5 Misconceptions about building digital products
Building great digital products is not an easy feat for anyone, really. But we often see the same kind of prejudice or misconceptions pop up. Here are our responses to them, based on our own experience.
1. More Features results in a better product
People often assume a digital product needs to have a ton of features in order for the product to become valuable. Regardless of what you are building, the purpose of your product is to satisfy a need of your target audience. This is what dictates your initial scope, and is a key consideration to take into account when you are measuring success.
2. More Developers Means Faster Development
The additional overheard that comes with enlarging product teams is something that’s often underestimated. Brook’s Law states that an incremental person added to a project will actually increase the lead time instead of decrease it, so the smallest possible cross-functional product team is the way to go.
3. Projects Tend To Go Over Budget and Time
A common issue with long-winded roadmaps is oversight; nobody can factor in all the possible hiccups. An advantage of developing in short cycles, is the predictability in terms of insight. You don’t know what the product will look like in 2 years, instead you’ve invested to learn what you wanted to know per iteration.
4. Building The Product Right Makes It Better
People sometimes forget that customers don’t care about anything that happens behind the scenes of your product. Companies may get spooked when you tell them you’re running everything off an Airtable. You should worry about massive back end migrations only when you know for sure the product is viable, and valuable to your end users.
5. Product Development Is Always Expensive
Nobody likes having to drop a ton of cash on a massive project to then just hope for the best. Consider metered funding for your next project, instead of a single lump sum, allocate funds in phases, based on achieved goals or milestones, because it makes a lot more sense to pay for a solution rather than an idea.
