You're rushing to release a mobile app. How do you decide which features to prioritize?

To understand what you need to focus on, you need to build really great user stories. When you see this clear user funnel, you often notice that the proposed "wow" feature exists completely outside of this flow, which thus allows you to understand what is the priority right now and what can wait.

The initial release should have the core functionalities that define the application. At least one end-to-end feature should be present. It should serve as a base for how we want the end product to be. All user segments should be considered during the initial release. The integration of analytics is necessary for tracking adoption and user flow. This is vital for the next stages of development. Push notifications act as a very good feature for user engagement. If you have more time, make the UI/UX better since the first impression always lasts.

You need to focus on the main use cases of the user and the features that promote the app's USP. I would bin all the nice to haves, the UI tweaks etc

As the Director of Product Engineering, my focus during mobile application development lies in creating a user-friendly UX. I firmly believe that if users cannot easily navigate an application, all efforts will be futile. It's crucial for the team to actively solicit feedback to continuously enhance both the UX and functionality of the application.

I am currently faced with this balance and through ground level experience I am learning that you need to determine your “low hanging fruit” target market. Build the criticals in your app for THAT market to enter. Get their feedback and start to jot out their requirements vs the other target market features to diversify your offering

The first step is to understand clearly the objective of the project. Talking to the business team is crucial! They often have insights into how the project will be used and marketed, revealing key features for successful promotion. With this knowledge, prioritize and focus on features that deliver the project on time and within budget. After that make incremental releases, gathering user and business feedback.

Compreender as necessidades do usuário é essencial para priorizar recursos. Participe de pesquisas, entrevistas e estude tendências de mercado para identificar os problemas que seu público enfrenta e como seu aplicativo pode resolvê-los. Priorize recursos que atendam diretamente a essas necessidades, pois eles impulsionam a adoção e satisfação do usuário. Se um recurso não servir a um propósito claro para seus usuários, ele provavelmente não deve ser uma prioridade.

1. Engage in user research to understand the problems and needs of your target audience 2. Use methods like surveys, interviews, and market trend analysis to gather insights 3. Identify features that directly address user needs and prioritize them accordingly 4. Focus on features that drive user adoption and satisfaction 5. Eliminate or deprioritize features that don't serve a clear purpose for users

There is a fine line here - if the development is entry level die to your developer constraints, the user experience van be horrible and frustrating which creates doubt in the ability of the company to develop a quality product. I would rather decide what is critical and rather have a minimum critical items done brilliantly and be able to gain confidence and attention from the client for further development work than to have many but averagely built development / products

Avaliar a viabilidade de cada recurso é crucial na priorização. Alguns recursos podem ser inovadores e centrados no usuário, mas se exigirem muitos recursos ou tempo, talvez precisem ser adiados. Considere os desafios técnicos versus os benefícios esperados. Se um recurso for essencial, mas complexo, simplifique-o para a versão inicial e melhore-o em atualizações futuras.

Destacar-se no mercado de aplicativos é essencial. Analise seus concorrentes para identificar os recursos básicos necessários e aqueles que podem lhe dar uma vantagem competitiva. Priorize funcionalidades exclusivas que se alinhem com a proposta de valor da sua marca. Esses são os recursos que podem transformar usuários iniciantes em defensores leais do seu aplicativo.

Restrições de tempo são uma realidade no desenvolvimento de aplicativos. Seja pragmático sobre o que pode ser alcançado dentro do prazo. Priorize recursos críticos para o lançamento que podem ser desenvolvidos a tempo. Adie funcionalidades menos essenciais para futuras atualizações. Garanta que os recursos incluídos sejam totalmente funcionais e proporcionem uma experiência de usuário perfeita.

Desde o início, implemente um ciclo de feedback. Após o lançamento do seu MVP, o feedback dos usuários será crucial para guiar o desenvolvimento futuro. Priorize recursos que permitam coletar e analisar dados do usuário de forma eficaz, como uma integração de análise ou um recurso de feedback no aplicativo. Os insights de usuários reais ajudarão a refinar seu aplicativo e a priorizar novos recursos com base nas necessidades e comportamentos dos usuários.

I experienced this 1st- and 2nd-hand over the past 10 years. In fact, I have been involved with this as a 3rd-party the past 2 months (and going). As much as I dislike time constraints (i.e., you CAN'T say "It'll be ready when it's ready!"), there is a need to focus on must haves for MVP functionality and (almost more importantly) stability. At the same time, all nice-to-haves and feedback (oh, and those pesky-but-very-real defects) must be recorded in backlogs to consider for implementation and deployment in post-public releases. That can work to your advantage in a "continuous improvement" cadence that apps often go through. PS - another time constraint factor... public company shareholders. They often "determine" your schedule.

Evaluate feature impact. Prioritize features that deliver the highest value to users and align with business goals. Use a scoring system to weigh each feature's potential impact on user satisfaction and market competitiveness. This method ensures you focus on what's most critical under tight deadlines.

Use a simple strategy matrix. Much like a Priority Matrix, but more about features that can be prioritized based on Importance and Urgency.