Digital Product
All successful digital products are all user-centric.
The Structure of Digital Design Thinking
Empathize with the user
Define the problem
Ideate the solution
Prototype the product
Test your Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
How Do You Create a Product Roadmap?
There are three main phases that will lead you to a great product roadmap:
Market Research
Product Documentation
Project Timeline
Market Research
Below, review the main tasks that you will need to accomplish during the market research phase:
Create a goal for the document (i.e., finding investors, briefing the internal team ext., or creating a project timeline)
Work on your product headline and 2–3 sentence pitch
Define the product’s mission and vision
Do market research
Research your competitors
Outline your thoughts (i.e., problem/solution and pros/cons)
Define the tools you will need for your product development environment
Use an issue management tool to keep track of your idea’s/product’s evolution
Discuss your ideas with your colleagues
Make a user survey (via User Crowd, Survey Monkey, or Google Surveys)
2. Product Documentation — Features and Development:
Decide on the platform and software (i.e., Mobile/Tablet/Web — iOS/Android/WebView)
Complete UX research (note: skip this step if you do not have the budget)
Try drawing your product using downloadable, printable mockups
Define the features’ attributes
Create a flowchart of different product and user flows
Create mockups for the main features or pages (via Balsamiq or Adobe XD)
Set the limitations of the features using a superficial Product Requirements Document
Decide on the Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
3. Project Timeline:
Discuss timing with your team members (regarding the design, development, and project)
Define the edge cases and the main pain points
Create a project management environment for a cross-team structure (via Trello + Slack or Jira + Slack)
Read “Using Trello with Slack” for more information on Trello + Slack
Check out my past article on the “Top 5 Issue Management Software for Product Managers“
Estimate the margin of error for the deadlines considering the edge cases
Use Excel or an online product roadmap tool to create your project’s timeline (i.e., ProductPlan or Monday)
