The Master of Business and Science (MBS) degree bases our curriculum on industry-relevant, job-based information. On November 2nd, Rupa Misra, Ed.D., hosted guest speaker Alyssa Kilayko for his class Introduction to Product Design and Development. As part of the curriculum for the new Product Design concentration, these guest lectures are open to all MBS students.
Kilayko has worked in the consumer packaging industry for almost ten years. She currently serves as Senior End to End Innovation Project Lead, Nutritionals and Digestive Health at Bayer. In her presentation, she highlighted popular methods of concept testing and prototyping in the industry.
BASES
The Booz-Allen Sales Estimating System (BASES), Kilayko explained, serves as the gold standard for concept testing within the consumer packaged goods industry.
“It’s a system that generates the results through consumer response data,” said Kilayko.
BASES tests for different patterns of in-market success:
- Broad potential
- Targeted potential
- Brand incrementality
- Category distinction
- Endurance
“BASES helps understand what’s sellable, what’s marketable, what is something consumers are willing to actually buy,” said Kilayko.
Online Platform
Another method of testing simulates an online product banner to test for two elements: stopping power and closing power. The method tests whether a consumer will click through a dummy product banner and whether a consumer will purchase the dummy product. “It has been a very good benchmark for testing that BASES doesn’t necessarily simulate,” said Kilayko.
This test analyzes concepts in a virtual simulation that mimics consumer shopping behaviors.
“It’s a good indication of how successful your concepts may be performing in real-life scenarios,” said Kilayko.
Design Concept Testing
Industry professionals can also test the design of the product by simulating an in-person or virtual shelf test.
“Design, from 2D—and also 3D perspective—really impacts consumer behavior,” said Kilayko. This test measures the consumer’s interest in a product from the first moment of pickup. Using this information, product designers can evaluate distinct aspects of the design.
Prototyping
“Prototyping is very key to help bridge what you say you are testing and the concepts to what you are actually going to launch,” said Kilayko. Teams prototype a product that meets the definition put forward by the concept test. This phase is crucial for creating proof of concept before a company commits to scaling up a project.
Misra holds guest lectures with industry experts on Wednesday nights at 7:30 PM. If you are an MBS student who would like to learn more about product design, check the MBS Student Resource announcements on Canvas. You can also register for an upcoming panel discussion on the social responsibility of the UXD and product designer.