Product+Planning

=The Product Planning Process= The product planning process is one of the most controversial within any company. Everyone wants a hand in new product definition and almost everyone will have contributions that will make a new product successful. With all these interested parties, you are going to need a system to help you through the product planning process and a way to decide which ideas have the most merit. This system also needs to incorporate customer feedback, assure that important new product ideas are approved, and that development of them initiated immediately. What follows is a product planning system that works well for most companies. The above diagram outlines the phases in the product planning cycle. In any given company, these steps may be condensed or combined. For example, some companies may use a single document to cover both the Market Requirements Document and the Functional Specification. The steps are important because they allow you to gather input from all possible resources, evaluate the potential of each idea and gather input from all involved parties about which ideas will work and their ease of implementation.

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Student assignment:
 * - -Independent Practice:** Student teams will be assigned a sports ball. Working in teams, students will brainstorm and create a product planning cycle to make improvements to that ball. Students will use the process posted on the wikispace and will post their findings on the wikispace. Planning cycles will be due by the end of class on Thursday and student teams will present their findings on Friday during class.

Your team page will have 5 headings: 1. Input: Under this hearding you will list the input you will need from customers, sales, engineering, tech support, marketing, and the competition 2. Product Ideas: Under this hearding you will list 2-3 product improvement ideas (be creative!! think outside the box!). 3. Product Approved: Under this heading you will give a detailed report on your proposed improvement. What is the improvement and what does it do? 4. Marketing Requirements: Under this heading you will detail how and where you will market the ball. You will need to include an advertisement. 5. Conclusion: Under this heading you will summarize what you did and how you did it.

Sample Set up for Team Pages:

Customers: What input do you need from customers? How will you get this input?
 * The Product Planning Process for a Golf Ball**
 * Input:**

Sales: What input do you need from sales? How can input from sales help in the process?

Engineering: What input do you need from engineering? Why does input from engineers matter?

Tech Support: What input do you need from tech support? How can input from tech support help in the process?

Marketing: What input do you need from marketing? Why is input from marketing important?

Competition: Who is your competition? What are your strengths (over that of the competitors)?

Idea A: What is your first innovative idea to improve your sports ball?
 * Product Ideas:**

Idea B: What is your second innovative idea to improve your sports ball?

What innovative idea did you decide on? Why? Give a detailed description of your idea and why you chose it. How will your improvement revolutionize the sport?
 * Approved Product:**

Marketing: How will you market the product to consumers? Include an advertisement here.

Conclusion: Give a detailed description of how your team approached the planning process, how you conducted your research and what you discovered. What did you learn through this process? What kinds of issues arose for your team? Do those same issues arise for companies going through this process? What other issues and opportunities might arise for companies seeking to improve existing products or innovate new ones?