Great products do not appear fully formed. They move through a clear sequence of questions.
What problem are we solving. Who is it for. How will we know it works.
This article is a practical guide you can follow from the first sketch to general availability. You will find a week by week plan, de-risking tactics that real teams use, and templates you can copy. It is vendor neutral and focused on outcomes, not hype.
If you want hands on support at any step, see our pages on Bespoke Software Development, Mobile App Development, and Software Development Team Consultancy. For post launch care, view our Software Support plans.
Primary CTA: Request a launch plan
Who this guide is for
- Founders who need a clear route from concept to first customers
- Innovation teams that must show progress with a steady budget
- Product leads who want predictable delivery and measured learning
If you have a goal, a timeframe, and a small team, this playbook is for you.
The delivery timeline at a glance
Week 0 to 2: scope and prototype
- Write a one page brief.
- Create a clickable prototype and test with 5 to 7 users.
Week 3 to 8: MVP build and closed beta
- Ship a thin, usable slice every 1 to 2 weeks.
- Run a small beta with office hours support.
Week 9 and beyond: GA and growth loops
- Release to target segments.
- Track activation, retention, and unit economics.
For stability after launch, line up Software Support before you go live.
Before you design anything: the One Page Brief
A good brief reduces noise for the rest of the project. Keep it short and plain.
- Problem in one sentence
- Who it is for and what job they are trying to do
- Primary outcome and the single metric you will move
- Constraints such as devices, data residency, or compliance
- Top five user stories for the first release
- Out of scope items to avoid scope creep
- Decision maker and target launch window
Share the brief with stakeholders and keep it in the repo. If the brief changes, note what changed and why. This builds a clean history.
Evidence before opinions: three lightweight research moves
You do not need an expensive study to learn useful things. Try these quick steps.
- Listening sessions
Speak to 5 to 7 target users. Ask what they do now, what is slow, and how they judge success. Record phrases. Those phrases should appear in your UI labels and help text. - Competitive flyover
List 3 products users try today. Capture first run flow, pricing, and one strength and one weakness of each. The goal is context, not cloning. - Task deconstruction
Write the exact steps a user takes to finish one core task today. Circle the slowest step. That is usually where your prototype should focus.
Prototype that proves or disproves the right thing
Click through prototypes are perfect for testing first run experience. Keep them focused.
- Start at the first screen a new user sees
- Include only the path to the first moment of value
- Add two alternative designs for the single hardest step
- Test with 5 to 7 users, same day if possible
- Write down the top 3 hesitations and fix them immediately
A prototype is successful when it removes uncertainty, not when it looks pretty.
Define MVP without arguing about the acronym
MVP means the smallest product that can create value and teach you something important. Use these four tests.
- A user can complete one valuable task end to end without help
- The task is tracked in analytics and logs
- There is a clear way to ask for help
- You can deploy it again tomorrow with no manual fixes
If any test fails, the slice is not done. Narrow scope until it passes.
De-riskers that protect budget and momentum
- Fixed price discovery
A short, bounded engagement that produces a scoped plan, prototype, and delivery options. You avoid early guesswork and lock the brief. - Demo cadence
Show progress every 1 to 2 weeks. Demos are for finished slices, not mockups. Stakeholders stay close to real software, which reduces surprise and rework. - Kill switch criteria
Agree in writing when to stop, pivot, or double down. Use measurable signals, for example activation rate or time to first value. Decisions become clear and calm.
If you are mid project and things feel shaky, our Software Rescue team can stabilise scope, harden the build, and ship.
What end to end actually includes
You do not need a giant programme. You need the right capability at the right time.
- Web product for the core experience and admin tools
- Mobile components if users work in the field, supported by our Mobile App Development
- Integrations for payments, identity, and back office systems via API Development and Integrations
- Analytics with an event taxonomy that mirrors user progress
- Team extension when you need extra hands through Software Development Team Consultancy
Week 0 to 2 in detail: scope and prototype
Stories that are ready
A story is ready when a user can understand it in one sentence, acceptance criteria are clear, and integration points are identified.
Acceptance criteria that prevent rework
- Given a new user on the signup form
- When they submit valid details
- Then an account is created and a welcome email is sent within 60 seconds
- And the dashboard shows the first task
Non functional baseline from day one
Write a single page checklist and meet it for every slice: performance target, accessibility, error handling, logging, and data protection. It is cheaper to get this right now than to fix it later.
Week 3 to 8 in detail: MVP build and closed beta
Vertical slices beat broad layers
Ship thin slices that start at the interface and end at stored data. Avoid half finished layers such as a full database with no screens. A slice is useful by itself.
Closed beta with office hours
Choose 10 to 30 testers that match your target segments. Run weekly office hours for feedback. Track three signals: task completion rate, error rate, and time to value.
Definition of done
A slice is done when acceptance criteria pass, tests exist, errors are logged, analytics events fire, and a short note explains what changed and why.
Week 9 and beyond: GA and growth loops
Launch plan and rollback steps
Write your cutover plan. Include a rollback script and a clear decision time. Put someone on call for the first 48 hours with a simple rota.
Simple growth loops you can start early
- Referral invitations with a clear reward
- Guides that solve real jobs and attract qualified visitors
- Sales assist at friction points such as pricing or integration setup
- In product nudges that highlight the next feature
Pick one loop that fits your audience. Measure activation and retention before you add another.
The LAUNCH canvas
Use this ten minute weekly checkpoint to keep focus.
- Lead user and the job to be done
- Action that proves value for the user
- Unique edge and why we win here
- Numbers we will move this week
- Changes shipped and what we learned
- Hurdles that block progress and who will remove them
Short, honest notes beat long status meetings.
Analytics that answer real questions
Instrument events that reflect user progress, not vanity numbers.
- Signup started and completed
- First key action taken
- Task completion time
- Error surfaced and recovered
- Invite sent and accepted
- Subscription started and churn reason
Dashboards should answer weekly questions. Are people finding value quickly. Where do they get stuck. Which segment retains best. Remove any chart that does not change a decision.
Technical choices that speed delivery
- Identity using a hosted provider with SSO and MFA
- Storage that matches your access pattern, for example a managed relational database
- Payments through a proven platform first, with custom billing later if needed
- Infrastructure with a simple pipeline and one environment per stage
- Testing that covers logic with unit tests and key flows with smoke tests
Sensible defaults beat exotic stacks. You can evolve the architecture as usage grows.
Handovers that keep momentum
- Code and repositories belong to you
- Documentation includes a short architecture note, runbooks, and a glossary
- Access follows least privilege with named roles
- Support is planned, not improvised. Our Software Support offers tiered options
- Roadmap lists the next two months of work with priorities and confidence
Ownership after launch is a success criterion.
A small case vignette
A regional logistics firm wanted to reduce order errors and customer wait time.
- Week 0 to 2 produced a prototype for a unified booking flow
- Week 3 to 8 delivered an MVP with scanning, status updates, and driver notes
- Week 9 to 12 added customer notifications and a partner portal
Within the first quarter, time to first update dropped, and support tickets per order reduced. The team used the same cadence to roll out billing and reporting.
The pattern is reusable. Narrow the first problem, ship a slice, learn, then expand.
Common pitfalls and what to do instead
| Pitfall | What to do instead |
|---|---|
| Building too many features at once | Deliver one narrow flow end to end and measure it |
| Vague success metrics | Pick one primary metric and one guardrail metric |
| Customising heavily before fit is proven | Use defaults and focus on the first moment of value |
| Deep integrations before there is demand | Start with a simple sync and expand when usage justifies it |
| Launching without support | Prepare runbooks, alerting, and an on call rota. See Software Support. |
Proof to track after launch
Replace with your own numbers once live.
- Time to first value down compared to baseline
- Activation rate up for the target segment
- Task completion up in the first session
- Support tickets per active user down
- Unit economics improved for the first channel you scale
These signals guide where to invest next.
FAQs
Who owns the IP
You do. We hand over code, documentation, and access. Your team can operate the product, or we can run it with you.
Where will it be hosted
Cloud, on premises, or hybrid. We choose based on cost, compliance, and the skills you have in house.
What does handover include
Repositories, environment access, runbooks, a short architecture note, and a walkthrough recording. A 30 day support window smooths the transition.
How do pricing bands work
We begin with a fixed price discovery. MVP cost depends on scope and integrations. You get options with trade offs so you can pick the plan that fits your goals and budget.
Next steps
- Request a launch plan to get a practical timeline, risks, and measurable milestones
- See MVP examples that match your use case
- Book a discovery if you want to turn your brief into a working prototype
To explore how our services fit together, start with Bespoke Software Development and review Mobile App Development and Software Development Team Consultancy.