The Art of Product Development and Design

Solving the right problem for the right people

We’re all about lean customer development. We don’t just accept the problem as it’s presented but we need to challenge it in order to prevent us working on something nobody is waiting for. What happens when we talk to real people and dig into the problem? Sometimes, they already have makeshift solutions or workarounds we didn’t anticipate. Other times, we discover even bigger pain points that force us to rethink our approach and expand the scope of what we’re building.

We frame our user interviews to dig deeper, asking questions like, “What would you do if our product didn’t exist?” or “What’s the most annoying thing about your current workaround?” This approach reveals underlying issues that aren’t always obvious on the surface. It’s about understanding users' real needs and building solutions that resonate.

Lean customer development at Eli5 isn’t done in isolation. We bring clients into the process, co-creating solutions through interviews and workshops to align expectations and uncover fresh insights. This collaborative approach ensures everyone is on the same page and amplifies the value of the findings.

Of course, lean development comes with its challenges. There’s always the risk of misinterpreting feedback or overlooking critical insights. To counter this, we cross-reference findings and take a second look when patterns emerge, making sure we’re not just hearing what we want to hear.

Lean customer development plays a crucial role within Eli5's product development and design. It's all about finding the hair-on-fire problems that people truly care about and addressing them with the right solutions.

For example, when we were developing a platform to streamline end-to-end regulatory change management for a global bank, the initial solution seemed highly desired. However, as we dug deeper into the problem through extensive discussions with their teams, we uncovered a critical issue: almost all regulatory compliance teams were working in silos. This led to significant double work and project overlaps. We pivoted the project’s roadmap and scope to emphasize collaborative working and transparency among teams, ensuring everyone could leverage each other's work. This shift became one of the biggest wins of the product, driving adoption and proving direct value from day one.

Product design's role in zero-to-traction

How do we move from idea to product? Before jumping in, we need answers to a few key questions:

• Is the concept viable?
• Is it technically feasible?
• Is there genuine demand for it?

We start by turning the concept into basic prototypes to test how it should function, putting it in front of real users to see if they resonate with it. If they don’t, we pivot or scrap it altogether.

We define technical constraints upfront and identify the biggest challenges and potential roadblocks. If it's technically sound, we move forward; if not, we revise. This proactive approach helps avoid costly setbacks down the road and keeps the momentum steady.

Finally, we test demand. What happens when potential users are asked to pay? Can we measure interest through targeted ads and simple landing pages? This phase validates not just the product itself but the market's willingness to engage.

Once we have a green light on these three points, we design and build the minimum viable version of the product. During this process speed matters, but not at the expense of purpose. We move quickly, ensuring the MVP is impactful enough to gather valuable insights but without overcommitting to perfection. This balance between speed and quality sets the stage for meaningful learning.

Feedback loops are crucial and we make sure we build fast, ship often, and constantly learn from how users and customers interact with the product. We incorporate rapid iterations and user feedback into the process to guide our next moves. This build-measure-learn cycle helps us stay adaptable, making sure every step forward is aligned with what users actually need.

Failures are not just accepted—they're expected. We avoid most failures during prototyping but if an MVP misses the mark on some aspects of the product, we dive deep to understand why, using those insights to improve and iterate. The goal is to fail fast and learn even faster, building a stronger foundation with each cycle.

We design with growth in mind. While zero-to-traction is about launching and gaining early traction, we avoid design decisions that could hinder scalability later. Each move is a calculated step toward both immediate validation and future expansion. The road from idea to product is filled with essential, iterative steps. Done right, it minimizes risk, maximizes learning, and sets the groundwork for sustainable growth.

Product design towards product-market fit and beyond

Once products are in use, we dive deep into understanding how users interact with them: what features they use, what they ignore, and what they wish the product could do. This is when we elevate design to the next level. The more confident we are with these insights, the more it makes sense to invest in refined product design and polished user experience.

We’d love to launch with great aesthetics and smooth flows from day one, but that's almost never the smartest move. It’s all about timing and focusing the right effort at the right moment. When we can turn satisfied users into enthusiastic advocates, design becomes a key driver. At this stage, we create more permanent design assets like design systems and documentation that pay off long-term and support the product’s evolution.

Iterative Refinement: As user data flows in, we iterate and refine the design, enhancing usability and overall satisfaction. Continuous feedback loops guide these refinements, where even small insights can lead to impactful changes.

Prioritizing Features Based on Feedback: Not all feedback is created equal. We analyze insights to prioritize which features to improve, ensuring our focus remains on elements that deliver the most value. This strategic approach keeps us solving the right problems at the right time.

Collaborative Design Sprints: Our design and product teams engage in collaborative sprints to implement feedback efficiently. These sprints can involve product owners, designers, and engineers translating user insights into actionable changes while maintaining momentum and quality.

User-Centric Design Adjustments: Refinement goes beyond aesthetics. We ensure the design aligns with user goals, simplifying their journey and removing friction. It’s about crafting a seamless experience that elevates a useful product into one users love.

Metrics for Measuring Success: We track the impact of design improvements with metrics like user retention rates, feature engagement, and Net Promoter Score. These KPIs tell us how well the design meets expectations and point to areas needing our attention.

By following this approach, we evolve design in step with user needs, ensuring the product meets user expectations and is set up for continuous growth and increased user engagement.

Product development and design in tandem with engineering

We often use dual-track development, aligning product development, design, and engineering in sync toward a common goal. Our process revolves around continuous discovery and user feedback, always searching for ways to add value. Designers work in focused sprints to iterate and refine, while engineers push those ideas into production. When done right, this creates a seamless feedback loop that propels products to new heights.

Maintaining open communication between design and engineering is key. Regular touchpoints and shared project tools keep everyone on the same page, reducing silos and enhancing workflow. We start with low-fidelity prototypes that evolve into detailed designs, and engineers are brought in early to provide insights on what can be optimized for production. This collaboration from the start prevents last-minute surprises and streamlines the transition from design to code.

Engineers also review design ideas for feasibility and suggest adjustments that make development more efficient while preserving user experience. This proactive approach results in smarter design decisions and saves time down the line. We make sure that handoffs between teams are seamless, with designers and engineers collaborating closely to maintain intent and quality from mockup to build.

Our dual-track development allows for real-time iteration. As engineers work on updates and testers gather user feedback, the design team works on fleshing out new features and product tweaks. This tight feedback loop ensures we go fast in a structured manner and align with user needs and expectations each time we ship an update.

By treating product development, design, and engineering as an integrated effort, we create an approach where collaboration and alignment is the default and progress never stalls. This method accelerates development and results in products that resonate with users from the first interaction.

Collaboration between design and engineering

We’re not fans of siloed work between product design and engineering. That’s why we always involve both UI and backend developers in the design loop. This ensures technical feasibility and opens the door for input on execution. Sometimes, a simple design tweak can make a huge difference in development efficiency. And contrary to popular belief, engineers often provide valuable, early feedback that elevates the entire process.

Balance that matters

Great products come from continuous learning, listening, and realignment. The art of product development and design is finding the balance between speed and insight, between action and reflection. Teams need to move fast, adapt to market demands, and stay grounded in real user feedback and data.

Balance doesn’t mean being overly cautious or slow. It’s about having the conviction to move forward and the flexibility to change course when needed. It’s knowing when to push hard and when to step back, reassess, and recalibrate. The most successful teams master this balance—conviction paired with adaptability.

Consider Instagram as an example. Initially launched as Burbn, a location-based app, the founders noticed users were most engaged with the photo-sharing feature. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger didn’t cling to their original idea. Instead, they pivoted, streamlined, and relaunched as Instagram, focusing solely on what resonated most with users. This balance between conviction and adaptability turned Instagram into one of the world’s most popular platforms.

Achieving this balance is as much about the team as the product. It takes collaboration, open communication, and a shared vision. When design, product development, and engineering work seamlessly together, teams can pivot or refine without losing momentum. The drive for innovation and the patience for thoughtful design merge to create powerful progress.

To every builder and innovator: find your balance. Stay committed to learning, be adaptable, and keep refining. Balance isn’t a one-time achievement—it’s an ongoing practice. The products that truly stand out are those that evolve, adapt, and become indispensable—the ones people can’t imagine living without.

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