Recommendations for Product Development of Intelligent Products

Abstract

Bearing in mind the urge of society for new, high-functional products, the Internet of Things (IoT) plays an important role in the process of giving society these things. The IoT consists of a new technological paradigm, which can be understood as a network that connects devices, "things." All things that IoT reaches acquire a virtual identity and communicate through the Internet with users, society and the environment. Therefore, the incorporation of IoT technologies allows several new functionalities to the products, transforming them into a new category called intelligent products. These products generate data that, after being analyzed, allow the development and commercialization of new products and services for society, addressing its urges by extension. Furthermore, in order to develop intelligent products, the literature recommends a set of changes in the development process. Contrasting the development of intelligent products with traditional products, the literature points out differences in architecture, in the relationship with customers, and in the range of services offered. All the aforementioned differences and other variations should be taken into account in the Product Development Process (PDP) when developing and widening the array of intelligent products. Therefore, this work aims to propose recommendations for the process of developing intelligent products which incorporate IoT technologies. Additionally, as a theoretical contribution of this study, we intend to gather and systematize the propositions about the IoT PDP that are spread across different areas of the literature, such as computing, engineering, management, finance, and others. Finally, as a practical contribution, the results of this project intend to guide the managers through the process of transforming and adapting the traditional development process into a PDP oriented to intelligent products.