A few weeks ago we introduced the 6 steps in the Lean App Development process. Now we want to dive deeper into each of those steps. The first one being the Project Idea.
Why “project idea”? It allows our clients to get to know us before paying for the Discovery step. In a sense it’s an interview process so they can vet us and we can vet them.
The goal of the project idea is to review the need for the app. What problem is being solved? What pain point(s) are being addressed? Who will be using the website/app and what are their high level requirements? At the end of the project idea phase the client will be expected to pay a deposit to continue onto the next step: Discovery.
The 4 steps required in project planning are:
- Initial Contact
- Idea Questionnaire
- Idea Report
- Idea Sign-off
1 Initial Contact
This is the information sharing meeting, preferably done face to face or over video conferencing and the goal is to communicate the lean app development process and how we do Biznas. After that, we work to understand the problem, target market, and potential solution ideas from the potential client.
2 Idea Questionnaire
Developed over the past year, we’ve identified key questions to ask potential clients to understand the project. All of these questions originated from the lean startup movement and focus on the following topics:
- Problem statement — What are you trying to solve?
- Target users — Who are the stakeholder(s) involved?
- User value props — What do the stakeholder(s) care about?
- Goal of project — At the end of the day, what will define the project success?
- Competitors — What does the competitive landscape look like?
- Proposed features — What are the high level features required and nice to have? i.e. payments, messaging, scheduling.
The idea questionnaire allows the client to thoughtfully describe their idea in the simplest way, enabling us to then translate their replies into a basic high level tech document. We do this to ensure alignment of all stakeholders, and to give our clients a better understanding of the ballpark price and develop confidence in our ability to deliver on their goals.
3 Idea Report
The idea report is a document that includes:
- 1 page summary of business idea
- Requirements list for app
- Best guess on project scope, cost, timeline
- How we do Biznas
- Overview of the lean app development process
This report guides the next steps of the process, Discovery, and also aligns everyone involved with the planning of the project so that we ensure everyone is moving in the same direction.
4 Idea sign-off
Idea sign-off is the final step in the Project Idea phase. This is a meeting to review the report and sign-off to begin the Discovery process. Changes can occur in the Discovery process, this is simply to get the high level figured out.
The Project Idea phase allows Biznas to be set up for success. Before a single line of code is written, or a cheque deposited, it ensures that the Biznas team and the client are on the same page: what’s needed, how long it’s going to take, and how much it will cost. Although there is still room for changes in the next phases of the process, it helps prevent any unexpected risks. Which, as we’ve mentioned previously, is something very important for enterprise level companies. And to building a successful Biznas.
