Product designing and the concept of industrial design began in the 1900s. With the increase in inventions like vehicles and household appliances, brands everywhere discovered the significance of design and how it is intimately connected to customer loyalty. Today, industrial design is an integral part of every setting. Today companies are increasingly looking to outsource their technical jobs to those who fully specialise in it. Thus, it’s imperative to work with the right product development and design company. It would be best if you looked into a product design consultancy with at least a three-decade experience building class-leading products for global markets.
Here are some vital considerations that will help you figure out the right agency for yourself.
Assess the Skills and Methodology
Before you address anything else, you should first question how skilled the people whom you will work with are. It isn’t easy to judge the skills and work methodology correctly in the first meeting. But for assessing the skills, you can address specific questions. These include:
- What are their areas of specialisation?
- What best practices do they follow?
- Who all are in the project team, and who will be their team leader?
- What are the skills of the team members?
- Can the members tackle unforeseen circumstances?
To assess the work methodology, you can address the following questions:
- What is the nature of their work culture?
- How is the work done around deadlines?
- How is the product quality tested and controlled?
- What is the nature of their development process?
Do they Provide an Option of Customised Service?
The readiness of your product development partner to offer customised solutions as per your requirement matters a lot. It is mainly because the final product is of no use to your customers or your business if it does not include your feedback. Hence, inquire about customisation and let them know your significant customisation needs. You should also ask about project scoping questions. It will ensure that both you and your partner share a similar understanding of the goal.
Assess Their Innovation and Creativity Level
Creativity and innovation exert a major influence on product development. Therefore, it makes sense to assess the level of innovation of any product development consultancy you choose to work with. Find whether they invest in cutting-edge research and development. You can get to know about it by looking through their process’s portfolio and deck. Alternatively, you can also enquire about their most creative project or product so far. If you want to develop a creative or innovative product, then it’s imperative that you work with a product design consultancy that offers complete design and engineering services. The service extends right from the initial concept to overseeing production and everything else in between.
Creativity and innovation exert a major influence on product development. Therefore, it makes sense to assess the level of innovation of any product development consultancy you choose to work with. Find whether they invest in cutting-edge research and development. You can get to know about it by looking through their process’s portfolio and deck. Alternatively, you can also enquire about their most creative project or product so far. If you want to develop a creative or innovative product, then it’s imperative that you work with a product design consultancy that offers complete design and engineering services. The service extends right from the initial concept to overseeing production and everything else in between.
Ask About Maintenance and Support
The consultancy you decide to work with should be ready to provide you with maintenance and support for some months post the development process. Even with a stringent quality analysis measure in place, there is a high possibility that the product might have some bugs or inconsistencies. Thus, it is important for you to include maintenance and support post-development in the contract.
Although it can increase the overall cost, it will provide you with timely support. The consultancy you decide to work with should be ready to provide you with maintenance and support for some months post the development process. Even with a stringent quality analysis measure in place, there is a high possibility that the product might have some bugs or inconsistencies. Thus, it is important for you to include maintenance and support post-development in the contract. Although it can increase the overall cost, it will provide you with timely support.
There is no standard rule that is applicable when choosing a reliable design consultancy for your product. However, the points mentioned above can serve as your pre-hiring checklist to help you create and deliver the best product to your audience.