I’ve worked at a church for almost a year now and I could probably write a book (or two) about all the lessons learned and experiences, from the transition from building products for the Fortune 50 to a global-sized ministry, from the transition of lifestyle and focus, and also web design theory and practice in ministry.
The last part is what I try to spend a lot of time blogging and disseminating about here on ChurchCrunch, and I think, after a year of working at a church, I’ve landed on the best web design and product strategy that has continually cropped up (so far): The MVP.
Read about what it stands for after the jump…
The Minimum Viable Product
The minimum viable product is a theory and strategy by Eric Ries who in 2007 was named the best young entrepreneur of technology. He’s a startup guru and I’ve been following him for some time. In addition he’s also a coder and developer which speaks directly to my heart and soul.
One of metaphors or images that always comes to mind when I think about MVP is a matchstick because I think a matchstick is one of the most effective and simple products ever created; there is really nothing anyone would add or possibly subtract to the product as a whole.
Yet, a matchstick can start a firestorm of excitement (or damage); it’s amazing how such a little thing can have so much impact and it can change the landscape (literally) radically.
Essentially the strategy boils down to these key points:
- Why build products? Answer: So that lots of customers use them and give us tons of money so that we build a great business. (The first part is crucial, don’t forget.)
- Don’t build a product with the maximum number of features, instead start small. Why? Because you won’t get feedback on the former.
- It’s not “release early, release often” either which results in circle-like navigation and product paths.
- It’s not “give them x or y or z” because that throws away long term vision and planning.
- Build a product that solves core problems with these general feature sets; early adopters will be forgiving. They will then begin to dream of new features and provide valuable feedback for the later adopters.
- If the bare-bones product is useful to the early adopters (with minimal features) you’re good to go.
- Deploy first, code later.
- Design first, code later.
I’ve found this to be extremely useful in ministry and this tags along nicely with my blog posts about simplicity/complexity and focus.
Developing products and websites is tough in general and in the ministry context we’ve got more than money to worry about: We’ve got people’s faith journeys and their relationship with God to navigate through our work.
Again, my personal thoughts:
- Start small and build from there.
- You can always add but it’s much more difficult to subtract.
- You can always create more complexity but it’s almost impossible to create simplicity out of complexity.
- The minimum viable product (MVP) is a pretty good model.
Thoughts? What are some of the best web design strategies that you’ve encountered or used?
[Image from Robbie]
skeggsjp says
John, thanks for sharing. Minimum Viable Product. Incredible concept and I think you and/or Eric are spot on it here. Maximizing focus on what's important and relevant makes the website visitor's experience pleasant and positive. Every organization would benefit from a consistent reminder that the first touch with most prospects is your website. If they feel comfortable there, then they already are in a mindset that should help them feel comfortable with your business or church. Obviously, we can visit the sites for NP, BHC, and BB and check out what elements you include there, but I'd be interested to see some posts on what your opinion is about what the minimum elements/pages/etc. would be for a Church website. If you are so inclined…
Thanks again.
Laurinda says
Great advice! I'm in the process of creating blog and website. I like the idea of starting small and making sure I'm solving a problem. I'll be using this advice over the weekend as I think about my social media strategy, blog and wesite design. Thanks for writing this!
Scott M. says
I like that. Minimum Viable Product. Thanks.
@worshiptechie says
I like it.
Could you expand on deploy first, code later? How's that work?
Anton says
Good thoughts, but I second the question on “deploy first – code later”, what does it mean?
John Saddington says
i take an interative approach. get it out there, code the rest later.