Why The New Product Design & Introduction Process Is More Complex Than You May Think [Podcast]

Sofeast’s CEO Renaud Anjoran is joined by an experienced British product designer and friend of the podcast Andy Bartlett to discuss the NPI process and product design best practices for new and unique products, with a focus on the early design stages where the concept is being defined. For many entrepreneurs, there is a disconnect between expectations and reality when developing new products.

Those with an idea for a unique new product who are new to developing and launching new products sometimes think the NPI process goes smoothly like this:

unrealistic new product introduction process

When, in reality, there will probably be a number of ups and downs and it is longer and more complex than they first thought (see the graph below, how many elements are there that they maybe haven’t considered yet?):

realistic new product introduction process

Andy brings a product designer’s point of view to proceedings, and he and Renaud provide some helpful examples and explore the many stages of product design, development, and launch, and lift the lid on what can increase your risks and costs. Together they also offer tips to help you navigate this process more easily.

Listen here!

Listen: Exploring Product Design & NPI Process Best Practices For A New Product

Watch: Watch on YouTube

Episode sections

00:00 – Introduction.
01:03 – Going through the NPD process from the buyer’s side and its deliverables in detail.
04:06 – The latest version of design files.
05:42 – The BOM.
07:28 – Risk mitigation.
09:28 – Elements and learnings from the automotive industry (PPAP).
10:49 – Risk analysis – FMEA on design & processes.
14:28 – The process flow chart/diagram.
15:55 – The control plan.
19:37 – Calibration or verification certificates of fixtures and instruments for checking quality.
21:44 – Product QC inspections.
23:31 – Pilot run stage – EVT, DVT, PVT.
28:03 – Engineering changes.
29:23 – Prototypes/tooling/PP samples.
31:44 – Does every type of part or product require such stringent deliverables?
33:45 – Wrapping up