TePP Before You Apply - Check

Before you apply, check your progress in meeting the following requirements
1. Identifying Customer Needs ( What do users want?)
Identify the users and buyers.
Gather raw data through interviews, focused group and observations.
Interpret raw data to understand needs.
Identify the important / pressing needs.
Cross check the perceived importance with user groups.
Reflect on the process to improve understanding of customer buying behaviour.

2. Generate Product Concepts ( How to meet the need ?)
Decompose problem, state the output and corresponding inputs.
Search for solutions that transform inputs into the desired output ( discuss with lead users, benchmark with competing products, take advise of experts, read patents & literature).
Generate many concepts - creativity lies in identifying alternatives.
Check to see whether different concepts can be combined to come with an unique solution.
3. Select concept ( Why is it better?)

Perform concept selection for each of consumer group.
The goal of concept selection is not to press ahead with the pre-conceived idea.
The goal is to develop the best concept.
Refine the concepts to develop the better ones.

4. Communicate the concept ( Do I share my idea clearly ?)
You can communicate with :
Verbal description.
Sketch
Photograph / video of previous work.
Computer simulation of system.
Physical model.

5. Why I need a prototype ( Check the roadmap to commercial production)
For demonstrating proof-of-concept to check the feasibility.
For demonstration – to improve design with feedback .
To test hardware and later with software.
For integrating sub-systems into a system model.