Increments of products and services in the process

Every product and service has to be created in some way. Creating products and services is not random. It has its own predetermined process.

In the process, products and services are created gradually. They take different forms along the way. We can compare it to metamorphosis in biology.

In the beginning, from simple to gradually more complex forms, a final product and service are created that is delivered to the customer.

In the process, conversions happen. These are incremental changes that, for example, from raw materials, intermediate goods, information, etc. from stage to stage, slowly create the final product.

In the above illustration, which is used as a comparison to show the development of a butterfly, the increments would be 1 to 6. In reality, the emergence of butterflies is continuous. We have selected and presented only 6 key stages.

This is often the case with product increments. It is necessary to recognize which phase is best considered as an increment.

Note - In the further text, we will refer to products and services in one word - products.

TaskPack / Product Increment / Process

Each TaskPack should give us as its result a new product increment.

This means that in a process made up of chained TaskPacks, we have as many product increments as there are TaskPacks in it.

Types of product increments

It is not always obvious when a new product increment is created. We must know its types and forms to recognize a new product increment easily.

1. Tangible and intangible increments

Increments do not always appear as physical objects. For example, they are often in the form of information.

• Intangible final increments.

  The final increment (end product) may be intangible. This is common for many types of services.

• Intangible increments during production.

  During the production of a product or service, an increment that is not physical but in the form of information or intention always appears at some stage.

Therefore, information can be an increment of products and services. Information (whether digital or "paper" documents or even just verbal, etc.) is an integral part of the process and we treat it as such. They are not an independent, separate process line (as indicated by certain methodologies).

2. Abstract and concretized increments

Abstract increments

When we recognize the customer and user:

• Need
• Desire

We treat them as the first pre-increment. We do this even if at that moment they don't have a specific product or service in mind.

For example, "I really want to eat something sweet".

At this point, we should recognize the increment of our product and service. Without this very "early" increment, production of the final product and service would never have started.

Concretized increments

Then, the customer and user may (or may not) get an idea of the specific type of product and service. We treat it as a concretized increment. It can be:

• Generic.

  When the user or customer gets a more accurate idea of his needs and desires, it is concretized into a generic product. It looks e.g. like this: "I would like some ice cream".

• Branded.

  Seconds later, the increment can be concretized a degree higher to a branded product that exists on the market. E.g. "Where can I buy Frubis chocolate ice cream?".

3. Increments in manufacturing and service production

The difference between a manufacturing and a service business is immediately clear to us intuitively because we usually focus on the final increment: goods or services. However, it doesn't always have to be that way.

It is much more useful to view the products of a business as tangible and intangible. This was presented above at the beginning of this document.

In manufacturing businesses, we always have tangible and intangible final products.

If we buy a product that is clearly tangible, such as a car, we will get some services along with it. For example, purchase in installments, warranty, roadside assistance, replacement vehicle, insurance, free first service...

In service businesses, we often have tangible and intangible final products.

In the purchased service, there are often tangible increments in different proportions. For e.g. restaurants and cafes deliver meals and drinks, and repair services usually include various spare parts, while telecommunication services include mobile phones, health services include medicines, etc.

On the other hand, there are end-service products that are purely intangible, such as banking and insurance, education, software, legal services, bookkeeping, and transport...

Increments in manufacturing production

• Tangible. (conversion of materials, sub-assemblies, some processing preparations, etc.)
• Intangible. (information in the purchase order, invoice, market research, etc.)

In the stages of the creation of the final tangible product, increments in individual stages have an intangible form.

For example, each purchase order for raw materials and other materials that are needed to make the final product represents an intangible increment on the way to the final product.

An intangible increment is e.g. ordering the increment transport or the final product itself.

Also, e.g. when compiling an offer, presentation, or in marketing, any mention of the final product or media in which the final product can be presented is considered an intangible increment. And the invoice of the final product itself represents an increment of the final product.

We need to be open-minded in understanding all the tangible and intangible forms that increments can take.

Increments in service production

When we talk about process mapping in service (intangible) activities, we should keep the following in mind:

• In service production, the intangible final increment is created and delivered simultaneously.
• The TaskPacks themselves in the process are considered service increments since there is no tangible result.

Depending on the type of business, the intangible final increment may or may not be associated with a tangible increment (eg restaurant business).

4. Final and additional increments

Final increments

These increments are at the last stage of manufacturing or service production. It is a tangible product produced and/or an intangible service provided.

Additional increments

Additional increments are those increments that join (usually) the main increment and are delivered together. They can be both tangible and intangible in all combinations.

These increments are very common.

From the point of view of marketing, additional increments can be divided into:

Complementary

These are additional increments that together with the main increment form an inseparable whole. They are an integral part of the user increment. Without them, the main final increment cannot be delivered or used. (E.g. assembly, delivery to the address, training, food, drink...)

Secondary

Secondary increments are not necessary. They are usually used in a competitive fight such as e.g. promo products or used to challenge and highlight even greater customer and user satisfaction.

5. User Increments

This is officially the final product and service increment. From the customer's and user's point of view, this is the most important – user increment. These are the previously mentioned final and additional increments available to the user.

A number of other increments may appear between the final and additional increments and the user increments. For example, we understand final and additional increments as a product (for example, goods in the warehouse). In order to make it available to the user, usually some intangible or tangible increments have to be added. The same may apply to some services (for example, credit card activation.)

6. Post increments

Successful business people don't stop with tracking and controlling increments when they deliver them to the customer and user. Care and responsibility do not end there.

By using and consuming products and services, further metamorphoses occur that leave a mark behind. Depending on that, the user is more or less satisfied. (For example: How do we feel after receiving medical care? Are we better now? Or - did we like our lunch or not? Or - did our car break down again? Did we survey customers or users about the product and service?)

Post increments are usually combined with pre-planned additional increments.