The Value of Optimizing Digital Products

As annual fiscal budgeting cycles approach, it’s time to take a hard look at how organizations traditionally plan digital product investments and compare that to a more modern, flexible, and effective approach.  A few weeks ago, I shared my perspective on how Leading Digital Organizations Adopt a Product Mindset. One of the points I made was that leading digital organizations are creating products that deliver long-term value to both the customer and their businesses in ways that transcend a finite project mindset. 

What if there was a way to make a lower upfront investment, have a shorter initial development period, and significantly extend the useful life of digital products? Over two decades of launching digital products has taught me that the “Big Bang” mentality of assuming everything has to get done right out of the gate is a disservice to organizations and the users they serve.

Why invest and optimize works

Digital products are best measured in terms of total cost of ownership (TCO) over its useful lifetime - meaning their costs are measured not just in terms of the original investment but calculating all of its costs over the lifecycle compared against its lifetime benefits and impacts to the organization like increased revenue, market share, or customer satisfaction and retention - the result should be a net product benefit. 

A continuous improvement process allows us to make iterative improvements to the digital experience based on customer feedback, usage data, market shifts and trends, and industry best practices. This mindset is critical for keeping the digital experience fresh, relevant, and competitive.

Check out my thoughts and assessment on why we need to get rid of the old approach (spend, then maintain) and move towards the smart approach (invest and optimize) where I compare investment, value, and useful life of each approach.