You’ve got an idea. And you think it’s a damn good one. But the question is, how do you get from where you are right now to the finished product that everyone is going to love?
It’s not simple, but it starts with buy-in. Now don’t expect to get every member of your leadership team on board, or maybe every investor you pitch. But you need to build enough consensus to get the ball rolling in the first place. When technology decisions get made, it’s because the point person has enough trust and influence with the right people to get something started. You may not have complete support across the organization, but that’s ok.
Generally, by the time we come into the picture, the initial decisions have already been made, and the search for the right partner is underway. Your name and reputation are on the line. So when you choose Beloved Robot, we take the utmost care to make you look like the visionary leader you are. You went to bat for us, and we will always have your back.
It takes a lot of time and energy to get things up and running. And it may feel daunting. But once we are on board, we work with you to craft a roadmap that will lead to success. Again we are there to support you as you work to gather the resources you need to make your idea come to life.
After all this work, you get a budget approved, and the paperwork signed. We hit the ground running with all the resources we have at our disposal. After a few months of work, we are in it deep. Tons of work has been done, and we are getting close to complete for the MVP. The long-awaited release is a few weeks out. You’ll have to campaign different gatekeepers and stakeholders to make sure that everyone gives it a shot. It might take some bargaining or bribery, but you’re confident that this the perfect tool for them.
Here’s how you can ensure adoption and the eventual success of this project.
Expectations
Make it very clear to everyone involved when they will have something in their hands to use. Don’t over-promise, miss a deadline, or deliver a half-baked version that will derail adoption from the start. Be transparent and honest, you won’t regret it.
Deliver Fast
That said, don’t fuss over every detail for so long that everyone forgets what you are working on or loses interest. Pick a small set of features that will deliver the most value and ship it!
Minimum Viable Product
Carve out what your minimum viable product is and commit to it early. You are starting on a long journey, so don’t try to eat the world all at once. Learn to build fast and iterate.
Set the Tone
This MVP should be tight and durable. The first impression you want to make is one that makes the user feel good. You want them to be excited about what you produce and intrigued by what you’ll deliver next.
There is no more powerful tool than releasing great software to your users. It shows them that you can be trusted to make the right decisions and deliver on your promises.
Sure, you’ll hit some potholes along the way. If you do this right, you can bank some serious cachet that you’re going to need. This is your chance to string together a bunch of wins. And continue to impress your users and leadership. You now have a coalition of happy users who will defend your product and vision because of the trust that you have built.