Reducing Product Risk and Removing the MVP Mindset: A New Approach to Building Successful Products

Reducing Product Risk and Removing the MVP Mindset: A New Approach to Building Successful Products

In the world of product development, reducing risk and ensuring success is a top priority for every team. However, the approach to de-risking projects should vary depending on the type of customer being targeted. One thing is clear - initial releases will never have everything teams want. But the key to success lies in continuous iteration and delivering value to users as features become available.

Users of products are often unreliable narrators of their own behaviors and preferences. While it is important to regularly talk to them about their problems, we cannot solely rely on their input to come up with solutions. As Henry Ford famously said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse." Instead, we must infer solutions ourselves and think like excellent product thinkers.

Cody's design quality framework emphasizes the importance of investing in understanding both the problem and the viability of the solution before releasing a product. This level of investment determines the confidence we have in the success of the product. When building on top of an existing product, the focus should be on building lightweight features that prove our ideas actually solve a problem. Once proven, further investment is needed to fully realize the potential of the product or feature idea.

Regular releases also play a crucial role in de-risking a product from a technical standpoint. By releasing incrementally, we get to see how what we've built scales or breaks over time, rather than encountering all the challenges at once.

One startup that has successfully embraced the collaborative mindset while de-risking its product is Kippt, backed by Y Combinator. Kippt aims to change the way people collect and share links, and while Delicious and Evernote may be nominal competitors, their true competition lies in email and wikis. Co-founder Lallo recognized the need for a solution that eliminates the slow and noisy discussions that often take place in emails and chat rooms.

To address this problem, Kippt added commenting functionality to their app, allowing users to open a clip, comment, and keep the discussion out of everyone's inboxes. This approach mirrors the success of social collaboration apps like Yammer, where discussions are streamlined and focused within the platform.

Combining the principles of reducing product risk and removing the MVP mindset with the collaborative approach of Kippt, we can extract actionable advice for building successful products:

1. Continuously iterate and deliver value: Rather than waiting for a perfect product, release features as they become available to provide value to users. This allows for ongoing feedback and validation.

2. Understand the problem and solution viability: Prioritize investment in understanding the problem and the viability of the solution before releasing a product. This investment will determine the level of confidence in the product's success.

3. Embrace collaboration and streamline discussions: Incorporate collaborative features into your product to eliminate slow and noisy discussions that often take place outside of the platform. This improves communication and keeps the focus on the product.

In conclusion, reducing product risk and removing the MVP mindset are crucial for building successful products. By continuously iterating, investing in problem understanding, and embracing collaboration, teams can de-risk their vision and increase the chances of creating a product that truly solves a problem. Let's shift our mindset and approach to product development, and build products that exceed customer expectations.