Deciding on your next feature

How to decide what to build next

When we launch something, we only ship the bare necessities. We don’t build out a whole spanking, mind blowing feature set. We don’t build a shiny, ego-bloating load of a shit we assume our users are going to absolutely LOVE!

We only ship the bare necessities.

Choosing your next feature

Alright, we’ve shipped our product. We’ve got 1, 1000, or any number in between of users. We’ve got passion. We’ve got drive. And, we’ve got a shit load of coffee.

So what do we build? That shiny new thing-a-mabob or that brilliant little whoo-ha? No. You don’t build that shiny new thing-a-mabob or that brilliant little whoo-ha.

You build what would make your users, whether 1 or 1000, happier.

You build what would make your users’, whether 1 or 1000, lives easier.

You build what would make your users’, whether 1 or 1000, experience better.

To do that, you have to know what would make them happier, what would make their lives easier, and what would better their experience.

Question and listen to your users

When I launched Squash Tomato, I sent it to my grandma, mom, friends, and anyone I had a 1-on-1 connection with on Twitter and Instagram. I’ve regularly kept up with those individuals on how they’ve used it, how they’ve been frustrated with it, how well it’s solved their grocery shopping problems, and what problems they’re still experiencing while shopping.

Their answers have determined my next feature — an ability to collaborate on a grocery list for their family.

So, go out, talk to your users by asking them questions and letting them speak. Let them ramble. Let them go on and on. Hell, I find rambling so annoying and I avoid people who do so, but you won’t find your answers in their initial response, because there’s a good chance they may not know the answer YET; however, if you let them keep talking and mulling it over, they’ll come to it and it’ll be like gold to you.

Go build some shit.