I recently undertook a project for a German-backed upskilling provider in West Africa, the intention being to explore ways of connecting tech talent in the continent with companies in Europe. The task at hand was to define what to build: understand the user problems, craft the value proposition, and define the core features that might be required for an MVP.
Working on this project got me thinking: could one standardise the process of building compelling products? Was there a ‘loose’ one-size-fits-all strategy to creating something that hasn’t yet achieved product-market fit? I say loose in inverted commas because I am aware that building products is both a science as well as an art, and that context would play a role in any process.
To create a first-iteration recipe, I combed through popular product books such as Well-Designed, Customer Discovery Habits and The Lean Product Playbook, and blended some of the concepts outlined. The posts in this series not only capture some of the key takeaways from these books but also provide applied examples that demonstrate how some of the techniques could be used in real life. I have leant towards a more user-centred approach that focuses on customer opportunities (needs, desires, pain points). I feel that such an approach encourages exploration and places more weight on innovation/differentiation (rather than the popular lean process of building something quickly, flinging it out to the market and seeing if the product in question sinks or swims). I’m not advocating one school of product development over another, but spending extra time to get under the skin of the user/customer resonated with me.
There are 5 steps to building compelling products:
- Understand the market to carve out a space
- Dig deep via customer interviews
- Map opportunities to business outcomes. Use this to formulate solutions and assumptions
- Identify the core features for the product in question; also, performance drivers and differentiators
- Build a prototype, gather feedback and reiterate