Plan product development and launch

Choose where to start

Use Product Development to develop an idea and keep its brief, formulas, samples and packaging together. Use Product OS to connect the records and evidence needed for a product's launch. They serve different parts of the same work; a saved formula alone does not mean a product is ready to manufacture or launch.

Available tools depend on your plan and role. Use your assigned workspace so your team can find the right records.

Start a development brief

1. Open Product Development and choose Start a brief.
2. Enter a Product or project name, choose the workspace when one is available, and select the Starting stage.
3. Under What are you making?, describe the intended product, audience and performance goals.
4. Choose Create product brief and open the saved project.

Existing projects appear above the new-brief form. The compact development path shows Brief, Formula, Samples, Packaging and Launch. Its counts summarize the records available to you; they do not certify product readiness.

Keep research near formulation decisions

Record the product direction and research notes in the project. Link the working formula as the formulation develops. For a proposed ingredient, retain the information you have and identify what is still missing, such as its confirmed identity, supplier specifications, recommended use level and processing instructions.

Open Suppliers for sourcing records and Raw Materials for the materials your formulas use. Attach the applicable supplier information to the relevant records instead of treating a directory listing as approval to use an ingredient.

Compare revisions and costs

Save a new formula version when a revision should remain in its history. Use Compare Versions from the formula workspace to compare two saved revisions. Review ingredient percentages, additions, removals and the recorded cost differences.

A change in calculated cost can reflect recorded prices or quantities. It does not establish better performance, ingredient suitability or a validated manufacturing process. Keep the reason for each revision and the questions the chemist still needs to evaluate with the work.

Record samples and testing

Connect development samples, record observations and add the applicable stability or other testing work. Keep the sample's formula version clear so results can be interpreted against the composition that was actually tested.

Use Ask Formuley, when available, to help review notes and prepare follow-up questions. Check the answer against the underlying records and supplier evidence before making a formulation or release decision.

Continue into Product OS

Open Product OS and create or open the product's launch file. Connect the relevant development, formula, materials, packaging, claims, testing, compliance, label and batch records as the work becomes available.

Review the current requirements and outstanding evidence before continuing to a manufacturing handoff or launch. A draft handoff remains a draft until the appropriate people review it. Private manufacturing tools are an optional package and are shown only where enabled and authorized.

Next guides

• Create your first formula
• Reports and audit exports
• Compliance, INCI and label release
• Product Development help