If there’s one thing our work with funded startups has taught us, it’s that product teams have a lot of challenges to overcome as they bring big ideas to life. These tried and tested product development approaches help in navigating the most common obstacles involved in going to market with a new product or service.
We’ve seen many truly inspired ideas in our work with established startups and their product teams. Some of those ideas have even come to life and hit the mark with their target audiences. But a lot of them haven’t.
The reality is, it takes more than deep subject expertise or a compelling vision to take a concept and turn it into a genuinely relevant and useful product or service idea. If you want your idea to go big, you need more than a vision – you need a product development strategy and framework for execution.
To help you hit the right mark with your startup's new product or service, here’s a look at where many teams struggle, and four product development approaches that can help them to address these struggles successfully.
QUESTION EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR TARGET MARKET
Many startups begin building out their ideas based on assumptions about their audience needs. Sometimes that’s because founders or product managers are among the user group they’re targeting – and we’ve worked with many clients where this is indeed the case. As specialists in their industry, they assume innate knowledge of their users and forge ahead on product or service development without testing or validating their assumptions – or without documenting their insights for the team to leverage during the design process.
To build products and services that resonate, product teams need information on their target audiences’ attributes and pain points, the context in which they’ll use the product and the key benefits that are most important to them. Starting the product development process without this kind of detail is risky, and can result in decisions made based on assumptions rather than evidence
We often suggest our clients conduct a research study using a jobs-to-be-done approach, in which we capture user needs in a contextual way. This allows us to hone-in on the core elements the target markets need and expect, and how they feel about them.
Now you might be thinking: this sounds like it will delay our timeline. But it really doesn’t have to. You can use research that already exists in the marketplace to get a sense of your audience segmentation, and then iterate on it as you progress. The key is to ensure you test your assumptions, because not everyone in your target market will necessarily think or behave the way you might expect them to.
GET ALIGNED ON YOUR PRODUCT STRATEGY PRIORITIES
Your original grand vision may not be exactly like the product or service that initially gets built and launched. Successful startups often go to market with a pared down version of their concept that they can test in the market and build on.
But product teams still need a bridge between the founder’s initial vision and the product they’ll be building out over the long term so that everyone is aligned on the product development needs and trajectory. That’s where a product strategy becomes essential.
Your product strategy should connect the product vision to the work that needs to happen to achieve it. Think of it as a blueprint or a roadmap that guides the way for anyone involved in building the product – at various stages along the way. A strong product strategy clearly defines the problems to be solved (see the tip above) and priorities for the team. In an agile environment, it will shape the backlog and serve as a foundational element for aligning team members and other partners in launching your product.
Many times we’ve seen teams come to us with an underdeveloped product strategy that focuses on market size and timelines for launching features. These types of plans leave a lot of unanswered questions. A successful product strategy outlines the business model, the core audience research and insights, as well as the end-to-end development plan – all with an eye to driving business value and product success at launch and over time.
TEST AND LEARN FROM DESIGN CONCEPTS
If speed to market is important, your team may be intent on jumping straight into design. If that’s the case, consider creating design concepts that can be used for evaluative testing. Then you can use the inputs and recommendations to inform the direction for further iterations.
This is a great approach for product startups that have a designer but might not be ready to invest in full-scale user research. Establishing a regular cadence of user testing allows them to test features and benchmark user experience as they go. But keep in mind that while users may tolerate a few bugs in your product’s very early days, the first impression you make may stick. The fact is, user expectations are set by the products and services they use every day – and the bar is high.
If your beta product has too many bugs, or makes it too difficult for users to accomplish what they need to, they may not stick around for the next iteration.
ESTABLISH EFFECTIVE WAYS OF WORKING TOGETHER
Hiring the right team to work on big ideas can be a challenge, but getting them working together effectively is a whole different ball game. With new and fast-growing teams, it's essential to have clear ground rules about how they’ll work together, what tools they’ll use to collaborate, what expectations for delivery they’ll need to meet, and how often they’ll check in. That will help them get their jobs done smoothly as the development process progresses.
In our experience, it’s very common to see software developers and product managers that have very little experience working with researchers and designers, especially in fields such as science and engineering. They may even expect designers to simply crank out wireframes or beautify prototypes. That not only undermines the value of holistic design-thinking practices, it also overlooks the necessity of the design process, which involves understanding the business model and drivers, technical constraints and user needs and expectations.
Getting aligned in the initial stages of product development will help to clarify roles and responsibilities, and intended ways of working together, so that everyone is clear on expectations. When we work with clients, we often suggest (and facilitate) workshops that bring the team together to craft the core value proposition and brand values. This brings cohesion and a common vision to a new team and provides clarity around the value the product will need to deliver.
Ultimately, getting a product or service ready for a successful launch is a holistic process – it has to be strategic, collaborative and as much about design as it is about development. At Spatial we’ve learned that integrating these design thinking practices into the product strategy really is the best way to solve the kinds of complex problems that launching a new offering entails. And investing upfront in getting the right product or service launched to the right market means you won’t likely find yourself back at the drawing board… and you’ll have a solid foundation to build value on.
Interested in exploring how you can optimize your startup’s product development process? We’d be delighted to talk. Get in touch today
