Great Products Consulting

Tag: ideas

  • Get from “idea to launch” with my new checklist!

    Get from “idea to launch” with my new checklist!

    If you’ve got a great idea for an online platform or mobile app, but you’re not sure where to start – you’re not alone. Tech can be intimidating for those that have never had any experience with it before. Sometimes you want someone to guide you through the process – but you just can’t afford to hire someone to help you.

    The good news is that building an online platform or mobile app is a process.  This means there are clearly defined activities that you can follow to reach your end goal. Once you know this, the whole thing becomes more manageable – you just have to take it one step at a time.      

    Introducing the idea to launch checklist

    Today, I’m pleased to introduce the “idea to launch checklist”. This downloadable checklist contains “must-know” tasks in 15 core areas, so you can turn your good idea into a great product. It provides a plain-English roadmap for your journey. You’ll see the main activities for developing a product, and the tasks involved in each step.

    The idea to launch checklist came about as a way to take non-technical people through the creation of a digital product. Like the design and manufacturing of any product or service, platforms and apps have their own brand of jargon and their own unique complexities.  This checklist needed to be written in a way that anyone could follow.

    I understand that not everyone wants to be an expert in software development. Business owners and working professionals certainly have enough things to do and learn! This checklist has been designed with you in mind. If you’re serious about building your own digital product, then the information in this foundational checklist is definitely in the “need to know” bucket. 

    Did you know that on average only 16.2% of software projects are completed on-time, on-budget and with the features and functions originally requested?

    Having worked on technology projects for almost 20 years, I’ve learnt a lot about software development – to a point where it’s mostly routine and I don’t have to think about what to do. Throw in 8+ years in product management, and there’s all of this experience that I took for granted.

    It made me realise that this lack of knowledge is costing people money.  I’m sure people would learn a lot from their experience, but I think they would prefer not to spend so much money on those lessons!

    As someone that’s been doing this for so many years, I really want to help people avoid this situation. So, I’m sharing my experiences and knowledge with people that have had their “light-bulb” idea, and are ready to do something about it.

    Here’s a taste of what you can expect from my checklist:

    • 21 ways to evaluate your idea. Let’s be real – you need to know if you’re backing the right horse.
    • 20 critical steps to finding the perfect developer. This is not the time for speed dating.  A bad decision will cost you time and money and could even delay your product going to market.
    • Plus 25 tasks that will ensure your product testing is rigorous and effective…. If you’re really going to do this, you want to do it right.

    Think about it – you can’t ride a bike the first time you try it. In fact, before you perfected riding on two-wheels, there’s a good chance you rode a tricycle or had training wheels. You also probably fell a few times.  Maybe you could only make it to the end of the driveway before putting your foot down. Eventually though, you made it to the end of the block and around the park a few times.  

    Building digital products is much the same as this. That’s just the way life is. It often takes a few goes around the block before you’re comfortable with what needs to be done. You can try it with two-wheels for the first time without the training wheels, or you can get some help to make it easier on yourself.

    This foundational checklist is all about action. I want to see you get that platform or app built, and I want you to get there in a straight-line path. So, if you’re ready to build your platform or app, click here to find out more.

  • Looking for an idea for an online platform or mobile app?

    Looking for an idea for an online platform or mobile app?

    Ideas come easily to some – but for others, it’s seems like every idea they come up with has been done already. So, if you’re looking for a platform or app idea, or even if you want to create a product or service of any sort –  but you’re not sure what to do, then this article will give you some areas to look at.

    Contrary to popular belief, most ideas don’t just land on your head.  They come about because you’ve made an active choice to look for them. In product development, the activity of looking for ideas is called “ideation”. Yes, there’s a step out there where you commit some time to come up with ideas.   

    As you start brainstorming for ideas, you need to remember two key things:

    1. In order for a solution (or product) to exist, there has to be a problem to solve, a need to address, or a goal to reach. If there’s no problem, there’s no product.
    2. The problem has to be painful enough, or the need or goal big enough for people to seek out solutions for it. If there’s no pain, there’s no product.

    So, let’s get started.

    The best places to look for ideas are in places that you know.

    1. Look at your current business or organisation

    I doubt there are any perfect businesses out there, so this is a good place to start. Whether you own your own business or work for someone else’s, think about its weaknesses or anything that might threaten its success. Are there any areas that might have a big enough problem for you to solve?     

    Also think about the opportunities in the business. Is there something going on that you might be able to leverage into something bigger? Think about all of those tools that exist to automate things or to make things more efficient. Is there an untapped market out there as it relates to your business?

    2. Look at your industry

    Next, look at the industry that you operate in. Are there any significant problems or challenges that you face? Are there any political, economic, social or technological trends that may either threaten or create opportunities for you?

    What are your direct competitors or alternative competitors working on? Is there an opportunity to do something better than them? Are there weaknesses that you could exploit?

    Look at your indirect competitors. Are there industries that are different from yours, but may be structured in the same way? What are they doing and what can you learn from them?  

    3. Look at your job role and those around you

    There may be ideas in your job role, or in those around you. As a business owner, could you leverage your strengths to create a new product or service? Maybe there are areas that you find challenging or hard to do well?   Are there other roles in your business that you’ve found problematic?  Maybe it’s hard to find good people? Or maybe the role itself has challenges? What kinds of tools could be created to make life easier for you?  

    Those in corporate land also have an opportunity to find pain points in their own roles and in those around them. Talk to other people that have these roles and find out what keeps them up at night. Is it the same as you?

    In my first article for this blog, I told the story of how I started out. I’ve worked in tech for a long time, and my idea for Great Products Consulting came out of challenges that I faced in my roles as a business analyst and a product manager. If I had these challenges as an expert, I could  imagine what it would be like for people that had never done this before. 

    4. Look at your personal life

    What problems do you face in your personal life? Maybe you have a need to fill or a goal to achieve? Think about a typical day or week, and all of the things that you do. Are there any areas where you get stuck? Are there services or products that you use that don’t work the way that you need them to? Have you had any recent experiences that took up more of your time than you thought it would? Maybe there was a particularly difficult experience that could have gone better? Conduct surveys with people you don’t know. Find out what their needs, problems, and goals are in a particular area of interest to you, and find out whether the results align with your ideas.

    5. Look at what else is going on in the world around you

    If all else fails, look in general at what’s going on in the world around you. Maybe there are some social or technical trends that you could capitalise on? Is there something going on in the economy that needs a solution? Maybe changes in the political environment have opened up an opportunity for new product ideas? This category is probably your last resort because you may end up with ideas that aren’t as appealing – simply because they’re not in your area of expertise or experience.

    Keep on looking…

    Don’t worry if your initial list of ideas sucks – or maybe something that initially sounded like a good idea, ends up being a dud. This process of looking for ideas will actually spark your creativity. You’ll find yourself coming up with more and more ideas – as long as you continue to probe into these different areas. Think of this first attempt as a warm up exercise for the real deal. You’re now looking for ideas, rather than hoping one will miraculously appear – and that will make all of the difference. Good luck and happy ideating!

    Want to learn more about building and growing your platform or app? Join our email list to receive regular updates

    Just curious
    Evaluating my idea
    Ready to start building
    Building my product
    Launched my product

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  • What kind of business do you want to be? (Startup vs Small Business)

    What kind of business do you want to be? (Startup vs Small Business)

    This week’s article came about as I was thinking about the types of people that I want to work with, and how to describe them. If you decide to start your own business, are you a startup, a small business or something else entirely? Does the guy who opens a takeaway restaurant down the street call himself an “entrepreneur”? Is a contractor a “freelancer” or a “small business”? What you call yourself and how you relate to terms like these is an important part of the approach you take in building and growing an online platform or mobile app.

    The word “startup” gets thrown around a lot in mainstream and social media, but it’s a term that can be misunderstood and create the wrong expectations. In this article, I’d like to highlight some of the differences between these two terms, and why you should think about what you want your business to be.

    Startups

    According to Startup Muster, an organisation researching the Australian startup ecosystem, a startup is “an early stage business that has a large addressable market that utilises technology to capture that market quickly”.  Startups tend to have lofty ambitions that lean towards world domination, which mean they have some distinctive characteristics:

    1. High-growth with large, long-term revenue and profit potential that requires large upfront investment
    2. Potentially disruptive where existing problems are solved or business models are created, which are totally different and innovative (or they are copying those that have done this recently)
    3. Seek funding from external parties such as angel investors and venture capitalists
    4. Have an exit strategy whereby they sell their business and probably move onto a new one

    Small businesses

    On the other hand, small businesses lean towards some different goals and different ways to get there:

    1. Slower growth with short-term revenue and profit goals; where they want to make money as soon as possible
    2. Platforms and apps that are not necessarily new or disruptive, but have a sufficient market to generate revenue
    3. Initially seek funding from family and friends, loans and grants
    4. Don’t have an exit strategy; rather the business should generate the income that they’re looking for

    Why I’ve been avoiding the word “startup”

    I’ve tried to avoid using “startup” in relation to the people that I want to advise because I feel there are tons of resources and options out there to help those that want to go down that route.

    Instead, I really want to help those wanting to create small businesses from their platform or app.  There are loads of you out there!  You might be looking to grow revenue in an existing businesses or looking for a change from your corporate role. The people that I can help the most may not identify as entrepreneurs or even a small business owners (yet!) All of these people are looking to generate immediate revenue with the aim of replacing or growing their current income.

    What does this mean for you?

    If you’re an existing business looking to build a platform or app to grow your business, then this might be a prompt to rethink your overall strategy for what you want to be and where you want to go. How much are you willing to invest in your platform or app? Being big requires a much larger upfront investment. Do you have the resources to do this?

    If you’re thinking about going out on your own, then this really applies to you. Do you want to be a startup or a small business? The approach you take to develop your platform or app will be completely different based on the choice that you make. Think about your reasons for going out on your own and building your product. Which of the above definitions aligns most with your reasons?      

    Regardless of whether you want to be a startup or a small business, having clarity about your goals will improve your chances of success. So, decide who you want to be, and go about making that dream a reality!

    Are you ready to turn your good idea into a great product?
    My idea to launch checklist is your plain-English guide to getting there.
    It’s available now for only $24.
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  • Intro to Product and Software Development and Product Management (part 2 – at the beginning)

    Intro to Product and Software Development and Product Management (part 2 – at the beginning)

    In my last post, I introduced you to the concepts of product management, product development and software development. In this post, I want to bring it all together and explain what it means to a non-technical person starting on their app development journey. This all might seem a little daunting, so for now, here’s what you need to know:

    Product Development

    “Ideation” and “Analyse” are the most important parts of product development. In these phases, you need to be able to come up with an idea and see if it’s worth building:

    There are lots of different ways to come up with ideas for an app – but most usually come from personal experience – either at work or outside of work. Look for problems in your day-to-day life that might need solving.  Maybe it’s something in your industry or something in your job role.  Maybe it’s something at home, while travelling, parenting – the possibilities are endless!  

    After you have an idea, you want to make sure it’s the right one to pursue.  What makes you the right person to build this app?  Where might you need help? How big is the market? What’s the competitions like? There are lots of ways to evaluate your idea.  If you don’t validate your idea, then the rest of the process is really irrelevant. Validating an idea is about making sure you don’t want to waste your time and money on building an app that doesn’t allow you to achieve your goals.

    The product development process has natural “gates” that give you permission to stop what you’re doing and to go onto the next idea. If you don’t think your idea is good enough, keep repeating the “Ideation” phase until you have an idea that is more desirable. In the “Analyse” phase, if the idea doesn’t pass your validation criteria, you go back to the “Ideation” phase.

    Click Here
    To learn more about idea validation

    If you’ve decided to go ahead with developing your idea, you’ll then need to “Define” your product. This is about writing down what you want your product to do. This is an important process because it dictates how your product will end up!  Spend some time here really understanding the processes that people will go through, what you want them to do, what they’ll want to do and what information needs to be captured and stored. Also, consider all of the processes that might be involved in running your app – for example, how will people contact you if there is an issue? How will you respond to them? etc.

    Software Development

    The “Requirements” phase of software development overlaps with the “Define” phase of product development, so your defined product also forms the basis for the Requirements phase. The Requirements phase in software development will focus on the actual app being built; whereas the Define phase will look at everything that’s need to deliver and run the product.

    This phase is about telling people about what you want build – which makes it pretty important! If you can’t articulate what your product should do, then you might end up with something that is vastly different from what you expect. You’ll then spend a lot of time and money trying to make it right.

    Developers use the information that you provide about your product to estimate the cost of building it. This means that you want to be very clear about what you want your app to do. A lot of projects end up costing more money and take more time to complete because new things come up later in the project.

    Product Management

    Your product hasn’t been built yet, so the elements of managing the product through its lifecycle don’t come into play yet. However, you’ll want to start thinking about who your first users will be as you enter the next stages of building your product.

    What happens next?

    After you’ve figured out what your product needs to do, it’s time for you to start building. In our next article, we’ll look at getting your app designed and built.