Product Management

Tear the Product Down or Rebuild on the Fly?

Evaluating two approaches to overhaul a product by comparing the New York City subway system and the London Underground network

Product management is all about delivering value. Sometimes, products and processes already exist that provide users with sufficient value. But over time, systems and services can lose value, as critical gaps in value become exposed. For a product that has been adopted but suffers from core issues, there are numerous ways to address the situation. Ideally, the problems are localized enough to allow for new features and bug fixes to address the symptoms. However, on occasion there are systemic product issues that require the whole thing to be rebuilt. When you reach this challenging scenario as a product manager, you must decide whether to tear it all down or rebuild it on the fly.

Before you start evaluating options for radical change to your product(s), you must determine when you have reached the point of no return. While most products suffer from some limitations or flaws, most probably don’t require a full reboot of the product. If your product already has solid adoption rates, it is always risky to tinker with the recipe. Moreover, it might seem appealing to be able to redo the development using lessons from the existing product, but this may not be the best use of your resources. It’s also possible that the reason your product may appear…