Different Product Development Methodologies You Need To Know

Product development methodologies are different approaches and frameworks used to guide the process of creating and managing products. 

There are four methodologies that are used most often. Agile is an iterative and customer-focused product development methodology that values flexibility and collaboration—scrum is derivative of the agile framework that organizes work into time-boxed iterations known as sprints, and emphasizes cross-functional teams and regular reviews. 

Kanban is a visual project management method that uses cards on a board to track and manage work in progress (think Trello), promoting continuous delivery; finally, waterfall is a traditional, linear product development methodology that follows a sequential approach with distinct phases, like requirements, design, development, and testing.

Why Product Development Methodologies Are Important

Product development methodologies are essential because they offer a structured approach to product creation, enhancing efficiency and productivity while surfacing and managing risk. By prioritizing customer needs and fostering collaboration, these methodologies adapt to changing requirements and promote continuous improvement to product roadmapping and portfolio building. They contribute to faster time-to-market, aligning development efforts with business objectives and ensuring more successful product outcomes.

The Purpose of Product Development Methodologies

Product development methodologies provide a systematic and structured approach to creating and delivering new products, features, and integrations. These methodologies help organizations effectively manage the product development process, from ideation to launch and beyond. They aim to improve efficiency, quality, and collaboration within product teams, ensuring that customer needs are met, and that products are developed on time and within budget. By following established methodologies, companies can more easily mitigate ongoing and emerging risks, adapt to changing compliance requirements, and optimize product development efforts to achieve successful outcomes.

Benefits of Using Product Development Methodologies

Successful organizations focus on regularly enhancing efficiency, product quality, and customer-centricity. They provide structured guidelines that streamline workflows, mitigate risks, and improve collaboration among cross-functional teams. By focusing on customer needs and data-driven decision-making, these methodologies foster continuous improvement and ensure timely delivery of products. Ultimately, they instill confidence in internal and external stakeholders, and have a significant impact on the overall success of product development strategies and operations.

1. Agile Methodology

The agile product development methodology is a customer-centric, iterative approach to product development. It emphasizes collaboration, adaptability, and responsiveness to changing requirements throughout the development process. Agile breaks down the product development lifecycle into smaller, manageable increments called ‘sprints’ or ‘iterations’.

Summary

Cross-functional teams work closely together under this maxim, including product managers, developers, designers, and stakeholders. The development process is organized into short time frames, usually lasting two to four weeks, during which the team delivers different functional, working pieces of the product or feature. Key principles of agile include:

• Customer collaboration. Agile places a strong emphasis on involving customers or end-users in the development process. Regular feedback and engagement with customers help ensure that the product meets their needs and expectations.
• Incremental and iterative development. Rather than attempting to deliver the entire product at once, this approach breaks it down into smaller features or functionalities. Each iteration builds on the previous one, allowing for frequent testing and integration of user feedback.
• Adaptive planning. Requirements and priorities can, and often do, change throughout the development process. Teams adapt their plans and priorities based on feedback, emerging market trends, or business needs.
• Empowered teams. Self-organizing and empowered teams are able to make decisions collaboratively and adjust their approach based on their expertise and insights.
• Continuous improvement. Agile promotes a culture of continuous improvement, where teams regularly reflect on their performance, seek ways to improve processes, and work to deliver higher value to customers.

Productboard supports the “double diamond” approach, or dual-track agile product development. It emphasizes customer-centricity, problem-solving, and iteration. The four phases are:

1. Discover – Gather insights and explore customer needs.
2. Define – Outline the problem statement and product vision. 
3. Develop – Generate and test solutions.
4. Deliver – Bring the product to market and launch it to customers. 

This specific framework enables product teams to close the gaps created by product iteration, and fill them in with research and user-centered design, and continually provide value to customers.

Implementation

Implementing an agile product development methodology requires careful planning and a commitment to change. 

Educate and train the team. Ensure that all team members, including product managers, developers, designers, and stakeholders, understand the principles and practices of agile. Conduct training sessions and workshops to familiarize them with the mindset and expectations.

Form cross-functional teams. Connect all of the necessary skill sets and expertise required to develop the product. These teams should be self-organizing and have the autonomy to make decisions.

Define the product vision and roadmap. Start with a clear product vision and roadmap that outlines the high-level goals and features. Agile product development requires a strong understanding of the product’s purpose and target audience.

Break down work into sprints. Divide the development process into short iterations, usually lasting 2-4 weeks. Each sprint should have a well-defined goal and deliverable.

Prioritize and create a backlog. Collaborate with stakeholders to prioritize features and create a product backlog. The backlog contains a list of user stories and tasks that need to be completed during the sprints.

Sprint planning. At the beginning of each sprint, hold a sprint planning meeting where the team selects the user stories they will work on during the sprint. Break down the stories into smaller tasks, estimate effort, and determine the sprint goal.

Daily stand-up meetings. Conduct daily stand-up meetings to keep the team aligned and informed about progress and any impediments. Each team member should share what they worked on, what they plan to do, and if they need any help.

Continuous testing and integration. Integrate continuous testing and integration practices into the development process. Regularly test the product and gather feedback to make improvements.

Review and retrospective. At the end of each sprint, hold a sprint review to demonstrate the completed work to stakeholders and gather feedback. Follow up with a sprint retrospective to reflect on the sprint’s effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.

Adapt and improve. Embrace a culture of continuous improvement. Use feedback and data to adapt and improve the product development process continuously.

Foster collaboration and communication. Facilitate open communication and collaboration between team members, stakeholders, and customers. Encourage feedback and make it an integral part of the development process.

Monitor progress and metrics. Use key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure the team’s progress and the product’s success. Use this data to make data-driven decisions.

Advantages and Disadvantages

While agile offers numerous benefits in terms of responsiveness, customer-centricity, and continuous improvement, it requires careful planning, clear communication, and strong collaboration to overcome potential challenges and fully take advantage of the approach.

Agile makes it far easier to respond to shifting requirements and market conditions than other methodologies because it places a strong focus on customer feedback and involvement, ensuring that the final product always meets customer needs and reflects the latest demands. It enables faster time-to-market, because working product increments are delivered more quickly, allowing for frequent feature releases and updates. 

Agile practices also promote transparency, fostering open communication and visibility, and making it easier for stakeholders to track progress and participate in decision-making—leading to higher product quality and greater efficiency over time.

It’s not without disadvantages, however. The agile methodology is complex, and can be challenging to implement and manage, especially for larger projects or organizations with distributed teams. And without checks and balances, focusing on short iterations may sometimes cause long-term planning and strategic objectives to be overlooked.

Due to its adaptive nature, it can be difficult to accurately predict project timelines and costs–an especially hard roadblock to overcome for smaller businesses and organizations. And because it requires constant involvement and collaboration from team members and stakeholders, it may strain resources and time. But perhaps the hardest hurdle is internal buy-in; some team members or stakeholders may find it difficult to adapt to a product development style that requires constant, cyclical progress. 

2. Kanban Methodology

Kanban is a visual project management and workflow methodology that originated from ‘lean’ manufacturing practices. It focuses on improving efficiency, collaboration, and productivity by visualizing work items and their flow through the different stages of a process. 

It’s often used in software development, IT operations, and other knowledge work environments, as well as in various industries beyond manufacturing. It promotes collaboration, transparency, and adaptability, making it a valuable methodology for managing complex and dynamic projects.

The primary goal of Kanban is to optimize the flow of work, eliminate bottlenecks, and deliver value to customers more effectively.

Summary

In Kanban, work items are represented as cards or sticky notes on a Kanban board, which is typically divided into columns representing different stages of the workflow. Each column represents a specific step in the process, such as “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” As work progresses, cards are moved from one column to another, reflecting the status of each task.

Key principles include:

• Visual management. The Kanban board provides a clear, visual representation of the entire workflow, making it easy for team members to see the status of each task at a glance.
• Work-in-progress (WIP) limits. This approach involves setting limits on the number of tasks that can be in progress at any given time for each stage of the workflow. This prevents overloading team members and helps maintain a smooth flow of projects.
• Continuous delivery. Kanban emphasizes continuous delivery and encourages teams to complete and deliver work items as soon as they are ready, rather than waiting for a specific release cycle.
• Continuous improvement. Teams are encouraged to regularly review and refine their processes to identify areas for optimization.
• Pull system. Work is pulled into the system based on the team’s capacity and readiness to handle new tasks. This contrasts with a push system where work is assigned based on schedules.

Implementation

Kanban is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and it may require adjustments to suit the specific needs of your project and team. Continuous feedback and open communication are essential for making it work effectively. To structure product development this way:

Visualize the workflow. Start by creating a visual board that represents the workflow of your project. Use columns to represent different stages of work, such as “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.”

Define work items. Break down tasks into smaller, manageable tasks that can easily move through the board. Each item should be clear and actionable.

Set WIP limits. Determine the maximum number of items allowed in each column at any given time. WIP limits prevent burnout and delays.

Manage the backlog. Keep a prioritized backlog of work items that are ready to be pulled into the “To Do” column when there’s available capacity.

Use visual signals. Color-coded cards or sticky notes can represent different workflows and tasks on the board. This helps team members quickly identify the status of each item.

Monitor flow and metrics. Keep track of how work items move through the board and measure key metrics like lead time and cycle time. This data provides insights into the efficiency of the process and helps identify bottlenecks.

Continuous improvement. Encourage the team to regularly review the process and identify areas for improvement. Implement changes to optimize the workflow and enhance overall productivity.

Training and support. Ensure that team members understand the principles and practices of Kanban. Provide training and support as needed to promote successful implementation.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Whether or not a Kanban methodology is appropriate for your business depends on the specific needs and characteristics of each company, project, and team. While it may offer benefits for certain projects, it may not be the best fit for others, and teams should consider their unique requirements before adopting this methodology.

Kanban offers advantages such as visual management for clear workflow representation, flexibility for adapting to changing priorities, reduced waste, continuous delivery, and improved flow. However, it lacks structure, may have limited long-term planning capabilities, and relies heavily on team discipline and communication efforts.

3. Scrum Methodology

Scrum is an agile product development methodology that emphasizes teamwork, collaboration, and iterative progress. It is based on the principles of transparency, inspection, and adaptation. Scrum divides work into time-boxed iterations called “sprints,” typically lasting 1-4 weeks, during which a cross-functional team works to deliver potentially shippable product elements.

Summary

Scrum involves key roles like the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team. The process includes sprint planning, daily team stand-ups, sprint reviews and retrospectives, and backlog refinement for effective project management and delivery.

Implementation

Implementing scrum means adopting an agile product development approach centered around collaboration, adaptability, and ongoing improvement. It begins with educating the team about scrum principles and roles, creating a cross-functional Scrum Team, and defining a product backlog with user stories and features. Sprint planning meetings select items from the backlog for each sprint, while daily stand-ups provide progress updates and address challenges.

During the sprint, the development team works on completing the selected work, guided by the sprint goal and product backlog. After each sprint, a review meeting demonstrates completed work to stakeholders, and a retrospective encourages reflection and improvements. Backlog refinement ensures that the queue remains updated and detailed.

Continuous improvement is encouraged through feedback implementation and empowering the team to self-organize. Monitoring progress using sprint burndown charts and metrics keeps the team on track, while an adaptive and collaborative culture fosters success.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Scrum is well-suited for projects with changing requirements, high collaboration needs, and a focus on delivering frequent, incremental improvements. It provides an environment for flexibility, transparency, continuous improvement, and team autonomy. However, rigidity in sprints, limited documentation, and a strong dependence on effective collaboration can make this a highly challenging approach to sustain.

4. Waterfall Methodology

Waterfall product development is a traditional, linear project management methodology where the product development process follows a strict sequence of phases. Each phase must be completed before moving on to the next one. The typical phases in a waterfall approach include gathering requirements, design, implementation, testing, and deployment.

Summary

Waterfall product development follows a linear, sequential approach with fixed requirements and little room for adjustments. While it offers predictability, it may not be well-suited for projects requiring flexibility, continuous user feedback, or those subject to evolving market conditions. 

There is little-to-no room for changes or adjustments once a phase has been completed. This rigidity can lead to longer development cycles and delays, especially if requirements change or new insights emerge.

Waterfall development is often used for projects with well-defined and stable requirements, where the end goal is clear from the beginning. It is commonly used in industries with strict regulations, or when working on projects with fixed budgets and timelines.

Implementation

The waterfall methodology involves clear documentation of requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Each phase must be completed before moving to the next. 

The process requires thorough planning and documentation to ensure successful project execution. However, it may not be suitable for projects with changing requirements or the need for frequent feedback and adjustments–in those situations, it’s best to apply agile or Kanban.

Advantages and Disadvantages

One of the main advantages of the waterfall approach is its simplicity and predictability. Since each phase has clear deliverables, progress is easy to track. Its structured and well-documented approach makes it easier to assess progress. I

However, the waterfall method has some significant drawbacks. It does not allow for virtually any flexibility or adaptation to changes in scope, which can be problematic in dynamic environments. The feedback loop with users is limited, and there’s a greater-than-average risk of delivering a product that no longer meets market needs. It’s also a time-consuming and resource-intensive framework, and therefore not ideal for complex or large-scale projects.

How to Determine Which Methodology You Need

Businesses should carefully evaluate the specific project requirements, team capabilities, and organizational preferences at hand to select the most appropriate product development methodology to support their goals and objectives. Consider:

Project requirements. Evaluate the nature and complexity of the project. If the requirements are well-defined and unlikely to change significantly, a waterfall approach may be suitable. For projects with evolving requirements and a need for flexibility, agile methodologies like scrum or Kanban may be more appropriate.

Project size and scope. Consider the size and scope of the project. Smaller, less complex projects may benefit from agile methodologies, which allow for incremental development and continuous feedback. Larger projects with well-defined stages and deliverables might align better with the waterfall approach.

Customer involvement. Agile methodologies emphasize continuous customer collaboration, making them ideal for projects where customer input is critical. On the other hand, projects with less direct customer involvement may lean towards a waterfall methodology.

Time constraints. Determine the project timeline and desired speed of delivery. Agile methodologies can deliver incremental results more quickly, while the outcome of the waterfall approach won’t fully materialize until launch.

Team expertise and culture. Consider the expertise and experience of the product development team. Agile methodologies demand a high level of collaboration and self-organization.

Risk tolerance. Agile methodologies allow for early detection and mitigation of risks, while waterfall may present higher risks due to limited opportunities for course correction.

Stakeholder expectations. Agile methodologies involve frequent communication and progress reviews, which may be preferred by some stakeholders, while others might prefer a more formal and structured approach.

Productboard and Your Product Development Journey

Productboard provides a comprehensive and intuitive solution to manage the entire product development journey, ensuring that your team can focus on building successful products that meet customer needs and drive business growth.

A range of features, like sentiment analysis and feedback categorization—alongside core integrations with tools like Jira and Slack—enhance workflow efficiency and data synchronization across tools, facilitating a more productive product development process. Productboard helps quickly visualize product roadmaps, aligning features with business goals and customer needs. It integrates user research data, enabling data-driven decisions based on real user insights—resulting in products that resonate. 

Leading businesses choose Productboard to support product development methodologies that align best with how they do business, and give them the tools they need to prioritize ideas, develop features faster, and process feedback efficiently.

Start a free trial today to discover how Productboard can help you create product development methodologies that streamline processes, accelerate time-to-market, and fuel faster growth.