Challenges to Overcome During the Development of a Product

Many decisions have to go into the development of a product. Hence, these decisions will determine if the product will make it to the market or if another product should be considered. Throughout the production cycle, the product manager has to constantly make these decisions.

The PM has to determine what processes or issues to focus on and how to allocate resources to each. While some of these decisions may seem isolated, they contribute greatly to the success of product development.

For instance, the supply of resources may seem like a different session of production. However, if there is a late supply of resources, insufficient supply, or too much margin of over-delivery, the production process may be affected. You can check here for more info on key product decisions for PMs.

The PM needs to anticipate possible needs and challenges in new product development. Hence, this article will help PMs and company directors identify challenges that they should envisage. By foreseeing these possible obstructions, they can rightly estimate how long it take to develop a product in their company.

Challenge 1: Product Development Budget Constraints

Using the top-down budgeting procedure can put great pressure on the PM and other product production team members. (The top-down procedure is when the chief executive or finance department determines the budget for a product development project.)

Find out more here on how to estimate the cost of a prototype in product development. In essence, no matter how tedious the project is, the production team can only spend within the range of the provided budget.

The procedure uses miscellaneous to cover possible extra expenses. However, it is not unlikely that there might be extra cost arising that supersedes whatever miscellaneous is provided. Hence, the bottom-up procedure is better recommended.

The bottom-up procedure ensures that each team involved in the production cycle gives an estimated budget of what they need for the project. Even though this procedure is set, again, extra costs may arise at any of the production cycles that may not be catered for in the budget.

For instance, a lot of costs are often required when research and testing indicate that a product needs major modification. Hence, there might be a need to update the budget along the way. But if such provision is not available, it may be challenging to have a successful product development project.

Challenge 2: Pricing and Quality Compliance during the Development of a Product

Government policies can be a major challenge during product production. Price policies can come into play via the import of materials, minimum wage, interest rate, etc.

Also, the production process needs to fulfill the quality expectations of the government, shareholders, and customers. Aside from these two, your product and its production process must satisfy the ethical principles of the community. The PM needs to put in place a quality control process from the start to tackle this issue.

The starting idea of a product might not consider all these factors. Hence, it can be increasingly challenging to complete a product production if these issues arise later. Usually, these are some of the issues that can have legal implications if neglected.

Challenge 3: Resource Shortage in Product Development Management

Different teams will be working on a product. Hence, it is the job of the PM to ensure that there is transparency and collaboration among those teams. For instance, it is often said that the engineering and marketing department are often at loggerheads.

A lack of cooperation will result in a shortage of human and material resources. Consequently, the workflow needs to be well managed. You can learn about how to manage manufacturing workflow in this article.

A major cause of abrupt workflow is usually poor communication in teams or with other teams. Also, constant assessment of tasks and setting deadlines will help control and maximize resource usage.

Challenge 4: Time Challenges in New Product Development

Depending on the product, deadlines can be very significant to the success or failure of the product. Its risk becomes a major challenge for contracted products. Regrettably, teams may be faced with too many unforeseen circumstances that may hinder meeting a deadline.

For instance, a delay in hiring the right staff can slow down the pace of innovation. Equally important is the time to enter the market. Market competition can be too fierce to go launch a product an hour, day, or month after.

Hence, each process must be made seamless to prevent slow-paced feedback or late delivery. Importantly, adequate time estimation and deadline must be achieved to prevent lags. You can learn more here about how long it can take to build a prototype.

FAQs about Challenges to Overcome During the Development of a Product

Here are some of the questions asked online about challenges faced by businesses during product development.

It’s a Wrap

Not all challenges faced during the development of a product can be avoided. However, preparedness does help ensure that the issue is well handled.

It is not unlikely that some issues that are recurrent in the product production cycle of your company are not listed here. You need to anticipate such challenges and prevent them from happening again.

Are you finding it difficult to deal with some product development issues in your company? LA NPDT is here to help you out. We are a consultancy company with several product launches.

You can join our long list of successful companies by messaging us on our website lanpdt.com or call us at 318-731-9573 for more information.