Have you ever thought about the impact digital products have on our lives?
For example, most people find it easier to shop online in eCommerce and supermarkets and pay with digital wallets.
These digital products enable users to shop from anywhere and at any time!
But bringing a user-centric product idea to life is not easy.
Consider that only 40% of finished products reach their markets, and only 60% of them generate actual revenue.
That's why understanding what digital Product Development entails is so crucial. Without further ado, let's dive into it!
What is Digital Product Development?
Digital Product Development brings business ideas to life, ensuring they provide value to their target audience.
It involves the creation of digital products and services, including desktop platforms, mobile apps and Web Apps.
It also encloses IoT apps on wearable devices, smart home systems, and even Virtual (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR).
Developing digital products entails a Unique Value Proposition, Product Design and Software Development.
Here, multiple teams blend business goals and users' needs into a single digital solution.
The goal is to create products that are functional, easy to use, enjoyable, and accessible to those with disabilities.
There are different approaches and methods to Product Development depending on requirements, concept and budget.
Some are Design Thinking and Design Sprints for UI/UX Design and Agile Methodologies for Project Management.
Depending on the scope, there are other steps such as Quality Assurance (QA), Testing and CI/CD.
These can help with scalability, helping ensure top-notch quality and continuous improvement.
Business Benefits of Digital Product Development
1. Digital Product Development for Productivity
Businesses can use task-management tools to improve efficiency and yield better results.
These tools can help teams improve collaboration, track progress and prioritize goals.
A marketing agency can use tools like Airtable or Trello to have a record for each piece of content.
These tools give teams a clear representation of current projects and their respective deadlines.
2. Digital Product Development for Scalability
Digital solutions are, by definition, highly scalable compared to physical products.
They have way lower production and distribution costs.
As a result, it's easier to iterate, refine and customize a product based on user feedback.
An example of scalability is the use of cloud services compared to on-premise solutions to expand business operations.
3. Digital Product Development for Validation
User feedback can ease data collection and analysis o quickly validate strategies and reduce exposure to risks.
Digital tools make it easier to find and reach potential users, as well as implement effective user testing methods.
Some of these include surveys to make a huge difference in terms of Customer Experience (CX).
4. Digital Product Development for Personalization
The digital product development process enables businesses to offer personalized experiences.
Here, digital tools can help understand user behavior and preferences to tailor products to their needs.
For instance, streaming platforms like Netflix and Spotify can offer personalized recommendations.
Similarly, social media platform algorithms harness user activity to show specific content on feed pages.
The Stages of Digital Product Development
Please note that the following stages may vary depending on multiple factors.
Some include business goals, culture, budget, target audiences, standards and regulations.
Market and User Research
User Research collects meaningful data to understand users, focusing on their needs, desires and problems.
Exploring the competitive landscape helps understand how viable it would be to develop a certain solution.
Developing a product without understanding users and markets can translate into huge financial losses.
That's why Product Designers also create user personas and user journeys.
That allows them to visualize how the product will solve a problem for users.
Conceptualization and Ideation
Define a specific problem you want to solve based on previous findings from Market and User Research.
Create a problem statement focused on user needs for teams to brainstorm and ideate solutions.
Teams think outside the box and challenge their assumptions, considering ideas from everyone in the team.
Once they have come up with a few ideas, they narrow down the list until there’s only one potential solution.
Design and Prototype
Having defined a potential solution, designers create sketches that display the layout and User Interface of the product.
These sketches, known as wireframes, help design teams visualize how users will interact with the product.
Wireframing begins with rough sketches, progressively refined with colors, images, fonts and interactive elements.
Teams can then use the refined wireframes to create a usable prototype to test with real users.
Testing and Validation
Before investing in Software Development, you must ensure that your product is viable.
Product Designers must gather a group of potential users to test the prototype.
It's common practice to conduct Usability Testing to evaluate how easy it is for users to navigate through the app.
Testing must answer questions like "How do users feel when interacting with the prototype?"
"Can they find what they need easily?" "Does the prototype have the features users wish it had?"
"Can they complete their task in a reasonable amount of time?"
Based on the findings, Product Designers may need to revisit previous stages to refine the prototype.
Usability Testing is also used to support other stages of the Digital Product Development process.
Stages include User Research and the development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Development
Developing a product requires defining a stack of programming tools to get the job done.
It’s important to consider requirements such as speed, performance, security and reliability.
Software Developers commonly build products in fast-paced iterations called sprints.
These iterations or sprints can last anywhere from one week to a month and involve incremental requirements.
Developers add gradual improvements to the product on every sprint until they’ve built an MVP they can launch.
The Development Process requires close collaboration with Product Designers to ensure that the final product addresses users’ needs.
Launch
Launching the product implies making it available to users.
When it comes to web apps, teams deploy the product to an online server to make it accessible from web browsers.
For mobile apps, developers submit the app to the Apple and Google stores.
It’s also common for businesses to launch their products as a beta version.
Launching the product allows product teams to get feedback from a larger number of users.
That’s key to identifying potential room for improvement.
Iteration
The work isn't done after businesses launch their products; there's always room for improvement!
That's why it's crucial to work on continuous iterations and regular maintenance to ensure great quality.
It's also important to monitor how the product is being used and the value it delivers.
Teams should pay attention to bounce rates, conversions and time spent on each page.
Why is Digital Product Development Important?
Digital Product Development helps businesses bring even their most disruptive business ideas to life.
It allows them to expand their reach, making their products and services available to all users.
Digital Product Development also helps businesses adapt to evolving requirements while meeting user needs.
Conclusion
Digital Product Development involves multiple stages to deliver the maximum amount of value.
Moreover, it offers several significant benefits to businesses, including productivity, scalability and personalization.
Capicua is a UX-driven, Full-Cycle Product Development Agency with 14 years of experience.
We'd love to help you with your digital Product Development initiatives. Don't hesitate to reach out!
