The Three Golden Rules of Successful Product Development

An interesting part of the mountaineering culture is a set of apparently widely circulated rules -- 3 to be specific -- which caution the climber not to underestimate any climb:

1. Rule 1: It is always further than it looks
2. Rule 2: It is always taller than it looks
3. Rule 3: It is always harder than it looks

A diligent climber or team - would remind themselves of these truths constantly and build up provisions to reduce mishaps:

1. It is always further than it looks: So acclimatize slowly and be psychologically prepared; also the summit is not the end, the campaign succeeds only when the team returns to the base
2. It is always taller than it looks: It is easy to either be overwhelmed or to underestimate the task - but a better way is to split the journey into many segments so that you have more realistic milestones to achieve.
3. It is always harder than it looks: No matter how good the preparation, how advanced the equipment or how favorable the weather - mountaineering exposes people to stress and pressure; ignoring such a realistic possibility and hoping for the best - simply doesn't work.

Alright - so what has mountaineering got to do with successful product development?

As a tech founder starting from scratch, now dedicating myself to build & take LiveAPI to the market, I have always found mountaineering to be the perfect analogy to understand product development.

So here are the 3 golden rules of successful product development that any wise team would always keep in mind and build provisions for:

1. It always takes longer than expected
2. It always ends up more complicated than expected
3. It always ends up more expensive than expected

The above list reminds me of Admiral Rickover's Paper Reactor Memo that should ideally be known more in product circles.

A conscientious team would always keep the above rules in mind and try to address them:

1. It always takes longer than expected: Development involves known roadblocks but also many unknown roadblocks; there are technical hindrances, but also many market-related ones. It is not done until customer is delighted with the experience. So provision a big buffer for all sorts of unseen roadblocks.
2. It always ends up more complicated than expected: In products, even the simplest ideas end up become quite complicated when put into practice, and implemented to suit conditions as they exist in the world. One has to be pragmatic, and sometimes give up ideal notions to adjust quickly to conditions on the ground -- difficult and complicated tasks -- but must be done.
3. It always ends up more expensive than expected: In theory - developing say a software product requires only a laptop and Internet connection. In practice - these are not at all the real costs of development. What is required is an unceasing discipline, creativity and followups in solving numerous technical and market issues - which can demand extreme psychological strength.

Hopefully - this analogy and our explanations help you or your team with executing better on your product development journey. Do check out our tool LiveAPI and support us on our journey. Your feedback matters a lot to us.

Let me know in the comments - whether you think I missed any other relevant rules of successful product development. Or feel free to share your own insights on the points already made in the article.