The Product Person - TPP #39: How to ship better products
hi, Anthony here! Every week, I find articles and posts around the web about product development and how to build great products. Then I summarize and share them here. Let’s get to it! Shape UpLately, I’ve been reading (and loving) Shape Up by Basecamp. And there are 2 simple, yet powerful, concepts in it that I think will help you create better products:
Start with a number, end with a designBegin a project by explicitly deciding how much time you’re willing to spend on it. (In Shape Up, they call this your “appetite”)
Here’s why: Starting with a number (your appetite) allows you to gauge how much of your attention the idea deserves. Think of it like a time budget. If you have an idea and you just start building it without an appetite, you’re allowing unlimited time and unlimited resources to that idea without realizing it.
When you start with an appetite, you’re scrutinizing the idea from the get-go. You’re implicitly asking:
By setting your appetite (ie. 2 weeks, 6 weeks, a weekend, etc), you’re suffocating the fantasy out of the idea and bringing it down to reality. You’re asking: “Realistically, what will this project cost me in time and effort?” It’s a way to evaluate ideas more objectively. So that you don’t get too excited about any one idea. Or even if you’re not excited about an idea, you can still think with a clear mind about what it’ll take to develop the solution. Fixed time, variable scopeAn appetite gives you fixed time. Along with the fixed time, keep your scope flexible. The appetite forces you to make decisions and trade-offs. The flexible scope allows you to make those decisions by letting you remove any tasks or features that might get in your way of finishing within the appetite. ExampleSo let’s say you want to build a dating app. It’s a cool idea. But, you decide that you don’t want to spend months and months working on it. So, you set your appetite for 6 weeks. 6 weeks to release an MVP. You start. You have a long list of features that you want to add to it. But with 6 weeks, you’re not going to be able to add them all. You’ll have to make decisions. The goal is end up asking questions like:
ConclusionKnowing when to stop is one of the hardest parts of building a product. You could always add more or improve what’s there. But, by setting an appetite, you force yourself to make trade-offs. And, with a flexible, variable scope, you give yourself the time and space to make those trade-offs. In the end, you’ll produce simpler, more focused products. 🔗 You can read Basecamp’s Shape Up for free online on their site. I highly, highly recommend it. Expect some more Shape Up concepts in this newsletter :) End NoteThanks for enjoying The Product Person. I’d love it if you shared it with a friend or two. If this was shared to you, you can subscribe here. ❤️ Hit the heart button as well, it helps a lot. Have a great day, (P.S. Is there something I can help you with? Reach out to me via email or set a date) If you liked this post from The Product Person, why not share it? |
Older messages
The Product Person #38: Landing Page Hero
Friday, January 15, 2021
hi, Anthony here! Every week, I find articles and posts around the web about product development and how to build great products. Then I summarize and share them here. Let's get to it! The First
The Product Person #37: Talking to Users
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
hi, Anthony here! Every week, I find articles and posts around the web about product development and how to build great products. Then I summarize and share them here. Let's get to it! (Also, Happy
The Product Person #35: Growth Loops
Friday, December 4, 2020
hi, Anthony here! Every week, I find articles and posts around the web about product development and how to build great products. Then I summarize and share them here. Let's get to it! Forget the
The Product Person #36: JTBD
Friday, December 4, 2020
hi, Anthony here! Every week, I find articles and posts around the web about product development and how to build great products. Then I summarize and share them here. Let's get to it! Every 60
The Product Person #33: A Clever UI Design Shortcut
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
hi, Anthony here! Every week, I find articles and posts around the web about product development and how to build great products. Then I summarize and share them here. Let's get to it! A Clever UI
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