Other than coming up with the idea this is probably my favorite part of the process. Getting hands on and creating/building the product is fun and really what it's all about. What about "Monetization" you ask? Making money is of course essential and fun in it's own right but this is really about getting to do what we enjoy, whether that's building websites, writing a book, taking pictures ... the money part just enables us to keep doing it.

In this phase, we'll typically be constructing a working prototype or our first iteration of the product. We'll also get some idea of how we are going to handle manufacturing if needed (e.g. writing an e-book doesn't but if your selling t-shirts you'll need to understand your printing and distribution options).

The end result should be something we're comfortable with showing to other people and getting feedback on. It won't be perfect and may be laced with our own bias on how it will be used and work so striving for perfect is an exercise in futility. Sticking with the examples above, for an e-book you might start getting feedback from someone else knowledgeable in that books area of focus or help from an editor polishing the content and writing. In the t-shirt business we'll want feedback on our ideas, designs, choice of materials, colors, ...

Once you get to a final product, ask yourself if the product will be easy to replicate and can the process be automated? The more you automate the better off you'll be in the long run but don't expect to automate everything right up front, just try to get their quickly. You'll want to be able to produce the product rapidly, easily and as inexpensively as possible. IP products, like e-books are the pinnacle of this.

The biggest risk of this phase is scope creep. ie. lot's of new ideas about things to do to the product, improve it... will start creeping in and you'll be tempted to do them all, don't. If it's essential and makes a big difference do it but keep a tight leash on that and have a plan for future versions with improvement and changes. Otherwise you'll be permanently stuck in "build" mode and never get out of it.

Finally, be sure to to protect your idea. At this point, you have something to copyright, trademark or do a patent search on. It's worth taking the time and money to protect your idea, otherwise you are asking for trouble.



(Idea Lifecycle Frameowrk, Phase 4. click to enlarge)




















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Labels: ideas. framewoeks