The Smart Risk-Playbook Newsletter
Helping business leaders prevent product risks |
|
|
|
In many product businesses, product development is still treated as an overhead rather than a strategic investment. That mindset often hides some of the biggest risks a business faces. Inefficiencies, slow learning, delayed decisions, and wasted effort all increase the likelihood of missed deadlines, cost overruns, and products that struggle in the market.
When most business leaders think about product risk, they think about physical safety, performance failures, or market acceptance. But there’s another risk that’s quickly climbing to the top of the priority list: data security.
Whether you manufacture smart devices, children’s safety monitors, wearable tech, or even seemingly simple connected tools, your product may be collecting, transmitting, or storing personal data. That means you’re now also in the data protection business. Developing a safe, high-quality product involves a great deal of behind-the-scenes work. Teams test ideas, work through problems, follow false leads, and gradually identify what works and what doesn’t. If those insights are not captured within the organisation, the business risks repeating the same mistakes and wasting time revisiting options that were already ruled out.
In the last newsletter, we looked at understanding and meeting regulatory requirements. Product standards are often either mandated by particular regulations or serve as a key way for you to demonstrate compliance.
Standards can be grouped by function in relation to safety. The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) for example classifies safety-related standards into three categories: Meeting relevant regulatory requirements, in each of your target markets, is essential for legally selling your product. Non-compliance can result in costly product recalls or, at the very least, having your product removed from shelves until it is brought into compliance. If the product causes injury, or worse, you may also face fines for negligence.
Product risk assessments can be a contentious topic. They are often dismissed as a box-ticking exercise and a drain on resources that delivers little real benefit. I won’t deny that I’ve seen plenty of risk assessments performed that fit that description. However, when used well, they become a systematic framework that helps uncover risks you may have otherwise missed.
A key step in managing product risks is ensuring your business is correctly identifying which regulations and standards apply to your products. Many compliance failures and costly delays stem from overlooking or misunderstanding these requirements early on. The first step in determining what is relevant is understanding the general regulatory product categories your product fits into.
Have you ever been in a situation where a part arrives from a supplier that is not fit for purpose? Maybe the tolerances are off, the clearances do not work, or there are tooling marks on a critical face.
The product verification plan is a roadmap for testing and validating a product’s performance throughout the development phase. It outlines how your business will demonstrate that your product meets its targets and is safe, durable, and fit for purpose.
Many organisations are already measuring their operational carbon emissions. But for product-based businesses, these emissions often represent only a small portion, sometimes less than 10% (McKinsey & Company, 2024), of the total footprint when the full product lifecycle is considered.
|
Categories
All
Bringing a product to market, whether it’s a new launch or an established line, comes with challenges at every stage. I’ve seen firsthand how unexpected risks can derail even the most innovative businesses.
My goal with this newsletter is to help you anticipate these risks, make informed decisions, and strengthen your business’s resilience. Each issue, you’ll gain practical insights such as: By understanding what’s happening behind the scenes, you’ll be equipped to ask the right questions, challenge assumptions, and create a business that runs smoothly, without unexpected setbacks slowing you down. |
RSS Feed
