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7 Key Steps in New Product Development: An Overview

Inspiration has struck! You’ve come up with a concept so innovative it’s sure to disrupt the market. But how do you convert that concept into a tangible product customers can use?


“I have an idea but I don’t know what to do next,” you think to yourself.


This quick-read article will give you more than just an idea of product creation—it will light the path from start to finish, whether the product is physical, digital, or a combination of the two.


The Stages of Product Design

With over 40+ years of combined experience, the designers, engineers, and developers at Brash have honed a tried-and-true process for creating and launching products.


We follow three main stages of product design:

  • Discover. We explore, research, and conceptualize your product.

  • Create & iterate. We design, prototype, and test your product.

  • Launch. We launch and market your product.


Across these stages are seven steps, which we walk through briefly below. Other design and engineering firms may do things a bit differently, but we’ve found this process produces consistent, groundbreaking results.


(Be sure to bookmark this article to reference when you’re ready to start development.)



7 Steps in New Product Development



1. Product Research

  • Discuss product idea and business objectives

  • Discover the opportunity in the market and explore the problem you’re trying to solve

  • Establish product requirements

  • Develop shared vision for how the product should look and feel and what it should cost

  • Conduct preliminary research on user needs,  patents, emerging technologies, and competitors

  • Formulate scope of work, timeline, and project costs


2. Concept Development

  • Create product concepts through brainstorming, sketching, crude modeling, flow charting, and wireframing

  • Devise brand identity and marketing strategy

  • Filter product concepts to narrow scope and move in a confident direction


3. Preliminary Design

  • Develop initial mechanical and electrical CAD and user interface designs

  • Evaluate shape, proportions, color, materials, finishes, and product branding

  • Generate 3D models or simulations that can be tested in real-world conditions

  • Develop testing plan to ensure that all design criteria are addressed


4. Prototyping & Testing

  • Finalize designs, source components, and develop any required software 

  • Generate at least three prototype iterations, including proof-of-concept prototype, alpha prototype, and beta prototype

  • Conduct multiple rounds of testing, product changes, and design iterations based on discovered bugs and customer feedback

  • Support client’s navigation of industry and patent requirements

  • Produce fully functional prototype with associated documentation (product specifications, drawings, bill of materials, instructions for use, etc.)


5. Final Design & Handover

  • Prepare final designs, documentation, and procedures for manufacturing and launch

  • Evaluate manufacturers and obtain quotes

  • Initiate software repository handover and implement automation flows for software release 

  • Coordinate tooling development, part sourcing, assembly, packaging development, and logistics


6. Manufacturing

  • Review manufacturing samples, making any necessary modification

  • Supervise product’s pilot production run, recommending any relevant design or process iterations

  • Oversee mass production with client’s final approval


7. Post-Market

  • Provide sustaining engineering, corrective and preventive actions that may include software updates, fixing technical bugs, and other product maintenance

  • Offer ongoing branding and marketing support


“How do I get my product to the masses?” Be Brash!


Brash is a design and engineering firm that’s helped numerous clients bring their innovative ideas to life. Charging docks, wearable devices, housewares, dental tools, mobile apps—we’ve designed, modeled, prototyped, and launched a wide range of products for innovative companies and entrepreneurs.


Check out our creative work or get in touch today to talk about your product idea.

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