5 Steps for Successful Product Development from Elon Musk
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Elon Musk is a man who needs no introduction.
He has revolutionized multiple industries, from electric cars to space exploration. Creating groundbreaking products is what he does best. If you’re a product manager or part of a manufacturing team, you could probably take a thing or two from him.
In this blog post, we’ll cover five steps for successful product development inspired by Elon Musk, as found in this interview.
Step 1: Make your requirements less dumb
1) Make your requirements less dumb:
Musk believes that requirements are usually dumb, and that’s because they’re made by people who don’t have all the necessary details.
Therefore, it’s essential to question requirements that seem inadequate. If they don’t make sense, remove or modify them—the goal is to make sure that everyone involved in the project has the best possible information.
Step 2: Delete the part or the process
2) Delete the part or process:
The idea here is to get rid of parts or processes that drag down the project. It’s important to remind yourself that less is often more.
Adding ‘just in case’ requirements doesn’t help anyone. Instead, identify and remove unnecessary features or steps that don’t contribute anything to the project.
Sometimes, it’s about simplifying or subtracting rather than adding new elements.
Step 3: Simplify/Optimize
3) Simplify/Optimize:
This step is about reviewing the existing features and deciding whether they can be streamlined to be more efficient.
When it comes to manufacturing, consider consolidating similar parts to enhance efficiency by improving standardization.
The goal is to optimize existing features instead of introducing new ones, minimizing complexity and potential issues.
Step 4: Accelerate cycle times
4) Accelerate cycle times:
Time is of the essence in product development, and throughput is king in manufacturing, and that’s why Musk emphasizes accelerating cycle times.
However, it’s important to note that you can’t do this without laying the groundwork first. If you haven’t optimized your features or streamlined your processes, going faster will only make things worse.
Otherwise, you might be digging your grave faster.
Step 5: Automate
5) Automate:
Automation is an essential part of product development and production. Automating your processes reduces the chance of human error, which improves quality while speeding things up.
The automation of tasks that are repetitive or time-consuming can make a significant improvement to your team’s productivity.
However, it’s important not to start here: automation is the cherry on top and should be added after everything else.
“There’s nothing so useless,” said management expert Peter Drucker, “as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
Conclusion:
These five steps might seem simple, but they take a lot of time and effort and can be easily confused.
However, if done correctly, they can make a massive difference in the outcome of the project or product. Elon Musk is a man who knows how to get things done, and by using his tips for product development, you’re off to a good start.
The key is to start with the basics, work your way up from there, and never forget that the end goal is a product that meets your customers’ needs.
