Product Development: Before and Now
It’s been 13+ years since I started my first product development. At that time, it was a client project and I was a project manager. After that, I have been part of numerous products’ life-cycle for various clients, mostly startups. Most of them have failed and some of them are successful.
Just like any other business, to remain in the game, we had to constantly evolve and change our product development methodologies. These changes were triggered either by different founders we have worked with, different geographies we worked in, different cultures and by our own maturity.
We have also evolved our positioning over the period of time even though fundamentals have remained same. Initially, we were simply an outsourcing company developing products based on clients’ requirements.
Now we introduce ourselves like following…
Digicorp helps startups build usable software products. We also build products for ourselves and spin off ventures around the most promising ones.
Along with our positioning, we have evolved our product development process.
How do we see product development?
Before
Get thorough the requirements in a single document from founders / product owners. Divide it in logical modules, have discussions, make it complete as much as possible and start development.
Now
We see it as a continuous quest of understanding and answering the below questions in better way.
- What problem are we solving?
- Which users are we solving it for?
- How are we going to measure it?
These are the questions summarised by Michael Sippey on this podcast by PostLight.
What problem are we solving?
Before
- We were solving the problem of delivering functional product on time.
- Understand complete functionality in a thorough manner.
- Ensured no gaps in understanding requirement to reduce future rework.
Now
- Understand the actual problem. It may not be same as what founder says or even end user perceives. To explain it better, refer XY Problem.
- Have a Lean Canvas around the idea and answer on “Does it make sense to build business around this?”
Which users are we solving it for?
Before
- Our main users were our client, who gave us requirements.
Now
- Understand the end-user and her psyche for whom we are solving the problem.
- Design solution keeping the problem and user in mind.
- Develop solution and test it keeping user and problem in mind.
- Consult Product Owner to get initial set of users and further continuous traction.
How are we going to measure it?
Before
- Deliver fully functional and bug-free product.
- Keep delivering features at required time and close the project.
- In case requirement changes follow change management process.
- In case of any delays in schedule it should be conveyed well in advance.
Now
- Deliver at regular short intervals (2 to 4 weeks) and validate it with users.
- Work closely with user and learn how the product is solving their problem.
- Work on user feedback first and then take up new things. The feedback may ask us to redo whole thing or pivot the product.
Continuously thinking about problem, users and validation made us better at our craft.
How have you evolved your product development?
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Click the Link Below to Read the Original Post on Digicorp Blog.
