You've got a great idea--what next?

What makes a good invention?

 

I have been doing product development for quite a while now, and I get this question occasionally, “So what makes a good invention?”  This is a question I do have an answer for:  YOU, the Person who is going to make it happen.  I have seen a lot of people make attempts, successful and not, to develop their ideas, and the largest factor is their drive to get it done. 

 

Great ideas can sit still or crawl along slowly for years, if the force driving them isn’t firm and continuing.  Mediocre ideas can grow into real products, and become great ideas, if pushed correctly and allowed to develop in a way they need to.

 

Great ideas sit in people’s heads for years, or they stall at places right at the beginning, where the idea needs to be born into something real, something that you can put your hands on. Good inventions need a strong advocate… someone who can see the idea through and keep pushing it forward!

 

 

What makes a good FIRST design?

 

The first design of a new idea is truly important.  You need to show that the idea works, and what it is… not just to the inventor, but to other people, while keeping the time and costs to a reasonable amount. 

 

Knowing what parts of your idea are new is the key here.  If you try to do too much with the first attempt at making something, it probably isn’t going to work.  Identifying what makes your idea good and highlighting that is what you are aiming for.  Final products are often quite different from first prototypes, so it is important to keep everything flexible at the early stages. 

 

On the other hand, it is important to understand that methods for making something can affect the basic look and feel of a product.  This doesn’t mean a prototype is made in the SAME way as a mass-produced item, it just means that the mass-produced method should be considered when making earlier versions.

 

 

What is a good process for developing an idea?

 

The process itself of a design is also an important factor in the speed and efficiency of a design.  Communication is the key here.  When I work with people in the early stages of development, I might be the first person who is really trying to understand the details of their idea.

 

As the person generating the first design, my job is to take that idea and to help figure out the best way to move it forward.  I believe this process is best done while in close contact with the originator.  That person does not need to understand the entire technical process, but if he or she understands all of the little decisions along the way it can really help solidify the direction and his or her confidence in the design.