April 11, 2023
IpX VP of Services
Tool providers intentionally develop their solutions to be flexible to suit the needs and wants of various organizations as much as possible with an out-of-the-box approach. Because of this, it is important to define your requirements so that the solution can be configured to meet your needs. Requirements definition allows you to put the right guardrails around the solution in place to drive consistency in the use of your solution across people, teams and business units. A well-defined business process will further that consistency and provide the repeatability organizations desire.
But you won’t achieve these benefits unless you approach the tool implementation strategically. You need to define your aim, or you are likely to miss your target. Organizations need to have a clear vision of where they want their business to be in the future. Creating a strong requirements document, with requirements defined deeply in this article, will ensure that your solution implementation goes smoothly and satisfies the users with increased quality. Without clear requirements, robust decisions cannot be made resulting in decisions that often increase development time and miss critical milestones.
Minimum Viable Product or MVP is the initial version of the solution that consists of the minimum required set of features to be functional for your users. It will not have every feature your users desire, but it will provide the core functionality to bring value to the business quickly. This is the beginning of the overall solution development process. The final, or complete, set of features is developed after achieving feedback from the solution’s initial users through User Acceptance Testing (UAT) at each phase, or sprint, along the journey.
Every organization wants their tool development projects on time and within an allocated budget. The definition of MVP enables the solution provider to facilitate a quick as possible delivery time and provides your users an opportunity to get a usable solution that can be fleshed out, improved and tested in digestible chunks.
It is important to be well prepared to build your product completely and define the complete state for any solution, but like building a home, it can only be done one step at a time. Be mindful: MVP means you are working towards the core functionality, or heart of the product, and then outward. Don’t start with the roof or the windows, you must start at the foundation. Your MVP should be considered a functional prototype that will gain maturity over time. The MVP must be usable. If an MVP is not defined, you increase the risk that your sprints will not provide a usable product that provides value to the business from the start.
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Keep an eye out for our next publication discussing “The Benefits of a Robust Requirements Document”.
From IpX experience, there are a few main reasons tool implementation or improvement initiatives fail. To understand more, read our last blog, “Why Many Transformation Projects Fail.”
For more information on how to get engaged with IpX Services for your next tool or transformation project, contact IpX Services at services@ipxhq.com and visit our website to learn more about our Ecosystem Transformation Services.
Brandy Taylor is the VP of Services at IpX with over 20 years of experience in engineering and project management within the aerospace, civil, military and automotive industries. Brandy holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan, and a CM2-Professional certification.
