Product Protocol and Design

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What is a Product Protocol?
A statement of
(1) The technical requirements, or attributes that a
new product should have,
(2) The marketing requirements – target market,
positioning, price, resistance to be overcome, and
others.
Functional areas like marketing, product design and production are frequently not
on the same page. If marketing is talking about the voice of the customer for a
particular feature that is considered valuable by customers, production and
design folks can be really wrapped up in their own production constraints.
Ideally though, everyone in the organization needs to just focus on customer
requirements and innovate within their own specialties to deliver requirements
within the time and costs specified in the product protocol.
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Product protocol: why it matters in
innovation
 Product protocol also called product definition,
product requirements or product deliverables is
critical to innovation. A product protocol is
necessary after you have chosen a new
product concept, completed concept testing
and done some preliminary sales forecasting of
what numbers you expect to sell and at what
margins.

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Let us follow the sequence of these
key components
 Deciding a product concept: from concept generation is the first
step of the innovation process that is based on your estimates of
market and consumer need. Once you have a concept test that
you feel will be liked by your target market (B2B or B2C) you
move to the next step.
 Concept Testing: is the step where the new product concept is
tested with target market customers. The feedback obtained is
used to modify the concept.
 Sales forecasting: is where initial sales are projected along with
estimates of advertising and marketing expenditure to get the
new product launched. The estimate of cost of production is the
key ingredient that informs the product protocol.
 In fact, the cost of production estimates in the sales and
profitability forecast give the target cost to provide to the product
design & development team. 4
 Purposes of Protocol
 To determine what marketing and R&D groups need to do
their work.
 Think concept life cycle: this is more than a simple
concept statement, yet less than we will have when the
first prototype is available.
 Try to identify the key deliverables at this point.
 To communicate essential to all players and integrate their
actions, directing outcomes consistent with the full screen
and financials.
 To set boundaries on development process or cycle time.
 To permit the development process to be managed (i.e., what
needs to be done, when, why, how, by whom, whether).
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Contents of a Product Protocol

 Target market  Marketing requirements

 Product positioning  Financial requirements
 Product attributes (benefits)  Production requirements
 Competitive comparison  Regulatory requirements
 Augmentation dimensions  Corporate strategy requirements
 Timing  Potholes

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 A Sample Protocol: Trash Disposal
System
 Must automate trash disposal at factory cost not to exceed $800.
 Clean, ventilated, odor-free, no chance of combustion.
 Must be safe enough to be operated by children; outside storage
safeguards against children and animals.
 Size must be small enough to work as kitchen appliance, to
provide easy access and eliminate need for double handling of
trash.
 Simple installation
 Decor adaptable to different user tastes.
 If design requires opening of exterior walls, structural integrity
and insulation against elements must be maintained.
 User-friendly, automatic operation, easy to maintain by technical
or service people. 7
Contributions of Design to the New
Products Process

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Principles of Universal Design
 Equitable Use: The design is useful to people with varied abilities.
 Flexibility in Use: The design accommodates a wide variety of
preferences.
 Simple and Intuitive to Use: The design is easy for anyone to
understand.
 Perceptible Information: The design communicates the required
information to the user.
 Tolerance for Error: The design minimizes adverse consequences
of inappropriate use.
 Low Physical Effort: The design can be used efficiently by anyone
with minimal fatigue.
 Size and Space for Approach and Use: The product is easy to
reach, manipulate, and use.
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Source: James M. Mueller and Molly Follette Story, “Universal Design: Principles for Driving Growth Into New Markets,” in P. Belliveau, A. Griffin,
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and S. Sodermeyer (eds.), The PDMA Toolbook for New Product Development (New York: Wiley, 2002), pp. 297-326.
Assessment Factors for an Industrial Design

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Product Architecture
 The process by which a customer need is
developed into a product design.
 Solid architecture improves speed to market, and
reduces the cost of changing the product once it is
in production.
 Product components are combined into “chunks,”
functional elements are assigned to the chunks,
and the chunks are interrelated with each other.

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Product Architecture Illustration

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 Product Architecture and Product
Platforms
 Product architecture development is related to
establishing a product platform.
 If chunks or modules can be replaced easily within
the product architecture, “derivative products” can
be made from the same basic platform as
technology, market tastes, or manufacturing skills
change.
 Examples: 200 versions of the Sony Walkman from
four platforms.

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 Product Platform Strategy
Definition: A collection of common elements, particularly the
underlying technology elements, implemented across a
range of products. It is primarily a definition of planning,
decision making, and strategic thinking.
Prototype Development
 Prototype: The first physical form or service
description of a new product, still in rough or
tentative mode.
 Comprehensive Prototype: complete, fully-
functioning, full-size product ready to be examined
by customers.
 Focused Prototype: not fully functioning or
developed, but designed to examine a limited
number of performance attributes or features.
 Examples: a crude, working prototype of an
electric bicycle; a foam or wood bicycle to
determine customers’ reactions to the proposed
shape and form. 16