How to K.I.S.S guide or how to build a simple product
“Perfection is achieved when there is nothing left to take away” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
According to a Forbes article, where they have analyzed 156 startups, the main reason for failing is no need on the market, what takes down 42%. 6th reason is about poor products, with 17% fail rate. I believe, that this 2 reasons of failures could be neutralised with one simple idea:
Most important mission of any product is to solve an existing problem in a most simple way.
So here is the question I consider to be very important:
How to build a simple product?
Well…. it is complicated! Simplicity is not easy to achieve.
Why simple is better?
Here is couple reasons I find as a good argument:
- Reason 1: To solve one problem at a time.
People want to buy a result of your product, not a product itself. And the only way to achieve result is to solve a problem.
- Reason 2: To solve the problem, not to create more problems.
Instead of solving my current need it forces me to learn how to use it, what takes time and actually leads me to a zero result.
- Reason 3: To be easy-to-use.
Product should be easy-to-use for all people in your target audience and even more. There should not be a large contrast between those who are very proficient with technology and those who are not.
- Reason 4: To conquer the market.
Why Google beat Yahoo in 1999? Because unlike Yahoo with tons of services, Google has concentrated on a single problem — Search. Solving one problem at a time in a very simple way led them to #1 search engine in the world.
How simple products look like?
- Emoji.
This thing just transformed the way we communicate and is it simple? Yes, yes , yes!
- AK-47
One of the reasons why it was hard for US troopers to fight against the People’s Army of Vietnam was that Vietnamese were using AK-47. Simple construction, easy to clean, works under the water. When US army was using M-16 Assault rifle — a complex piece of weaponry. As a result, most of the M-16 either went broke, either refuses to work under the weather conditions of Vietnam.
- Instagram
In the beginning of times Instagram was not an Instagram, but service called BURBN. Burbn was an app, which let users check in at particular locations, make plans for future check-ins, earn points for hanging out with friends, and post pictures of the meet-ups. Sounds familiar? Basically, FOURSQUARE.
Burbn had every single bit of functionality that Instagram has and more, and yet Instagram is the better product.
This may seem obvious in retrospect, but the idea that a product with less functionality is actually the better product is not a popular idea outside of experienced product designers. Burbn was not very successful. The app was too complicated and had a jumble of features that made it confusing, said Dr. Keith Sawyer (Sawyer is one of the leading scientific experts on creativity and innovation).
How to achieve simplicity?
- #1: Start with learning
Learn the world and learn yourself.
The world:
Imagine, that once you have tried a very delicious baked tomatoes, what is a pretty simple piece of culinary and you have decided to make same great baked tomatoes to your girlfriend.
Question: How you will be able to prepare the same great baked tomatoes, without knowing the taste?
If you want to create a simple product, you need to define what is simple. And the only way is to study the world. In the process of studying you will understand where the complex lies and where is simple. You will define a spectre, like the one we use in Photoshop.
Yourself:
We know everything, we want to argue with people to prove we are right, we know better what our user want!
Unfortunately, it is human nature and only by studying yourself, you will be able to overcome it. If someone is right more than you, just agree with it. If you are right — great! If you are wrong — even better! You will learn something new, you will know one more thing!
Think different, speak simple words, so people will understand you without difficulties, learn how to create simple ideas. Teach yourself, how to agree with the fact, that if you were wrong it is a small victory, and learn how to learn from everything. Only with understanding, that you are not a universe centre you will be able to create something amazing for the world.
Notes:
*Do not categorise things, people, thoughts! Try to understand, that over the border lies a whole new world. And stepping into a new world will make you happier, smarter and more educated.
*Learn from everything. Even small hidden things could learn you how to make a good product. Take UX examples from our daily routine and transfer to a virtual world.
- #2: Go on with complex
As I have mentioned in the beginning — it is complicated to achieve simplicity. Complexity lies within simplicity.
Now, put every good and bad idea you have inside. Make your product complex, then change it, then build the most complicated version of it. Experiment.
On the one hand
It will give that spectre from topic #1, but inside your own product. Instead of trying to guess what you need, to have a good product, you will build a spectre with all the potential outcomes. And only then strategically select the easiest way to achieve your goal.
On the other hand
It could lead you to some unpredicted directions. This way you will understand, whether you are building the right thing, or it could be something very different.
Mentioned approach helps to bring everything on the table and only then choose what you need and what you do not need. Surprisingly, it is very healthy for a product. Only in compare you will be sure, that the ideas you use are the best. Think even of very opposing ways.
If you want to create new sneakers, try to think about what qualities it could take from sponge, or even an aircraft. I’m sure some of these ideas will bring something unexpectedly useful.
Example:
Me and couple more guys are working on a “weekend” project. Marketplace for tours and local activities. Basically, there you will be able to create and host events, tours, activities and you will be able to book them.
8 months ago, when we just started, it was a service, which could do everything. With the ability to request guides like on UBER, create experiences, create blog posts and stories, request tours, availability setup for guides and much more. This is how it looked like.
Notes:
*Iterate your product development. Make tons of prototypes, evaluate, compare, choose best.
- #3: Finish with deconstruction
Now, it is a moment to take your time and considerable think of every detail, because this will be a face of your future product.
After you have created a monster with all the possible features in the world start to deconstruct it. Take everything what do not serve main goal of your problem solving machine out. Basically, it is a modelling contest. If it does not look great, well, sorry, then it is out. Do it unsparingly. Evaluate every feature, and if your product could live without that, then throw it away. Now you have all the pieces to collect your puzzle.
Example:
Remember how it looked like before (example in topic #2). We took out most of features, which was: Ability to choose a guide, ability to request a guide (like on uber), stories, blogposts, places (like on foursquare). Because we knew that our main goal is a simple tool for creating and booking activities. So we left with activities creation and activities search/booking flows.
Notes:
*Do not allow design to win over functionality. You could meet lots of products with AH-mazing design, but zero functionality, and otherwise, there is absolutely functional products with just terrible design, so you even do not want to look at those. Be balanced.
HOW TO CHALLENGE YOUR PRODUCT?
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” — Leonardo da Vinci
- #1: OTHER’S SHOES TEST: works for all types of products
Walk in the shoes of someone who has never experienced a product before. On one of the TED conferences, Tony Fadell (one of the fathers of the iPod) told, that when a new Apple product came out, he would wait in long lines at an Apple store, purchase it like everyone else, unbox it and try to get it working. As an example, he talked about shipping a product with a charged battery. Only a few years ago, it was all-to-common to unwrap a new MP3 player with the glee of Christmas morning, only to find out you had to wait a few hours to charge the device. This is a bad first impression of a product. Now, Apple products come with at least a partially charged battery.
- #2: PARENTS TEST: works only for consumer products
Give a product to your mother, or your friend’s father, explain what it should solve, explain how to use that. When it is done, give them your product and see what happens. If they use it pretty easy, well, you’ve created a really simple product! If they use it with a little help, great, most people will find it easy. But if they don’t understand a hell, even with your tips and guidance, that is not a good sign.
- #3: RANDOM STUDENTS TEST: works only for consumer products
Ask a random student from the street to use your product. Explain him what they should do and watch. No guidance.
If you ask, “Do you have issues buying things from Amazon?”, you will probably hear, “No, it’s very easy to buy things there.” But if you watch a person using it from behind their shoulders, you will see pain points along the way. A lot of problems could be uncovered this way.
Example:
How you think we though people will interact with the main screen of our experiences marketplace?
- We were sure, that it will be UBER simple. Two buttons, what else is unclear?
But the problem was that whenever someone tried to use that without guidance, they tried to scroll, not click, they though it is a news feed.
This is how something really simple, in your opinion, could be very hard for others.
- #4: FINALLY, SLEEP WITH YOUR PROTOTYPE.
Go to Bali, or Lithuania. Leave your “Venus de Milo” to be like that for some period. You need to have a fresh glance at your creation. Sometimes happens, that you feel it is a perfection, but after 3 weeks you understand that it is completely wrong and you need to rebuild. If so, go to step 1 and just repeat, repeat, repeat.
Conclusion
Seems pretty obvious, that it is healthy to make simple products, but yet we see and use lots of very complicated or even unusable products.
My belief is, that simple products could help us not only build successful, great businesses, but also pave the way to a greater future.
Building simple products, that solve problems is a great way to affect our future lives. Think for a second, of Instagram, Uber, European sink and Emoji. For a consumer they all seem to be very easy to use and what is most important, all of these products changed our lives in the past, because they solved problems.
Just imagine the world without a normal sink, or Instagram? Seems huh, easy, but it would be very hard to wash your hands, or we would live without most of the great photographs we have now.
Finalizing, I want to say, that you should not be afraid to make something simple, because simple is your personal and humanity success. Make it simple.
