Product Innovation

Product evolution is driven by industry to improve the user experience for a customer that is constantly changing.  As product managers it is important for us to understand where our customers want to go, so we can lead them there.

Each new feature or each new product changes the user.  They learn new ways to experience the work the product does for them.  They learn and adapt their behavior to that new environment. Writers, tired of slopping ink from the quill evolved to the fountain pen.  Fountain pen users, tired of refilling pens evolved to the ball point. Ball point users tired of inked up shirt pockets found retractable pens.  Each new experience puts the user on a path to discovering a new area that can be improved. Where there “has to be a better way.”

As product managers, the best way to understand the roadmap for your product is to understand the customer’s journey and their experiences using your product.  You can’t just rely on sales figures or website clicks to understand where your product needs to go next.  You need to see how your products are being used and specifically how customers are evolving by using them.  Only by seeking out what people are using the product for, how important it is their job, and how satisfied they are with the experience can you map the next stop on the roadmap.

Innovation management

I recently read an article (by Jerry Power http://www.i3-IOT.net) about the disruptive influence that mail order catalogs had on the retail industry.  The mail order industry was transformed from a local business to a national one.  Customers were ready for a wider array of products, delivered quickly and reliability.  This is interesting because the customer evolved their preference for the buying experience but the job they needed done never changed.  The internet marketplace of today is really the catalog of yesterday. It is successful because of a user experience we find superior.  The internet retailer understands the customer still wants the convenience of the catalog but the advantages of digital search, customer reviews and one day shipping.  Disruptive technological advancements are exciting because they afford product managers new ways of delivering features, functions or products in better ways.  This is the product innovation.  But the innovation really began with the customer and their journey.  Practical innovation comes from understanding where your customer’s experience needs enhanced and using all the best technology to improve it.

Do, Innovation, Design Thinking and Value Proposition Workbook