Position e-commerce ideas on the market in 90 days

E-Commerce

Position your e-commerce concepts
on the market in just 90 days

FROM VISION TO IMPLEMENTATION

Position your e-commerce concepts on the market in just 90 days

In the e-commerce field in particular, the deployment of innovative technologies frequently gives rise to business opportunities. However, such opportunities should be exploited rather being passed around the organization as fixed ideas that go through an endless series of design iterations. Instead, the ideas involved should be brought to life as quickly as possible so that they can be tested and developed further in a data-driven way.

In order to ensure that such projects are not too large in scope and therefore risky, we first define the underlying business model. From this, we identify the smallest product version that can be used to validate the concept. And in order for the product to be economically viable, a profitability analysis is required from the outset.

As an IT service provider, we aim to support our clients from vision through to implementation. Nonetheless, it’s not our intention to “tie” our clients to us with the software we help to develop. This is why we usually define an exit strategy right at the outset, so that the client’s IT department can take independent ownership of the successful product at the appropriate point.

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Rapidly visible results
Defined exit strategy
Joint consolidation of the technical requirements
Formulation of the monetization mechanism
Refinement of the initial MVP

Lean innovation

Data-driven and lean product innovation.

Rapid Prototyping

Creation of rapid prototypes for testing and for communicating internally.

Continuous Integration

Fast, frequent, and automated roll-out of new versions.

Scrum

Iterative and partnership-based collaboration on software development.

REFERENCES

smive – the flexible car subscription service

The aim of the project was to create an online platform for the rental of vehicles. In particular, smive wanted to work with tarent to create a minimum viable product (MVP) in the shortest possible time for the purpose of validating its product idea on the market.

With smive, Bank11 aimed to provide automobile dealerships with an offering they could use to expand their business model and win new customers. The plan was to involve the participating dealerships in such a way that they themselves would become subscription providers without incurring any programming or set-up costs.

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PROJECT PHASES

Development of a new digital product

New products, whether for external clients or internal users, are never created in a vacuum. In most cases, the client already has an idea. As an IT service provider, we first need to understand this. If necessary, we can also help you narrow down your ideas. While we enjoy helping our clients to develop their ideas, more often than not there will be an incredible amount of creativity and ideas to sort through and to focus so that visible results can then be produced quickly.

Understanding your vision

The project starts with the need to understand your vision for the product. We want to understand everything involved in it. What problems should it solve, and who is experiencing these products? How will the idea be monetized and how will users find out about it? What assets already exist and what preparatory work has already been done? Based on all this, the first version can now be further refined. It’s now time to establish the opportunities and identify the risks involved.

Prototype

Next, we work with you to develop a prototype on your premises. This results in the creation of an initial tangible result about which you can communicate both internally and with potential users. It also reduces the project risk, motivates the team, and promotes dialogue about the requirements involved between the product and software development teams.

Technical concept

Thanks to the prototype, our shared image of the minimum viable product will have been refined. As a result, standard software applications can now be selected and the backlog for the adaptations and individual developments filled. While the use of standard software usually leads to a faster time to market, it’s important to check whether such standard applications actually fulfill the functional requirements involved.

Development

We start development with a Scrum team in order to initiate the process in a dynamic way with as little time spent on coordination as possible. Thanks to the prototype, the team will already know exactly what to look out for during the development process. If the MVP is too large for a single team, the team can be subdivided as necessary so that the technical and architectural knowledge is distributed appropriately.

Launch

The first version of your product idea becomes a tangible reality. It’s now time to test the product with users and learn which features are the most important ones to be added next. If required for the subsequent road map, the capacity of the development team can initially be reduced again.

Market validation

In the product vision phase, we will have jointly defined the business model and simulated how the number of users will need to evolve in order for the product to succeed. We can now start with a data-driven refinement of the business model and software to make the product successful.

Expansion after successful testing

Could the MVP be used to validate which functions users need and how the product should be promoted? Can the product be further expanded or adapted for other target audiences? At this stage, we will have already started to plan the handover to the internal IT team. After all, it’s your product and so it shouldn’t be reliant on us. Depending on the backlog, our development capacity can be scaled up or down.

Pilot

If users do not accept the product in the expected way, a decision must now be made as to how the findings can be used. It might be possible to utilize the assets created for another target audience or monetize them for another use case with only minor adjustments. One thing is certain, however: Thanks to the data-driven approach adopted, we will definitely know more than we did before. No one can guarantee a successful product, at least in the first iteration. However, it’s certain that we will have collectively learned about your target audience’s needs and how they can be addressed.