During a recent post-project analysis on Notable, the ZURB team realized there are two pain points when it comes to improving existing product: The beginning and the end. Getting started on a new product release is tricky and wrapping up a release can be brutal.
The Beginning
At the beginning of the product development process, it can be hard to convince team members that something just built could be better - it feels counterintuitive and even flirts with demotivation. Sometimes teams might be tempted to gather analytics and research before making changes, but if we waited for data and confirmation of "right answers" all the time we'd never get anything done!
The End
The final stage of product improvement is also a minefield. You need to give critical, detailed, and specific feedback, despite the fact that's it's time consuming and emotionally taxing. It takes a lot of willpower to keep going forward, but it's important to get people out of their comfort zone so they'll reach their full potential. Sure, it's hard to demand continual changes until it's right. Team members will get frustrated, but their redemption comes in seeing that they have a successful outcome in the end.
Whether you're pushing your team to get started on a product improvement or trying to keep the momentum going to the finish line, you can't give in. You have to complete the vision.