New Project Development Ideas | How to Develop them

New Project Development Ideas: – All good products come from a brilliant idea. Yet, the idea alone is only the first ingredient of a cocktail of factors including the management of resources and talents that contribute to the success of the project. There is a need to be able to select new project development ideas (NDPs) and prioritize them based on organizational metrics, resources, strategic alignment, and critical success factors to develop an innovation pipeline. Below this post is all about the project development ideas.

New Project Development Ideas

The first step in selecting these NDP ideas is to take a systematic approach to capturing data so that all stakeholders can contribute to the project selection process. It is important to put in place the right framework so that companies can make evidence-based decisions. Different elements must be taken into consideration:

• Data Integrity – Parameters must be in place to ensure that the processing of information about ideas is effective. Sources of information that validate product ideas need to be consistent so investors use the same approaches and metrics to measure the potential of an idea.
• Specific Objectives – Identify specific goals that are aligned with business objectives and stakeholder needs. Measuring the potential of an idea against company objectives already approved by leaders and stakeholders (eg business objectives or alignment of resources) will ensure that companies choose the most promising ideas.
• Relevant Success Factors – The introduction of evidence-based metrics allows for complete transparency in the evaluation and prioritization of ideas. When evaluating or submitting a project idea, a risk assessment process should always be in place that should also include metrics for return on investment, strategic alignment and prioritization to deliver the best visibility when the potential of an idea is considered.
• Systematic decisions – Although the accuracy of captured data is paramount, it is equally important to develop a systematic approach that prioritizes, evaluates and selects project ideas. Establishing a governance structure that includes a review process for all stakeholders ensures that each factor is weighed so that it can easily judge whether or not what appears to be the pipeline is being implemented. An excellent idea.

Once the framework is in place, it will be important to align the pipeline of ideas with the project portfolio for the development of these new products. Many companies analyze their pipeline of ideas relative to external market conditions and often overlook the impact that new projects may have on ongoing projects and internal resources.

For example, a project management methodology (PPM) allows a company to integrate the idea pipeline directly into the workflow of all projects. A comprehensive PPM strategy ensures that the proposition of an idea takes into consideration all the internal and external factors that contribute to the project environment.

A new selection process requires a ranking including all relevant elements. Every reputable product comes from an idea management process. Including all the necessary elements is not enough. Just like for a good meal, the right amount of seasoning and ingredients will determine the success of an idea.

Basically, project ideas should be treated as investments where the portfolio is aligned with the company’s goals. In addition, your portfolio must reflect your risk tolerance and your ability to manage your investments (i.e. your project idea pipeline). Prioritizing, evaluating and ranking your pipeline will depend on the business culture, stakeholder needs and ability to make informed decisions about the information gathered.

In order to ensure that your grading system reports positive results, internal factors (eg available resources) and external considerations (eg market demands) need to be calibrated carefully to present your pipeline with a fair mix of criteria. In choosing your selection criteria, you may need to ask yourself the following questions:

• Are your metrics aligned with stakeholder needs and market demand?
• Is the ranking of ideas based on their relative importance taken into account in the balance of your portfolio?
• Do you have enough visibility into your current resources and future capabilities to accurately assess the ongoing viability of your pipeline?
• Do you use fact-based metrics such as return on investment (ROI), internal rate of return (IRR), and net present value (NPV) to help you select products?
• Does your current selection of ideas consider your current portfolio of projects?

Most product development companies would recognize that the success of a product launch goes hand in hand with a thoughtful choice, timely and good people. The thing that differs is the means chosen to launch a product on the market. Some favor timing and intuition while others put in place a more formal methodology. In any case, most companies recognize that a systematic approach to monitoring new product development projects from concept to end of life is a wise idea. The sooner you identify the potential or failure of a product, the faster you can go ahead or eliminate an idea before causing real damage.