Top Trends in Digital Product Development

The complete digitization of daily life is altering our vision of the world. People nowadays can’t imagine their lives without cellphones and other electronic devices. They assist us with everything, including shopping, business, sports, communication, navigation, logistics, and entertainment. The growth of technology is changing the process of digital asset development too, so today we are going to unwrap the topic of new product development trends in 2022.

Product Owner Roles and Responsibilities in Agile Product Development

We’ve seen a modest shift in the new product development process during the previous years. The Product Owner (PO) job is being redefined, and it is no longer solely responsible for developing and managing user stories. Nowadays, a competent product owner is an executor who acts as the product’s mini-CEO. The function necessitates a thorough grasp of corporate operations, UI/UX design, marketing, consumer psychology and behavioral patterns, and digital product development technical procedures.

We’ve noticed that the new product development process has been slightly changing during the last two years. The product owner is the person who should take care of the product from the idea to implementation and successful release to the market. He or she must have in-depth insight into how to satisfy customers, differentiate from the competition, and earn money for the business at the same time.

More and more businesses are realizing the advantages of the outsourced product development trends and the product owner position within the software product development life cycle, as well as the necessity of having the appropriate trained people in the right location.

Emerging Trends Shaping the Future of Software Product Development

The DashDevs team works directly with both startups and mid-sized corporations, and we are now seeing how these organizations are changing their approach to new product development. We gathered the most interesting cases and examined our knowledge to identify current product development trends that will soon impact the software market.

#1 Data-Driven Development

Everyone acknowledges the significance of data in strategic decision making and corporate planning. We had to deal with the problem of getting the proper data and processing it correctly. Hence, the solution we provide and suggest comes from Data Science.

Big Data and data analysis are being transformed. Companies may collect data from many sources—such as mobile app analytics, advertising data, or customer support tools—and organize it so that a product owner can receive whatever information they want at any time. Based on this information, the company may develop models that provide insight into a product, consumer behavior, and market developments. There is a major difference between seeing a data slice that merely identifies your client demographic and the model that tells you the effect of your advertisements on a specific target group. Using Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial intelligence (AI) Data Scientists can not only analyze past actions but also give the business some forecasts for the future digital trends in product development.

Essentially, Data Science allows stakeholders to execute Predictive Product Development, and today’s major software product engineering firms are beginning to connect their strategies with the obtained analytical findings. Data science, on the other hand, is not just about past and future statistics; it also adds individualized experiences to your product. User behavioral models may be performed in real-time to determine which things should be solely recommended to the consumer, and the user interface can be adjusted accordingly. Furthermore, chatbots for fintech apps are beginning to exploit behavioral patterns to address client requests and enhance the overall customer experience.

Summarizing: Data Science is now delving deeply into the agile software development life cycle. It is not yet a free-running feature because it is completely interleaved with the development and management procedures. Data Science has a practical impact: it improves digital product analytics and raises the efficacy of the overall product development strategy, allowing enterprises to monopolize the market.* Applications are becoming more adaptable and customizable. However, Data Science raises the cost of product deployment and maintenance since organizations must store and analyze data using cutting-edge technologies and pricey professionals.*

#2 Digital product ecosystem

Where does your digital product reach its end? Is there any limit to its utility? Companies nowadays admit that “product” extends beyond mere mobile or web applications or landing pages. The digitization of processes has altered how we perceive, use, and engage with online and mobile apps. Innovative software solutions expand their usefulness and allow them to interface with other devices such as watches, home pods, and TVs. On the other hand, as the Internet of Things (IoT) expands, customers can now make payments via home pod, ask Siri to locate their car, or ask Alexa to book food delivery. And the best part is that users adore it.

However, the digital product ecosystem is expanding for reasons other than improving the end-user experience. Because stakeholders recognize that intellectual property may be shared with other enterprises, mutually beneficial cooperation between companies becomes normal.

They began to expose APIs for free and for a charge, allowing others to integrate their services. This stage assists businesses in filling new niches, increasing business valuation, and growing income. I noted at the outset of the essay that product owner roles have evolved, and that POs must now grow into masters of this product ecosystem.

Summarizing: Product limits are being redefined by businesses. A minimal viable product may include Apple Watch complexities, widgets, Siri shortcuts, or Google Assistant commands. Shared APIs have become one of the fundamental criteria for system architecture design right from the start of product development.

#3 Distributed teams

Let us now look at the most recent trends in product development. Companies used to recruit their core staff in a single city and outsource only a portion of their business activity to other cities. However, things are changing, and the culture of nearshore and offshore IT outsourcing is reimagining the product development life cycle. The entire business may be separated into functional blocks that can be outsourced to various service providers, such as app engineering, marketing, sales, customer support, logistics, and distribution. Companies begin to outsource all services, particularly during the early phases of firm development, when it is critical to save money and obtain the necessary skills.

If you want to build the best app, you need to be well-versed about trends in fintech. You may engage specialized engineers from one firm and customer service representatives and a financial investment management staff from another. You just need to hire a few essential people to work in the office to organize and monitor the vendors.

Outsourcing of critical technical roles such as CTO, Solution Architect, and Team Lead is another trend connected with remote engineering teams. This is a typical option among young organizations and startups since it allows them to obtain experienced resources at a lower cost. The issue here is solely with the specialized software development teams’ clear communication, coordination, and control. Regular meetings, accurate documentation, and a clear definition of roles may quickly resolve these challenges. Businesses may develop honest and trustworthy relationships with vendors in this manner.

Summarizing: Outsourcing engagement models, when properly set up and maintained, may be a fantastic solution for organizations. It enables businesses to have access to top IT talent with extensive knowledge in the relevant area, save time and money on recruitment and team management, and save on hardware and premises expenses. Furthermore, agile software development with remote teams enables businesses to focus on other key revenue-generating responsibilities such as sales, distribution, public relations, and marketing.

#4 Security awareness

In terms of personal data protection, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management laws get more stringent. Regulatory authorities have the authority to close down businesses if they discover a willful breach of the requirements for the security of personal and company data. This tendency has long been prevalent in the financial and healthcare industries, but with the most recent regulatory revisions, it has become even more critical for all businesses.

Data security was once solely the responsibility of engineers in the security operation center, but in most situations, significant data leaks are caused by humans. Everyone who works on the product must understand how a company might be hacked or data lost. Companies are beginning to exert control over partner relationships and data flow within apps. All of this adds to the workload of technical product owners.

Product owners must understand software product development trends , how data circulates in the app, and how to safeguard the information it contains**. Businesses are realizing that access control should be incorporated early in the product development life cycle**. In addition, a policy list must be developed. They must address disaster and risk reduction, password management, production data access, and the issue escalation procedure. There must be someone in charge of overseeing policy implementation.

Another step that is becoming more natural for businesses is approved penetration testing prior to the release of apps into the real world. This phase assists businesses in reducing the possibility of data leaks and identifying security gaps. The second phase, which is done on a regular basis, is security awareness training for all corporate employees (including the outsourced ones).

Summarizing: Companies are beginning to invest in safety and security awareness. Regulators are chasing them and compelling them to comply with the obligation. Otherwise, firms risk losing their license, receiving a large fine, or even being dissolved.

#5 Execution and technical background for the critical product roles

Previously, one of the primary employment qualifications for the management role was three or more years of expertise in the specialization. However, time invested in one area does not imply that the individual can make your product a success. Businesses are starting to realize that the most critical factors are CEO experience and knowledge of how digital goods are generated. You can study everything about a new field in two months, but you can’t train someone to be an executor in that time. Otherwise, it will be a perpetual process of hand-holding. It is critical for the CPO, product owners, and project, product, and delivery managers in particular.

Some programming languages may not be essential, but it is critical to understand the fundamentals of computer science. Technical expertise may provide you with a thorough grasp of how your product’s features will be executed, which is vital not just for product management jobs but also for designers to follow mobile design rules. This method improves communication with software programmers and allows for the delivery of next-generation product experiences. This is especially true for technology-related items.

Summarizing: The existence of a visionary for your product is an important component of your company’s strategy since it provides consistency and easy product deployment. Typically, the CEO and business owners take on this job, but firms are now looking for executors with technical backgrounds who are ready to make judgments. Although the expense of such a position is higher, corporations are ready to pay for it.

Final Thoughts

All these latest trends in product development are the most noticeable if you start to think about them. Broadly speaking, the boundaries of digital products have been changed and the vision of the product owning position has been improved. Strategic thinking, can-do attitude, and tech background have become the most essential requirements for the agile product owners of digital assets. Companies are changing their perception of the outsourcing process and recognize the advantages that they can get from it.

When you think about it, all of the latest trends in product development are the most obvious. In general, the limits of digital products have shifted, and the vision of the product’s ownership position has improved. Strategic thinking, a can-do attitude, and a technical background have become the most important qualities for agile digital asset product owners. Companies are shifting their perceptions of the outsourcing process and recognizing the benefits it may provide.

We anticipate that one more extra-trend will take a second breath in the next few years. We’re talking about digital twins, which are digital representations of genuine things that allow corporations to readily update and test them without the need for physical prototypes. It aids in the understanding, prediction, and optimization of performance in order to get better business results. A data model is a collection of analytics or algorithms, and knowledge comprises digital twins. They are now employed mostly by major corporations and exclusively for the simulation of actual items, but this method is becoming more accessible to smaller firms every year.

More and more businesses are seeing the true benefits of it, especially when combined with Data Science, ML, AI, and IoT to drastically improve their goods and operations.

Meanwhile, if you have any questions regarding hiring an outsourced product development team or good product owner skills, you are welcome to contact our team for more information!