From Beta to Bedrock: Build Products that Stick.

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve watched promising thoughts go from zero to warrior in a few days before failing to deliver within weeks as a product developer for very long.

Financial goods, which is the industry in which I work, are no exception. It’s tempting to put as many features at the ceiling as possible and hope someone sticks because people’s true, hard-earned money is on the line, user expectations are high, and a crammed market. However, this strategy will lead to disaster. Why, please:

The drawbacks of feature-first growth

It’s easy to get swept up in the enthusiasm of developing innovative features when you start developing a financial product from scratch or are migrating existing client journeys from papers or phone channels to online bank or mobile applications. They may believe,” If I may only add one more thing that solves this particular person problem, they’ll enjoy me”! But what happens if you eventually encounter a roadblock as a result of your security team’s negligence? don’t like it? When a difficult-fought film fails to win over viewers or fails due to unanticipated difficulty?

The concept of Minimum Viable Product ( MVP ) comes into play in this area. Even though Jason Fried doesn’t usually refer to it that way, his podcast Rework and his book Getting Real frequently address this concept. An MVP is a product that offers only enough significance to your users to keep them interested without becoming too hard or frustrating to use. Although the idea seems simple, it requires a razor-sharp eye, a brutal edge, and the courage to stand up for your position because” the Columbo Effect” makes it easy to fall for something when one always says” just one more thing …” to add.

The issue with most fund apps is that they frequently turn out to be reflections of the company’s internal politics rather than an experience created purely for the customer. Instead of offering a distinct value statement that is focused on what people in the real world want, the focus should be on delivering as some features and functionalities as possible to satisfy the needs and wants of competing inside sections. As a result, these products can very quickly became a mixed bag of misleading, related, and finally unhappy customer experiences—a feature salad, you might say.

The significance of the foundation

What is a better strategy, then? How can we create products that are reliable, user-friendly, and most importantly, stick?

The concept of “bedrock” comes into play in this context. The main component of your product that truly matters to users is Bedrock. The foundation of value and relevance over time is built upon it.

The bedrock has to be in and around the regular servicing journeys in the world of retail banking, which is where I work. People only look at their current account once every blue moon, but they do so daily. They purchase a credit card every year or every other year, but they at least once a month check their balance and pay their bills.

The key is in identifying the core tasks that people want to complete and then relentlessly striving to make them simple, reliable, and trustworthy.

But how do you reach the foundation? By focusing on the” MVP” approach, giving simplicity precedence, and working incrementally toward a clear value proposition. This means avoiding pointless extras and putting your users first, making the most of them.

It also requires some guts, as your coworkers might not always agree on your vision at first. And in some cases, it might even mean making it clear to customers that you won’t be coming over to their house to prepare their meal. Sometimes you need to use “opinionated user interface design” ( i .e., clumsy workaround for edge cases ) to test a concept or to give yourself some more time to work on something else.

Practical methods for creating reliable financial products

What are the main learnings I’ve made from my own research and experience?

What problem are you trying to solve first, and make a clear “why”? For whom? Before beginning any construction, make sure your mission is completely clear. Make sure it also aligns with the goals of your business.
Avoid the temptation to add too many features at once by focusing on one, core feature and focusing on getting that right before moving on to something else. Choose one that actually adds value, and work from there.
When it comes to financial products, simplicity is often more important than complexity. Eliminate unnecessary details and concentrate solely on what matters most.
Accept continuous iteration as Bedrock is a dynamic process rather than a fixed destination. Continuously collect user feedback, improve your product, and work toward that foundational state.
Stop, look, and listen: Don’t just go through with testing your product as part of the delivery process; test it repeatedly in the field. Use it for yourself. Run A/B tests. User feedback on Gear. Talk to the users of it and make adjustments accordingly.

The bedrock paradox

Building towards bedrock implies sacrificing some short-term growth potential in favor of long-term stability, which is an interesting paradox at play here. But the payoff is worthwhile because products built with a focus on bedrock will outlive and outperform their rivals over time and provide users with long-term value.

How do you begin your quest for bedrock, then? Take it slowly. Start by identifying the underlying factors that your users actually care about. Focus on developing and improving a single, potent feature that delivers real value. And most importantly, make an obsessive effort because, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, Alan Kay, or Peter Drucker ( whew! The best way to foretell the future is to create it, he said.