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How do you come up with ideas for new features (products)?
We're all different. For some people, coming up with new ideas (products) is a system. For others - inspiration.
Let's share the experience 👀
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David Sarlos
Hi Sveta, good question, and I think discussions with users should be the key to lean (on).
Prospects are very good at pointing out future features, yet existing clients (and the team, ofc) should be deciding what to prioritise based on the value proposition of your product.
As a PM, this always brings new features to my focus. So many of them actually, that we internally refer to the "myth of the missing feature" as we are always one more feature away from the product being ready for a public launch.
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@david_sarlos love thus answer. An especially love the reasoning behind. Thank you for sharing, David!
Hey Sveta!
Personally ideas come to my mind whenever I encounter problems in my life, that's my biggest source.
@ionelvlad it usually happens with software since I'm a software dev, but from time to time I get hardware ideas too (but I don't pursue them since they're too much overhead)
Hi! I find talking to customers directly very insightful. Of course, there are different customers, but this is a great feedback channel if you know who your ICP is and whom to talk to.
Also using your own product on a daily basis is also helpful :)
@valerii_androshchuk Yes, customers are a great source for innovation. Their problem should be base of our innovation. Moreover, I find new ideas randomly like while walking in my locality or garden, etc.
Sometimes everything is in the front of your eyes but you cannot just see, I believe!
I get product ideas from:
- Customer Feedback: Listening to them or via surveys
- Product Analytics: Using tools like hotjar to check heatmaps
- Market Research: To understand the trends and user behavior
- Competition: See what they are doing and how to improve
Our ideas come from our community:
1. Our community suggests features
2. We consolidate the suggestions into votable options
3. We prioritize the most requested features and plan them quarterly
Here's our roadmap: https://www.formaloo.com/en/road...
@merno0sh exactly this - community drives innovation, curation is then required as well as prioritization based on technical feasibility, time constraints and user recommendation
Hey, I think the best way to come up with new feature ideas is to find out the problems that people are facing.
The more problems you find, the more ideas you will have for new features.
As a starting point, identifying the problem areas for customers is a good way to zero in on the features you want to change or replace alltogether.
And if everything is amazing with your product (which is never really their case):
Just Google, "Latest consumer technology" and you will find a goldmine of ideas to inspire yours.
I think you can brainstorming sessions with your product development and sales team can help you in coming up with creative and unique product ideas. Creative, interesting and original ideas should be considered even if they require a lot of hard work. After the brainstorming session, analyze the ideas generated and plan further on the ones that are workable.
@witt_teo Totally agree with you! In my experience, I normally come up with good ideas while brainstorming with others.
we as humans always have ideas to solve problems and run things in their own way to make things simple and work easly...to make it possible by understanding such requirements will always enables to introduce new features.
Here are some insightful ways to develop ideas for a new product!
1. Study the Changing Market Trends
2. Brainstorm with Your Development and Sales Team
3. Get the Opinion of Your Customers
@gabriella_parch Do you think getting opinions from customers sometimes is quite general? As I know customers normally don't really understand what they really need, I mean their true pain points/insights.
Analyse the feedbacks. Just try to identify problems and come up with solutions through features/ products.
You can also brainstorm with your teammates/ friends/ colleagues.
Look at your competitors and see what they are offering. Would your target market benefit from those features? If so, design a specific flow that your target market will love.
I would start there and then move on to more cutting edge features
It is kind of easy.
For new features of existing projects - talk to your existing customers or, at least, listen to their support requests.
For new product ideas - just keeps your eyes open. Any inconvenience or a feature in another product that doesn't work as expected or missing is an opportunity for a new project.
An example, I got tired of just uploading all my travel pics to Google photos because it gives you no way to display the trip on the map, add comments to individual photos or days etc. So I decided to build my own https://pictur.app/. I know that this product will make at least one person happy, me.
For this, I analyze my own painpoints and experiences and write down areas of frustration in a journal. Then I look at searches (e.g. Google, YouTube) that relate to what I'm feeling in order to check if others are having a similar experience.
Basically, I try to identify and validate painpoints and then those become products.
Hello Sveta,
Completely understand user behaviour.
What EXACTLY are people using your product to do and where do you want to take them?
build features around this.
Launching soon!
For me, coming up with new ideas for features or products typically involves a combination of research, brainstorming, and experimentation.
I start by researching the market and identifying customer needs and pain points, as well as any gaps or opportunities that may exist. I then use brainstorming sessions, either alone or with a team, to generate a wide range of potential ideas and solutions.
Finally, I try to prototype and test these ideas to see which ones have the most potential, and iterate and refine them until I arrive at a final product concept. This process is not always linear, and often involves a lot of trial and error, but it helps me to generate creative and innovative ideas that address real customer needs.
It's important to have a variety of ideas when it comes to coming up with new features for products. This way, you will be able to cater to a wider range of customers and remain competitive in the marketplace. One way that you can generate ideas is by brainstorming with your team or clients. Additionally, Everyday Health offers several tips on how to come up with new product ideas, such as breaking down an existing product into its component parts or researching trends in your industry.
Once you have some good concepts brewing, take them further by developing prototypes and testing them out in the market. If everything goes well, move forward and finalize production plans before launch day!
Have friends over a hot cup of tea and just start discussing ideas. We tend to start focusing on the more promissing ones quite quickly
