¶ Phase Overview
The objective of the Production Phase is to efficiently build the Minimum Viable Product which has been previously validated in the market, and keep on reducing market risk along the way by testing early Alpha and Beta versions with customers and iterating further.
These are the chapters of this phase. In each chapter, there are relevant skills and readings. You can start reading from the first page of this phase, or select the content from the table of content below.
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¶ Production - Table of Content
¶ Requirements Analysis
Requirements analysis is the process of modelling the requirements and designs based on the business research findings, validating and verifying the models, identifying the solution options, and assessing the potential value each option could bring to the business.
By discussing the activities for business analysis, we will get to know the following:
Requirements Modelling: Abstract the core needs and create the model based on that
- Use Case Diagram: Present the user scenarios with concise diagrams and text explanations
- Product Concept: Design the core interface screens for stakeholder review
- Product Prototype: Create design prototypes to test with the end users for feedback
Requirement Verification: Ensure that the requirements and designs modelled are in enough detail and high quality to be used by the relevant stakeholders
Implementation Feasibility Assessment: Assess if the organisation owns the capabilities and capacity to complete the product or features as designed
¶ Product Solution Definition
When the requirements come into being through research and analysis, defining the product solution is the basis for implementing a feasible product that can meet the requirements.
To define the solution, you need to create the following first:
Solution Options Analysis: Define the most beneficial solutions, and assess the business value associated.
Product Roadmap: Help communicate with key stakeholders on high-level tasks and goals in a planned timeline manner
User Roles: Sort out all user roles of the system, making sure the system can close the logic loop and provide must-have services
Feature Tree: Map out the critical features for a thorough understanding of the system modules
Technical Architecture: Design the framework to implement the digital product
¶ Version Definition
As agile methodologies are widely applied in digital projects, iterations are efficient ways to test and adapt quickly. It would be best if you were careful when defining the scope of each version and its iteration about the short and long-term goals.
Defining a version requires the following work to be done accordingly:
MVP Scope Definition: Minimal scope of features to go to the market and validate the ideas
User Stories: Depict the detailed requirements and acceptance criteria to fulfil the product vision
Sprint Breakdown: Planning process and a smaller unit of version definition, which finally forms a deliverable version
Timeline: Timelines work as the plan, the goal, and the reminder that a deliverable is associated with a specified timeframe
¶ Design Startup
After product features are defined, the design team’s responsible for turning the abstract feature descriptions into tangible flows, charts, and user interfaces. Their focus will be usability, accessibility of the product, and conveying the right message for the brand.
The following items are the most frequently used tools of the design team during production:
Information Architecture: The practice of organising, structuring, and labelling content effectively that makes it easy to find and understand.
Art Direction: Using creative elements to evoke certain moods or feelings, which will be used as a guide for user interface design
User Flow: The sequence of steps and interactions that a user takes to complete a specific task or achieve a particular goal within a product, such as a website or an app
Wireframes: The creation of monochrome screen designs as the conceptual basis for the product design.
Usability Testing: Testing relevant interaction design artefacts with users to ensure they understand how to use the product.
Design Production: Designing the final visual screens that move into production.
Design System: A set of standardised guidelines, reusable components, and patterns used to design and develop digital products and user interfaces consistently.
¶ Tech Startup
Tech startup is the preparation from the technical perspective before the concrete implementation work starts.
In general, these are what could be done for a tech startup:
Legacy Solution Evaluation: It is usually needed in the case where any previous solutions may impact a product
Effort Estimation: Reflect if building the product is cost-effective and reveals any limitations the market may place on the production efficiency
Team Setup: Determine the roles and responsibilities in the aspect of both soft and hard skills needed to create the product and choose the right members for the roles
Environment Setup and CI/CD: Introduces the preparation work before starting implementation and how to efficiently bridge the gaps between development and operation activities during implementation
¶ Kickoff & Sprint 0
Kickoff is the official ‘Go’ to the project, which communicates the project background and goals and helps team members and key stakeholders know the RACI of the project. Sprint 0 is the systematical understanding based on the knowledge from the kickoff.
Here are the most critical tasks in this phase:
System Understanding: Help the team learn the big picture of the industry, business objectives, primary problems to solve, etc
Roles & Responsibilities: Every team member must know their position and job to keep the big wheel of the project rolling at high speed.
Dependency Analysis: Always check and foresee the dependencies and potential risks.
¶ Scrum
Scrum is a topic that has been discussed previously in digital product development. It enables the project to quick turns when adjustments are needed.
Here we only discuss some key points that need to be emphasised:
Scrum Activities: Besides the most common five scrum activities, more activities are introduced in this section.
Design Review: Iterate designs as per the product requirements and technical feedback
Dependency Resolution: Summarise the dependencies identified and also follow up on the action items until the road blockers are removed from the timeline
Retrospectives: Remind the team not to wait for meetings to solve issues but initiate them as long as needed