Uncovering Customer Desires: Understanding Benefits in Concept Development

In product development, we often get caught up in the technical specifications and features we’re creating, forgetting the fundamental reason we’re building products in the first place: to provide benefits that improve users’ lives. This foundational concept of benefits versus features deserves revisiting regularly, especially when we’re deep in the weeds of development work. Subscribe…

Read More

Blank Flipcharts Don’t Make Magic, But Templates Do

In product development, the “fuzzy front end” of concept development often represents both tremendous opportunity and significant challenge. During this critical phase, teams are tasked with defining problems, understanding customers, and generating solutions-all before any engineering begins. How we navigate this phase dramatically impacts bottom-line results, market share, customer satisfaction, and whether projects even launch…

Read More

Why Your Cross-Functional Team Isn’t Communicating Effectively (And How to Fix It)

Have you ever watched a promising product idea slowly die in the fuzzy space between “great concept” and “actual development”? You’re not alone. The journey from product idea to market-ready solution contains a critical yet often overlooked phase: concept development. This is where cross-functional teams must align their diverse perspectives to create a solid foundation…

Read More

How Engineers Changed Thanksgiving

Designed by brgfx / Freepik Have you ever stopped to consider the engineering marvels that make festive meals like Thanksgiving possible? Engineering has played a crucial role in ensuring we can enjoy fresh-tasting vegetables and perfectly preserved foods all year round. Beyond the realm of food preservation, this episode serves as a tribute to the…

Read More

Predictive Analytics, Machine Learning, AI, and VR in Design Engineering

This episode was recorded on November 16, 2024. Image by KamranAydinov on Freepik Discover how predictive analytics, machine learning, AI (artificial intelligence), and VR (virtual reality) reshape some of the ways we approach design. In this episode, we journey from the origins of predictive analytics to the convergence of big data, IoT, digital twins and…

Read More