Our CEO, Thelton McMillian, presents 5 tips for a better digital product development experience.

1. ACCELERATING DIGITAL
PRODUCT INNOVATION
5 easy-to follow tips for a better digital product development experience

2. 1
Involve all the right
people from the
very beginning of
the process

3. Innovation is about taking an idea and exploring all of its
facets to determine what is possible, desirable, and profit-
able. Doing so requires input from the experts in product,
design, and technology – each bringing their own expertise
and experience to the conversation and ensuring that the
user stays at the center of the discussion.
1. Involve all the right people from the very beginning of the process

4. 2
Slow down
to speed up

5. There are inherent dangers in moving too fast and rushing a
product to market that’s not really ready. There may be a fatal
flaw in the design itself, or it may lack key functionality
that’s needed to make it truly adoptable and usable for users.
It’s important at this point to take the time to properly define
the digital product that’s being created.
2. Slow down to speed up

6. 3
Prototype, test,
refine, validate

7. A key component to the prototype-test-refine portion of the
program is putting the design in the hands of real users
through market testing, online testing, even live-on-
the-street testing for validation. If you want to know what
customers will actually adopt and use, you have to engage
them in the design process.
3. Prototype, test, refine, validate

8. 4
Build for chapter 1,
not the whole story

9. Despite the provisos tip 2 and 3 about moving too quickly or
not doing enough validation, you don’t want to go too far
in the other direction either and try to write the whole story,
when only chapter 1 is needed.
Getting your innovation out to users in a timely fashion for
greater validation and refinement by the market is essential.
4. Build for chapter 1, not the whole story

10. 5
Decide how to
go to market and
when to refresh

11. Once you’ve completed your planning, your iteration and
validation, your branding, design and functionality, and
your market channel, it’s time to execute. And then recycle
and refresh your design, based on market feedback and
performance, and do it all again.
5. Decide how to go to market and when to refresh

12. Thank you
Thelton McMillian
Founder, CEO
thelton@comradeagency.com
Comradeagency.com