Attempting to re-engineer an established product within the same organization is a huge challenge.
Developing and launching a version 1.0 of any product is fundamentally different from releasing its subsequent versions. It is in fact the most special, most fragile stage of life of any software product. Only some products survive past version 1.0. "Why?" - You may ask. The explanation is in that version 1.0 rarely has broad enough appeal and sufficient momentum to generate enough sales to become financially self-sufficient. Instead, these “babies” almost always need some “milk” to go on, i.e. additional funding. To secure that additional funding, product managers need to work hard to convince investors in the high potential of these products, otherwise they may lose patience or simply become interested in another investment opportunity.
Cheating, delaying the release deadline trying to fit in more features, does not always help and is actually dangerous. Just when you least expect it, investors may lose patience, cancel the project and the product will die even before version 1.0 sees the world.
So how can we secure version 1.0 investors' goodwill? It's actually simple. The best approach is to get a targeted, small set of customers to start using the product. These would be the "early adopter" type of customers, those who are willing to live with its initial shortcomings in return for the latest, groundbreaking solution to their real problems. These customers will be enthusiastic, optimistic and not too shy to speak up and share their views with the rest of the world.
So with a version 1.0 product our focus should be first and foremost on demonstrating to our investors the high potential of the new product.
As surprisingly as this might sound, compared to a privately funded startup without any customers, bringing version 1.0 to market is actually much harder to do when you are attempting to re-engineer an established product already used by many customers. Let me share some of the obstacles you may encounter in my next post, see if you recognize any of them.
