getting the green light for new product development

Investigating starting a product from scratch occurs to me to be the hardest challenge to face a product manager.

Leaving aside the small subject of 'success' for a minute (because it's harder to create a formula for that one!) there are a few key things product managers have a responsibility to look for when investigating bringing a new product to market.

Target Audience.
Who are they? What do they think? Familiarise yourself with them, talk to them and take your promts from them. One day they will hopefully be your customers. Start treating them as customers today.

Identify a gap/problem/opportunity/need or want.
This is totally crucial. If you don't have one don't waste time on a commercial product.

Solution.
Keep it simple. Is it a real solution? Test your theory. Your problem and solution is really the foundation of your product.

How to make money.
Almost seems obvious to say it out loud. Even if you have a problem and a solution if you can't see a clear revenue angle in most cases you do not have a commercially viable product.

Why you?
Make sure that the product is within the boundaries of both your expertise and interest. You probably need to be both able and enthusiastic when considering taking on launching a new product and being responisible for its life-cycle.

Thanks to @StoatWithToast for providing the stimulus and discussion that lead to this post.  Would love to know thoughts on this one and whether you agree or have points to add...