Why is it that so many companies—particularly large, established companies—consistently struggle to innovate? It’s not for lack of trying. And it’s not for lack of understanding the value of breakthrough innovation and its frequent predecessor, lean methodology. Here’s a quick refresher on how you can apply lean methodology at your company.
Design Journal
Our Design Journal is a collection of informational editorials crafted by the minds of our team. We offer a back-stage pass to the product development world by exposing tough challenges, highlighting best practices, and offering strategic advice– all through the lens of our collective experience.
7 Steps to Smarter R&D Strategy:
A Planning Guide
When should you incrementally improve your existing products? And when should you develop replacements?
I have an answer for you—a powerful technique that involves applying some smart design thinking. Get this R&D strategy right, and your path to success should become crystal clear.
Finishing Well, Part 3
This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, because it’s the moment upon which your entire product development (PD) program hinges—the fateful, make-or-break finish. “Finishing well” is a mantra at M3 Design, because it means creating a product that succeeds in the market and delivers results to your business. It’s how you win.
Finishing Well, Part 2
The key to successful product design and development isn’t inspired ideas, efficient execution, or thoughtful marketability. It’s some balanced combination of the 3—a balance that can be difficult to strike, and even more challenging to integrate into your process and culture on a consistent basis. In Part 2 of our series on Finishing well, we discuss the next 2 topics: Starting Well and Managing well.
Finishing Well, Part 1
Product design can actually be a pretty glamorous world. Shiny new objects all around, breakthrough technology making headlines, design awards won, and buzz-worthy ideas abounding.
But what matters? At the end of the day, after all the excitement and exaggeration and egos have faded into obscurity, what’s the goal of all this?
The goal is to finish well. Truth be told, this is everyone’s goal. But it’s one that a lot of people lose track of.
Breaking the Mold With 3D Printing
Has 3D Printing (3DP) turned into a mere buzzword that justifies using the technology just because we can? How is 3D affecting the Product Development Process, and what will the future bring? Read on!
Three Steps Toward Team Alignment
It takes a team of people to implement an idea and get it to market. But how do we get a team of individuals to work as one? How do we get a team of people to all build the same cup? Read on…
Phygital Reality: The next tech battleground
Over the past decade, the steady maturation of the consumer technology space has forged fierce competitions between the biggest players in the industry. The collective result has redefined how we work, play, communicate, interact, engage, and most recently, how we perceive the world around us. In this article, we take a closer look at the forthcoming convergence of our physical and digital future.
Competitive Collaboration
The execution of product development is incredibly difficult. Most companies, including design firms, fail miserably. Truth be told, most product development processes are theoretically identical. Which begs the question: What makes some design firms (like the ones I specifically mentioned above) so much more successful than others? At M3 Design, we believe that it is specifically dependent on execution
Creativity in Commerce
How important is creativity to commerce?
How do you translate ideas from mind to market?
How do you balance investment and innovation?
How is the maker movement changing product design?
I recently participated in a great panel discussion that explored some of these questions as part of the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce’s Creativity and Commerce event. The topics and insights we discussed were quite illuminating—and extremely important to explore, in my opinion.