Key takeaways
- Start with the people and the problem.
- Choose one complete journey for the first release.
Before building an app, describe the work it needs to improve. A useful first release solves a specific problem for a specific group of people. Five questions can help you find that starting point before design and development consume your budget.
Who needs it, and what is difficult today?
First, who will use this every week? Name the people and their responsibilities, rather than a broad category such as customers. Talk to a few of them. Watch the steps they take now, including the messages, spreadsheets and workarounds around the official process.
Second, what does the current problem cost them? It might be time, missed information or repeated mistakes. Record a starting measure you can check later. If nobody can describe the problem clearly, a new interface is unlikely to make it easier to solve.
What belongs in the first release?
Third, what is the smallest useful outcome? Choose one complete journey, such as receiving a request, assigning it and telling the customer it is finished. A short journey that works end to end teaches you more than several unfinished features.
Write down what you are leaving out as carefully as what you include. Decide how exceptional cases will be handled by a person. Compare existing tools with a custom build before committing. Sometimes a better connection between tools is enough, and sometimes your process needs something more specific.
Who will own it, and how will you judge it?
Fourth, who can make decisions during the build and look after the product afterward? Someone needs to answer questions, review working screens and decide when a request belongs in a later release. Plan time for this alongside the development budget.
Fifth, what evidence would make the launch worthwhile? Pick a measure connected to the original problem, then agree when you will review it. Include support, access management and training in the plan. Software can only keep helping if people know how to use it and who to ask when something goes wrong.
Bring one real workflow and the people who know it best. We will help you decide whether an app is the right next step. Call the studio