Unit 9 – Product Development Temilade Agunpopo

LO1 – D1

D1 – Assess the potential impact of constraints upon product development

Constraints

When you developing or re-developing a product, there are always constraints that need to be
considered before or during the development cycle.

There are six types of constraints which might have an impact on an IT product which are:

 Time
 Financial
 Social
 Regulation
 Standards
 Standard Organisations

Time

This may be a constraint when a product is needed by the deadline which the product needs to be
produced. An example is when a client may need a website be developed and ready to use within a
month. This means the developer would need to assess the product requirement and determine if
they are able to complete the stage within the timeframe given.

There might not be enough time to get the product on the market on time, this means the research,
length of time to design to produce the product and the quality of the product may be limited as you
might have to rush the product which can cause mistakes.

There are 4 schedules that should be met otherwise the schedule will be pushed back which are:

Design schedule- This involves project planning, project control, blueprints and getting the correct
machinery to start the project

Development schedule- This is repairing and replacing the right equipment, getting the right
employees, getting the correct model etc

Production Schedule- refers to the detailed planning of the production process in order to optimise
workflow for a specific time-period

Delivery Schedule- This is to organise the delivery date, transport cost changes, supplier delays,
supply chains and distribution network

Financial

Financial constraint is a limit on the money available when developing the product. If a client has a
limited budget, the develop will have to assess if the product can be developed within the budget
offered.

Minimum viable product has all the features necessary for the lowest cost to be incurred. This does
not involve creating the smallest product, but instead producing one that is desired and fits the most
important needs of the client and market within the financial constraints
Unit 9 – Product Development Temilade Agunpopo
LO1 – D1

For example, an entrepreneur may need an online website but online has £500 to spend on it. The
developer would have to determine how much it costs to develop the basic functionality of the
product and whether any elements need to be left out and delay later until the entrepreneur has
extra funds. This would involve assessing the ‘minimum viable product; would look like – outlining
the basic required functionality that would deliver a good enough development that could be
revisited and added to later

Financial constraints will impact on the final product, and the effect placed on different stages of the
lifecycle; for example, a costly analysis into the development of a complex product may be
impractical where the funding is available to create a basic version of the product.

Marketing Analysis- cost of researching and understanding the market size

Design costs- getting the correct information and developing the product whilst not making any
money

Development costs- design detailing, testing costs

Manufacturing costs- salaries, tooling, labour, factory utilities, equipment repair parts and supplies

Distribution costs- handling, shipping, packing, warranty, spare parts and marketing

Resources- time, budget, labour and material

Social

Products are likely to have target markets that they need to be tailored for, such as a specific gender,
age and/ or language.

This could influence the language used in the interface of the product, as well s the support
documentation and help tutorials.

For example, a translation may be needed if users don’t have English as their first language. The
language must be appropriate for the specific reading age, so if they market is young, there may be
more slang involved. This will allow the young audience to not get bored or confused with high
vocabulary used.

Problems with not taking your audience into consideration can have an impact on the audience on
the development time or success of a product:

Language issues

The language used should not be too complex otherwise the audience may be confused or bored
and the language should not be too simple as the audience may get bored as well.

Environmental

Use of the wrong types of raw material can case delays or simply reduce the potential sales

Text type

Use a simple style and a good font to make it easy to read and aesthetically pleasing as making it not
readable can cause product recalls.

Change of Tastes
Unit 9 – Product Development Temilade Agunpopo
LO1 – D1

Development stages for a new product takes time, during that time the audience for thee product
can change for any reason, likes, political, economical or even the release of something

Regulation

Developers should follow a number of regulations and make sure that their products follow those
regulations. These could be internal regulations, such as a company code of practice, or external
regulation such as international laws.

For example, a manager of a business product will need to require personal information about their
clients, such as their date of birth, where they live etc and that information needs to be stored. The
developer will ensure that the product is designed to collect and store the client’s data in line with
the Data Protection Act (1998).

Regulation may impact the final product in numerous ways, such as the functionality, end use or
restriction for use or access in other countries. However, this is made from the early stage to avoid
late modifications.

The (DPA) Data Protection Act controls how your personal information is used by organisations,
businesses or the government. Developers need to follow regulations to ensure the products bond
to them.

Standards

Certain standards need to be considered when designing, producing and maintaining a product.
Standards apply to a range of product development features, such as the design of the system itself.

For example:

The USB is a hardware standard and many companies use the USB as a method of connection since it
is widespread. A wide range of devices have USB ports and this means they are helping a product’s
compatibility.

The HTML is a software standard and many websites across the internet use HTML as a base
language for the design, this makes sure that websites between browsers are compatible. If a
developer creates a website in a different language that isn’t supported by accepted web browsers
and standards, this could mean people can’t view the website.

When developing a product, these standards impact decision about the design and possible
functionality of the product. This might include allowing for extra costs to make sure that the certain
standards are followed, and will need to be considered and assessed through the lifecycle.

Standards also relate to the level of quality the end product should attain

For example, in a business, the employer must keep the employee’s personal data to make
payments securely and reliably. The reliability of a system should be assessed to make sure it
conforms to an agreed standard of quality.

Safety - This product has to be safe for consumers to use under the Data Protection Act

Designs - The design should be original and it cannot break the copyright act. If they suspect its
copied, the release will be slightly delayed

Quality Management – The company will want the product to have good quality and the company
reputation depends on it. If not, your other products will be assumed to be bad
Unit 9 – Product Development Temilade Agunpopo
LO1 – D1

Risk Analysis – Every stage of the manufacture and production stage should be done for the security
of the employees. There needs to be risk assessments for the workers

Reliability – The product must last 1 year without breakages under the Consumer Rights Act. If it is
an app it should meet the consumer rights.

Requirement analysis - The product has to meet the requirements of the user if it wants to be sold
otherwise the user will not need the product.

Standards Organisations

These organisations publish standards for companies or developers to follow. The standards are
published by organisations such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). A
standard which is set up by the government and followed by the law.

The ISO is run by ISO groups of experts that are parts of larger groups called committees who are
national standards organisations that collaborate in the development and promotion of international
standards for technology, scientific testing processes, working conditions, societal issues and more.
These experts negotiate all aspects of the standard, ISO and its members then sell documents
detailing these standards

Some standards organizations allow developers to become members by signing up to codes of

conduct. When you advertise yourself as a member of these organizations, you are informing clients
that you will follow the guidelines and it can improve the likelihood of your chances of being
selected to develop products

The need for compromise

When you assess constraints during development, it might not be possible to create a system that
the client wants. There might be a need of compromise to get the most out of what you can do and
what the client wants.

Some areas of development may not be worth the extra cost, as it might be more expensive than the
benefits that you could receive. Therefore, they may be an alternative that is different from the
original plan and may be considered. This is known as the ‘minimum viable product’

Another compromise may relate to the complexity of a product. The more complex a solution, the
higher the chance of an error and the longer the time for development.

Depending on the situation and the seriousness of the potential error, a compromise may be needed
to reduce the complexity but also to ensure the product has no errors and it is delivered on time.
Unit 9 – Product Development Temilade Agunpopo
LO1 – D1