Google new product innovation at the speed of light: what next?

Google Marketing Case : New Product Development at the speed of light

A common case study for University Business courses is the new product innovation processes at Google which pioneered internet search and online advertising technologies and other internet-related services. Their first version of the search was different from the rest of the market because of their use of backlinks (citations) to help prioritise pages based on authority. In a nutshell, Google's product development process is as follows:

1. Google's innovation process is often referred to as the "Google X" approach, which is a division within Google that is responsible for developing futuristic, high-risk, and high-reward projects such as self-driving cars, Google Glass, and Project Loon. The Google X team operates with even fewer boundaries and timelines than the rest of the company. It encourages employees to think of ambitious ideas that could potentially change the world.

2. While Google's 20-percent time rule is a well-known and celebrated aspect of its culture, some critics have pointed out that it may not be as effective as it seems. Some employees may not take advantage of the opportunity, while others may use the time for personal projects that do not align with the company's goals. Furthermore, there are concerns that the policy may lead to burnout and overwork, as employees are expected to complete their regular duties on top of their 20-percent projects.

3. Google's approach to managing its product portfolio is heavily influenced by data analysis and experimentation. The company relies on A/B testing and other quantitative methods to assess the performance of its products and determine whether they should be improved, expanded, or discontinued. This approach allows Google to make data-driven decisions and avoid relying solely on intuition or guesswork.

4. Google's size and influence have made it the subject of increasing scrutiny and criticism from regulators, competitors, and privacy advocates. Some critics argue that Google has become too dominant in specific markets and has used its power to stifle competition and exploit user data. As a result, Google has faced several antitrust investigations and lawsuits in recent years, and the company has had to make significant changes to its business practices to address these concerns.

5. Google's success in new markets will depend on its ability to balance innovation with practicality and scalability. While Google is known for its "moonshot" projects and cutting-edge technology, it also recognizes the importance of providing practical solutions that address real-world problems. As such, Google is likely to focus on markets and industries where it can make a significant impact and where its products and services can be easily adopted by a wide range of users.

Reverse Engineering Google’s Innovation Machine

The Harvard Business Review [1] paper discusses Google's success and innovative practices in the technology industry. It highlights how Google has achieved its success through its pioneering search engine technology, scalable IT infrastructure, idea generation and culture of innovation that encourages employees to pursue new ideas while maintaining a framework for evaluating those ideas based on data and strategic goals.

1. Google's success can be attributed to a combination of factors, including its pioneering search engine technology, its ability to scale rapidly and efficiently, its focus on user experience and relevance, and its willingness to experiment and innovate in new areas.

2. Google's approach to innovation is characterized by a balance between chaos and structure, idea generation, experimentation and discipline, and individual creativity and collective intelligence. The company encourages employees to pursue their passions and explore new ideas, while also providing a framework for evaluating and prioritizing those ideas based on data and strategic goals.

3. Google's innovation practices are deeply embedded in its organizational culture and values. The company places a premium on transparency, collaboration, and open communication, and it actively seeks to foster a sense of community and purpose among its employees.

4. Google's success has inspired many other companies to adopt its innovative practices and strategies. From agile development methods to design thinking to data-driven decision-making, Google's influence can be seen across a wide range of industries and sectors.

5. Despite its success, Google faces ongoing challenges and risks, including intense competition, regulatory scrutiny, and changing user preferences and behaviours. The company will need to continue to innovate and adapt in order to maintain its leadership position and relevance in the fast-changing world of technology and business.

The paper identifies several key innovation practices that other businesses can adopt, such as balancing chaos and structure, experimentation and discipline, and individual creativity and collective intelligence. Despite its success, the paper also acknowledges that Google faces ongoing challenges and risks and will need to continue to innovate and adapt to maintain its leadership position in the rapidly changing technology industry.

Considering the product life cycle, what challenges does google face in managing its product portfolio?

Google faces several challenges in managing its product portfolio, given the constantly evolving nature of technology and the product life cycle. One of the primary challenges is to stay current and relevant by monitoring the life cycle stages of its products, which include introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Google needs to keep track of how its products are performing and determine whether they need to be updated, enhanced, or discontinued based on customer feedback and market trends.

Another challenge is to balance its innovative and experimental approach to product development with a systematic and data-driven evaluation process. Google needs to ensure that its new products align with its strategic goals and have a viable business model before launching them into the market.

Furthermore, Google needs to consider the competition and market dynamics in managing its product portfolio. As new technologies and competitors emerge, Google needs to adapt its portfolio to remain competitive and provide value to its customers. Finally, as Google's product portfolio expands, it must ensure that it can maintain quality and attention to detail, rather than spreading its focus too thin across too many products.

Support for third-party development and mashups

Google has a long history of supporting third-party development and mashups through a variety of tools and platforms. One of the most well-known examples is the Google Maps API, which allows developers to integrate Google Maps functionality into their own applications and websites. This has led to the creation of countless mashups, such as location-based social networks, real estate search engines, and traffic monitoring apps.

Google Earth uses mashups such as earthquake, Flickr, Twitter, and Wikipedia mashups that combine data or functionality from multiple sources to provide additional information and context about landmarks and other points of interest on the Google Earth map.

In addition to these services, Google also offers a range of other APIs and developer tools for various products and services, such as Google Cloud Platform, Google Analytics, and Google AdSense. These tools provide developers with access to Google's vast data and infrastructure, enabling them to create new applications and services that leverage Google's technology and services.

Google also supports open standards and interoperability through initiatives such as the OpenSocial standard, which allows developers to create applications that work across multiple social networks. Google also participates in open-source communities and projects, such as the Android Open Source Project, which allows developers to build custom versions of the Android operating system.

Overall, Google's support for third-party development and mashups reflects its commitment to innovation and collaboration, as well as its recognition that developers play a critical role in driving the growth and evolution of the technology industry.

Let the market choose

Google incorporates the market into its product innovation process by using a customer-centred approach and data-driven decision-making. The company relies on market research and customer feedback to identify pain points and opportunities for innovation. Google also uses analytics tools to track user behaviour and measure the success of its products and services.

Google also encourages employee participation in the product innovation process through its "20-percent time" policy, which allows employees to spend one day per week working on projects of their own choosing. This policy encourages employees to explore new ideas and experiment with innovative solutions that can address customer needs and desires.

In addition, Google uses various methods to test and validate new product ideas, such as A/B testing, prototyping, and beta testing. These methods allow idea screening and the gathering of feedback from users and make data-driven decisions about which products to launch and how to refine them over time. In other words, the key to their idea generation is to let the market choose.

Overall, Google's market-oriented approach to product innovation reflects its commitment to delivering value to customers and meeting their evolving needs and expectations. By incorporating customer feedback and using data to inform its decisions, Google is able to create innovative products and services that are both useful and appealing to its target market.

Jennifer Petty summarises this approach [2] as:

The new product development process at Google is free flowing, fast-tracked, and without boundaries. Google encourages their employees to “think outside the box” and come up with new ideas, no matter how crazy they may seem. Once an idea is proposed, they sent it to testing right away. They try to put a product into use no more than 6 months after development has started; they are not into having 2-year production and design plans. Google also gives their employees one workday a week (20-percent time rule) to work on whatever is going on in their heads. This encourages employees to be innovative and gives them the time and resources to do so.

Build Innovation into Organizational Design

Google builds innovation into its organizational design by creating a culture and structure that encourages and supports creativity, experimentation, and risk-taking. The company fosters a sense of innovation through several key elements:

1. A flat organizational structure: Google's flat hierarchy promotes collaboration and cross-functional teamwork, which enables employees to share ideas and work on projects across different departments and functions.

2. Freedom to innovate: Google encourages its employees to be creative and explore new ideas through its "20-percent time" policy, which allows them to spend one day per week working on projects of their own choosing.

3. Data-driven decision-making: Google relies on data and analytics to evaluate, and prioritize new ideas and idea screening, which allows the company to make informed decisions about which products to launch and how to refine them over time.

4. Focus on user experience: Google places a strong emphasis on user experience and design, which drives its product development process and helps to ensure that its offerings are intuitive and user-friendly.

5. Cross-functional teams: Google uses cross-functional teams to tackle complex projects, bringing together employees from different areas of the company to collaborate on a shared goal.

6. Agile development methodologies: Google employs agile development methodologies such as Scrum and Kanban, which allow for flexibility and adaptability in the product development process.

Overall, Google's organizational design is structured to support innovation and creativity, encouraging employees to take risks, experiment with new ideas, and create products and services that meet the needs of its customers. By building innovation into its organizational design, Google has been able to create a culture that fosters continuous improvement and drives the company's ongoing success.

Support Inspiration with Data

Google supports inspiration with data by using data to inform and validate new ideas, as well as to measure the success of its products and services. The company's data-driven approach to innovation allows it to make informed decisions about which ideas to pursue and how to refine them over time.

Google uses a variety of data sources and tools to support inspiration, including market research, user feedback, and analytics. The company relies on market research to identify trends and opportunities in the marketplace, and to understand the needs and desires of its target customers. Google also collects feedback from users through surveys, focus groups, and user testing, which helps to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.

In addition, Google uses analytics tools to track user behaviour and measure the success of its products and services. These tools allow the company to analyze user data and identify patterns and trends, which can inform product development and innovation. For example, Google uses A/B testing to compare different versions of a product or feature and determine which one performs better based on user behaviour and engagement.

Overall, Google's use of data to support inspiration reflects its commitment to creating products and services that meet the needs and desires of its customers. By combining inspiration and creativity with data and analytics, Google is able to create innovative solutions that are both useful and appealing to its target market.

Where are Google now with their new product development process

However, despite its successes, Google has also had some failures in launching new product innovations, such as Google Glass and Google+. Like any company, Google faces ongoing challenges and risks when it comes to product innovation, including competition, changing market dynamics, and shifting customer needs and preferences. Nonetheless, Google remains a leader in the technology industry when it comes to product innovation and is known for its ability to launch new products quickly and efficiently.

The risks that Google faces when launching new product innovations include:

1. Competition: Google operates in a highly competitive industry, and new product innovations can face significant competition from established players and emerging startups. This competition can make it difficult for Google to gain market share and achieve profitability for new products.

2. Changing market dynamics: The technology industry is constantly evolving, and the market can change rapidly. New product innovations that were successful in the past may no longer be relevant or useful in the current market environment, and new products may face challenges in gaining traction or generating revenue.

3. Shifting customer needs and preferences: As customer needs and preferences change, new product innovations may no longer be in demand. Google needs to stay attuned to the needs and desires of its target customers and be willing to adapt and pivot when necessary.

4. Technology risks: New product innovations can be vulnerable to technology risks, such as security vulnerabilities, system failures, or compatibility issues. These risks can undermine user trust and confidence in the product and can result in significant financial and reputational damage for Google.

5. Regulatory risks: As a large and influential technology company, Google is subject to a range of regulatory risks, including antitrust, data privacy, and intellectual property laws. Regulatory changes or legal challenges can impact Google's ability to launch new products and services and can result in significant legal and financial liabilities.

Overall, while Google has a strong track record of launching successful product innovations, it faces ongoing risks and challenges when it comes to product development and innovation. To mitigate these risks, Google needs to stay attuned to market dynamics, be willing to adapt and pivot when necessary and maintain a strong focus on user needs and preferences.

What will happen to Google's product innovation next?

The outlook for Google product innovation is positive, given the company's strong track record of launching successful products and services, as well as its ongoing commitment to innovation and experimentation.

Google's deep pockets and significant resources, combined with its culture of innovation and agility, give it a competitive advantage in the technology industry. The company has a proven track record of launching successful products and services, such as Google Search, Gmail, and Google Maps, and has continued to innovate and expand its offerings over the years.

In recent years, Google has focused on areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and mobile devices, and has launched new products and services in these areas, such as Google Assistant, Google Cloud, and the Pixel phone. The company has also continued to expand its core offerings, such as Google Search and Google Maps, with new features and capabilities.

However, as with any company, there are risks and challenges associated with product innovation. Google faces ongoing competition, changing market dynamics, and shifting customer needs and preferences, as well as technology and regulatory risks. The company will need to stay attuned to these risks and be willing to adapt and pivot as necessary in order to maintain its competitive edge and continue to innovate.

Overall, the outlook for Google product innovation is positive, given the company's proven track record of success, significant resources and capabilities, and ongoing commitment to innovation and experimentation. However, the company will need to remain vigilant and adaptable in order to stay ahead of the curve in an ever-evolving technology industry.

References

1. Reverse Engineering Google’s Innovation Machine, Bala Iyer and Thomas H. Davenport, Harvard Business Review, April 2008

2. Chapter 9 Case Study, Google: New-Product Innovation at the Speed of Light, Jennifer Petty, Bus 306-01, March 11, 2014, Professor Davis

3. Google: New Product Innovation at the Speed of Light, Maria Cano, Keiser University, Case Study #8

4. Google Case Study: New-Product Innovation at the Speed of Light, Business and Management