Why Applications Should Start Small

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Every application, whether its a desktop app or a web app should start really small. Whenever we think of a product or an application we tend to include 100 different features in it. But that is a mistake to be avoided.

We all use microsoft word and excel. But we are experienced with it and we have been using it since their first version was launched. But show that to a person who has never seen word or excel before. He will find it quite hard to digest since there are a lot of menus, features and  tool bars. But still those products are used because there are millions of users who knows how to use it and they virtually act as support team, teaching the newbies.

Starting small is particularly important in the case of web apps because most web apps are very new. We dont want the users to undergo a 2 weeks training program to use an application.  The app should be simple enough to start using it right away.

Conduct brainstorming sessions about your product ideas and find out the essence of the product. Create a simple to use product with that and do your launch. Gain users and then slowly build upon it.

This will save a lot of your developers time, you can get to know the market, and you will get a lot of feedback. Since you are not scaring off your initial userbase with a cluttered interface, they will promote your product and campaign for you.

I am using mindmaps for all the discussion that we conduct. The first time I saw this product I had no idea what a mind map is. But the product is really simple to use so that I became an active user in a day.

If you already have added a ton of fetaures to your product and you are struggling with the interface then there is a means to solve that problem. You can create 2 interefaces. One of the beginners, which focuses on the core features and an advanced version with all the cool “nice to have” features.

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Tags: Development

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