Iterate. The key to success in project development
At first instance, it may sound like iterating is the action that follows mistakes, however, iterating is itself a consequence and a strategic decision assumed and in a significant extent sought within the processes of designing and innovating.
If we assume that the concept of innovation involves novelty and improvement, it is normal to understand that a process that directs us towards a new destination is traced consciously and on purpose, on several previously untraveled paths that have as part of themselves exploration and discovery.
That is why a well managed innovation process must not only accept uncertainty, exploration and readjustment of course, but make it part of its methodology in a conscious, planned and, controlled way.
Most of the findings that successful projects achieve are not gotten in previous stages of the development process but are identified during it.
Starting a project without having biased expectations about what is to be built as a solution is one of the main reasons why large companies have succeeded at developing, launching and positioning superior solutions. There are several globally recognized companies that have made this premise part of their development policies and methodologies. Companies such as Google, Audi, Compaq, SAP, Siemens, META, among others, implement methodologies such as Design Thinking, which revolves around agile, effective and profitable prototyping and testing as a fundamental tool to discover, understand, validate hypotheses and iterate towards correct direction continuously and systematically at each stage of the process.
In order to develop successfully, it must be understood that the process that is about to begin is, at first instance, one of discovery and analysis. A proven reality must be accepted and that is that the best results that could be achieved are almost never the same that were thought they would be; And thats why a good project leader and a top-level technology agency know that a project is not started to build "what is wanted" but to "decipher" and build what is needed; It has been proven that various user needs are discovered and better understood only when development and testing begin.
In order to develop successfully, it must be understood that the process that is about to begin is, at first instance, one of discovery and analysis.
Then, is it more expensive to develop projects that seek iteration?
As mentioned at the beginning, it may give the impression that iterating is a sign of error and therefore a waste of time and effort, however, this process by itself cannot be judged as something good or bad, nor as something profitable or not. Being open to iteration does not guarantee either that you are going towards the right direction or that you are going to do it efficiently in terms of time and costs, but avoiding it will led you to a path of continuously forcing results that could be achieved more easily if you are open to learning and adjusting during the process.
Iterating is a process that requires skill to be well done and in a profitable way, it is a process that involves observation, prototyping, testing and analysis skills that allow progress towards a better solution, maximizing benefits.
That is why the success of the projects is not explained only by the technical knowledge of its members, there are many professionals in this industry who are capable of doing what they are asked for technically talking, but not all of them have the ability to achieve the solutions that are required and even less, to do it optimizing the use of the budget, advancing at a good pace and in the right direction.
In the end, you don't want a result that you find incredible and that you love, what you want is a result that users will really use and value due to the pains and desires that are solved.
We are your partners in the development of successful projects
At CREAR DIGITAL we have an iteration and prototyping department which is focused on documenting, building and continuously improving methodologies and protocols to successfully implement this process in the development of our clients' projects.
Tell us about your project and let's work together on the best solutions for your users.
EN