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 area of my specialization, 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, please:

The drawbacks of feature-first growth

It’s simple 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 paper or phone channels to online bank or mobile apps. You might be thinking,” If I can only put 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 safety team’s negligence? don’t 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 area. Even though Jason Fried doesn’t usually refer to it that way, his podcast Rework and his book Getting True frequently address this concept. An MVP is a product that offers only sufficient value to your users to keep them interested, but not so much that it becomes difficult to keep up. 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 encounter created specifically for the customer. This implies that the priority should be given to delivering as many features and functionalities as possible in order to satisfy the requirements and needs of competing internal departments as opposed to crafting a compelling value statement that is focused on what people in the real world actually want. 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’s a better course of action 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. Bedrock is the main feature of your product that truly matters to customers. It’s the fundamental building block that creates value and maintains relevance over time.

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 every day. 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 right away. 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 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 stick-like 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 project, 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 over complexity. Eliminate unnecessary details and concentrate on what matters most.
Accept continuous iteration as Bedrock is a dynamic process rather than a fixed destination. Continuously collect user feedback, make product improvements, and advance in that direction.
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 Gatter. Talk to the users of it and make adjustments accordingly.

The “bedrock paradox”

This is an intriguing paradox: sacrificing some of the potential for short-term growth in favor of long-term stability is at play. But the payoff is worthwhile: 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 underlying factors 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.