The PDMA Handbook of New Product Development

15.2. The Shift from Product to Context

At the core of this method is a shift of focus away from the product itself to the product's context of use. Focusing on the product leads to incremental improvements such as adding a feature, changing the color, or reducing the cost. The product itself doesn't provide the information to inform the question of innovation. While there may be value in these improvements, none of them leads to significantly new product lines and new market growth. Unfortunately, most new product development focuses on exactly these kinds of improvements, and this is one reason so many companies falter over time.

NOTE

Contextual research broadens a company's view while maintaining a connection to what matters to its customers.

A contextual viewpoint broadens what the company looks at in relation to its products or services. The context includes the people involved, activities and processes surrounding the product, inputs and outputs of those activities, other products used in conjunction or simply that are present, and environmental conditions. Figure 15.1 illustrates this difference between product and context-centric viewpoints.

With a focus on the context, the role of the product gets more attention than its function and features. A useful analogy is a stage set. There are actors, a story, the set, props, and interactions. The props, likened to products, are there to serve a purpose, to support the story. A theater audience is more apt to tolerate makeshift ...