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Develop successful digital products and bring them to market – as quickly as possible, thank you very much! Something along these lines could be the inofficial mission of many digital units that are currently being established across all industries as innovation incubators for existing businesses. No company can afford to be left behind by the competition. So what better plan than to become an innovation leader of the own industry? But how can product development of digital units keep up with this rapid pace?
The Build-Measure-Learn principle is a continuous process used in the development of digital products. It involves three steps:
In Step 1 (Build), the team can develop a simple prototype at the start of the project. A prototype can be built faster and cheaper than a fully functional product and allows the team to gather feedback from users early on. This allows them to incorporate it directly into further product development. After prototyping, a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) can be developed first, which contains the basic features that make it a minimum version of what would already sell.
The Build-Measure-Learn principle developed by Eric Ries is closely associated with the Lean Startup movement. He explained that startups are more successful when they test ideas at a very early stage of product development, before too much time and money is invested in developing a full-blown product that in the end does not provide enough added value for the user.
However, the principle is no longer only relevant for startups. It has now established itself as a proven method for product development in companies of all sizes. By focusing on user feedback and continuously learning from user behaviour, companies can ensure that their products meet customer needs and are continuously improved.
By applying the build-measure-learn principle, digital units can increase the speed of development of their products and speed up the process from initial idea to market launch significantly. Continuous measurement and learning from user behaviour allows for constant improvement of the product and ensures a better overall user experience. By identifying problems early on, and then adapting the product quickly, costly mistakes can be avoided. This ultimately leads to a cost-efficient, lower-risk development process.
The development of data-based business models is an important step in leading the printing and packaging industry into the digital future – a mission that Koenig & Bauer’s Digital Unit has derived from the company’s “Exceeding Print” strategy. In the future, a new product called Koenig & Bauer Analytics will combine production data from multiple sources in a single interface and enable users to create complex analyses in the simplest possible way – a helpful tool for unlocking hidden potential for improvement in print and packaging production.
Koenig & Bauer is realising their new Analytics product according to the Build-Measure-Learn principle. Based on assumptions and customer needs, a simple click dummy was first created that already showed the future design appearance and allowed the user to click through the interface – in that phase without real-life production data. This simple prototype was discussed with test customers. Based on the feedback, the first functional version of the product has been created, which will soon be made available to the first hand-picked customers for testing. The market launch for Koenig & Bauer Analytics is planned for later this year.
“By consistently applying the Build Measure Learn Cycle, we were able to test our prototype with our customers and know exactly what we need to implement in the MVP. We therefore didn’t have to base our decision on assumptions and could go into implementation with common objectives. This saved us lots of discussions and probably also expensive changes in the product later on.” (Alexander Stern, Product Owner)
With PrintFusion, the interface between Koenig & Bauer Rapida presses and the prepress software from HYBRID Software, your workflow becomes even more efficient. PrintFusion enables a bidirectional exchange of information that ensures seamless integration and automation of production processes. Thanks to the jointly developed PrintFusion interface, data such as setting parameters and positions of measuring elements are automatically exchanged between prepress and the printing presses. The automated data exchange leads to significant increases in efficiency and error prevention, as manual intervention and repetitive tasks are eliminated.
For the development of PrintFusion, HYBRID Software and Koenig & Bauer have combined their expertise to create a highly automated and efficient production environment that meets the requirements of the modern printing industry. This collaboration will continue on an ongoing basis in order to constantly optimise the interface and integrate new functions. One example of this is the automatic feedback to compensate for process-related substrate stretching, which is already being introduced as part of a pilot customer programme.
PrintFusion will be presented to the public for the first time at this year’s leading trade fair for printing technologies. Visitors will have the opportunity to gain an exclusive insight into the first results of the close partnership between HYBRID Software and Koenig & Bauer. Through automation and the intelligent exchange of data between prepress and press, PrintFusion will set new standards in print production and pave the way for a sustainable and high-performance future in the printing industry.
With FOLLOW, Koenig & Bauer is building a bridge between analogue packaging and the digital world. Discover the universe of new possibilities that the cloud-based platform and the associated app have in store for printing businesses, brand owners and consumers.
Under the project title “Printing Goes Metaverse”, Koenig & Bauer is building a bridge from classic printing to the metaverse in collaboration with NABA (Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, Milan) and epda (european brand & packaging design association). With the support of Italian design students, a project was realised that uses NFT technology to authenticate luxury goods such as limited edition handbags, jewellery or valuable trading cards. The luxury jewellery brand “Gemme” was created as an exemplary visualisation.
Digital proof of ownership is used instead of conventional paper certificates of authenticity. The forgery-proof blockchain technology is impressively demonstrated using special printing technologies and a digital app. This innovative combination of digital proof of authenticity and the traditional art of printing shows how the printing industry is connecting with the new digital reality of the Metaverse.
An NFT is a blockchain-based token that represents digital or physical assets such as artworks, digital content or media. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, each NFT is unique and non-exchangeable. It serves as a digital certificate of ownership and authenticity and enables owners to trade and sell their assets.
Brands from the luxury goods segment in particular are using NFT technology to enable customers to connect the digital and physical worlds. The main focus here is on the experience of being able to use the purchased product in the digital world. In addition, forgery-proof authentication can be guaranteed by NFT’s unique verifications with a complete history and absolute security.
Using a special printing process, functional structures that react to the touch of smartphone sensors can be applied to almost any printed product, creating a link between the physical product and the digital application. In combination with QR codes, this creates a forgery-proof proof of ownership. Customers receive both an origin-verified, printed NFT-Twin and the physical original.
Innovative cloud and KI technologies are opening up a new chapter in the printing industry and will play a central role at the Koenig & Bauer stand. Find out now which futuristic visions will become reality at drupa from 28 May to 7 June 2024.
