are hard to come by, and designing a solution that users will actually adopt adds another level of intricacy that many development teams take for granted. Furthermore, many never consider that having the right team and the right minds from the get-go can not only create velocity, but save time, money, and frustration for the long haul.  Leveraging external players can mean the difference between winning and losing. 

The First Pitch

The most important question in modern product development is simple to ask but often subtly complex to answer: who is your user? Like a first pitch in baseball, many teams assume they have this one handled and are eager to jump to the mechanics of the game: building novel hardware and software prototypes. But without a thorough understanding of the users, their environments and needs, your team might not be playing the right game.   

If you’re a member of a team that’s been tasked with building the new product at the center of your company’s gameplan, solving user needs is the name of your innovation game. A myriad of opportunities to add novel features to your product will appear, each leading to a heavy development lift. True innovation happens when you focus that lift on a feature that helps your users do what they want to do. 

Is Your Team Still in Spring Training?

Like any skill, product development benefits from practice. It requires the skills to conceive of designs, build prototypes, conduct tests, analyze and repeat. Development engineers have learned to efficiently execute each step in spite of business pressure — and perhaps a visceral desire — to take shortcuts.   When the product is a medical device, regulations require additional management of inputs, outputs, and risks. If your team has not been practicing these aspects of the development game, they may not be ready to take the field and effectively cover all your bases. 

Should You Buy the Players? Or the Team?

As you put your team together, consider individual domain expertise. It’s hard for a shortstop to suddenly become a catcher and likewise it can be difficult for a mechanical engineer to develop your circuit board. Also, consider the right balance of experience. You need some veterans out there who will recognize game-time situations and immediately know how to respond.

Hiring a contract resource to augment your staff may be a reasonable solution if they are surrounded by equally capable players and a solid manager. However, the addition of an all-star centerfielder to an ailing team may not be enough to achieve a winning season and, similarly, the addition of a great industrial designer may not rescue your development schedule.

How to be Ready for the Major Leagues

Partnering with a well-rounded engineering and product team that understands the ins and outs of human-centered design, embedded systems, medical device compliance, and manufacturing processes will certainly fill the gaps on your own team. An experienced and practiced team can offer deeper benefits than simply completing the lineup. They can help you understand the limits of current technologies, bring forth prototyping techniques or help you find efficiencies in areas like manufacturing without having to cut corners—because they’ve been there before.

A Home Run

The more quickly you can get to market, the faster you will be in a position to satisfy your users’ needs — and begin preparing for the next generation of your product. Many of the world’s most successful companies and products have had a consulting partner behind them to mentor and help navigate the obstacles that can block any innovator’s path to success. And success, of course, comes from delivering a product that fulfills your users’ desires and needs. 

Client testimonial:

“I could not have created this product on my own. I know because I tried! Product Creation Studio brought a level of professionalism, dedication, enthusiasm, and inspiration that effortlessly carried me through the design process. From early concepts to final manufacturing tweaks, they brought a level of expertise that was amazing. I’ll definitely be hiring Product Creation Studio to help me with Evie 2.0!” — David Robinson, Founder, Evie Tealights for glassybaby

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Product Creation Studio empowers world-class product innovators with expertise to bring impactful, life-enhancing products to market — including yours! Contact us to put our product design and engineering experts to work on your next innovation.