As a product creator for too many years to mention, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen promising ideas go from zero to hero in a few weeks, only to fizzle out within a few months.
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Financial products, which is the field I work in, are no exception. With real, hard-earned money on the line, user expectations high, and a crowded market, it’s tempting to throw out as many features as possible and hope something works. But this approach is a recipe for disaster. Here’s why:
The dangers of feature-centric development#section2
When you’re starting to build a financial product from scratch, or migrating existing customer journeys from print or telephony channels to online banking or mobile apps, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of creating new features. You might think, “If I could just add something else that solves this particular user’s problem, they’ll love me!” But what happens when you inevitably hit a roadblock because drug enforcement agents (your security team!) don’t like it? When a hard-fought feature isn’t as popular as you thought or breaks due to unforeseen complexity?
This is where the concept of Minimum Viable Product (MVP) comes into play. Jason Fried’s book Get real and his podcast Redo He often touches on this idea, although he does not always call it that. An MVP is a product that provides enough value to its users to keep them interested, but not so much that it becomes overwhelming or difficult to maintain. It sounds like an easy concept, but it requires a sharp eye, a ruthless edge, and having the courage to stand by your opinion because it’s easy to be seduced by “the Columbo effect”… when there’s always “just one more thing…” that anyone wants to add.
However, the problem with most financial apps is that they often become a reflection of internal company policy rather than an experience designed solely around the customer. This means the focus is on delivering as many features and functionality as possible to satisfy the needs and wants of competing internal departments, rather than providing a clear value proposition that focuses on what people want in the real world. As a result, these products can easily bloat into a hodgepodge of confusing, unrelated, and ultimately unpleasant customer experiences—a feature salad, you might say.
The importance of bedrock#section3
So what is a better approach? How can we create products that are stable, easy to use, and most importantly, durable?
That’s where the concept of “base” comes into play. Bedrock is the core element of your product that really matters to users. It is the fundamental component that provides value and remains relevant over time.
In the world of retail banking, which is where I work, the foundation has to be in and around the usual service delivery processes. People open their checking account from time to time, but they look at it every day. They sign up for a credit card every one to two years, but they check their balance and pay their bill at least once a month.
Identifying the top tasks that people want to do and then working tirelessly to make them easy to perform, reliable, and trustworthy is where the sauce is.
But how do you get to the base? Focusing on the “MVP” approach, prioritizing simplicity and iterating towards a clear value proposition. This means removing unnecessary features and focusing on delivering real value to your users.
It also means having some guts, because your colleagues may not always instantly share your vision to begin with. And, controversially, it can sometimes even mean making it clear to clients that you won’t be coming to their house to make them dinner. The occasional “opinionated UI design” (i.e. a clunky edge-case solution) can sometimes be what you need to use to test a concept or buy space to work on something more important.
Practical strategies to create lasting financial products#section4
So what are the key strategies I’ve learned from my own experience and research?
- Start with a clear “why”: What problem are you trying to solve? For whom? Make sure your mission is very clear before you build anything. Also make sure it aligns with your company’s goals.
- Focus on a single core feature and obsess over getting it right before moving on to something else – resist the temptation to add too many features at once. Instead, choose one that offers real value and repeat from there.
- Prioritize simplicity over complexity: Less is often more when it comes to financial products. Eliminate unnecessary bells and whistles and focus on what’s most important.
- Embrace continuous iteration: Bedrock is not a fixed destination, it is a dynamic process. Continually gather user feedback, refine your product, and iterate toward that foundational state.
- Stop, look and listen: Don’t just test your product as part of your delivery process: test it repeatedly in the field. Use it yourself. Run A/B tests. Collect user feedback. Talk to the people who use it and refine accordingly.
The fundamental paradox#section5
There’s an interesting paradox at play here: building a solid foundation means sacrificing some short-term growth potential in favor of long-term stability. But the payoff is worth it: Products built with a bottom-up focus will outlast their competitors and offer sustained value to users over time.
So how do you start your journey to the base? Take one step at a time. Start by identifying those core elements that really matter to your users. Focus on creating and refining a unique, powerful feature that delivers real value. And above all, test obsessively, because, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, Alan Kay, or Peter Drucker (whoever you believe in!!), “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
