Welcome, welcome, welcome to a conversation around tech strategy. This conversation focuses on entrepreneurs who do not have a technology background or if they do not have a technology co-founder on the team.
Ideally, I can help you figure out how to design the product that you want and how to effectively communicate that to software developers so that way, you can get the product that you need. In turn, you can satisfy your company, your brand, and your customers. Honestly, that’s the goal! So I want to talk about the roadmap that I tend to use when it comes to establishing a technology project for an individual company.
I tend to use three significant steps.
- Initial idea
- Prototype
- Request an estimate from software developers.
Initial Idea
Typically the people that I talk to are entrepreneurs, almost always solopreneurs, without a technical background, and they kind of feel like they’re in a fog of uncertainty. All that is known by the entrepreneur is that a mobile app or a custom website is needed. I find that people end up on opposite sides of the spectrum. Without knowing where to start, some people will have the Blank Page Syndrom and freeze in place. On the other side of the spectrum, people will have a million ideas for features and get surprised when developers give them quotes of over $150,000 to code the project.
I get it, getting technology made is an expensive adventure you are going down. I am here to help. First, you need to establish a Problem Statement. You probably figured your problem statement out when you went through the necessary steps of entrepreneurship. If not, take some time a establish the problem you are trying to alleviate. Are you trying to make a process simpler? Are you trying to save time?
Knowing what your goals are with the product will inform design decisions. It is essential to have some focus on what it is you’re trying to design for two main reasons. First, the product that you want to build from scratch may already exist as an off-the-shelf product. For example, if you want to develop a product that helps you sell products online, it will probably cost less, in the long run, to go with a product like Shopify or the dozens of similar products rather than investing a bunch of money into something fully customized. In this example, you can pay a reasonable monthly or yearly fee rather than finding $50,000 or more for your version you had custom made. Second, knowing the goals of the product will keep you and the team from getting distracted with fancy new ideas or features that will delay a launch date.
Lastly, when it comes to the Initial Idea stage, you must research existing products that are similar to what it is that you’re trying to build for your company. I wouldn’t say that if a product already exists that your company isn’t going to work, you know there’s been this notion for a few years now, and I’ve fallen into this trap where it felt like I had to make something novel. The feeling that I had to make something unique otherwise, people aren’t going to like it. I realized that human behavior needs something to anchor to that is familiar. You can’t make something completely new and expect to have an excellent outcome of the user base. More time and energy will be spent on convincing people of your product. If it’s grounded somehow or it’s anchored into something that people already familiar with, it’s just a lot easier to move forward. I find it’s a good thing if you’re not the only person in that market space. More people in the market help validate that you will have users.
On the topic of research, it is crucial to research things that are a little bit tangential to what you’re trying to build. Let’s say that you are trying to build a rideshare app. Not only should you look at apps like Uber and Lyft to see what works and what doesn’t. It would help if you looked at things like Door Dash or the different delivery services that exist. True, they are not exactly a ride-sharing product but there are many similarities and learning possibilities. For example, how they build their products, how they communicate with clients, or how they handle the payments of contract workers doing the driving.
Prototype
I like to steer away from the coded prototypes until you know for sure precisely what your users want. Starting with wireframes works the best for me. Then moving on to interactive prototypes. With tools such as Adobe XD you can create interactive prototypes without any code, and you can get create user feedback. This route will be way cheaper if you have to make changes, then if you have to make changes once codes already implemented.
Having something visual helps when talking with potential users and stakeholders. If you just used words to describe what you want to build, every person will have a different version they imagined in their heads. Make sure everyone is one the same page with at least wireframes. Visuals help establish clarity tremendously when talking with developers too. Giving them wireframes makes their life easier because you have given them blueprints for your vision.
Request for Estimate
I believe when asking a software developer for an estimate that you should be as detailed as possible. That way, the developers can give you a quality response that’s more dialed in regarding the amount of money it’s going to take and the amount of time. You’re handing them essentially a blueprint, made up with detailed descriptions and visuals of what it is that you need at your stage in the company lifecycle.
I hope this was helpful, and I look forward to future conversations.
Jay Johns
Founder/CEO of 3r Interactive, LLC
jay@3rinteractive.com
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