Choosing right functionality for product

Many a times, companies struggle to put a set of functionality or features that would allow the product to sell and make money. Usually the challenge is more when a new software product is launched since besides market study there is no other feedback available from customers.

Let us the take example of a mobile app which looks at nearby services and allows customers to navigate to the closest. Initially, it is good to be critical to ask ourselves why would eventually people pay money to use this app.  If we are unable to get a good answer may be this not something we should invest in the first place.

For enterprise product the question is even tougher since the investment levels are higher than building consumer software and the barrier to entry is much higher.

Let's assume we find a good reason on how the product could break even and eventually make money. Then it comes to looking at MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that gives agility and creates a value.  Here are some ways to look at prioritization the first set of requirements.

For the first release if we focus on creating few core functionality, put a couple of niches and creative features and allow customer to provide feedback that would be a good start. Especially on consumer software allowing customers to provide feedback and suggestions is a great way to build the roadmap. Listening is important and can be the best mechanism to connect to customers. Repeating what everyone else is doing does not help unless you have deep pockets, finding few differentiated features and niche are important to create customer excitement.  On consumer application, it also becomes important to be able to capture user data and do analytics to understand usage patterns to plan next release.  I am assuming usability and simplicity as are given to anybody to succeed in the market as a starter.

Although we use the word ‘common sense’ a lot, but truly speaking it's not that common, so finding the right people that can think out of the box and are not afraid to speak out and get challenged by others is not very common.

I like to dwell more on creating competitive edge with something new and nice. The question often comes is how to come up with something like that easily. Ideas do come if we look into improving information flow in the software, creating a feature that can generate new demand and needs. If you take a app that does find restaurants in the vicinity, one differentiating feature could be in the app to look at office calendar, location, pulse rate and other parameters and suggest me restaurant during lunch or dinner based on several factors like human brain thinks.  Such ideas are more around using information from other related systems and increasing the value you can provide to the customer. Today having automation and intelligence in software and devices is the way forward.

Part of the getting the right features out is also engaging the team members to think creatively and ask the questions why will someone pay for this functionality.  If everyone starts thinking critically assuming its their own money, lot of creativity can come in. Collective creativity and lack of organizational boundaries, is what a startup like environment gives which often the larger companies miss it, although they have much deeper pockets.

Once I was working in a company in the US, where the business Head would say, the competitor have deeper pockets so we cannot succeed. I disagree with that, it was perhaps true in commodity business where we talk about volume sales and mass production houses. However, for creative and knowledge industry without having a lot of money, it's possible to pick right functionality and succeed. Being honest about each and every functionality that R&D spends bandwidth is needed. Doing stuff just to make a few people happy does not create a good product, being critical about the choices made is important.

Doing some level of market study and looking at analyst report is a good thing, but nothing defies common sense! . Although we use the word ‘common sense’ a lot, but truly speaking it's not that common, so finding the right people that can think out of the box and are not afraid to speak out and get challenged by others is not very common.

Often just having good programmers does not build good products, but it’s answering the ‘what and why's’ that’s more important. Having a vision and long term thinking is important steps to align priorities and lead the way. Getting too greedy and arrogant could be a side effect of initial success if we are not thinking strategically.  End of the day, it’s the progressive value that makes a difference in the market place.