Step 2 Selecting the Most Promising Idea At this stage, all ideas are considered and the most promising is selected.
Example
Lara gathers her team for a brainstorming session. Everyone in the team offers their ideas for the new ice cream flavour. It is agreed that salted caramel flavour is the most promising idea.
Step 3 Developing the Idea
At this stage, the chosen idea will be developed more. What will it look like? What features will it have? Example
Lara and her team work with the company’s chefs to decide on ingredients. They talk to the design department about how the new ice cream could be packaged to appeal to customers.
Step 4 Conducting a Feasibility Study
At this stage, the idea is tested to see if can be produced in a reasonable amount of time and at a profit (i.e. if it is feasible, or workable). If the idea will cost too much to produce, or if it will take too long to make, it will not be developed any further.
Example
Lara and her team talk to Happy Cow’s finance department about the total cost of producing the new ice cream flavour. They work out the exact cost of producing one unit of the product and calculate the number of units that they would need to sell to make a profit. This is called the break-even point. Luckily, the salted caramel flavour is feasible and they can continue to the next stage.
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The number of units of a product that must be sold in order to cover costs is called the break-even point.
Step 5 Making a Prototype
At this stage, a prototype (test model) or a sample of the product is made. This will highlight any problems with production. Example
Lara and the team work with Happy Cow’s production department to make a few units of the new ice cream. They realise that the size of the tub is too small, so they plan to make it larger.
Step 6 Test Marketing
The product or service is tested on a small group of people. The feedback from these people will be used to make sure that the product meets consumer needs and wants. We will learn more about this development step later in the chapter.
