Attention new products: Focus on your core feature
Here at Fliggo , we've learned many things over the past year of developing our site. We've iterated two major versions of the site and are currently working on our newest product: create your own video site. With each revision, we learn some features we've created are rarely (if ever) used. In retrospect, developing them was a major time sink. From these experiences, we have derived some important philosophies
Create your core feature, then get your first beta users
You might feel that when you first present your product you should have an impressive feature set and avoid ridicule. No. Save time and make a better product by focusing on the feedback that you're getting from users about your core feature. I don't mean only feature requests, but interpret how they are using your product and make the connections to provide them with new features they didn't even know they could have.
You can spend all day hypothesizing what someone will do with or want from your product, but as the saying goes, "the proof of the pudding is in the eating".
Expand on your core feature through user feedback
User feedback is the most valuable piece of information you can get your hands on. With this information you can figure out what your product *really* is. The users are what make your product, not you. You are an interpreter of needs and demands, and you're good at it. That is what puts you in the position to be developing the product.
Generally, most feature requests shouldn't be implemented verbatim. You need to read into the reason they want the feature and how it ties into the grand scheme of things. For example, I created a CRM tool for a client to manage incoming applications. Today, they asked me to create a "clone application" feature so they wouldn't need to re-enter company information into applications of repeat customers. I could implement this feature just as they requested, but then I would be missing what they *really* need, which is a database of repeat customers so they could easily associate and create applications from already existing customers.
Conclusion
Launch to your initial beta testers with one or very few features. They should immediately feel things are missing; good. Now you will receive valuable feedback regarding which steps to take next. This will save time you would have wasted developing features based on your own presumptions.
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Chrys Bader
Co-Founder, Fliggo Inc.
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Chrys Bader
Co-Founder, Fliggo Inc.
