Product Development trends that are here to stay!!

When it comes to new product development in any organization with digital in mind, one has to really stay on top of technology trends and also ahead in the market competition. Many a times first mover advantage plays a vital role in the success of your product and can give you the edge in competition. However technology is always changing and some of the key trends to look out for in your product development strategy can be put in 4 broad categories:

• Data
• User Experience
• Smart Phone Capabilities
• Security

Data – Big data has been talked about a lot and gotten a lot of hype throughout 2014 in the world of technology. The question here for product managers with digital products is about data; type of data and extent of it; what data are you currently gathering today and what data should you be gathering? Basing this in how you can actually use this data really helps in capturing more and more useful data. Today, data has more value than ever before. What data do you have that could be used in unique and useful ways to provide value to your business and your customers? What challenges that your customers face could you answer with data? These are the questions you should be thinking about and brainstorming with your teams throughout 2015.

User Experience – The user experience side of software products is critical. Things have shifted in the last few years where today the majority of people want self-serve solutions to quickly solve their service problems. They don’t want to have to call a human being (or chat) and you don’t want that either. However, to make this happen your web and mobile products must be intuitive and easy to use. This has always been the case, but as more and more of your customers come to rely on your products, you need to make this a top priority. You need to not only plan for a great experience up front, but you also must be measuring the experience (abandon rates, usage, etc.) so that you can continually improve the experience based on what is and isn’t working. You must leverage data to study how users are using your product, what is engaging to them and what actions they are taking so you can work to constantly make that experience better.

Smart Phone Capabilities – This continued trend should come as no surprise to anyone, especially after the influx of smart phone users over the past few years. The use of smartphones have been on constant rise.  The smartphone world is expanding at a rapid pace. There are more than a billion smart phone users across the world. Today, there are people who never go to your web application from a desktop – they only use your mobile app or site, and this number continues to climb upwards. You need to think mobile first and how your product can be used effectively by a mobile audience. Beyond making functionality work on a mobile device, you also need to consider crossovers and transitions: For example, when a customer is using multiple devices (web and phone for example) is the transition between using one device and another seamless? If the user starts using your product on their phone and then switches to a computer, does the system make that as seamless as possible for the user?

Security – From Target and Sony to eBay, big companies had embarrassing security breaches in 2014. These breaches of such well-known brands have since put security front and centre in people’s minds. You need to make sure that your products are secure- that they can withstand everything from a denial of service attack (even at the API level) to hacks.

Longer term trends

These trends may not be here today, but you can rest assured that they are coming. This means you should be experimenting with them now so that you are ready to hit the ground running when these trends become mainstream. This should involve thought experiments where the logic is considered, if X existed, how it would impact my product, to actual small experimentation using these technologies. You can also create a cutting edge reputation by being an early mover with these trends.

In no particular order, we start with wearables and watches. Unless you are in the fitness/sports industry, in which case these are things you should have incorporated today, these need to be observed closely. We will soon learn if Apple can do to smart watches what they have done with music players, phones and tablets. Even if they aren’t as successful, there are going to be a lot of smart watches in the near future. It is important to begin thinking about how your interface and functionality can change to take advantage of something on your wrist and always on.

The Internet of things, or as we like to think of it, sensors everywhere. As sensors become cheaper and more powerful you are seeing them come up all over the place. This produces a ton of data and allows physical items to be integrated further with digital products. Not all products will need sensors, but those that do will have a lot more data to use to provide insight, recommendations and ultimately, value. This integrates nicely with the data trend mentioned above.

Virtual Reality and head mounted displays could change how we view and interact with our digital products. There is a lot of activity here but most is early on. Google Glass has been met with some harsh reviews and feedback, but Google is one to learn from this feedback and come out with a much better product. Then there is Facebook’s Oculus Rift, which may come out this year, and Samsung has their Gear VR. Initially, these will be used for gaming, but we should be exploring how interfaces could change and be made to allow browsing and viewing data in virtual worlds. According to Zoo Repairs, this is going to open up more and more opportunities for computer repair shops. More types of computers are going to need more and more techs of varying knowledge, that’s why places like Zoo are changing their game plans in anticipation, cheap keyboard for gamers will no longer need repairing, a new thing will take its place.  More about zoo computer repairs can be found on their blog.  This won’t happen quickly, but this has the potential to unlock us from being tied to our computer screens.

This leads to the biggest long-term trend; the digitization of everything, or the merging of the digital and physical world. This has been going on for years and we are entering the next big phase being driven by 3-D printers. We are seeing more and more these worlds coming together. Virtual Reality should accelerate this. In the meantime, what isn’t digital will go digital and everything will have sensors recording data.

Although we can’t 100% predict which trends will be the biggest, it is clear that technology continues to grow and be a part of the daily lives of your users. In order to stay ahead of your competitors, it is vital to consider these trends and start thinking about the impact they can have on both your business, and your customers. It is critical to spend time planning and thinking about the future and ensuring that you have a clear and executable strategy to differentiate your product and your business.