New Product Development Strategies When Real Time Analysis Is Not Fast Enough

When real time analysis is not fast enough to manage current products, what are the implications for new product development strategies?

A recent SlideShare post by Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang) of the Altimeter Group titled "Real Time Is *Not* Fast Enough: Three Strategies For Companies To Get Ahead" described the evolution of the web as it progressed from:

• Asynchronous (new sites, press releases, blogs, ...) to
• Real time (status updates, chat tools, checkins, location-aware applications, ...) to
• Intention (scheduling and resolutions (exemplified by sites such as 43 things or Plancast))

Owyang quipped "Real time is so yesterday."

Reactionary Responses

Many companies have acknowledged the growing influence of the real time web on their products. This includes social media/computing impacts made possible by Web 2.0 capabilities. How should your new product development strategy change as a result of the potential for real time feedback?

A common response is aggradation. The easy stuff can be appended to the status quo. Twitter accounts can be created and keywords can be monitored. Customer generated content (reviews, rating, ....) can be incorporated into your web site. Social Media Directors may be hired. Social CRM efforts can be accelerated. Mandates may specify that in addition to links to the company web site, the @Twitter information must be included in promotional materials and on the product packaging.

Unfortunately, such additions may increase communication overhead and may increase analysis time. The new product development capabilities may be hurt because critical resources are diverted to react to new directives.

Another strategy is cost cutting or downsizing. Expect that someone will suggest a temporary price reduction for your current products to generate revenue to fund your future. Others will examine budgets and explore ways reduce 'unnecessary' expenditures.

Orthogonal suggestions may be proposed. Someone may suggest that a new advertising or PR effort may provide opportunistic sales of current products to increase revenue for the next quarter.

You are likely to receive passionate requests for that 'one additional product feature' that will 'guarantee' a huge increase in sales. Be cautious. What may seem like a small project to add one feature can divert your team's attention from pursuing future innovations.

Trendy Fixes to Reduce Time-to-Market

To innovate and differentiate in rapidly changing environments, some organizations will explore ways to reduce development time.  This may start with an executive mandate or a stretch goal. Some will propose rearranging the organizational chart. Some will examine the Stage-Gate model. Some will expect project managers to find savings by creatively manipulating the schedule. There may be passionate pleas to work harder.

Some will explore alternative development methodologies. Some will insist that outsourcing certain operations will reduce cycle time.

Some may prefer to delay certain product features to expedite the next product release. The phrase 'release early, release often' may be used to garner support for this strategy.

A trendy Quick Fix from a best-selling book or a tool provider may be considered

Inspirational Attempts to Reduce Time-to-Market

Expect to see inspirational posters about efficient teamwork. Someone will quote Wayne Gretzky. "A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be." There may be a disagreement over who is credited with saying "The best way to predict your future is to create it ." Was it Abraham Lincoln or Alan Kay?"

Designing the Future

How will you manage the present and evolve to an uncertain future? How will you build the necessary relationships? Perhaps you will consider some of the following concepts to change the culture of your company:

• Encourage the development of new theories that can be tested
• Avoid axioms that over-simplify the factors that impact decisions
• Evolve the business models to reward agility
• Recruit the appropriate people to advance your future objectives. Release the people that hinder progress.
• Facilitate cooperation and collaboration. I explored this in my Detrimental Connotations in New Product Development - Collaboration post
• Embrace emerging ideas from development methods such as Agile, Scrum, and Lean.

New product development professionals that procrastinate are likely to experience creative destruction.

Creative Destruction: a phrase popularized by economist Joseph Schumpeter in 1942. It describes the disruption and downfall that occurs when new ideas emerge in anticipation of profound changes and future needs.

Which strategies will you embrace the progression of the web from asynchronous, to real time, to intention? What will you do to make your development capabilities more agile?