Why So Many Product Ideas Fail?
Now let’s analyze the top five product failure reasons in little more detail to understand them better.

Reason # 1: Not Viable — Organizations don’t want

50% (half of all) of new ideas are rejected internally within the organization as they are not viable. Meaning — organizations don’t want them. There are several underlying reasons here. Few important ones are — idea isn’t aligned with the overall organizational strategy/direction; idea isn’t profitable for the business; lack of executive/leadership alignment on the value of the idea.

Reason # 2: Not Feasible — Organizations can’t build at all

20% (one-fifth of all) of new ideas are rejected internally as organizations are unable to build them. Users may like those ideas but organizations either may not have the resources or the time to build them. At the time when an idea originates, the business value isn’t greatly known. This sometimes end up in our decision to deploy resources on other ideas that later prove to be of less business value.

Reason # 3: Not Valuable — Users don’t want

12% (little more than one-tenth of all) of new ideas/products fail pre-launch or post-launch as users don’t see any value in them. This is common in organizations where product team is either spending too little time with the users (external) or too much time with the internal people within the organization. Key to success here is to spend as much time as possible with the users who will be using the product after launch. The practice of building the product and features driven solely by discovery conversation with the users is called “outside-in product development” and is a proven methodology for success.

Reason # 4: Not Usable — Users can’t use

8% (little less than one-tenth of all) of new products fail after launch as users find them complex to use. This is the area where product designers are valuable as they work with the users and design the product in such a way that it is easy to use. A good interaction and workflow design are the key here. Bigger isn’t always better. Meaning — don’t load the product with a ton of features. Adding a new feature by disrupting the workflow of the previous feature may do more harm than good.

Reason # 5: Not Timely — Organizations can’t build on time

5% of new products fail post-launch as they are launched late and unable to attract buyers. This happens when we take too long to productize and launch the idea. Time to market should be quick — good enough, soon enough. If we are not quick enough, our competitors may launch a similar or a better product sooner than us unless we are aiming for a disruptive innovation in an already saturated market (e.g. Uber).
['Harsh Vardhan']
['Technology', 'Startup', 'Product Management', 'İnnovation', 'Leadership']