The Stages of Product Development and Testing
To stay competitive, technology businesses must continually evolve and advance their technology by developing new products and launching tried-and-true products into the international marketplace. Companies cycle through a series of steps to refine and advance their products and launch them into the marketplace. The innovations that result in new products usually have their roots in research and follow a path from an idea, through proof of concept, into prototype creation, to testing and demonstration all the way to advanced manufacturing and market introduction.
Simply put, the stages of product development are:
Research and Development
The stage in which the innovative product idea is explored and expanded upon.
Proof of Concept
The proof of concept stage is used to display a proposed product’s feasibility and the data that supports it. It also determines if the product will fill a need in the market that is currently unaddressed.
Prototyping
There are many different types of prototyping methods based on the type of product being developed and tested. Often prototyping is used to explore design aspects of the product, as well as potential functions and user experience attributes.
Testing, Evaluation, and Demonstration
Throughout the testing, evaluation, and demonstration phase the product is put through a series of procedures for official review to verify that the product performs as intended. This is also when the product is demonstrated to test markets.