{"id":7174,"date":"2014-05-26T10:00:02","date_gmt":"2014-05-26T14:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=7174"},"modified":"2020-03-30T19:07:26","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T23:07:26","slug":"strategically-alter-product-app","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/strategically-alter-product-app","title":{"rendered":"How to strategically alter your product or app"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apps, products, and companies evolve over time. As technologists, we seek to improve our product by constantly optimizing one thing and tweaking the next. Although radical innovation will certainly help your product, sometimes little changes, such as introducing new or improved features, can have a great impact.<\/p>\n

Mobile app developers often use new features to recapture users\u2019 attention or stay up-to-date with current trends and technology. Many developers viewed the new iOS7 as an opportunity to refresh their products and roll out dramatic new design changes.<\/p>\n

Introducing something new can cause headaches for companies and users alike. But whether you\u2019re releasing an app feature or debuting a new product line, a data-driven approach can help you evolve without losing your existing customers.<\/p>\n

Why you should treat changes and new features with care<\/h2>\n

While a periodic refresh can help keep your company relevant, instituting dramatic changes without listening to your customers can prove disastrous. Fashion retailer J.Crew, known for its preppy-with-a-twist look,\u00a0alienated customers<\/a>\u00a0when its new collections strayed too far from the classics. This is a good example of a company that confused customers by deviating too far from its fundamentals.<\/p>\n

Haphazardly releasing new features can also appear as though your company is losing focus on its core competencies. Imagine if tomorrow Facebook rolled out a Dropbox-like file-sharing system, a professional network,\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0a video channel. You would probably feel frustrated \u2014 especially if the new features weren\u2019t up to Facebook\u2019s standards.<\/p>\n

Here is a simple guide to how you can use data to drive the introduction of new features and keep both your company and your customers focused on what you do best.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Gather as much data as you can.<\/b>\u00a0You should use real customer data to inform most decisions, particularly when rolling out new features. Every time you add or change a feature, you should gather information about its effects on customer behavior.<\/li>\n
  2. Determine goals and conversion metrics.\u00a0<\/b>For app development, this usually works by determining a set series of \u201cpaths\u201d you\u2019d like your user to go through while using your app. For example, a Facebook-like application could read something like this: \u201cOpen the app, go through friends\u2019 photos, \u2018like\u2019 a photo.\u201d Your conversion metric to see if a feature worked as intended would then be the number of photos users \u201cliked.\u201d Ideally, you would also have a set of data to use as a comparison, such as the number of photos users \u201cliked\u201d before the feature was introduced.<\/li>\n
  3. Tweak until you hit the success criteria.\u00a0<\/b>If the current conversion metric is lower, you know it\u2019s time to go back to the drawing board to pinpoint the problem. Often, it\u2019s a simple matter of tweaking the color of a button to draw attention to it. Other times, you may have to scrap the feature altogether. It\u2019s helpful to determine significant drop-offs in the user\u2019s path and remove any obstacles or explore A\/B testing to isolate one variable at a time.<\/li>\n
  4. Talk to humans and gather feedback.\u00a0<\/b>Although looking at numbers is helpful, sometimes it\u2019s best to actually talk to the real humans using your product. Understanding their pain points will add context to the data you\u2019re seeing. Of course, the caveat here is that sometimes the user isn\u2019t always right. In Twitter\u2019s early days, the most requested feature was private tweeting, but this wasn\u2019t aligned with the vision and goal for the product. Take user feedback with caution, and keep your product vision and data in mind.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    While you should always launch with care, a new feature doesn\u2019t have to be perfect when you release it. Rolling out something in beta first allows you to gather useful data on what works and what needs improvement before you introduce it on a mass scale, and your power users enjoy being the first to try it.<\/p>\n

    At the end of the day, you should consider what\u2019s best for your customers. Allow their feedback to drive improvements, and really listen to their pain points. If you keep customer data at the core of new features, you won\u2019t lose them along the way.<\/p>\n

    The\u00a0Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC)<\/a>\u00a0is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched\u00a0StartupCollective<\/a>, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Apps, products, and companies evolve over time. As technologists, we seek to improve our product by constantly optimizing one thing and tweaking the next. Although radical innovation will certainly help your product, sometimes little changes, such as introducing new or improved features, can have a great impact. Mobile app developers often use new features to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1188,"featured_media":7178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to strategically alter your product or app<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Apps, products, and companies evolve over time. 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