The Minimum Loveable Product: Go Beyond the Minimum Viable Product
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Minimum Viable Products (MVP) rarely make "good" products. We discuss an alternative: the Minimum Loveable Product. In the world of platform engineering, coordinating your software (and perhaps hardware teams) to deliver a valuable product that your target audience will use is critical to success. http://by.dialexa.com/beyond-the-minimum-viable-product-why-you-should-build-a-minimum-loveable-product
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The Minimum Loveable Product: Go Beyond the Minimum Viable Product
- 1. The Minimum Loveable Product: Go Beyond the Minimum Viable Product By Brad Bush http://by.dialexa.com/beyond-the-minimum-viable-product- why-you-should-build-a-minimum-loveable-product
- 2. Dialexa We are on a mission to make every company a great technology company. We work with organizations to define and execute digital transformation strategies to improve business operations and customer experiences. Our services include: • Multi-Year Technology Roadmap • Platform Engineering • User Experience Design • Custom Software Development • Hardware Prototyping /IoT
- 3. Loveable is an interesting word.
- 4. But can technology be cuddly, delightful, adorable– lovable? Absolutely.
- 5. Minimum viable products (MVPs), while good intentioned and functional, will rarely make “good” products.
- 6. Contrasting MVP with MLP (minimum loveable products)…
- 7. …It’s about taking products from viable to loveable.
- 8. It’s hard to be revolutionary with an MVP; you end up only being evolutionary… and mediocre.
- 9. This doesn’t mean we completely walk away from the MVP principles.
- 10. In many cases, you really only need a few more features to go from MVP to MLP.
- 11. Yes, you may have to spend extra money for features to be loveable…
- 12. …but you only get one chance to win your customers’ hearts and minds from the beginning.
- 13. Laurence McCahill and Brian de Haaff, leaders in the MLP movement, have outlined how to get from viable to loveable.
- 14. Here are a few of the boxes to check in the ideation and development process.
- 15. Before you invest one minute in development, ask yourself Brian de Haaff’s 7 questions and check the boxes for this lovability litmus test:
- 16. 1. Are you relatively sure it’s never been done before?
- 17. 2. Do customers visibly smile when you describe it to them?
- 18. 3. Does anyone swear (in delight or disgust) when he/she hears the idea?
- 19. 4. Do you dream of using it and all of the features you could add?
- 20. 5. Are your CTO or top architects the only people who think it‘s possible to create this product?
- 21. 6. Do people start contacting you to learn about what you are building?
- 22. 7. Are the top industry analysts not yet writing about it?
- 23. If your product passes this test, make sure to think about these things as you are planning to develop.
- 24. Start with “Why?” Why are you building this product/solution?
- 25. Have a clear purpose to awaken an emotion within your early customers so your product creates a connection with them.
- 26. Do one thing really well. Get to the core of the product by having a clear focus…
- 27. …this means learning to say “no.”
- 28. Relentlessly prioritize- Figure out what to leave out so you can focus on the most important stuff within the timeframe you have.
- 30. -You can’t solve every problem so focus building features that relive your customers’ biggest pain points and allows them to get their jobs done easier.
- 31. Design for emotion- go above and beyond what’s expected to elicit a positive response from users.
- 32. Invest in design- customers are more loyal to well designed products with a great user experience. Period.
- 33. Focus on creating a habit- have a great trigger and call-to-action, great usability design, and a reward for loyalty.
- 34. Build a community of advocates- get customers to rally around your mission and ultimately, your product.
- 35. Don’t sell (at least in the beginning)- focus on getting to know your customers and then focus on being different, talk worthy and remarkable.
- 36. Lastly- ensure your team understands the long-term strategy.
- 37. Your first release is just the start of your product’s journey toward product-market fit, not the end of the road.
- 38. A good idea can go a long way, but turning a good idea into a great product takes creative effort…
- 39. …business savvy and a disciplined approach to dream up, design and develop cuddly, squeezable, loveable products that customers don’t want to live without.
- 40. P R O P E R T Y O F D I A L E X A L L C © 2 0 1 7 - C O N F I D E N T I A L & P R O P R I E T A R Y Doug Platts VP of Marketing marketing@dialexa.com If you are looking to undertake a digital transformation initiative we would love to see how we can help make your company a great technology company.