7.10 Conclusion

Successful product development should involve both UDD that is focused on consumer wants and needs and MDD that is predicated on understanding the emotional and psychological relationships that people have on products as well as incorporating the importance of new technological developments (TDD). We have also introduced the FAD template. The FAD template is based on the various design approaches and also draws on a classification scheme that can be used to ascertain whether attributes and features are increasing or declining in importance. The FAD template in conjunction with the Strategy Canvas can be used to assist in taking an abstract product concept and preparing a first-cut prototype of the product. The key points are the following:

• The focus of MDD allows the innovators to develop ideas that transcend existing product concepts, conceiving product ideas as a vision rather than only on product differentiation.
• Concentrating on function and ignoring user input is a recipe for failure.
• Identifying key meanings, attributes, and features is an essential step in MDD, including the customer relationship to the product, quality, reliability, ease-of-use, performance, design, technology, and most importantly, value creation and meaning.
• The meaning of a product or service is very much tied into what the product does.
• Attributes of a product to help users control either their internal or external environments have the power to make a significant impact.
• Psychological ownership of a product promotes user attachment and use, keeping users locked into the product out of loyalty.
• Attending to POPS as well as PODS is necessary to keep your product competitive. POPS ensure that your product meets the minimal essential features. PODS are necessary for distinguishing a product from the competition.
• Disruptive technologies and sunrise features are the dawn of new technological and conceptual capabilities.
• Use the FAD template to facilitate and provide structure when conceptualizing new products and services.
• Create a FAD Strategy Canvas to understand the attributes of your product in the context of your current and potential competitors.
• Seriously consider your feature list in terms of must-haves, points of differentiation, and vestigial features. Try to avoid feature creep, which involves adding features just for the sake of adding new features.