Agile Product Development
When I first started working in the tech industry, “agile” was the buzzword everyone was fascinated by. People saw it as the ultimate solution to the long wait times that came with traditional PRDs (product requirements documents), slow feature delivery, and lagging response to customer needs. Over the years, agile methodologies have evolved and set the groundwork for many new practices, with each organization adapting them to their own needs. However, sometimes it feels like we’ve lost sight of the original problem agile was meant to solve.
Working closely with various CEOs and VP of sales, I’ve often encountered different interpretations of what it means to be agile. While I view agile as a way to deliver customer value more efficiently, others see it as simply a way to satisfy customers quickly. Though these perspectives sound similar, they often lead to very different outcomes.
What Does It Mean to Be Agile?
Being agile means accepting that you might not always know the best solution to a problem upfront, even if you understand the problem well. It requires a continuous focus on the customer throughout the development process, ensuring that what you’re building truly meets their needs. This involves breaking the work into short iterations, delivering something tangible at the end of each one, and then validating and adjusting based on feedback. This approach allows for rapid learning and prevents wasting time on features that don’t add significant value, all while showing visible progress to users.
Agile is largely about execution. It doesn’t dictate what you should build or how to prioritize, but rather keeps you centered on delivering value to your customers.
What Happens When You Defocus?
One challenge with shorter development cycles is the temptation to introduce “small” features outside the main product strategy, often at the request of strategic customers or to help close a deal. While this might seem beneficial in the short term, these small additions can add up, leading to several issues:
– The system becomes harder to maintain with multiple unique workflows.
– The user interface may become cluttered and less intuitive.
– You shift focus away from your core product strategy and vision.
– The overall value proposition becomes muddled, making it easier to lose sight of your goals.
This becomes particularly problematic in a startup environment where there’s often pressure to seize every opportunity. Without a clear long-term strategy, products can become difficult to maintain and explain, with roadmaps reduced to scattered lists of features rather than cohesive plans.
How to Stay Balanced?
Balancing product strategy with new opportunities is crucial. You don’t want to be inflexible with a rigid yearly roadmap, but you also need to maintain a clear focus. When considering new “small” features, ask yourself:
– Does this align with our product strategy and bring us closer to our goals?
– If not, is it worth the investment? Who else benefits from it?
– Will it genuinely solve a customer’s problem, or is it just a superficial request?
– What impact will it have on the product’s maintainability and complexity?
For small startups, this balance is even harder to strike since you’re still discovering which customers gain the most value from your product. Continuous assessment with your management team is key to making informed decisions about future steps. For instance, onboarding a large client might seem attractive but could disrupt your core focus on small to mid-sized businesses.
When we adjust to focus more narrowly, it provides clarity and direction. For example, at one point we had to choose between two large clients with differing needs. Opting to focus on just one allowed our team to plan and execute more effectively, leading to better outcomes for everyone involved. Sales knew what to pitch, R&D could streamline development, and product management could craft more targeted solutions.
Conclusion
Product strategy and yearly goals exist for a reason—they guide where the product should go and where we need to concentrate our efforts. Misusing agile methodology to quickly appease clients can divert you from your strategy, reducing the overall value your product delivers. Staying vigilant and continually checking progress against your long-term goals is essential for achieving the best outcomes.