Steve Hurley

Solutions vs. Product Development Processes: Are They Different?

• 05-03-2014
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A previous survey that we conducted a little over a year ago revealed that professional marketers who are responsible for developing new solutions feel that the activities, methods and processes that they employ are different from those used to create new products.  Are they right?  Are the methods really different?  If they’re different, how different  are they?

We decided to take a look at many of the well-established new product development (NPD) models and compare them to our solutions development process. Our New Solutions Development (NSD) process is a result of many, many conversations with practicing solutions developers, and our own experiences in working with solutions companies.    The results may – or may not – surprise you.

Comparison with 5 Leading NPD Models

In the NPD field, there is no shortage of well-defined processes and tools.   We evaluated the most commonly used models – Stage Gate, Agile, PACE, the Product Development Management Association (PDMA) Toolbook, and Synapse – with the explicit objective of comparing them to what it takes to develop solutions. What we found was no single NPD model was sufficient to manage the entire, end-to-end NSD process.

We compared all of these established NPD models to the 5 major phases of the NSD process:

NOTE: The larger the circle, the more the NPD process relates to a particular phase of the NSD process. 

The comparison of the development models revealed that none of the NPD processes cover everything that needs to be dealt with for a new solution.  For example, while the PDMA model deals with the market assessment, it doesn’t cover the Specifications Definition or the actual Solutions Development phases very well.  Similarly, the PACE model is heavily focused on the Solutions Development phase but doesn’t address the Market Assessment component in any depth.   A Solutions Marketer is forced to go across this smorgasbord of development options and cobble together the pieces that are needed to create a new, effective solutions offer.

Aligned….Or Not?

The following table describes where the various NPD processes are either aligned or misaligned with the 5 major processes required to develop a solution.

NPD-NSD Alignment Analysis

NPD	ALIGNMENT	MISALIGNMENT
Agile	Early customer feedback capability	Focus on only the development phase of the entire process
	Continuous process improvement	Considered more of a micro-planning process
	Early problem recognition capability
PACE	Use of cross-functional teams; effective teamwork at all levels in the organization	Market assessments and ideation not included in the process
PDMA Toolbook	Strong emphasis on the Discovery and Definition phases that rigorously conduct market assessments	Little consideration of the development phase
	Inclusion of a macro-planning process, and involves different levels of the organization
Stage Gate	Depth and breadth of the macro planning	No guidance during the “fuzzy front end”; no rigorous market assessment
	Versatility, and has wide application to different development functions – e.g., innovation, branding, customer management, etc. Can be horizontally applied	Lack of cooperation, coordination and interaction needed for NSD within the organization at different levels
Synapse	Clear definition of the opportunity and concept, as well as emphasis on business plan development	Similar to a shorter version of Stage Gate and an extended version of Agile
	Emphasis on the development phase by separating it into two distinct parts – “Develop,” and “Realize”	Overly complex “Conceive” stage; too many processes

Stop Trying to Push a Square Peg into a Round Hole

As the table clearly demonstrates, none of the NPD models are a clean fit with all of the stages that are required to develop a complex B2B solution. The companies that we’ve seen that have significantly adapted their models to allow for the differences between a product and a solution -- Cisco, IBM, Otis Elevators, etc. – have proven that solutions development is indeed different from product development. They stopped trying to jam a square peg into a round hole years ago, which has proven to be more effective and efficient than simply following the NPD path. So…what is your solutions development process? Feel free to contact us if you’d like to learn more about our NSD process.

Author1: Steve Hurley, Managing Director at Solutions Insights.
Author2: Rahul Joshi, International Market Development Manager at Teshima International Corporation.