Hills and Mountains: The Tale of Iterative Product Development

A core tenant of agile development is moving in quick, successive iterations.

Iterative product development saves time, solves businesses problems, and empowers your teams to pivot and adjust based on feedback whether it be from data, users, or dollars. Central to this philosophy is starting with the right technology and design foundations that allow you to start simple and quickly develop new features and functionality over time.

At Tragic, we focus on iterative product development for our clients as well as our own projects (website, blog, internal applications, and future products).

In fact, when we learned about Blackout Tuesday we were able to update our website to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement in under half a day, from conception to release.

Previously we were able to add new landing pages, which increased our SEO footprint around technologies that we build and the industries we serve. Those pages were added without having to redevelop or redesign any portion of our existing website. The pages also leveraged existing design and development frameworks which cut the release time in half.

Building an Iterative Culture

For the most success, we recommend building an iterative approach at the core of your company culture. This is the best approach when it comes to most things marketing and technology - and essential when building a product. You should test the waters before you go all-in, because it is easier to pivot than to recover from a huge mistake.

Increasingly, all companies are utilizing this philosophy as more business operations are data-driven and supported by digital technology. Whether your product is internal software, a SaaS product, or simply your website, you should build iterative culture into your teams.

Software Changes Rapidly

It can be tempting to spend a large sum of money today, thinking that you are getting the absolute best results. Or that your investment is done and you can "set it and forget it."

But week by week, new data will be uncovered, best practices will evolve, new tools will become available, and better solutions will emerge. If you do not continuously invest in the evolution of your software you will soon find yourself falling behind.

There is a type of 'natural' tech debt that occurs with all things digital, from software to products. Can you imagine trying to navigate the modern web with an early generation iPhone? Painful.

Moreover, even if your software does not change, your users will. There will be new devices and new use cases - as we all learned first-hand with COVID-19. People will request new features and demand that you keep up with the latest web browsers, hardware enhancements, and newest iOS or Android versions.

And this is why building an iterative approach to your digital growth is so imperative.

Evolution Happens in Hills and Mountains

Iteration does not necessarily mean a steady stream of constant updates. Iterations could be released weekly or only a few times a year, depending on your product, industry, and goals.

Every software release cycle is a constant movement upward for the product. But that upward climb happens at different speeds.

The initial mountain to overcome is generally termed your MVP, or minimum viable product. You can't iterate from nothing, you need a strong foundation from which to grow.

Once you have your base in place, most of the next phases of growth are a slow climb uphill at a steady pace. During these times you release new features, adapt based on data and feedback, and grow your product.

But inevitable mountains remain on the horizon. As your product grows, you will encounter steeper climbs that require much more effort to be invested in your releases.

Learn more about the factors that cause bigger mountains, as well as how to establish a solid foundation for a more gradual climb by continuing the article on our blog.