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Within a new product development (NPD) environment, the connotations of the phrase “I know it when I see it” may suggest that the team has implicit trust in the judgement of the person making the claim. Under ideal NPD conditions, the team does its best to ensure that an appropriate solution will be presented to the decision maker and that solution will be distinguished from all other candidates.

Problem is known. Solution is obvious

The Wikipedia entry for the phrase “I know it when I see it” includes:

I know it when I see it: a colloquial expression by which the user attempts to categorize an observable fact or event, although the category is subjective or lacks clearly-defined parameters.

In other cases, NPD contributors may be uneasy. They want hints to develop solutions that will be acceptable. They want insights about paths that may lead to success. They appreciate guidance to distinguish ‘good’ solutions from ‘better’ solutions.

Perhaps the most detrimental scenario is when both of the following conditions exist:

• Problems originating with the person making the claim. They may be sincere but lack the knowledge or objectivity to recognize ‘better’ solutions. They may be unlikely to approve ‘good enough’ solutions because of biases associated with the prevailing NPD culture. They may not recognize the Decision Traps in an NPD environment. They may approve the first workable solution and not pursue alternatives. Entrained thinking may predispose them to select inferior solutions (such as a decision maker with prior employment in a sales role may have a bias toward solutions proposed by current sales representatives).
• Problems originating with the network. Individuals proposing solutions may recommend familiar but outdated approaches. The level-of-mastery or diversity of the contributors may not be adequate for the task. They may be reluctant to seek the appropriate external help. They may be too busy with other priorities to properly investigate better solutions. They may not provide the appropriate background information to prepare the decision maker to select the appropriate solution.

In some cases, the person making the “I know it when I see it” claim has great influence. Such an opinion is known as HiPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion). This opinion may be wise or foolish.

Uncertainty may be compounded when the first HiPPO is overruled by another HiPPO from a more highly compensated individual.

Experimentation and Verification

If the NPD problem can be clearly defined, NPD solutions that meet the “I know it when I see it” criteria should be verified. Conceptually, such a verification is relatively easy.

When both the NPD problem and the appropriate NPD solution are unknown, there is more risk of failure. Examples of difficult NPD problems include:

• What combination of attributes will form a compelling new product offering?
• With our project constraints, what is the minimum viable product for this version?
• Who should be recruited for this effort? When?
• What are the appropriate characteristics of the user interface for our potential customers?
• How should our development culture evolve to improve our competitive advantage?

Qualities of a highly effective NPD network

The detrimental connotations of the phrase “I will know it when I see it” may originate from the person making the claim or the individual contributors or both. An environment where a “Trust me. I will know it when I see it” claim is acceptable may be a prelude to NPD failure.

The same applies to those with a focus on their NPD process. Trust in a process that previously produced success does not guarantee future success.

What are the qualities of leaders that inspire trust when they claim to be able to recognize the appropriate solutions? What qualities of the individual contributors are required to ensure that appropriate solutions are presented for evaluation? How does the NPD network improve? What are appropriate checks and balances?

Part 10 of this series on Detrimental Connotations in New Product Development will include several of my suggestions to prepare for future development efforts.

Other posts in this 10-part Detrimental Connotations in NPD series

Quick Fix, 1/10
Product Requirements, 2/10
Subject Matter Experts, 3/10
Design, 4/10
Designers and Developers, 5/10
Marketing, 6/10
Launch, 7/10
Best Practice, 8/10
Collaboration, 10/10