Product audit

What does a product audit involve?

A product audit is an analysis aimed at an objective assessment of an existing product — without assuming in advance that something needs to change, and without a predefined project scope. It’s an outside perspective on the product: through the lens of the market, the user, the technology, and current design standards for the category.

It’s the right move when a company senses something’s off with a product — sales are dropping, ergonomics complaints are coming in, the product no longer looks convincing next to the competition — but there’s no clear picture of where the problem actually lies. An audit turns that uncertainty into concrete knowledge. It shows what’s working and worth keeping, what needs adjusting and how much, and what’s holding the product back from further market growth.

What does a GRID product audit look like?

We run a detailed analysis of the product across design, functionality, and production:

• Design assessment — analyzing the product’s outer form: shape, proportions, colors, and surface finish, measured against current design trends and category standards.
• Functional and ergonomic analysis — evaluating usability: how the product is operated, how it interacts with the user, its ergonomics, and how intuitive it is.
• Technology and materials assessment — analyzing the materials and production methods used, for both cost and quality optimization.
• Market and competitive analysis — mapping the product’s market environment: its position against competitors, fit with the target audience, and how current its design is within the category.
• Report with recommendations — a written summary covering the product’s current state, the areas identified for change, and concrete recommendations for next steps.

Where relevant, we also factor in brand identity and how the product is positioned against competitors.

The audit results in a written report covering the product’s current condition, detailed guidelines, and a list of recommendations pointing to what needs to change, which direction to take, and what solutions are available. The report is a ready-made foundation for the design decisions that follow.

The audit result — a source of business intelligence

A product audit report is something a company can put to use in several ways, whatever decision follows.

An audit brings everything you know about a product into one place. Companies that have been on the market for years often have scattered input — from service teams, sales reps, customers — but rarely a structured, complete assessment of the product from a design and market perspective. An audit provides exactly that.

A report with recommendations helps plan the scope and budget of any modernization project more accurately. Instead of deciding on a product redesign based on intuition or scattered signals, a company knows exactly which elements need to change and how urgent each one is. That reduces the risk of unnecessary revisions mid-project and has a direct impact on cost.

For sales and marketing teams, a product audit can also serve as an argument in internal discussions — an objective, outside assessment that supports the case for investing in a redesign. For leadership, it’s a foundation for making an informed decision about the product’s direction, based on facts rather than the team’s assumptions.

When should you run a product audit?

A product audit is the right step in several situations:

• The product has been on the market for a few years, and customers, service teams, or sales are signaling that something needs improvement — without a clear picture of what, or how much.
• The company is planning a redesign or design update and needs a reliable starting-point assessment before the project begins.
• A change in production technology or supplier opens the door to redesigning the product, and it’s worth knowing what to improve while you’re at it.
• Competitors have pulled ahead visually on a product that looked fine just a few years ago, and the company wants to know exactly where — and by how much — it’s falling behind current category standards.
• A brand rebrand means the product’s current form no longer fits the new visual identity, and an objective outside assessment is needed before deciding on the scope of changes.
• The company is considering entering a new market or price segment and wants to check whether the product, in its current form, meets the demands of that new competitive landscape.

An audit can also be commissioned as a standalone service, independent of any further design plans. The results stay relevant and can serve as a starting point for a project at any time.

See our work