From Beta to Bedrock: Build Products that Stick.

I’ve lost count of the times when promising ideas go from being useless in a few months to being useless after working as a solution designer for too long to notice.

Financial items, which is my area of expertise, 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 is a formula for disaster. Why? How’s why:

The perils 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 think,” If I may only add one more thing that solves this particular person problem, they’ll appreciate me”! But what happens if you eventually encounter a roadblock as a result of your security team’s negligence? not like it? When a battle-tested film isn’t as well-known as you anticipated, or when it fails due to unforeseen difficulty?

The concept of Minimum Viable Product ( MVP ) comes into play in this context. Even if Jason Fried doesn’t usually refer to this concept, his book Getting Real and his audio Redo frequently discuss it. 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 it seems like an easy idea, it requires a razor-sharp eye, a ruthless edge, and the courage to stand up for your position because it is easy to fall for” the Columbo Effect” when there is always” 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 encounter created specifically 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 user-friendly, stable, and, most importantly, stick?

The concept of “bedrock” comes into play in this context. The mainstay of your product is really important to users, and Bedrock is that. It’s the fundamental building block that creates value and maintains relevance over time.

The bedrock must be in and around the regular servicing journeys in the retail banking industry, 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 working relentlessly to make them simple, reliable, and trustworthy.

How can you reach the foundation, though? By focusing on the” MVP” approach, giving simplicity precedence, and working iteratively toward a clear value proposition. This entails removing unnecessary features and putting the emphasis on providing genuine value to your users.

It also requires having some guts, as your coworkers might not always agree with you immediately. And in some cases, it might even mean making it clear to customers that you won’t be coming over to their house and prepare their meal. Sometimes you may need to use the sporadic “opinionated user interface design” ( i .e. clunky workaround for edge cases ) to test a concept or to give yourself some room to work on something more crucial stuff.

Practical methods for creating reliable financial products

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

What problem are you trying to solve first, and make a clear “why”? Who is it for? Before beginning any project, make sure your mission is completely clear. Make sure it also aligns with the goals of your business.
Avoid putting too many features on the list at once; instead, focus on getting that right first. Choose one that actually adds value, and work from there.
When it comes to financial products, simplicity is often over complexity. Eliminate unnecessary details and concentrate solely on what matters most.
Accept continuous iteration: Bedrock is not a fixed destination; it is a dynamic process. Continuously collect user feedback, make improvements to your product, and move toward that foundation.
Stop, look, and listen: You don’t just have to test your product during the delivery process; you must also test it repeatedly in the field. Use it for yourself. Run A/B tests. User feedback on Gear. Talk to those who use it, and change things up accordingly.

The foundational 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 journey to bedrock, then? Take it gradually. Start by identifying the essential components that your users actually care about. Concentrate on developing and improving a single, potent feature that delivers real value. And most importantly, test constantly because, whatever you think, Abraham Lincoln, Alan Kay, or Peter Drucker are all in the same boat! The best way to foretell the future is to create it, he said.