Many projects fail because of errors in design and production. It is not uncommon that product development projects go over budget, or fail altogether, because of these types of mistakes. Let us look at the most common mistakes which occur during the design and production process.

Bad Timeline Expectations: It is often the case that timelines are created before finishing the idea gathering phase of product development. If timelines are too short it puts unnecessary pressure on the development team. This pressure will likely cause them to speed through the early phases of product development, with hopes of releasing a prototype as soon as possible. Unfortunately, in new product development, one of the most common mistakes that leads to failure is speeding through the idea gathering, or Fuzzy Front End, phase. Failure to set a realistic timeline is one of the most common mistakes.

Poor Testing Parameters: Prototype and market testing is one of the more important aspects of the product development process. It is at this stage that failure arises in many projects.

It is up to the development team to outline the exact metrics to determine whether a product meets its functionality requirements or not. Poorly defined parameters can cause inferior prototypes to pass testing.

Undefined Target Customer: During new product research it is not enough to conceptualize a product that solves some identified problem. A Product developer needs to accurately identify exactly who will purchase the product.

All to often product development firms will poll too wide array of people, and not focus on the individuals who are most likely to purchase the product. Most people will give their opinion on a product, especially if they are being paid, but unless they are the individuals who will actually consider purchasing the product the data means little.

Choosing The Wrong Price Point: Even if a product meets some market need if it is priced higher than its target market is willing to pay it will not sell. Choosing the right price is a difference between success and failure of a product. 

Too Much Complexity: A product’s purpose is what it does. If it does not do what it is supposed to than the product will inevitably be a failure. It is far too common that a design team tries to add too much functionality to a product, losing sight of what problem the product was supposed to solve in the first place. This mistake causes more drain of economic resources, delays product release, and makes product testing more difficult.

Ignoring Industry Standards: Every industry has certain standards that manufacturers must meet. It is easy for an inexperienced team to forget. Such examples are standards on electrical cables, bolts and screws, or food requirements. A product can be rejected, or worse, cause some serious harm or injury if the industry requirements are not properly researched.

Not implementing the industry standard for a particular product can result in large economic losses, especially if large amounts of inventory has already been created.