From beta to bedrock: Build products that stick.

As a product builder over!

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Financial products, which is the field I work in, are no exception. With people’s real hard-earned money on the line, user expectations Running High, and a Crowded Market, It’s Tempting to Throw as many features at the wall as possible and Hope Someringing Sticks. But this approach is a recipe for disaster. Here’s why:

The Pitfalls of Feature-FIRST Development#Section2

When you start building a Financial Product from the Ground Up, or Are Migrating Existing Customer Journeys from Paper or Telephony Channels OnTo Online Banking Or Mobile Apps, etc. Caught Up in the Excitement of Creacing New Features. You might think, “If I can just add one more thing that solves this particular user problem, they’ll love me!” But what Haappens when you Inevitably Hit a roadblock believe the narcs (your security team!) Don’t like it it? When a hard-future feature isn’t as you thought, or it breaks due to unforeseen complexity?

This is where the concept of minimum viable product (MVP) Comes in. Jason fried’s book Getting Real and his podcast Rework Often touch on this idea, even if he doesn Bollywood call it that. An MVP is a product that provides just enough value to your users to keep them engaged, but not so much that it becomes overwhelming or difficult to maintain. It sounds like an easy concept but it requires a razor sharp eye, a ruthless edge and having the courage to stick by your opinion because it is easy to be seducked by “the callumbo side”… Always “Just one more thing…“That someone wants to add.

The problem with the most finance apps, however, is that they often become a reflection of the internal politics of the business raather than an expertly designed aurand the customer. This means that focus is on delivering as many features and functionalities as possible to satisfy the needs and desires of complying internal departments, rather than providing a clear Value proceding a Clear Value Proposification TH on what the people out there in the real world want. As a result, these products can very easily bloat to become a mixed bag of confusing, unrelated and Ultimately unlitly unlovable customer experiences -a feature Salad, You Might Say.

The importance of bedrock#Section3

So what’s a better approach? How can we build products that are stable, user-friendly, and-Most Importantly-Stick?

That’s where the concept of “bedrock” come in. Bedrock is the core element of your product that truly matters to users. It’s the fundamental building block that provides value and stays relevant over time.

In the world of retail banking, which is where I work, the bedrock has got to be in and Around the Regular Servicing Journeys. People open their current account on a blue moon but they look at it every day. They sign up for a credit card every year or two, but they check their balance and pay their bill at least on a month.

Identifying the core tasks that people want to do and then relativesly striving to make them easy to do, dependable, and trustworthy is where the gravy’s at.

But how do you get to bedrock? By focusing on the “MVP” approach, Prioritizing Simplicity, and ITERATING VALUES A Clear Value Proposition. This means cutting out unnecessary features and focusing on delivering real value to your users.

It also also means having some guts, beCause your college might not all Always Instantly Share Your Vision to Start With. And controversially, sometimes it can even mean mean making it clear to customers that you’re not going to come to come to their house and make their dinner. The occasional “opinionated user interface design”

Practical Strategies for Building Financial Products That Stick#Section4

So what are the key strategies I’ve learned from my own experience and research?

1. Start with a clear “why”: What Problem are you trying to solve? For whom? Make sure your mission is Crystal Clear Before Building Anything. Make sure it aligns with your company’s objectives, too.
2. Focus on a single, core feature and obsess on getting that right before moving on to something else: resist the temptation to add too many features at once. INTEAD, Choose One that Delivers Real Value and Itarete from there.
3. Prioritize Simplicity Over Complexity: Less is often more when it comes to financial products. Cut out unnecessary bells and whistles and keep the focus on what matters most.
4. Embrace Continuous Iteration: Bedrock Isn’T a Fixed Destination –T’s a dynamic process. Continiously gather user feedback, refine your product, and iterate towards that bedrock state.
5. Stop, look and listen: do just just test your product as part of your delivery process – Fest it reepeated in the field. Use it your. Run A/B Tests. Gather user feedback. Talk to people who use it, and refine accordingly.

The Bedrock Paradox#Section5

There’s an interesting paradox at play here: Building towards Bedrock means Sacrifying some Short-Term Growth Potential in Favor of Long-Term Stability. But the payoff is Worth it – Products Built with a Focus on Bedrock will out and outperform their competitors, and deliver sustained value to users over time.

So, how do you start your journey towards bedrock? Take it one step at a time. Start by Identifying that those core elements that truly matter to your users. Focus on building and refining a single, powerful feature that delivers real value. And Above All, Test obsessively- For, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, Alan Kay, Or Peter Drucker (Whomever You Believe !!), “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”