DinoTech Sketch 1: Evolving Your Product

People often ask us what product evolution is, and what it looks like in practice. Meet Tim Rex, an entrepreneur with big ideas. His story illustrates the typical journey of a product, from concept to launch.

An idea is born…

Tim Rex had a dream: Dinosaur robots as the future of home parcel delivery! Now he needed a competent implementation partner to make this dream a reality.

Entrepreneurs often have great ideas, but lack the technical, creative or strategic expertise needed to plot the way forward. You don’t need to know how to do everything if you know the right people.

… and a relationship too

A friend recommended Passacaglia as a development partner. Passacaglia provides startups and SMEs with everything they need to create great software products, from guidance to execution. (We don’t actually build robots but they make for a better story)

You don’t have to burn cash and time building your own team and infrastructure. Rather, waste no time getting to market, attracting investors and learning about your core business. Passacaglia can give you a boost when you need it most by providing you with fast-access to world-class development capability.

We listen and help refine your concept…

We explored Tim’s idea thoroughly to understand exactly what he had in mind. This enabled us to identify both technical and non-technical challenges and to devise a strategy for getting Tim to market. We identified that larger battery packs would be required if the local council did not approve public charging stations in time, initiated regular contact with the council and put some nice-to-have features on hold to ensure budget would be available if the larger battery pack was needed.

We have the experience to anticipate factors that might derail a project and the strategies needed to address these.

...into a visual design

We echoed Tim’s concept back to him in the form of a visual design. This assured him that we understood his brief, but also helped us spot a few problem areas: Additional parcel storage capacity would be required, so we altered the design of the back profile.

Visual design is an excellent way to reduce misunderstandings, to spot subtle problems and to avoid underestimating costs. At Passacaglia we place visual design at the core of our process.

We break it down into tasks

We converted the visual design for Tim’s delivery dinosaurs into a detailed execution plan with cost estimates. We soon realised that the larger battery pack would require a cooling system which, in turn, required insulated wiring. This extra work would take us over budget, so we opted for a smaller, hybrid solar battery instead.

An execution plan breaks the work down into tasks of no more than a few hours. This facilitates reliable planning by flushing out hidden complexities.

And build just enough…

Before you could say “mass extinction” Tim was face-to-face with a basic but functional version of his dinosaur. This prototype enabled Tim to evaluate his idea.

No amount of planning can replace the insights gained through execution. At each each stage we identify the smallest meaningful step we can take to test out ideas.

..to learn from your users

Now Tim had to opportunity to engage with his potential users and solicit feedback.They loved the dino even before the parcel-saddle was fitted.

However much we like an idea, it is vital to engage potential customers as early as possible to see how they relate to the idea in practice. A realistic prototype helps the client validate his concept and apply refinements before investing too much in features that his market may not actually value.

We incorporate their feedback

As development proceeded, Tim’s users came up with many useful suggestions, many of which were incorporated along the way: the height of the dinosaur was reduced to make interaction easier. The clearance of the tail was raised to avoid contact with pavements. The ice-cream truck music was dropped and steps were added for easy parcel retrieval.

Frequent iterations and the incorporation of customer feedback keeps development in line with what customers value.

… until actual sales point to real value

Finally DinoDeliveries was ready to launch. Tim started trading by signing up several local shops and began getting some traction in his local neighbourhood. Many challenges lay ahead but by securing paying customers, Tim had demonstrated the viability of his product.

See DinoTech Sketch 2 for more adventures

We'd love to know what you think of our cartoons. Have an idea for a topic we could explore? Tell us at contact@passacaglia.software