Q: State the Significance of Idea Generation in the Product Development Process.

Idea generation is defined as the process of creating, developing and communicating raw or
conceptual ideas. Ideas are the key to innovation. Ideas are the first step towards making
improvement. From an individual’s point of view, new ideas can help you to move forward if
you are stuck with a task or are unable to solve a problem and want to make a change to solve
the problem.
New product development is a process of bringing new product in the market or
renewing/redefining an existing product according to the needs of the consumers. It starts with
idea generation. Normally, a company generates hundreds of thousands of idea to have good
ones in the end. Two sources of new ideas can be identified:
 Internal idea sources: the company finds new ideas internally. That mainly means R&D,
but contributions from employees is also considered in this.
 External idea sources: the company finds new ideas externally. This represents all kinds
of external sources, e.g. distributors, suppliers, competitors but the most valuable
external source are customers, because the new product development process is all
about creating customer value.
The idea stage is the most important step for new products because it is where most product
ideas come from. We need to think about what is the need of our customers and how we will
fulfill that. Market demand, market situation, user acceptance etc. are factors are considered in
the idea generation process. All this is possible with a Flexible & Frugal mindset. Frugality leads
you towards the cost effectiveness while flexibility allows you to adapt to the conditions of the
market. It allows you to work on simple solutions. Working on the wrong product concept at
this initial stage not only wastes time but increases opportunity cost of the company.
Successful new product development starts with identifying good product ideas and using
reliable criteria to decide for which ideas the company should go for. Identifying existing
weaknesses in your products, gaps in your product line and areas for product improvement
helps to develop a successful product.
Developing as well as executing great strategies requires a great idea generation process.
Knowledge gathering and creative idea generation techniques and brainstorming are applied to
develop ideas which support brand development. Idea generation techniques in new product
development are vital to its success.

THE END