The Project MVP
NOVEMBER RECAP
Each blog article this month has focused on a specific phase of our new development process, Growth-Driven Design (GDD). The GDD approach has helped us to maximize the time spent on each product we build by doing research first and making decisions backed by the data we collect. Our four phases are Discover, Scope, Implement and Improve. You can read about the Discover phase here and the Scope phase here.
PHASE THREE
The third phase of our Growth-Driven Design process is called Implement. It is a purpose-driven approach to building the digital solution, starting with the most important features identified in the Scope phase. This is the exciting phase when we get to put all of our research to work and the project starts to take shape. And since we do all the research ahead of time, this phase goes quicker than traditional website development.
THE MVP
The idea behind Growth-Driven Design is to launch an improved product quickly to get faster results than the typical long, drawn-out process of traditional website development. We are able to accomplish this by starting with the features that will make the most impact. We call this the minimum viable product (MVP). According to this Forbes article, an MVP is smart because it allows a company to:
- Release your product to market in the shortest time
- Reduce implementation costs
- Test the demand for your product – before releasing a full-fledged product
- Avoid failures and large capital losses
- Gain valuable insight on what works and what doesn’t work
- Work directly with customers and analyze their behaviors and preferences
- Gather and enhance your user base
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Our Digital Project Manager, Jayna, completed the Udemy Agile Crash Course: Agile Project Management: Agile Delivery certification. The program walks through the meaning of user stories, daily stand-ups, retrospectives, kanban boards and how to effectively use these ideologies to deliver products quickly. And we have incorporated those strategies into our Implement phase.
During the Implement phase we have weekly calls with the client. These calls give us the opportunity to discuss what was completed the previous week, what’s on the to-do list for the upcoming week and any roadblocks we’ve encountered. They hold us accountable, as well as our clients, to make sure the project stays on schedule.
TRANSPARENCY
We never want a client wondering about the status of the project, so these calls give us the opportunity to provide complete transparency throughout the process. And with ‘Transparent’ being one of Terrostar’s core values, we take this very seriously.
PHASE FOUR
Once we launch the MVP we move onto the next phase: Improve. The GDD model is all about continuously improving and updating the MVP. To do that we look to the ‘wishlist’ created during the Scope phase for next steps. We’ll meet with the client to make sure the next feature on the wishlist is still the most important now that the MVP has launched. We also monitor data gathered from the MVP to make sure our ideas line up with how customers are using the MVP (another perk of GDD).
We aim to complete one wishlist item per month, depending on the required effort. Some take more time, some take less, and some might not have been on the original wishlist but become clear once customers are interacting with the MVP. And that is why incremental updates based on actual data is such a powerful and successful process when creating large digital solutions.
THAT’S A WRAP
We hope you enjoyed learning more about our process this month. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, or think you’re ready to see what this process can do for you. We’re just a short email away.
By Christina Maxwell