In a series of upcoming articles, I’d like to recall and share some of my experiences as a dental product developer since 1987 and some basics about how our own product development process works at Practicon, Inc. Free advice is worth the cost, but maybe something herein will help someone who is equally excited about an idea for a better “mouth” trap.

I once saw a Venn diagram with three overlapping circles, each circle representing a characteristic of personal career success [Venn diagrams got a bad rap in the last election cycle, but they can be useful at times]. One circle was labeled: “Among the best in the world.” One was labeled: “A skill people will pay for.” One was labeled: “Something you love to do.” Where the three circles overlapped to form a triangle was a career choice that produced one’s best chance of success. Two out of three conditions were supposedly not enough. It took all three factors working together for a rewarding career. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the source, so forgive me for not assigning proper credit.

It makes sense. For example, you may be passionate about running. You may have the build and the lung capacity to win major marathons, but with very few exceptions, running is not a skill the world will pay for. Running is something you do for personal health and enjoyment, but not a living wage. For the purposes of this example, running itself only satisfies two out of the three successful career conditions. On the other hand, you also love helping and encouraging the less motivated among us to get moving. Athletic training is a product many people will gladly pay for, and your world-class athletic skills make you superior at developing them in others. Personal training might therefore be a rewarding career choice, where the three circles overlap.

The challenge of successful product development lends itself perfectly to such a Venn diagram, with three overlapping circles (i.e., conditions or factors) forming what I refer to as the Product Development Triangle. Like the career illustration, one circle is labeled: “We can make it.” One is labeled: “We can sell it.” One is labeled: “Customers will buy it.”

A successful product requires all three conditions to be met regardless of how positive two of them might be. Unless a new product idea starts and stays in the center of the Product Development Triangle (PDT) where all three conditions overlap, its development will likely “sink,” at least at Practicon, before it reaches its intended destination—somewhat akin to a more famous triangle where things are known to disappear. :-) In other words, the PDT is a three-way test of the requirements for moving a product forward beyond IP, creating a second “filter” that keeps limited resources focused on workable ideas.

Depending on the product, each condition generates its own list of questions, or filters, to be passed in order for that overall factor to be confirmed. Together, the three PDT factors form a foundation upon which to build a successful development process, even if not a successful product in the end. Here are some examples of those confirming questions that might be useful for dental inventors to consider when sizing up the potential of their own ideas. We’ll discuss these with more detail and actual case studies in future articles:

1) We can make it: Questions that might confirm this condition range from basic science to technical know-how. Does it defy the laws of physics? For example, if it is a time machine, it is probably time to move on. Can it be made with current technology, and is that technology available to Practicon? Do we have the know-how, the experience, the manufacturing contacts? Unless a company intends to do all manufacturing in house, knowing who can manufacture a product is key to this factor, made infinitely easier today with internet search. How would it be made? Injection molding, stamping, die-cutting, 3D printing, thermoforming, etc. or a combination of several processes? Does it require impossible manufacturing tolerances? Can it be prototyped to control risk and developmental uncertainties?

2) We can sell it: Beyond IP, concerns here would range from legal and regulatory issues to financial feasibility. Is it a medical device and of which device class? The higher the class, the greater the regulatory burden (i.e., development cost). Does it require a 510(k) FDA premarket notification? Again, an expensive proposition. Does the estimated development and unit cost allow for suitable retail and wholesale margins at the ideal price point? Does it appeal to our established sales channels? Practicon does not have retail store distribution, for example. Some other concerns under this condition would be shelf life (i.e., expiration), minimum order quantity, inventory space, and ability to be shipped. We once sold a beautiful portable storage cabinet, but its weight and dimensions made it impossible to deliver intact.

3) Customers will buy it: This factor is the most difficult to confirm. Refer to my Article 4 on whether a product solves “a problem worth solving” for an initial call on this factor. In summary, a problem worth solving for Practicon is usually a problem common in dentistry, typically underaddressed, and quickly communicable through visual media. If so, does the product have a Grand Purpose? Is there a comparable product sold before that succeeded or failed, and why would this repeat/not repeat that performance? What is the projected market potential? Are the ROI projections realistic? Many times, we've had multiple requests for specific products and met what we thought was clear market demand, only to have them fail in the marketplace.

Not to digress, but is there a way to identify product development successes and failures ideas BEFORE they gobble up thousands of dollars in resources and hundreds of hours in development time? In my experience, no. You never positively know how something will sell until you actually put it out there for customers to either buy or reject. Yes, you can do surveys, market research, focus groups, and review boards. Those things can definitely guide development time and spending, depending on how well they are designed and targeted. But nothing answers the question about a new product’s sales potential like displaying it for sale. Will customers actually pay for it and more importantly, use it and recommend it to others? Will it achieve a market acceptance and adoption rate to meet ROI requirements? Predicting customer behavior and demand with regards to a certain product is another one of those topics that would fill a section in our imaginary bookstore. Besides whether the product superbly solves “a problem worth solving,” timing, appearance, pricing, branding, positioning, packaging, and more all work together to produce a successful product launch.

Lastly, the Product Development Triangle can also be a huge time and money saver. If one of the three conditions can be dismissed out of hand as false without further research, the resources that would have been spent exploring the other two factors can be saved. In this way, the PDT also serves as an early “go” or “stop” decision maker. If one can spot a problem with any of the three factors “from 30,000 feet up” so to speak, there is no reason to go in for a closer look. Time for the next idea!

See our Practivations Dental Product Development Blog at www.practicon.com/blog.

Next up: Practivations Article 9: First to File vs First to Invent—A Patent Attorney’s Explanation

Practicon was founded in 1982 with a vision of advancing dental health and increasing practice success through improving patient education. Building on a mission to Make Dentistry Better, we have grown to become a trusted developer and marketer of “Practical Innovations” that provide effective solutions for common problems, sold alongside a growing line of brand-name supplies. Customers describe Practicon’s products as creative, unique, and hard-to-find, many inspired or designed by dental professionals looking to Make Dentistry Better. Our product development mission is to develop exciting products that are relevant and useful in everyday practice—or in short, practical innovations.