The Guide for Perfect Customer Development: Problem Interview Checklist

<p>For a month, the Rocketech Team has been trying to adjust to the horrifying impact of the unprovoked Russian military invasion of Ukraine. We are grateful for the understanding and support from our clients, partners, and friends.</p>



<p>With a significant part of our Team remaining in Ukraine, our first and foremost priority has been their safety and well-being. At the same time, we keep working on all current projects following our standard operating procedure and remaining a reliable partner to all our clients who stand with us for peace.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Emergency Operations Centre and Employee Support</strong></h2>



<p>From the outset of the crisis, Rocketech developed the emergency response plan to ensure communication and all possible support to our Team members and their families in Ukraine.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>We created an internal emergency operations center to help our Team members trapped close to the front line relocate to Western Ukraine, the Polish border, or Poland. It is a volunteer initiative of our colleagues located in safer areas of Ukraine or residing in other countries.</li>



<li>Our volunteers assist the Team members and their families in relocation, provide food and medical aid, and help colleagues and their relatives who remain in the hot spots.</li>



<li>We search for lost relatives, organize temporary homes for pets, and look for other ways to support our colleagues and their families close to the front line.</li>



<li>Through the internal fund, the company provides financial assistance to those who temporarily cannot work until they can get back to their regular work routines.</li>



<li>With the help of the Team members residing in other countries, we organized a network of people and organizations providing information and help in Poland, Hungary, Iceland, Austria, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, and Turkey.</li>



<li>We organized psychological help with professional counseling free for our Team and 24/7 volunteer support to fight anxiety and emotional distress.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Business Operations</strong></h2>



<p>Rocketech is withdrawing from the Russian market to end direct or indirect support for the aggressor country’s economy. We have completely stopped cooperation with Russian banks and companies — we no longer transfer money and accept payments.</p>



<p>We have discontinued all marketing and advertising operations targeting the Russian market. Among other things, we have withdrawn from the top-rated companies of the Russian market on Clutch and closed the company’s visibility to users from Russia in search results on the platform.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Team</strong></h2>



<p>Currently, about 40 of our colleagues remain in the territory of Ukraine. We contact each employee regularly to verify their location and safe conditions. From the 28th of February, we strategically reassigned the teams dedicated to all our projects to ensure that we fulfill all our contract obligations.</p>



<p>We had to adjust our recruiting strategy. Rocketech no longer considers applicants from Russia and Belarus as we do not support these countries’ economies. We, however, stand against any human discrimination and are willing to onboard new talents who make a decision to relocate to countries that do not support the war in Ukraine.</p>



<p>We value all our current employees, appreciate their professionalism and experience, and want to continue cooperation. In these complicated circumstances, we establish a dialogue with each employee from Russia and Belarus and discuss their personal and family situations to find solutions to keep them as our Team members.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Concluding Statements</strong></h2>



<p>We are shocked and deeply affected by the human tragedy of some of the darkest days in European history and condemn the military actions launched by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine. We are witnessing unprecedented and tragic events that will forever reshape the world.</p>



<p>In this new reality, we find it crucial to be united by the common principles and the company’s core values. At Rocketech, we are proud of our international and multi-language Team based on mutual respect, support, and trust. Having said that, we decry any bullying of Russian citizens who do not support their government’s actions. We stand against any act of aggression and discrimination on the grounds of nationality.<br></p>


Rocketech Operations During the War

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">I communicate with other Product owners in the team mainly in writing</h2>



<p><em>Written communication:</em></p>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Working Backwards: Designing a product hypothesis against a formal checklist, starting with<a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/customer-obsession" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> the ideal solution to the client’s needs</a>, taking into account the needs of the stakeholders and testing the risky assumptions.</li>



<li>Presentation of the hypothesis and collecting feedback not through voice narration, but through sending a textual description of the hypothesis in slack / mail or simultaneously reading printed descriptions during a group meeting.</li>
</ol>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Written communication is cool, oral communication is bad</h2>



<p><em>Cons of oral communication:</em></p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Oral communication puts people who know how to persuade in an advantageous position
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>One of the coveted skills of product owners is the ability to “sell your ideas.” When your ideas are not accepted, or when there is a colleague nearby who is good at selling their ideas, there is a natural desire “Cool! I want to be able to do the same! “</li>



<li>The desirability of this skill is rather a crutch, which is needed for the system “everyone pitches in a voice, I don’t know how beautifully, I want to learn”.</li>
</ul>
</li>



<li>Behind a beautiful / emotional pitch, it is easier to consciously / unconsciously hide holes in logic
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Oral communication discounts the participation of people who need to think in order to form their point of view on the incoming information
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>There are people [me, Alex Borisov, one of them] who, during the discussion, find it difficult to digest all the information and need time to think over the problem from different angles, google something, talk with colleagues and then give feedback. connection. Written communication</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>



<p><em>The pros of written communication</em></p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Not one project from the <a href="https://rocketech.it/cases" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">knowledgeable cases</a> is complete without detailed technical documentation, this is important for the development team. This is the only way she can effectively deliver results and understand the product.</li>



<li>It is difficult to write large documents =&gt; hypothesis: something will be written in which there is more logic and which has a high probability of passing the challenge of colleagues =&gt; bring money.
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>this hypothesis is supported by the product’s story about internal processes at Amazon. He says that having to write a minimal document changes the mindset from “Let’s get the feature out now” to a more deliberate choice of what will pass the peer and stakeholder filter.</li>
</ul>
</li>



<li>Written communication forces you to think about the logic better, since obvious mistakes will be easily noticed</li>



<li>When reading, information is assimilated faster and better remembered</li>
</ul>



<p>Amazon has a culture of writing product requirements through the Working Backwards process. Presentations are prohibited, meetings begin with everyone sitting and silently reading documents that their colleagues have brought. So we are doing the same thing in ROCKETECH!)</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">I will definitely challenge each hypothesis with a different Product owner.</h2>



<p>Research [<a href="https://hbr.org/2018/11/why-its-easier-to-make-decisions-for-someone-else" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1</a>]: if a person makes the same decision for himself and for another person. For himself, the decision is made taking into account fewer factors and minimizing the risk, for another person it takes into account more factors and maximizes the likelihood of success.</p>



<p>This is the reason why we love to give advice, but for ourselves, we cannot come up with the same great advice and it is harder to follow it.</p>



<p>Another study [<a href="https://ideas.ted.com/why-were-so-attached-to-our-own-creations-even-when-theyre-ugly/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2</a>]: a person is inclined to irrationally overestimate the result of his work. People who offer their ideas, when choosing among all the ideas on which to spend money, I choose to spend more on their ideas.</p>



<p>Total: if you add the mandatory process of the product hypothesis challenge (it is important to choose a threshold, for example, everything that is more expensive than 16 total hours of all people who will work on this hypothesis), the quality of the decisions will increase for a small fee by the production time for the hypothesis challenge.</p>



<p>Of course, the presence of a partner helps me in ROCKETECH, it evens out and averages all the solutions, which subsequently leads to more correct conclusions and hypotheses. Many of our founders are doing the project in the same way, in tandem together.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The goal is to shoot the hypothesis, and not to smuggle it by hook or by crook into the food</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>



<li>Since you need to nail down hypotheses, then the process must be built in such a way as to find errors in the logic of the next hypothesis.</li>



<li>From the book Checklist Manifesto [<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Manifesto-How-Things-Right/dp/0312430000" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">3</a>]: Introducing checklists in different processes significantly reduces errors. For example, 8 clinics in the United States conducted an experiment and introduced checklists for surgery. As a result, mortality from operations has been halved.</li>



<li>In my experience, a formal 5-question checklist helps target a myriad of hypotheses even before the design stage.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Make critical changes early on</h2>



<p>“Working Backwards, if done right, takes a LOT of work. But at the same time, writing and discussing such a document saves even more work in the future, increases the likelihood that you will do what the clients need ”- Jeff Bezos on Working Backwards [<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VOgUMqcHhU" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">4</a>]</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusions</h2>



<p>The Amazon Working Backwards process of writing product requirements according to a standard template fits into all of these principles.</p>


The Guide for Perfect Customer Development: How to Create Knowledge as Efficiently as Possible With Available Resources

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How is knowledge created in our world?</h2>



<p><strong>We all studied</strong> <strong>at school and there, at the level of any natural science lesson, it is created through one process</strong>:</p>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>A hypothesis is put forward</li>



<li>Experiment in progress</li>



<li>Feedback is collected and the result of the experiment is analyzed</li>



<li>The hypothesis is either killed, or requires correction and repeated cycle, or is confirmed.</li>
</ol>



<p><strong>When we make a product, we create knowledge about:</strong></p>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>What should be the product about?</li>



<li>What segment of the audience should our product be aimed at?</li>



<li>How to distribute it?</li>



<li>So that the client buys, and the company makes a profit</li>
</ol>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">We’re constantly losing focus on hypothesis testing and knowledge creation.</h2>



<p>One of the most important product skills is being able to focus yourself and your team on what needs to be done.</p>



<p>It is very easy to dig into analytics, design, interviews with clients, designing a huge feature, running from meeting to meeting, and juggling with demanding stakeholders. But when you look back at a quarter/year ago, you see that one and a half features have been released, none of them brings money, and even worse, burns them by complicating the code base and supporting endless minors and normals.</p>



<p><em>To sum up</em>: if you do not focus on consistency and the amount of knowledge generated per unit of time [quarter, month, week], routine and millions of distractions will consume attention. We set one of the Key Results for the maximum Objectives — N tested hypotheses per quarter.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Customer expectations are growing very quickly:</h2>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>The overall level of products with which customers interact is growing</strong></li>
</ol>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>10 years ago [in Russia] everyone carried wallets and paid with cash, 5 years ago, wallets became thinner and everyone paid with cards, now many people stop wearing wallets, since in most places you can pay with Apple Pay / Google Pay</li>



<li>when Apple and Google release new versions of operating systems and when phone manufacturers update their product lines, huge numbers of people get access to slightly better apps, more natural interfaces</li>



<li>a huge number of services are cut for giving the client a slightly more enjoyable experience — for fewer actions, a little cheaper, a little more fun, a little more status. As a result, in the states of Amazon I taught myself to the pattern “clicked — tomorrow at the doorstep, and sometimes even tonight”, while in Russia grocery stores see a threat in delivery services, since the acceleration of delivery, dark kitchens [Kitchen in the District, Varlamov Is] allow you to get tasty and hot food in 15 minutes at an adequate price. </li>



<li>A rapidly growing 15 min delivery from the app of grocery is taking over now around the world for just the last few years. </li>
</ul>



<ol start="2" class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>While you sleep, the competitor sways</strong></li>
</ol>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Moreover, competition often comes from where you do not expect, since complex systems often lead to unexpected (at least, observing from the side) consequences of the second and third orders [<a href="https://fs.blog/2016/04/second-order-thinking/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1</a>]:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>media publishers who owned TV stations, radio stations and franchises are losing margins as advertisers now buy ads from Facebook and Google [YouTube] and media publishers are just one of the providers of content on Facebook and Google platforms.</li>



<li>In the next 10-20 years, automakers may lose the status of “we manufacture cars and sell them to end customers” and turn into much less marginal OEM suppliers of hardware for Waymo, Tesla, Uber, as the scenario “open an application and call a car for $ 7” to smithereens smashes expensive, hemorrhoid and nervous car ownership</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>



<p><em><strong>To sum up</strong></em>: this leads to the fact that one of the focuses of the product and the entire team should be the amount of knowledge created per unit of time =&gt; the number of hypotheses to be tested. Relaxing and testing one hypothesis per quarter will not work — companies in which teams test 20 hypotheses per quarter will inevitably bypass you.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">From the knowledge that each member of the company creates, aggregate knowledge is created about what the company, processes, product should be</h2>



<p>You can work with this knowledge in two ways:</p>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Implement in the form of a new feature, marketing campaign, layout, letter, operational process.</li>



<li>To broadcast knowledge within the company so that more people in the company receive this knowledge, if it is relevant to them, and managers see cross-cutting large patterns and, based on this, adjust the vision and goals of the company.</li>
</ol>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusions</h2>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>In order not to lose focus, we set one of the main Key Results for the maximum Objectives for each product — N hypotheses tested per quarter. // later, for different stages of the product and competencies of product / managers, I will write on the verification of which hypotheses it makes sense to focus on</li>



<li>We embed the process of transferring created knowledge up to CPO / CEO into the processes of synchronization with leaders / stakeholders. This is how we set all process in <a href="https://rocketech.it/contacts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ROCKETECH </a></li>
</ol>


The Guide for Perfect Customer Development: Creating Knowledge Through Hypothesis Testing

<p>If the client does not have a need that he can cover by purchasing our product, we will not have sales and, as a result, profit.</p>



<p>If the client has a need, but our product does not solve the need very well. Then we can sell our product to the client through distribution, partnerships, marketing, but the cohorts will quickly die, we will be vulnerable to competitors who will make the product better.</p>



<p>Creating a product is an incredibly complex process. Defocusing, mistakes in logic, political games, emotional attachment to an “amazing idea!” lead to the fact that we, the products, create what no one needs.</p>



<p>In the venture capital industry, it is believed that 90% of startups die </p>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>2012 <a href="https://integral-entrepreneurship.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Startup-Genome-Premature-Scaling.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Startup Genome Report on Premature Scaling</a></li>



<li>2019, CBInsights, Tackling problems that are interesting to solve rather than those that serve a market need was cited as the No. 1 reason for failure, noted in 42% of cases. <a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/research/startup-failure-reasons-top/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">The Top 20 Reasons Startups Fail</a></li>



<li>3 — 2017, Andreessen Horowitz, «Startups need 2-3 times longer to validate their market than most founders expect. This underestimation creates the pressure to scale prematurely… In our dataset we found that 70% of startups scaled prematurely along some dimension. While this number seemed high, this may go a long way towards explaining the 90% failure rate of startups», <a href="https://a16z.com/2017/02/18/12-things-about-product-market-fit/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">12 Things about Product-Market Fit</a></li>
</ol>



<p>The first principle through which, in my opinion, it is worth increasing the number of hypotheses fired per quarter/year is to ask yourself the question “Does the client need this?” or better yet, “Is the client willing to pay for it now?”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Big Companies Are Culturally Sewing Customer Obsession</h2>



<p><strong>Google</strong></p>



<p><em>Focus on the user and all else will follow.</em> Since the beginning, we’ve focused on providing the best user experience possible. Whether we’re designing a new Internet browser or a new tweak to the look of the homepage, we take great care to ensure that they will ultimately serve you, rather than our own internal goal or bottom line. Our homepage interface is clear and simple, and pages load instantly. Placement in search results is never sold to anyone, and advertising is not only clearly marked as such, it offers relevant content and is not distracting. And when we build new tools and applications, we believe they should work so well you don’t have to consider how they might have been designed differently.</p>



<p><strong>Patreon</strong></p>



<p><em>Put creators first. </em>Deliver unusual care to creators. Our business is creators’ income and rent checks, so we do not take our responsibility lightly. We exist because of, and in service of, creators. There is a creator behind every text, email, call, request, bug, and payment issue, and we treat them as human beings, not users. We will fight to keep the human spark in our relationship as we scale. As a business, we invest in teams like Community Happiness and Creator Care who are on the front lines taking care of our creators. We revere these teammates on the front lines.</p>



<p><strong>Amazon</strong></p>



<p><em>Customer Obsession.</em> Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.</p>



<p>Amazon has Customer Obsession embedded in its core product creation process.</p>



<p>Working Backwards.</p>



<p><strong>Uber</strong></p>



<p><em>We are customer-obsessed</em>. We work tirelessly to earn our customers’ trust and business by solving their problems, maximizing their earnings or lowering their costs. We surprise and delight them. We make short-term sacrifices for a lifetime of loyalty.</p>



<p><strong>ROCKETECH </strong></p>



<p>Rocketech’s strategy is based on building long-term relationships with each customer. Therefore, customer service and customer experience are embedded in the company’s cultural code. Following the principles of “best customer experience” is broadcast to other teams so that their technological solutions become better and more efficient. </p>



<p>We offer not just development, but a dedicated team, which becomes part of the customer’s team for the duration of the work. We take upon ourselves not only the execution of tasks, but also share responsibility for the result, we offer expertise at each stage. On the one hand, this approach seriously complicates the task for the company, but we are ready to sacrifice time and invest in resources so that a startup that comes to us starts the path to a unicorn with us, having received a really working product the first time. It is the dedicated team as our unique advantage that allows us to do this with the greatest efficiency.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Not all clients are created equal</h2>



<p>ABCDX-segmentation is customer segmentation, through the prism of how much they need YOUR product.</p>



<p>ABCDX-segmentation works only for products that have thousands of paying customers, JTBD / problem interviews are suitable for finding a new segment, for products with hundreds of paying customers — Sean Ellis segmentation [<a href="https://firstround.com/review/how-superhuman-built-an-engine-to-find-product-market-fit/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">4</a>].</p>



<p>The essence of ABCDX segmentation: your product divides all the people who have paid you into 4 segments according to the degree of value your product brings to them:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>A Segment – the product is super needed, they buy a lot and with pleasure, the transaction cycle is small, they do not remind of themselves at all, they just pay.</li>



<li>B Segment – the product is needed, there are objections, something is missing. They pay plus or minus regularly, the transaction cycle is relatively small, the average check is above average.</li>



<li>C Segment – there is a need for a solution, but not yours, your product does not help them much. The cycle of the transaction is huge, the average check is small, it falls off easily, tortures salespeople and support.</li>



<li>D Segment – take out the brain and do not buy</li>



<li>X Segment – potentially your A segment, but your product in its current form does not suit them, requires modifications</li>
</ul>



<p><a href="https://iidf.vc/?convead_muid=JZXY9ihIEATIQ9Gn8:1632076450897" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">IIDF</a> – one of the most active Russian VC funds and accelerators, analyzed portfolio companies and found that teams spend only 20% of their time working on the needs for A and B segments. At the same time, A and B segments bring 80% of revenue, while C and D – 20% of revenue.</p>



<p>Why? C and D scream loudly, write and call support, whine on social networks. As a result, we, as reactive animals, do what falls into the focus of our attention. And we don’t make money on them…</p>



<p>Therefore, it is not worth making a product for all customers, but only for AB-segments.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



<p>If you add the AB-Customer Obsession principle to the level of the company’s cultural principles and sew it through all processes, you can increase the likelihood that stillborn, unnecessary features and products will not be created. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Completing guide for perfect customer  </h3>



<p>in the previous article, we talked about <a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/the-guide-for-perfect-customer-development" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">How to Talk to Users</a></p>


The Guide for Perfect Customer Development: Customer Obsession

<p>This topic is massive to pack it up in just one simple post with whole details. So we will split into a cycle of topics where we will try to talk deeply about customer development and how to make it. This is the first material where we will talk about How to talk with users.</p>



<p>For the past 5 years, all over the industry, you have heard about the importance of Customer Development, design thinking, customer discovery, UX research, and [substitute yours]. Each expert insists on a specific methodology and positions it as a panacea for all product troubles and business failures.</p>



<p>All of the above methodologies are just special cases of the most important skill of any grocery person — the ability to talk with customers.</p>



<p>By and large, it doesn’t matter if you study your clients in strict accordance with the Design Thinking methodology, or start frantically inviting them for in-depth interviews for an hour and a half in the office. It is important that you basically communicate with your target audience.</p>



<p>No approach will give you instant results, but with constant and long-term use, any of them will lead to a paradigm shift in your attitude toward the product. Start communicating with customers and your product will transform.</p>



<p>The beauty of communicating with clients is that even if you go to clients with a specific question about functionality, usability, etc., you may not get an answer to it, but you will definitely get a lot of useful feedback, some of which you did not even know.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How to talk to customers? </h2>



<p>These are from the second video of the YCombinator 2019 startup school. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT4Ig2uqjTc&amp;t=12s" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Eric Migicovsky explains how to talk with customers</a>.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>In our (YC) experience, the founders of the best companies communicate directly with customers throughout the life of the company, without intermediaries. If you are a founder and a person has appeared in your startup to whom you can delegate communication with clients, postpone this moment as long as possible.</li>



<li>Typical interview mistakes are coolly synthesized in The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick</li>
</ul>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Don’t share your ideas! Your job is to get the experience out of the client.</li>



<li>Do not ask the questions: “If we make such a feature, will you use it?”, Instead, study the path that led the person to this problem and to the fact that he began to look for a solution to his problem</li>



<li>Listen! And talk less! Your task is to extract as much information as possible in 20-40 minutes.</li>
</ol>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top five questions of problem interviews </h2>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>What was the hardest part when trying to deal with a problem? —This question will let you know which problems really hurt people and which ones don’t.</li>



<li>Tell us about the last time you encountered this problem. — from this question you will learn the context. Also, stories are remembered <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X0weDMh9C4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">22 times better</a> than facts, and you will better remember the stories of each individual respondent</li>



<li>What was hard about that? — Asking this question over and over again about each problem, you will get to the bottom of the real motivation. Through the answers to this question, you will find out exactly what your product will be bought for, to get rid of what specific pains.</li>



<li>What did you do to deal with this problem? — If customers are not looking for a solution to their problem, they may not have a problem and you shouldn’t be making this product.</li>



<li>What do you dislike about the solutions you’ve already tried?</li>
</ol>



<p>Customer interviews are incredibly valuable in the three stages of a startup in the Pre-Product &lt;&gt; Market Fit stage.</p>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>I have an idea? → we conduct problematic interviews and clarify what problem we are actually solving</li>



<li>Have a prototype? → looking for an audience segment to launch on</li>



<li>Launched? → iterate over and type the necessary features</li>
</ol>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Do you have an idea?</h2>



<p>Where to find the first people to interview</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Conduct first interviews with the co-founders and the team. Look for the very first clients among friends, friends of their friends.</li>



<li>Find these people in the real world and talk to them live. For example, a startup from the latest batch, YCombinator, is making a product for firefighters, and cold emails didn’t work at all. They drove to the fire stations and caught the firefighters for a 15-minute conversation, and they responded with pleasure!</li>



<li>At industrial events: conferences, meetups</li>
</ul>



<p>Some hacks</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Take notes! Lots of detailed notes. If you do not have time to write, ask a colleague/friend to write down</li>



<li>Start with a small number of interviews: the first 10 interviews will give you a LOT of valuable information.</li>



<li>Be careful about the time people are willing to give you. Try to get as much valuable information as possible from the first 10-15 minutes. It can take even one hour to talk. </li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Have a prototype?</h2>



<p>If you select the wrong clients for your tests, you may be framing yourself with the wrong feedback. Try to find ideal clients for prototype testing — add questions about numbers:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>How much does it cost you to solve this problem? — How much money is burned out, or how much can the client earn if he solves this problem?</li>



<li>How often does a customer face a problem? — Problems that a customer faces often tend to hurt a lot and customers are looking for solutions and may be willing to convert to your product. If customers, who often face this problem, do not start using your product, this is a strong signal that you have screwed up somewhere.</li>



<li>How big is the budget for solving this problem? – for b2b specialists, only those who manage the budget can answer this question.</li>
</ul>



<p>Ideal customers for your prototype often face a problem: they have the budget or the credibility to buy your solution and it hurts: they can make money with your product or save money.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Iterate towards Product &lt;&gt; Market Fit</h2>



<p>Eric strongly advises reading the article <a href="https://firstround.com/review/how-superhuman-built-an-engine-to-find-product-market-fit/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">How Superhuman Searched for Product &lt;&gt; Market Fit</a>.</p>



<p>The material about how the Superhuman product-market fit searched by-polls</p>



<p>As a survey (and subsequent segmentation) to find out if your product has Product &lt;&gt; Market Fit by Sean Ellis — the founder of GrowthHackers.com, the person who raised Dropbox and Eventbrite at their launch.</p>



<p><strong>Some hacks</strong></p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Take the phone from customers at registration so that you can call them at the right time</li>



<li>Don’t make features from support. Take money for non-existent features.</li>



<li>Never mind positive feedback. This information will not give you information from which you can make decisions.</li>



<li>Avoid bad data, because it will guide you to the wrong features</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Main material output</h2>



<p>It’s essential to continuously work with the end-user, collecting feedback through in-depth interviews and other methods. High-level decisions should be based on this feedback. Remember, in a startup, we need to save money by avoiding unnecessary features.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Read the next series of the guide:</h2>



<p><a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/customer-obsession" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Customer Obsession</a></p>



<p><a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/the-guide-for-perfect-customer-development-creating-knowledge-through-hypothesis-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creating knowledge through hypothesis testing</a></p>



<p><a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/the-guide-for-perfect-customer-development-problem-interview-checklist" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Problem interview checklist</a></p>



<p>.</p>


The Guide to Perfect Customer Development: How to Talk to Users

<p><strong>Rocketech</strong> team is proud to become <strong>a Bronze partner of Nest.JS</strong>!</p>



<p>We consider collaborating with Nest.JS as a great opportunity for our engineers to work conveniently.</p>



<p>It is useful for everyday processes, hard tasks, which require Node.JS web-server realization. And even critical points are simpler to solve when the project stack is the same on the frontend and backend.</p>



<p>We believe that quality work should be praised and encouraged by others. So we support Nest.JS and hope to continue doing it more.</p>



<p>Happy to use this progressive Node.js framework for developing apps for our clients!</p>


Nest.JS Bronze Partner

<p>Estimation is considered a critical but complex aspect of the agile development process. It should consider many vital factors that affect all employees and the project itself. Sometimes, team members may conflict in this area, but agile estimation is just an assumption, not a cornerstone.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Story Points Concept</h2>



<p>Story points are used to estimate the total effort required to complete a <em>user story*</em>. It is quite different from traditional software development planning, which focuses on hourly estimation. <a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/dedicated-team-the-future-of-software-development" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dedicated teams</a> may use such an approach during the backlog refinement or an estimation meeting to learn how much work they should do in each sprint.</p>



<p>You can calculate story points by building a <em>reference story</em> (the user story you have completed earlier), choosing your scale and estimation technique, and then calculating your project. </p>



<p>Here is a basic example: your squad has to develop a web application. After passing all the above-mentioned stages, you concluded that your project has a total story point estimate of 360 and the actual <em>sprint velocity*</em> is 36. Thus, you should execute еут sprints to complete the development process.</p>



<p><em>*User story is an instrument used to show a particular software feature from the end-user perspective. Sprint velocity is the average number of story points the development squad completes in an average sprint.</em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Do the Story Points Include?</h2>



<p>Since we have learned the definition of story points in agile, let’s find out what they involve. Four crucial factors affect task execution:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>The total amount of tasks.</strong></li>



<li><strong>The complexity of work.</strong> </li>



<li><strong>The required sprint duration.</strong></li>



<li><strong>Possible risks (if any).</strong></li>
</ul>



<p>Founders may doubt that combining all these aspects is straightforward, ​​but it comes through experience. You will learn how to estimate story points more intuitively, precisely, and faster. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Elements of Story Point Estimation</h2>



<p>When estimating features using story points, you should consider three key elements:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><em>Risk</em> covers unclear requirements and random changes. </li>



<li><em>Complexity</em> shows the difficulty of the development process.</li>



<li><em>Volume</em> defines the amount of work in a specific story point.</li>
</ul>



<p>Agile estimation may be complicated since teams should consider various development aspects, but user story points aim to simplify this process. You need to analyze how much effort you expect to spend on a particular backlog item in contrast to other elements; thus, such an estimation is also called “relative estimation”. </p>



<p>To strengthen the estimate relativity, squads can use the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Fibonacci-sequence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow"><em>Fibonacci sequence</em></a>, where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones (0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc.). You should assign these numbers to all parts of the user story. The higher the number, the more complex the user story and the more effort it will take to complete.</p>



<p>When using Fibonacci numbers, tasks do not have much of a difference. For example, tasks assigned to numbers 3 and 5 are different in complexity in the same way as tasks 8 and 13; therefore, you cannot express the difference two, three, or even more times. On the contrary, you should define one thing — more than, less than, or equal.</p>



<p>Here is a basic example: imagine holding two fruits, an apple in one hand and a grapefruit in the other. Without looking, you can probably determine that the last one feels heavier. But if we get two apples of different varieties, it would be much harder to define the heavier one. The Agile consultant Mike Cohn <a href="https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/blog/why-the-fibonacci-sequence-works-well-for-estimating" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">explains</a> it with Weber’s Law as the difference we can identify between specific objects is given by a percentage.</p>



<p>Fibonacci numbers will help you prioritize the backlog successfully. You cannot know how long the project will take, but you can see tasks that can be executed faster and those that will take longer. If these tasks have an equivalent value, an agile team can start with a simpler one to gain traction for the project. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Three Ways to Do the Agile Story Point Estimation</h2>



<p>Product owners use many methods to do an effort estimation in agile, but we will review the most popular ones. If you implement these approaches, you can plan sprints better.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Planning Poker</h3>



<p>This concept is straightforward: all employees get cards with the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 40, and 100. Then, the host chooses the task and proposes to discuss the requirements. After that, the moderator asks all participants to pick a card and put it face down. If they have done this, the moderator gives a signal to show the cards.</p>



<p>If the participants’ scores agree, the host records them; otherwise, the cards are returned to the hand, and the participants start the discussion again. You have to ask the following questions to those who gave different marks: </p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>What difficulties do you see in this task?</strong></li>



<li><strong>Why do you think there will be no problems during implementation?</strong></li>
</ul>



<p>Remember: you can agree that a set of neighboring scores can also be an agreement. However, it will be better to consider the higher score to avoid task averaging. In any case, you will be ready to prioritize different backlog items and distribute them among the agile development team.  </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Swimlanes</h3>



<p><em>A swimlane is a horizontal categorization of tasks in the agile board.</em> You can use this element to allocate different task types (users, workstreams, software features, etc.). However, swimlanes are also useful to estimate the story point in the agile model. Let’s review it in more detail:</p>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>First, you should prepare stickers with the task names and an agile board with Fibonacci numbers.</li>



<li>Next, the Scrum Master asks the team which task is the simplest (in terms of complexity, volume, and risks) and places it in a column with 2 story points.</li>



<li>Then, the Scrum Master asks employees which of the backlog tasks is 2-3 times more complex than the previous one (using the same estimation elements) and then places it in a column with 5 story points.</li>



<li>After that, the agile team members distribute tasks on the board by themselves and explain their assessments.</li>



<li>The final part is the analysis of each column and the task comparison.</li>
</ol>



<p>As with planning poker, a complete consensus is not required. The host can agree with the team that when two different estimates of one task appear, the larger one is considered. Thus, evaluating in swimlanes allows you to discuss the backlog and provide the team with an understanding of each task.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">T-Shirt Size </h3>



<p><em>This </em><em>agile estimation and planning</em><em> </em><em>technique involves T-shirts in different sizes, from XS to XL, to evaluate the user story features.</em> First, you can estimate some tasks already completed from previous sprints, take the simplest, and call it XS. After that, start “trying on” the future tasks for it: </p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>S = XS + XS</li>



<li>M = S + S</li>



<li>L = M + M, etc.</li>
</ul>



<p>In some cases, the XXL size can be used to describe a task that needs to be decomposed into smaller ones.</p>



<p>The Product Owner presents the task concept and vision to the employees, and all squad members blindly give their assessments to the Scrum Master. Then, the participants who gave the highest and lowest marks should provide arguments for their points. After listening to them, team members agree on whether they are ready to raise or lower their rating based on these opinions. Finally, the team must reach a common view.</p>



<p><em>Nine out of ten IT startups fail due to mediocre management, so you should ensure that you do this correctly. Learn why management is crucial in a software development company </em><a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/why-is-proper-management-vital-for-it-startups" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>here</em></a><em>. </em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Story Points vs Hours</h2>



<p><strong>Story points </strong>are a high-level estimation measure that covers tasks to be performed in the following sprints (together with the sprint velocity). You can do this at the pre-planning stage (while working on processes related to the project start), before planning a specific sprint, or during the long-term planning stage (while scheduling 4-5 sprints ahead). The<strong> hourly estimate</strong>, on the contrary, represents the actual effort in man-hours needed to complete the particular user story. You have to use it when the task estimation is provided in hours. </p>



<p>Both concepts cover different purposes, so you should not compare them and focus more on evaluating the time required to execute the backlog items. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Story Point Benefits and Drawbacks</h2>



<p>You should plan your development process to avoid missed deadlines or delayed tasks; in this case, story points will help you do this properly.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Benefits of the Story Point Estimation</h3>



<p>Dr. Jeff Sutherland, co-creator of Scrum, <a href="https://www.scruminc.com/story-points-why-are-they-better-than" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">believes</a> that story points are a fast and cheap alternative to hourly estimates. Let’s review the most compelling advantages of this measurement unit. </p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Story point estimation in agile covers the relative effort, allowing you to evaluate the software development progress quickly and accurately. </li>



<li>You can use them to estimate already completed tasks.</li>



<li>There are no specific amounts of time to evaluate.</li>



<li>Story points help you accept the uncertainty of the agile development evaluation process.</li>
</ul>



<p>Finally, you can plan sprints to manage the entire project execution. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Weaknesses of the Story Point Estimation</h3>



<p>But story points have some drawbacks.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Story points are influenced by the entire development process, demonstrating risk, complexity, and repetition together; therefore, you cannot point out one specific factor.</li>



<li>When converting user story points in agile into an hourly estimate, inaccurate information may appear. </li>



<li>Averaged story point information cannot be 100% true.</li>



<li>Small tasks cannot be estimated using story points.</li>



<li>When the agile team reduces, you should update your estimation to ensure everyone follows the same track. </li>



<li>Estimation is a squad responsibility, so keep it stable. </li>



<li>Do not ignore incorrectly made story points; in that case, organize a retrospective meeting to talk about them. </li>
</ul>



<p>Although critics prefer pointing out the agile disadvantages, most people agree on the story point estimation value. Thus, it is indispensable for getting objective data for further analysis. <em>At Rocketech, we implement advanced techniques to estimate software development projects properly. Thus, you will be sure about effective task execution while creating marketable software. And if you want to try a productive collaboration experience, </em><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://rocketech.it/contacts" target="_blank"><em>contact us</em></a><em> for more details.</em></p>


What Are Story Points, and How Do You Estimate Them?

<p>A successful project starts with planning and evaluation. Without a detailed roadmap, you risk ending up in the chaos of missed deadlines, underestimated tasks, and failed objectives. Agile story points estimation methods help developers see the bigger picture and update a client on approximate budgets and timeframes.</p>



<p>The Rocketech experts have prepared a short overview of the swimlanes project estimation to explain the method’s process and goals.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="874" height="620" src="https://wp.rocketech.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/swimlane-sizing.png" alt="Kanban board in the process of project estimation" class="wp-image-4677" title="Kanban and Swimlane Sizing: Project Estimation Techniques"></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Relative Estimation Methods</strong></h2>



<p>The cornerstone of the agile software development approach is estimating what needs to be done in <a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/what-are-story-points-and-how-do-you-estimate-them" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">story points</a> rather than in hours. Although relative estimation methods pose certain <a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/agile-project-estimation-challenges" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">challenges</a> in communication with the client, they have long proved efficient.</p>



<p>The difference between absolute and relative estimations is that the latter <strong>compare tasks to each other</strong> rather than assign them a number of hours for completion. It makes the process easier and minimizes arguments and contradictions.</p>



<p>It is much easier for the development team to agree on the relative size of a work item than to estimate its development in hours. However, there usually should be a reference task to depart from. Typically, they are set by default according to the team’s previous experience. </p>



<p><strong>The number of points assigned to a story represents its total size</strong>. There is no definite formula for determining this size. Point size is more of a <strong>combination of the task’s complexity, risks, and the team’s expert level</strong>.</p>



<p>Over time, developers invented different relative estimation methods, including:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/planning-poker-an-agile-estimation-technique" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Poker Planning</a></li>



<li>T-Shirt Sizes</li>



<li>Swimlane Sizing</li>



<li>Maximum Size or Less</li>



<li>Bucket System</li>



<li>Dot-Voting</li>



<li>Big/Small/Uncertain</li>



<li>Ordering Rule</li>
</ul>



<p>Generally, you can use any real (or not real, for that matter) concept as an estimation point. Some developers use <a href="https://mdalmijn.com/what-is-the-easiest-way-to-explain-story-points/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">dog breeds</a>, for example. At Rocketech, we successfully apply swimlane sizing for fast and effective high-level assessment of new projects.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What Are Kanban Swimlanes?</strong></h2>



<p><a href="https://kanban.university/kanban-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Kanban</a> is an agile <strong>workflow management method</strong>. Being neither a methodology nor a process framework, it’s a much less structured approach than <a href="https://www.scrum.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Scrum</a>. However, you can apply Kanban to any already-running process. The method is based on visualizing the changes through gradual improvements on a <a href="https://www.atlassian.com/agile/kanban/boards" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Kanban board</a>.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://docs.microsoft.com/de-de/azure/devops/boards/boards/media/kanban-basics-open-cfd.png?view=azure-devops" alt="Digital Kanban board" title="What Are Kanban Swimlanes?"></figure>



<p>Tasks move through horizontal columns on the board from left to right as their status changes. The simplest example is a journey from “To Do” to “In Progress” to “Complete”. Besides columns, Kanban boards have horizontal “<strong>swimlanes</strong>” <strong>denoting different task types</strong>. They can be assigned to team members, teams, clients, repetitive tasks, classes of service, or any other label. The Kanban swimlanes became the basis for the swimlane sizing project estimation method.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Swimlane Sizing Explained</strong></h2>



<p>Visually, the swimlane sizing technique resembles the Kanban board. The method has a particular “operational protocol” and helps teams quickly assess backlogs and adjust their size. </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p class="has-text-align-right"><em>“This approach keeps numbers entirely out of the mix until the end and allows participants to focus solely on the relative sizing of stories”.</em></p>



<p class="has-text-align-right"><a href="http://theagilepirate.net/archives/109" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow"><em>The Agile Pirate</em></a></p>
</blockquote>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The Process</strong></h3>



<p>For the swimlanes project estimation process, you need a table the developers can walk around. Use sticky tape to create 8 “swimlanes” on the table. </p>



<p>Then put incomplete user stories for the upcoming Sprint (written on cards or sticky notes) on the table. <strong>Important</strong>: Don’t label any lanes with numbers or other markings.</p>



<p>That’s how the table should look like:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/theagilepirate.net/wp-content/uploads/blank_table.jpg?resize=277%2C251&amp;ssl=1" alt=""></figure>



<p>Divide the user stories among the developers and ask them to classify the cards without discussion. It should be approximately five minutes of silent placing the cards on the swimlanes with story size increasing from left to right—the smallest stories in the left-most lane.</p>



<p><strong>Important</strong>: Don’t mention story points or any other number—the team needs to compare stories to each other. However, you can guide the developers through the first one or two stories to provide them with some “anchors” for further classification.</p>



<p>The board should look like this (including some card grouping); Xs are the user story cards: </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/theagilepirate.net/wp-content/uploads/filled_table_round1.jpg?resize=273%2C248&amp;ssl=1" alt=""></figure>



<p>After all user stories have been placed, developers spend another five to ten minutes silently moving the cards to other lanes, according to their team members’ decisions. Some user stories are likely to be pushed back and forth. If this happens too often, allow the timeboxing, allocate the card to the largest option or remove the story.</p>



<p>The board should look a bit different from the first round:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/theagilepirate.net/wp-content/uploads/filled_table_round2.jpg?resize=275%2C248&amp;ssl=1" alt=""></figure>



<p>After placing and reviewing all cards, ask the team members how satisfied they are with the current board layout on a scale from 1 to 5. Those who indicate 1 or 2 should elaborate their concern. Then, other team members are encouraged to either explain their point of view or agree to move the card. Many experts advise timeboxing these discussions to two minutes per team member.</p>



<p>The developers then determine whether there could be a smaller user story than the one in the leftmost lane. If not, the first column should be labeled 1 or 2. The choice is based mostly on judgment and instinct. If the developers believe that smaller user stories are possible, this lane gets 3 or 5. </p>



<p>Then the remaining swim lanes are numbered by the <a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/what-are-story-points-and-how-do-you-estimate-them" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modified Fibonacci sequence used for story point estimation</a> (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 40, 100, !/?).  </p>



<p>In the end, you should get a table looking like this:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/theagilepirate.net/wp-content/uploads/filled_table_scale1.jpg?resize=274%2C250&amp;ssl=1" alt=""></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/theagilepirate.net/wp-content/uploads/filled_table_scale2.jpg?resize=273%2C250&amp;ssl=1" alt=""></figure>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Typically, 5 is a “medium” sized story for a sprint.</li>



<li>Anything larger than 8 to 13 requires decomposition.</li>



<li>Anything larger than 20 is <em>unknown. </em>It needs further discussion, examination, and decomposition before you can size it effectively.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Important</strong>: Leave the far-right column unsized. Stories in this lane can be broken down into smaller parts. This way, you’ll have space for draft exercises, not yet ready for commitments.</p>



<p>For more detail, check the <a href="http://theagilepirate.net/archives/109" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">source</a>.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The Purpose</strong></h3>



<p>Such “silent classification” is a powerful estimation instrument in agile environments. It eliminates unnecessary debate and encourages focused thinking. The dynamic estimation approaches (often purposefully limited in time) help people discuss user stories and dive deeper into the ways of their realization.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p class="has-text-align-right"><em>The method allows you to estimate a great number of user stories for a short time. I know the cases when a team estimated 40 stories in 1.5 hours. At Rocketech, we successfully discuss and estimate 12-15 user stories for an hour.</em></p>



<p><strong><em>Anastasiia Musil, Scrum Master, Rocketech</em></strong></p>
</blockquote>



<p>The swimlane sizing requirements don’t include the active discussion participation of every team member. Although the entire team is present at the exercise, it’s not mandatory to express your thoughts if you don’t want to, unlike in <a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/planning-poker-an-agile-estimation-technique" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">planning poker</a>.</p>



<p>The swimlanes project estimation formula is a <strong>high-level assessment approach</strong>, even more approximate than (again) poker planning. It doesn’t aim to break every task into the smallest elements and reach a complete consensus. The goal is to go through all tasks and understand the project as an overall picture.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Final Thoughts</strong></h2>



<p>Quick and effective planning helps developers minimize problems and start communication with the customer on the right note. And no planning is possible without an assessment of the work ahead. Different project estimation techniques typically serve varying purposes. While small projects require less effort, evaluating large, complex ones can become a challenge itself.</p>



<p>The swimlanes project estimation methodology is a quick and efficient way to provide a client and a team with an overview of requirements and workload. Along with poker planning, it’s our proven go-to technique we perfect with every successful project. Interested in our project estimation methods? <a href="https://rocketech.it/contacts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Contact us</a> for more detail.</p>


Swimlane Sizing: Fast and Effective Project Estimation

<p>For decades, enterprises followed the strategy of total redesigning the company website every X years. Business owners often saw a redesign project as a universal tool for problem-solving. Sales have dropped, users spend less time browsing the site, and conversion is decreasing — let’s redesign our platform and fix everything.</p>



<p>In reality, however, the wrong strategy can worsen the situation. Knowing how to approach a website redesign is understanding that it’s not just changing button colors and a layout on a few pages. Rather, it’s another powerful instrument for <strong>the business idea validation</strong> process. What’s the purpose of a website redesign? And what’s behind such projects?</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="874" height="620" src="https://wp.rocketech.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/website-redesign.png" alt="" class="wp-image-4666"></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Does Your Website Need a Redesign?</strong></h2>



<p>If you think your <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/how-to-scale-a-marketplace" target="_blank">marketplace</a> or online shop needs a redesign just because “it could be better”, it doesn’t mean you have to do anything about it. It may still meet user needs and perform well from a business perspective. More significant factors would be <em>negative</em> <em>customer</em> <em>feedback</em>, <em>reduced</em> <em>conversion</em>, or an <em>outdated tech stack</em>.</p>



<p><strong>A website redesign is essentially a part of your marketing strategy and business growth planning</strong>. In fact, the “Let’s do a <em>total redo</em> every X years” approach no longer works in today’s market environments. Here are only a few reasons why.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Although users need “something new” every once in a while, they don’t like sudden changes.</li>



<li>After a complete redesign, it’s impossible to track the reasons for the metric change (if you changed everything at once).</li>



<li>Such projects often don’t have clear objectives (“We want to fix UX” is not a clear goal). It turns them into utter chaos.</li>



<li>Research, prototyping, design, and development of the entire new version take too long. The results become outdated upon the launch.</li>
</ul>



<p>Global economic volatility, growing tech innovations, and ever-changing customer preferences have made the idea of a far-reaching, “scheduled” total redesign obsolete. Would you spend hundreds of thousands on a project with unknown and immeasurable results? Doubtful.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Design Must Solve Business Problems</strong></h2>



<p>Many decision-makers see designers as simply picture-drawing development team members. However, design is an essential part of any digital product. Typically, users need around five seconds to form <a href="https://medium.com/swlh/5-seconds-of-first-time-user-experience-d98abee76b20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">the first impression of a digital product</a>. So how do you make a successful design that keeps the user and, more importantly, sells?</p>



<p>Bobby Ghoshal, former Head of Digital Design at <em>WeWork</em>, once <a href="https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/inside-design-wework/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">said</a> that 80% of design decisions are made “away from pixels”: in discussions, presentations, and reporting meetings. Moreover, product managers’ and designers’ responsibility areas overlap in many ways. Ultimately design aims to reach the same business goal — <strong>identifying and solving user problems</strong>. In this case, in a visual form.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Product Approach to Redesign Projects</strong></h2>



<p>In software development, the product approach is a user-centric methodology designed to create maximum value for the customer. In a broader sense, it’s a <strong>philosophy of building products that people actually need</strong>. Its underlying principle is <strong>hypothesis testing</strong> through experiments and consumer research (including <a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/the-guide-for-perfect-customer-development-problem-interview-checklist" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">problem</a> and <a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/what-is-a-solution-interview-in-customer-development" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">solution</a> interviews). Put simply, your ideas are hypothetical unless you test them on real customers.</p>



<p><strong><em>Your product is a value proposition that solves customer problems. Product design is the offer’s functional package.</em></strong></p>



<p>In agile software development environments, there’s an opinion that all business managers need a basic understanding of hypothesis testing. In the long run, the method of small, gradual iterations makes the business more flexible and adaptable to changing market conditions. However, for the successful application of hypothesis testing in business, you need ideas. Here are five ways to generate them with a hands-on approach.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#1 Study Your Competition</strong></h3>



<p>Checking what your competitors are doing is a proven way to generate a new hypothesis. Identifying relevant key performance indicators can also hint if the idea is working or, at least, worth trying. Besides, it’s easy to understand how the latest trends impact the buyer’s behavior if you monitor the changes in similar products. </p>



<p>However, it’s more complicated than just taking an idea already implemented by the competition. It still needs validation. Sharing the same niche and locale doesn’t automatically mean <em>your </em>customers will like it. And mistakes of using ideas that haven’t yet been tested usually come at a high price. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#2 Learn How to Use Analytics</strong></h3>



<p>A typical scenario: A marketplace founder hires a custom software development studio to redesign the platform (for any reason). Once the development team gets access to Google Analytics, it turns out that:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>There’s no analytics-related documentation. None at all. The services were set up by a long-gone freelancer. And hardly anyone in the company knows how to sort it out.</li>
</ul>



<p>Or</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Nobody understands how analytics works. Objectives are outdated or were never configured correctly. </li>
</ul>



<p>Ideally, the platform needs an end-to-end analytics system. But in general, even the usual conversions in each step and the metric system can highlight your website’s weaknesses. For example, if 20% end up in the cart, and only 0.02% make it to the checkout, there are potential problems in this part of the user journey. Detailed analysis of this step will inspire improvement ideas.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#3 Conduct Usability and A/B Testing</strong></h3>



<p><strong>Usability testing</strong> implies presenting a clickable interface prototype to real users before release. In larger products, usability tests are part of each sprint as a separate stage. However, it’s often not included in the SMEs’ budgets. As a result, all mistakes become apparent only after release (when it’s much more expensive to fix them).</p>



<p><em>It’s relatively easy and inexpensive to test the simplest scenarios on your own. Ask 10 people from your target audience to go through the purchase scenario of your current version or a ready prototype.</em></p>



<p>Talking to tech support is another (faster and cheaper) way to identify problems that need solving. In the end, users report their issues to the helpdesk. Getting first-hand information helps fix a lot of bugs with minimum resources.</p>



<p><strong>A/B testing</strong> helps you understand how to set feasible goals. Put simply, it’s comparing two product versions and their performance to each other. The best part: Even before launching a redesign project, you can change selected elements in the old website version and see how the user behavior changes. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"><table><tbody><tr><td>A classic example is the <strong><em>37signals</em></strong> project redesign. The company changed its name to Basecamp, after its most popular product. In addition, the developers made changes to the site’s main page. It used to have a registration form. After the redesign, it was removed. This proved to be a failing decision that led to a massive drop in conversion. As a result, the company <a href="https://m.signalvnoise.com/how-we-lost--and-found--millions-by-not-a-b-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">lost millions of dollars in revenue</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#4 Collect and Analyse Feedback</strong></h3>



<p>Only loyal and diligent customers properly report their problems to tech support. In the most widespread scenario, people just leave for the competitors if they don’t like something. That’s why <strong>feedback from real users is the most valuable source of information</strong> and further development ideas.</p>



<p>There are various methodologies and ways to initiate communication. These can be separate screens with a feedback form where anyone can write what they think or “rate your experience” pop-ups. This way, you can get hypotheses both on interface and workflow improvement.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#5 Know Your Customer</strong></h3>



<p><strong>Communicate with your customer</strong>. It’s the shortest way to discover what they need. And their pain points create the best ground for your website redesign project plan. Whether online questionnaires, customer research, in-depth interviews, usability testing, or diary studies, there are plenty of ways to connect with people willing to help you improve your product.</p>



<p>While working on their chatbot, the product team of Booking.com just went to a local coffee shop and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFfAhv7OOrs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">asked people there what they thought about it</a>. Some of them were not even the Booking’s customers. It helped the company validate the idea through real-time feedback from potential users.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Partner with Experts</strong></h2>



<p>Having a website that needs to be redesigned, many business owners hire freelance designers to save money. However, simply redrawing a logo and replacing a few buttons are unlikely to bring any results.</p>



<p>Asking yourself “Why should I redesign my website?” is about hypothesis testing in a business environment and continuous product improvement. If you have an idea, you have to prove its value both at the business and user experience levels. And partnering with seasoned professionals helps businesses validate ideas and, as a result, increases profits. </p>



<p>The Rocketech Team specializes in product design, among other fields of expertise. We guide our clients through the entire software development process but also take on already-existing products that need improvements and scaling. Do you need advice on how to plan a website redesign? We can help. <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://rocketech.it/contacts" target="_blank">Contact us</a> for more details.</p>


What’s Behind a Website Redesign Project?

<p>According to a study by <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/551501/worldwide-big-data-business-analytics-revenue/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Statista</a>, the global BDA market is estimated at about $215 billion as of the end of 2021. This figure reflects the level of business involvement in learning new data processing models. Information today is valued above all else in commercial organizations. The profit of any company is directly related to its analytical potential. The more information an organization extracts from the World Wide Web, the better it analyzes and uses it correctly, and the higher the final income. </p>



<p>Data is a weapon of mass destruction in the right hands. If they are structured and processed timely, you can gain benefits and increase profits. The main things in this business are a wise approach and good technical implementation. Rocketech experts researched trends for 2022 and found a significant dependence of most forecasts on the development of data lake technology. In this article, we’ll talk about the differences between DB and DL, their roles, and their impact on SaaS. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Data Lakes, SaaS, and How They are Connected</h2>



<p>What are data lakes? These are unstructured information stores in which files, text, content, tables, and everything else are displayed in a “raw” form. Unlike standard databases, access to data is open at once in lakes because digital information is literally “smeared” with a thin layer over the virtual surface. The main difficulty in finding the desired fragment is that it requires special skills and tools. Now it is not a problem because most high-level analysts are mastering this new technology now and introducing their ideas into IT systems.</p>



<p>Let’s take a closer look at the difference between DL and DB:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Data lake</strong></td><td><strong>Database</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Data is stored in open form</td><td>Data is stored in a standard form</td></tr><tr><td>Information is processed only on request</td><td>Files are processed and converted</td></tr><tr><td>Used for analysis </td><td>Used for work</td></tr><tr><td>New technologies</td><td>Classic model</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>As you can see, the main difference between them is the method of use. </p>



<p>DL is currently the best solution to implement in machine learning products. These include modern analytics systems, cloud-based customer services, and SaaS. Data lakes are excellent sandboxes where you can analyze information, build complex models, test them, and compare performance. In the near future, when AI becomes a mandatory component of SaaS systems, DL will fully unleash its potential and take SaaS to a new level in both productivity and quality of work.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Data Analytics Challenges: Processing Speed and Volume of Information</h3>



<p>Data analytics competitions in 2022 will imply all the same tasks that developers and scientists set over the past decade. Despite the progress in research, the main problems are not solved, although a huge budget and the mental resources of thousands of experts are invested in their study. Today, the key obstacles to the effective implementation of new technologies are:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Speed ​​of information processing. Modern systems require enormous computing power. It affects how quickly the data is converted into a readable form, how much volume per second the tool can pass through itself, etc. </li>



<li>Limited storage. In the past 3 years, the world has faced a shortage of electronic components, which influenced the release of server solutions, large drives, etc. The lack of space is due to the huge amount of information received.</li>



<li>Difficult analysis. To work with data lakes, special tools are needed to extract the necessary arrays of digital information and transform them. </li>



<li>Lack of resources. Complex solutions require highly qualified specialists, time, and computing power. The problem is that often limited resources slow down data processing.</li>



<li>The reliability of the data. The information flow is so large that it is almost impossible to control it. A kind of dump appears in which it is difficult to isolate truthful and relevant data.</li>
</ul>



<p>All of the above are data analytics challenges for scientists around the world. Also, these problems set the development vector for DL-related IT solutions for the next decade. Who knows, maybe in 2022, we will see the progress that will turn the world inside data science upside down.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">How DL Unleashes the Potential of SaaS </h3>



<p>SaaS stands for “app as a service”. This term applies to most modern commercial and industrial cloud systems. In fact, this IT product is a web app configured individually for each customer according to their field of work. SaaS can act as an analytic tool or an administrative dashboard with analytical functionality. Therefore, it may become the largest source of information, a data lake. </p>



<p>What does it mean for businesses? Data lakes can analyze, structure, and provide relevant information for:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Building a content strategy</li>



<li>Developing a marketing plan</li>



<li>Optimization of information</li>



<li>Targeting by interests or queries</li>



<li>Expansion of the range of goods or services</li>



<li>Risk assessments of new ideas or work models.</li>
</ul>



<p>Any SaaS solution with analytical functionality can use data lakes and a database simultaneously. Integration between them helps to automate information exchange and use cloud resources effectively by collecting information from the network and sorting it by storage.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Benefits of DL for SaaS in 2022</h2>



<p>Let’s imagine a classic SaaS solution. For example, a CRM system for a trading business. How it works:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Deploying the program on a server where the interface is adapted to the user’s device.</li>



<li>Integrating the necessary operational and analytical functionality into the IT product.</li>



<li>Synchronizing the system with the client database or creating a new one from scratch.</li>



<li>Connecting dependencies and writing relationships between units and cells. </li>
</ul>



<p>If we need an advanced solution, we introduce tools that:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Use information from the database for analysis, which is prescribed by algorithms.</li>



<li>Process incoming and outgoing data, structuring and updating them.</li>



<li>Based on the analysis results, give out relevant schemes with proposals for optimizing work.</li>



<li>Use many external sources for preservation and analysis.</li>
</ul>



<p>As a result, we get a working scheme that accumulates and structures information, processes it, and prepares proposals for optimization. As a result, this complex of integrations provides:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>An inexhaustible source of data for analysis, fueled by thousands of streams from Internet resources.</li>



<li>A sandbox to build and test information models. </li>



<li>Raw data that hides user info and digital footprints.</li>



<li>A unique hybrid system for storing and processing information in the cloud.</li>
</ul>



<p>When DL is integrated into SaaS, there are only positive changes in the overall effectiveness of the tool. The analytics department receives up-to-date data, processes it, and transmits it to marketers who also use this system for their purposes. The entire chain of interconnection optimizes the business workflow with the right approach. Based on the data obtained, it is even possible to generate ideas for development using AI, but it is now more fantasy than reality.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Inside Data Science: A World of Unexplored Knowledge</h3>



<p>Like a sponge that absorbs life-giving moisture, data lakes absorb information from thousands of sources. They store it in a “flat” form, opening up unlimited access to the analysis of any element. Using this technology, you can do crazy things: compare and process tons of data in real time, connect AI to work on extracting useful information, and predict the development of the IT market, e-commerce, or marketing. In general, the potential of data lakes is not limited, but they are not yet prevalent, so it is difficult even to imagine their maximum potential.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Let’s Summarize</h2>



<p>Immersion inside big data is not so deep now since it is at an early development stage. According to forecasts, data lakes will soon replace traditional databases, expanding their structure and optimizing work tools. But it is only a logical vector of development, and we would like scientists to adhere to it in the future. Data analytics competitions in 2022 will raise the bar even higher for all DL-based products. SaaS will be taught to seamlessly integrate with platforms like Azure AWS to maximize the benefits of thousands of terabytes of free information. </p>



<p>Rocketech experts monitor the development of the IT market, innovations, and promising technologies so that you receive new interesting facts or ideas for your projects. We develop complex solutions in which we integrate DL at a customer’s request. For detailed information about our services, you can contact <a href="https://rocketech.it/ru/contacts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">our manager</a>.</p>


Benefits of Data Lakes for SaaS: 2021⁠–⁠2022

<p>APIs have become an essential part of digital products we use every day without even noticing. Meanwhile, there are over <a href="https://github.com/search?q=api&amp;type=repositories" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">2.3 million API-related repositories on GitHub</a>. What is an API? And why does everybody know the acronym, but only a few can explain it?</p>



<p>In fact, APIs are everywhere. They work when you check the weather forecast or pay for pizza delivery. The Rocketech experts summed up everything you need to know about APIs and why they are important in web and mobile development.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>API Explained</strong></h2>



<p><em>API stands for Application Programming Interface</em>. It’s a combination of tools and functions in an interface for creating new applications, through which one program will interact with another. It allows developers to extend the functionality of their product and connect it to other software products.</p>



<p>When users visit an Internet page, they interact with the remote server API. It’s a server component that receives requests and sends responses. Due to APIs, users can perform various actions (built-in payments, for example) without leaving the site.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p><em>Application Programming Interface is a specific protocol that enables computer programs to interact with each other and allows them to use the functions of one application within another.</em></p>
</blockquote>



<p><em>ProgrammableWeb</em>’s <a href="https://www.programmableweb.com/apis/directory" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">API Directory</a> currently tracks over 24,000 different APIs. There are hundreds of APIs for financial systems, social media messaging, payments, e-commerce, cryptocurrencies, and other industries and niches. The fastest-growing segment of the API is data sharing and analysis across applications.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>How Does It Work?</strong></h3>



<p>When you use a mobile app, it also connects to a server over the Internet and sends data. The server retrieves the data, interprets it, performs the necessary actions, and sends it back to your phone. The application analyses the interpreted data and presents you with the information you requested in a readable way.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p><em>Simply put, using API features is like hiring a freelance employee to work remotely. One application instructs the other to do the job and represents the outcome as its product.</em></p>
</blockquote>



<p>The programming <strong>interface</strong> (as in Application Programming Interface) is a “layer” between application A and application B. It launches processes that allow the two programs to exchange information and perform functions related to both sides while concealing the software’s “inner structure”. </p>



<p>This approach allows you to establish the interaction between several programs without thinking about how they are designed, what software logic they are driven by and how the transmitted data is processed.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Hc1pkSAzGtMAgRac0RzPBnmA3F5kG9RJoSrk4rTjPMUjwPxKA3CB26pv52TSKEVb2WEkbVkDqNibwZ4GIc3vdVgvTjWWcwNYYfdSEqlvOeNLIEMixCiTIsfCi2mv3sUFRzXGy5_BKNh5NsBXdA" alt="how API works"></figure>



<p>Interfaces make it easy for users and developers. Users don’t think about what is behind the usual functions in their gadgets, while developers don’t have to scrutiny other programmers’ code to connect someone else’s product to their own.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p></p>
<cite><em><strong>It’s called </strong>encapsulation<strong>— concealing some features to simplify the overall work and minimize the areas of software where one of the developers could make a mistake.</strong></em></cite></blockquote>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>An API is a Set of Functions</strong></h3>



<p>When you rent a flat, you make a contract where you write down all significant aspects of landlord-tenant relations. Similarly, programs also make sort of agreements. They indicate how one can access another. </p>



<p>The list of these functions depends on the developers. In general, there are three <strong>API methods for interacting </strong>with each other and other programs.</p>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>A process that a program can execute using this API.</li>



<li>The data needs to be passed to the API to perform the function.</li>



<li>The data that the program will receive on the output after working with the API.</li>
</ol>



<p>And an API is a set of such functions. It can be only one, and there can be plenty of them. Then, how they are organized and compiled depends on the developer. There are standard options, but they are not a must.</p>



<p>For example, you can organize them by functionality and group APIs for authentication, system access, and registration. You can separate payment APIs and even make different functions for each bank. Or you can create one API for all functions. It’s often the case for out-of-the-box solutions with a standard set of functions. Everything else usually goes at an extra cost.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What Do You Need an API?</strong></h3>



<p>There are plenty of reasons for API development you need to keep in mind if you consider <a href="https://rocketech.it/services" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">creating your digital product</a>. </p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Encapsulation significantly improves security. </strong></li>
</ul>



<p>It’s especially relevant for large-scale software products. Programs constantly perform hundreds of internal tasks without “bothering” the user or “harming” each other. It also minimizes the human error rate.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>APIs simplify and speed up the creation and launch of new products.</strong></li>
</ul>



<p>Developers don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time. You can make a <a href="https://www.tensorflow.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">TensorFlow</a> neural network API, for example, and implement it into your product rather than creating your own machine learning system.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p><em>Before Windows and other graphical operating systems, programmers had to write thousands of lines of code to create windows on a computer screen. When Microsoft provided developers with Windows API, it took only a few minutes to create them.</em></p>
</blockquote>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>APIs make it easy to set up relationships between different services and programs.</strong></li>
</ul>



<p>Owners of different applications don’t have to communicate with each other. Developers can implement support for third-party services without contacting their creators at all.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>APIs save time and cut costs.</strong></li>
</ul>



<p>With thousands of APIs available for any functionality, you may pay for fewer development hours in the end.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>APIs are the necessary instruments in microservices infrastructure.</strong></li>
</ul>



<p>If your product includes creating a developed <a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-microservices-architecture" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microservices infrastructure</a>, you need multiple APIs to ensure smooth communication between the software components.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Types of APIs</strong></h3>



<p>There are <strong>global products</strong> with separate programming languages, intended to <strong>solve local problems</strong>. There are also products for:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Managing various <em>graphical</em> <em>components</em> of program modules (wxWidgets, Qt, GTK, etc.);</li>



<li><em>Operating</em> <em>systems</em> (Amiga ROM Kernel, POSIX, Linux Kernel APIruen, Cocoa, OS/2 API, Windows API);</li>



<li><em>Sound</em> (DirectMusic/DirectSound, OpenAL).</li>
</ul>



<p>And there is an <strong>API release policy</strong> that determines the degree to which the technology is available to different users.</p>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Private APIs are proprietary products intended for internal use only.</li>



<li>Partner APIs grant access to technology only to individual business partners.</li>



<li>Open (public) APIs are publicly available to anyone.</li>
</ol>



<p>In general, the interface type depends on the tasks it should solve. APIs differ according to <strong>functions</strong>, <strong>purposes</strong>, and <strong>technical</strong> <strong>capabilities</strong>. There are standard products and alternative solutions. The latter can solve the same problems with other methods.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>API Examples</strong></h2>



<p>To understand API meaning and underlying principles, you should think of data delivered on a specific request by a client or other application. Let’s say we need to get information from an existing website and transfer it to the program. There will be a request in the browser expecting an HTML response. Using an API makes it possible to perform an action related to program A in program B without the unnecessary transition to a third-party source. Here are some examples.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Calendars</strong></h3>



<p>Google Calendar and Apple iCal are the most famous API examples. Android and iOS APIs allow developers to connect their calendars directly to third-party applications. Businesses can embed calendar APIs on their sites, for example, for customer appointments and scheduling, while end users have their data synchronized and accessed easily across apps and devices. APIs allow you to create new events and reminders, delete existing ones and edit them.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Sign-In Buttons</strong></h3>



<p>Users don’t like long authentication processes requiring emails or phone numbers. Today, most services and applications allow them to log in through Facebook, Google, or Twitter. It’s also done through respective APIs. In this case, companies providing such APIs create a set of protected functions that you can connect to your project with minimum expenses. It’s a convenient and safe authorization way that saves time and improves the user experience.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Maps Integration</strong></h3>



<p>Whether it’s food delivery, taxi service, or a fitness app for runners, most users experience integrated navigation every day. Google, Apple, and a couple of other large corporations give access to their map data also through API. It can be complex use cases with extended functionality and real-time geolocation or a simple location map for an around-the-corner business.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Final Thoughts</strong></h2>



<p>Although people outside the IT sector probably wouldn’t know what the API acronym stands for, it becomes more widespread as our everyday lives get more digitized. Initially, API technologies were created to simplify the development process. It’s a convenient instrument — a set of classes, functions, procedures, and standards — that allows applications to communicate effectively with each other.</p>



<p>At Rocketech, we value our Partners’ time and always adjust our development processes to the project budgets. And APIs are an integral part of our expertise and development process. Whether your product requires a payment system integration or advanced microservices infrastructure, our specialists will advise on the best and most cost-effective way to implement it. Do you have a product idea? <a href="https://rocketech.it/contacts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Contact us</a> and get a free estimate.</p>


What Is an API and How Does It Work?

<p>The IT industry is skyrocketing now, and even the coronavirus has not affected it. All current trends are tied to compliance enhancements, process automation, security issues, etc. But the biggest issue for tech companies is the increase in constant development. </p>



<p>Thus, most businesses look for straightforward software development process optimisation. They hope to reduce the budget and not hit profit levels, so offering top-notch and reasonably priced customer service is paramount. Let’s find out how tech companies can cut software development costs while maintaining quality. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Effective Planning</h2>



<p>Many entrepreneurs do not pay due attention to the planning stage. A huge number of successful applications have appeared in response to the people’s needs, so spontaneous evolution can harm the profits and efficiency of the business.</p>



<p>If you hope to avoid significant mistakes, spend some time in advance to analyse your target audience, nearest competitors, development forecasts, financial constraints and personnel requirements. And it is a great idea to set ambitious goals, even if you do not have enough time or money initially. </p>



<p>But in any case, you should think about realistic goals and deadlines, and you will get the first significant outcome in the shortest possible time. If you find it tough to answer the question “Where should I start?” consider another issue: who will build up your digital solution? After that, it will be much faster to outline your requirements and draw up a detailed roadmap.</p>



<p>The more effort you put into the planning phase, the lower the final custom software development cost. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Pay Attention to the Location</h2>



<p>If you decide to hire a dedicated team, you should look at the country of residence because this tiny fact can cut or inflate your costs. </p>



<p>For instance, the average hourly pay of software developers in East and Southeast Asia (ESEA) is $15–20, while the top American specialists have a rate of $150–200 per hour. Of course, it is ten times more than Malaysian or Vietnamese programmers will charge, so you should look for a middle way. </p>



<p>One of the most affordable options is a <a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/dedicated-team-the-future-of-software-development" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dedicated team</a> from Eastern Europe. It is one of the best destinations with top expertise at a reasonable price. Further, a comfortable time zone and unique mentality allow you to organise quality project management. Another benefit is a cost of a software project. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Select the Right Tech Stack</h2>



<p>Every tool has its advantages that affect the application development cost, and using inappropriate instruments can kill your project. Therefore, we recommend reviewing different tech stack options and selecting the best-matching option. </p>



<p>Both open-source and proprietary software is widely available, but we strongly recommend choosing third-party tools (if possible). Using them, you can benefit from improved reliability and round-a-clock support. </p>



<p>Plus, you should only compare competing products. Only then you will learn more about them and pick a solution with more benefits that suit your application.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Adopt Agile Best Practices</h2>



<p>Do not take <a href="https://agilemanifesto.org/iso/en/manifesto.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Agile</a> as a magic wand for your project; it is just insurance in case of market changes. When you implement this set of methodologies, you can easily update your software.</p>



<p>This approach allows you to monitor changes in the market and client expectations. Thus, you can adapt your strategy and develop a digital solution to meet the user requirements. Even if these preferences change drastically, you are always ready to revise your roadmap to fulfil their needs. In any case, this set of methodologies helps to reduce software development costs. </p>



<p><em>It is also vital to keep stress under control. If you organise your internal communication properly, you create a positive and thriving atmosphere inside your dedicated team and increase its efficiency. Learn more about keeping your Agile team stress-free </em><a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/how-to-keep-your-agile-team-stress-free" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>here</em></a><em>. </em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Implement a Test-Driven Development</h2>



<p>Testing is essential for creating digital solutions because it helps to detect bugs before they cause trouble. Understanding how to reduce app development costs comes with experience.</p>



<p>The more we complete successful applications, the more we learn how to do all tasks properly. If you can create digital products early and regularly (with precise results after each phase), you can learn to work flawlessly and save more time.</p>



<p>Moreover, this approach helps to guarantee that detected bugs will not affect the course of app development and turn into overspending. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Employ Advanced QA Procedures</h2>



<p>Many companies face numerous limitations related to building web and mobile applications. Thus, you can deal with sudden interruptions, expensive errors and the time frame extension. And this is where <a href="https://rocketech.it/blog/post/how-to-set-up-qa-process-on-short-term-projects-that-rocks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">quality assurance</a> comes into play. It shows you why development costs are so high.</p>



<p>The main thing here is to address as much reliance as possible. For instance, you can offer fewer features to make them done faster and less costly. </p>



<p>Here is another example: if you decide to develop a web application and the Android/iOS version at the same time, you should hire more specialists with different areas of expertise, skills and experience. Therefore, QA is vital for guaranteeing compliance with user requirements and expectations.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Automate Your Development Process</h2>



<p>When you apply the relaxed approach to the choice of specialists, developers can do a lot of manual work to create a digital solution. But if you want to progress, you should look for instruments and methods to enhance your efficiency and limit the number of errors in the code. And this is one of the excellent ways how to reduce software development costs. </p>



<p>Every developer knows that hardworking alone is not enough to achieve success. The primary measure of success for them is automation which means more than just a 60-hour workweek. <strong>And true experts will always think about how to complete more tasks in less time</strong>.</p>



<p>The steady development is a mix of long working hours and looking for approaches to boost productivity (e.g., taking courses or testing unique tools). If you decide to leverage automation techniques, you will increase the quantity and quality of developers’ work. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Look at Backend-as-a-Service Platforms</h2>



<p>Here is another effective solution to reduce the software development budget. Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) is a highly beneficial tool (especially when you spend most of your budget on design and front-end tasks). </p>



<p>Backend-as-a-Service is a platform that allows you to outsource your back-end development. Also, it offers a set of instruments and ready-made blocks of a back-end code.</p>



<p>Therefore, BaaS enables software specialists to focus on the front-end code. This solution provides three benefits for software specialists. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Development Speed </h3>



<p>When starting developing an application, you need to determine the list of core functions and the tech stack to create a digital product. With BaaS, you will know how to move to the next iteration faster, with fewer web app development costs and minimal risk. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Uniformity</h3>



<p>When developers create different versions of your software, they should remember all specifications. Backend-as-a-Service platforms offer a unique ecosystem to develop applications for various operating systems and devices with the same under-the-hood functionality. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Reach</h3>



<p>If your company implements highly viral ideas, BaaS provides additional features (such as cloud storage and social network integration) to reach the broadest possible audience.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Pick a Trustworthy Partner</h2>



<p>If you want to reduce the cost of making an app, delegate your development process to a dedicated team with extensive experience. </p>



<p>A specific expert team can build up a whole new desktop or mobile application, change a set of functions or introduce new features to your product. In any case, assigning a reliable partner to the development process is also highly profitable in comparison to hiring full-time employees.</p>



<p>Therefore, you need to select a software development company with an exceptional reputation and vast experience. It will help to ensure a perfect result that will draw the attention of your target audience. <em>At Rocketech, we know how to provide quality and cost-effective services. We assign a dedicated team that implements advanced development practices to save you time and money. And if you are ready to get top-notch software that meets user expectations, </em><a href="https://rocketech.it/contacts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>contact us</em></a><em> now!</em></p>
