The challenge
The team had a clear thesis and a roadmap with nineteen features on it. The window allowed for about three.
Case study
From idea to a working product in fourteen weeks
A well-argued idea, a fixed window, and far more scope than either could carry.
The objective
Get a real product in front of real users inside the window, and learn something specific enough to act on.
The strategy
Choose the three features that test the thesis rather than the three that are easiest to build. Those are rarely the same set.
The solution
A deliberately narrow product with instrumentation designed before the interface, so the first cohort would produce an answer rather than an impression.
The execution
Two-week cycles with a working build at the end of each. Nothing was scheduled that could not be shown.
The results
Launched inside the window with three features and a measurement model. The retention figure was the number the next round of funding was argued from.
14 wks
Idea to first real user
Illustrative sample figure, not a client result
3
Features at launch
Illustrative sample figure, not a client result
61%
Week-four retention
Illustrative sample figure, not a client result
Sample content. These figures are placeholders for layout review and must be replaced with verified numbers, or removed, before publication.
What we learned
The hardest work was deciding what not to build, and that decision needed the founders in the room rather than a written brief.
What is next
The instrumentation now supports a pricing experiment that was not possible before launch.
An opportunity identified for a future phase, not work already commissioned.
Sample content, created for layout review. Replace or remove it before this site goes live.
About this entry
The client is described rather than named, which is how an anonymized case study is published. The figures are illustrative and labelled as such.
How this was verified
Sample content. Client anonymised; figures are illustrative.
The problem behind it
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