How to Create a Winning Product - The Muse

How to Create a Winning Product - The MuseHow to Create a Winning Product Good ideas dont just happen. Theyre not sitting around waiting for you to come along and pluck them from obscurity. In reality, the process of bringing an idea to life takes serious dedication and hard work.At the medical technology company Stryker, for example, every product undergoes a period of research and development, followed by a concept phase where the engineering team sees if they can actually develop the product. Then comes proof of concept, where they test whether the idea is a viable product. brdely, theres engineering, where theyre not only building the product, but fabricating the tools needed to develop it, a process that can take over a year.So what sparks an idea for a groundbreaking product or invention? And once youve had the idea, how do you maintain the grit and commitment to take it through to finished product?To find out, we spoke with Stryker Chief Engineer, Anish Paul, and Senior Engine ering Manager, Kristi Brunner, about what it takes to think up a winning idea and bring a product to market.Know Your CustomerThere are a number of catalysts for why a product gets created. Sometimes theres an obvious need in the market other times its an idea born out of research and development.We have a lot of ideas, but we like to focus on the customer, says Brunner. We have a process we call customer-centered design (CCD), and thats what we do to frame behauptung design problems that were trying to solve. With CCD, youre building your products around a customers needs and their unique issues. In Strykers case, that means developing solutions for healthcare workers.Its very important for engineers to understand the market intimately, Paul adds. In his 15 years with Stryker, Paul has gotten to know his target customer through clinical observations, job shadowing, and even visiting with those customers and finding out firsthand what they need in order to do their job better.That k nowledge helped Paul and his colleague Paul Radgens develop the M-Series stretcher.A lot of what we do is to care for the caregiver so they can care for the patient, Paul explains. The big thing with patient handling is youve got, you know, a 100-pound nurse that has to manage a 700-pound patient at times. If you think of that, thats a pretty daunting task.Paul and Radgens realized that an electric powered stretcher would make it safer for healthcare providers to transport patients. And thats the ultimate goal, Paul says- making the lives of these caregivers better.Build Your A-TeamBuilding a product isnt a solo endeavor. A 13-year Stryker veteran, Brunner manages a team of 16 engineers, but there are also 50 cross-functional team members working on any given project.It can also take a great absprache of time While Brunner has worked on several products during her tenure with the company, it took seven years to develop Power-Load.Launched in 2012, Power-Load is a cot fastener in an ambulance that better secures the stretcher to the back of the vehicle so that it can withstand a crash. And with Power-Load, emergency workers no longer have to lift the stretcher into the ambulance the device does it for them, putting less stress on an EMTs back and eliminating potential drops.It was Brunners experience building innovative teams that helped guide this project through all its ups and downs. Its crucial to have a great team when you are working on a project that could take multiple years to complete, she explains, adding, You need to be able to leverage a teams strengths. Technical expertise varies based on the challenge we are facing, but generally I look for someone that has passion for our customers, is a self-motivator, and is accountable.For his part, Paul has found that co-location of team members ultimately leads to organic collaboration and communication, and it also helps with building strong relationships and empathy among co-workers.Last but definitely no t least, Brunner says, I look at the team dynamic as a whole. Team collaboration is a must, and each player has a part in this.Be AdaptableWhen youre developing new products, what seemed like a great idea one day might be obsolete or redundant the next, and your focus could change. And that means youll have to stare down disappointment at some point.Change is an everyday thing, Paul says, and you have to accept the fact that what you worked on yesterday is probably not as relevant today. Its hard for a lot of people that have more of an operational mindset where its very structured, and they want task A to follow task B.If youre leading a team like Paul, you have to instill a mindset that new product development is about charting a new course and that they need to approach it as if they were pioneers.More importantly, you need to be OK with failing.You need to fail often and early to get it right, Brunner says. You have to be OK with getting it wrong and making mistakes because your e going to learn from those mistakes.When youre inventing something, you dont know what you dont know, and the path forward isnt very predictable in the beginning. Engineers are always going back to the drawing hauptplatine and refining their work, constantly iterating the smallest details.You need to be resilient, Brunner adds. You need to be comfortable with the unknown and flexible to try something different but still focused on the best solution for the problem.See It ThroughBringing a product to life is never easy. One of the hardest parts of our job is that you have an idea in your head, and in order to make the world believe that idea, you have to have tremendous perseverance and tenacity, says Paul.You can scream and shout and flail your arms around, but no one sees the idea the way you see the idea, he adds. You dont just need to convince investors you believe in something- though that helps. You have to make the world believe it.The reality is that it will take years of ha rd work to bring a product to market. But if you have the wherewithal and the passion to see an idea through, it can be an immensely rewarding experience for you and the consumers who enjoy your products.Its so motivating to see and know that something you worked on has made someones life better, Brunner says. I feel so fortunate to be able to have a role in saving someones life as my day job.