Shape the product
What needs to work before your first customer signs in?
A first release should let a real customer do something useful. Deciding what that means gives the build a focus and makes progress easier to judge.
By Chase Poirier · TheShop.ai
Choose the task the product must help someone finish
Start with one customer and the result they need. Write the path from arriving at the product to completing that task. What do they need to understand? What information do they enter? What should happen next?
This becomes the basis for the first release. You can leave features that don’t help that journey for a later release.
Use a prototype to check the steps
Early screens let you walk through what the customer sees. You can spot missing steps and decisions that need your industry knowledge.
A clickable first look may use sample data and simulated steps. You should know where the demonstration stops and the working software still needs to be built. Production work still needs the real behavior behind the screens, along with the testing and safeguards appropriate to the product.
Test the whole customer journey
The main feature is one part of the experience. Customers also need to sign up, understand what to do, and get help. If the product charges them, the payment and account flows need attention too.
Your customer should be able to recover from missing information, interrupted steps, or repeated attempts. Permissions need checking too. The checks depend on the actual product and the information it handles. A release involving sensitive data may need additional specialist review.
Agree what launch means
Before development begins, we agree the first release, a target launch date, and how you will review progress. You’ll know what needs to work before it goes live.
For this partnership, a paid strategy sprint defines the first release. The initial build is included; monthly service starts at launch. Launch does not mean the business has made its first sale. Vendor charges and other running costs are discussed separately before you commit.
Launch with a way to learn
An initial customer group can show where the product fits and where it needs work. With onboarding and support in place, you can see where people get stuck and which changes would help.
The first release is a starting point for the ongoing partnership. You continue to have a product partner for support and the changes you agree on.
See the work behind the guide
Magnet’s path from method to first release