Chapter 8 - Prototyping

In Chapter 8, Professor Featherman discusses the process of introducing new products into the marketplace. After brainstorming and researching a potential product, most innovative companies choose to develope a prototype prior to the product's release. Professor Featherman states that prototypes are simply "test versions of a proposed product" evaluated by potential investors and consumers. Prototyping has proved time and time again to be an accurate forecast as to how consumers will react to the product. Often used in focus groups, prototypes give potential consumers the opportunity to phsyically hold or experience a product and, in turn, praise or critique it. The picture above depicts a protoype of Aptera's Electric Hybrid Car which was no doubt tested and evaluated by investors and consumers alike. By allowing potential consumers to handle a new, innovative product, market researchers can gain more insight as to how to product will do in the future. In fact, the insight gained from Aptera's Electric Hybrid Car prototype must have been significant, considering the fact that these environmentally friendly vehicles have entered production!

Chapter 8 - Product Complexity

The introduction of new products and innovation is the primary topic of Chapter 8. Whenever a new product reaches the market it must undergo several tests of profitability, one of which is complexity. Featherman describes complexity as "the degree to which consumers find a new innovation or its use difficult to understand, learn and use". A product's complexity is a huge factor to consider when preparing to enter your product into the market. If a product is too complex, it may leave many consumers frustrated and unsatisfied with their purchase, something all organizations obviously try to avoid. However, over time, the complexity of a product may decrease as individuals become more exposed to similar products and more familiar with the complexity level assoicated with recieving the desired benefit/need from a product or service. Consider, for instance, the complexity of the world's first computers, as seen above. Early computers had to be housed in entire rooms and run by several people, clearly indicating the complexity of such a product. Therefore, it is not hard to see why computer popularity did not begin to increase until after the promotion and release of the personal desktop computer, a modernized computer that was much easier to operate than eariler models.