Concept Development and Testing

The next stage in the product development cycle is the concept development and testing stage. Concept development entails turning a product idea into a concept idea, which is a detailed version of the idea stated in meaningful consumer terms (Armstrong et al, 2012). Concept testing involves presenting the product concept, symbolically or physically, to target consumers and getting their reactions (Kotler and Keller, 2009). Concept development may involve some R & D and other activities such as product and brand positioning maps before developing a prototype ready for testing. The more the concept tested is closer the final product, the more the test is dependable (Kotler and Keller, 2009).  The use of various forms of market testing to measure market response to a new product is vital (Thomas, 1993). Having consumers respond to questions to measure product dimensions is common. Several concepts may be developed from a single product idea, selecting the best one is the goal of this stage.

An example of where concept development and testing is used in the sport industry is at Nike. In the development of the Nike Free, the company first started out with the idea to create a shoe designed to strengthen your foot by copying barefoot running. After developing several prototypes, Nike undertook extensive testing using elite athletes and everyday running to test their prototype. In a 6-month trail involving more than 100 participants, researchers measured the shoe’s benefits in speed, development, coordination and optimal speed through control and experimental group testing. Results indicated that the group wearing Nike Free shoes showed 10-20% improvements in all the parameters measured (Financial Review, 2012). The Nike Free was a success, acting as both a running and training shoes.

My Concept: New format of hurling, replacing the hurley and the sliotar, with a tennis racket and ball. The goalposts above the guarded net are removed. The net, however, is altered with 1x1 feet pockets situated at each top corner of the net. Goals scored in these pockets count for 3 points, anywhere else in the net counts a 1 point. Outfield players can only use their hands when catching or slapping an in-flight ball and must balance or jungle ball when in possession.

Concept testing: Series of questions posed to target consumers, previous knowledge of hurling may be required to fully conceptualize new sport format. Physical representation of concept may be required for further testing.

- Do you visualize and understand this new sport format clearly? Any doubts or queries?

- Are you interested and have time to play a new sport?

- How attractive is this sport compared to the others available to you? (not attractive/somewhat attractive/attractive/ really attractive)

- How many times a week would you practice this sport if it was available to you? Would you see it as a hobby or as a competitive sort?

- Would you be interested in playing this sport? (definitely not/ probably not/ probably/ definitely)

- Would you know anyone else interested in playing this sport?

500 words.

References:

Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R. (2012) Marketing An Introduction. 2^nd edn. Harlow: Pearson.

Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L. (2009) Marketing Management. 13^th edn. New Jersey: Pearson Education.

Thomas, R. (1993) New Product Development. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Financial Review (2012) Product Development from Concept to Customer. Available at: http://www.afrbiz.com.au/media/k2/attachments/Nike_Case_Study_Ed_7.pdf (Accessed: 24 November 2014).

Idea Screening

The second stage in product development is idea screening. Idea screening is done to eliminate unsound concepts early prior to devoting resources to them (Calantone, Benedetto & Schmidt, 1999). If done properly, this stage can be the difference between success and failure as it is vital to select the best possible idea in order to reduce the risk of wasting time and committing resources to an idea set out to fail. Constructing idea portfolios, using a decision matrix and performing a SWOT analysis are all tools that can be used in the idea screening process. Developing a set of criteria to evaluate your ideas against is primordial when screening ideas. Marketing, production, development and financial factors must all be assessed (Earl & Earl, 1999). The assessment of market opportunities for an idea in particular is important when deciding whether or not to pursue its development (Thomas, 1993). Analyzing market trends, segmenting the market and estimating market potential and penetration are all key steps in evaluating an idea’s promise. Idea screening must be done in the most objective way possible to select the idea that has the most potential without personal preference affecting the process.

            The American aviation company Boeing, for example, construct product portfolios when deciding which ones to pursue or not (Lacontora and Matthews, 2009). The company distinguishes two phases within the idea screening process: the learning phase in which risk and opportunity are evaluated and the discovery phase where the business value of the idea is assessed and investment sources are targeted. These portfolios help screen ideas for strategy alignment and enable the company to identify ‘mature ideas’. Ideas become ‘mature’ once they have gone through the phases and been evaluated against certain criteria. In an industry where constant innovation is needed to stay ahead of the competition, the idea screening process is a decisive step in product development as investing in fruitless ideas can prove to be a major setback for Boeing and their market share.

            I used the decision matrix as the basis of my idea screening process, evaluating 3 new sport format ideas against a set of criteria: attractiveness, cost, accessibility and differentiation. Each criterion I piped my ideas against was carefully selected in order to determine which sport format had the most potential to attract interest and break into the sport market. The criteria were also weighted according to their importance. The attractiveness level of each sport was weighted as the most essential because ultimately the goal is finding out which sport will attract the most people. Cost was the second criterion in order of importance, this includes the cost of participating in the physical activity and the cost of setting it up. The third was accessibility, determining which sport was theoretically available to the largest audience. And finally differentiation, deciding which format was the most unique from its competition. After marking each sporting idea against each criterion in an objective fashion, the variation and combination of hurling and tennis seemingly had the most potential. 

Decision Matrix
Created by	Kilian Collins									Date		November 16th
Summary of Decision	Idea Screening for a new sport.
	CRITERIA										Results
Weights–	3	2	1.4	1
	Attractiveness	Cost	Accessibility	Differentiation							RAW SCORE	WEIGHTED SCORE	RANK
OPTIONS	Rank	1	2	3	4	0	0	0	0	0	RAW SCORE	WEIGHTED SCORE	RANK
Tennis/Hurling	7	7	4	7							25	47.6	1
Football/volleyball	5	7	7	5							24	43.8	2
Trampoline football	7	4	4	9							24	43.6	3

References:

Calantone, R.J., Benedetto, A.D. & Schmidt, J.B. (1999) ‘Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process in New Product Screening’, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 16(1), pp. 65-76.

Earle, M. and Earle, R. (1999) Creating New Foods, The Product Developer’s Guide. Oxford: Chandos Publishing.

Thomas, R. (1993) New Product Development. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Lacontora, J. and Matthews, S. (2009) ‘Ideas to Innovation: Idea Portfolio Management’, Portfolio Management for New Products & Services Conference, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 25 Febuary. Available at: http://www.ppmexecution.com/wp-content/uploads/Ideas%20to%20Innovation%20-%20Idea%20Portfolio%20Management%20--%20PDMA%20Portfolio%20Conference%202009.ppt. (Accessed: 17 November).