The term “design thinking” has been heard quite a lot in various fields or sectors such as education, business, technology, advertising, and more. But it is important to understand what it is and what it brings to our day-to-day. 

Design thinking is a methodology that uses dynamic, participatory practices to solve problems. It is an important methodology when defining digital products. You start by identifying what the problem is and what people need, then you produce an idea, and finally, you test if it works. 

For example, this methodology can be used to: 

  • Define Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) 
  • Design and develop products or services 
  • Redesign business processes 
  • Creating a business presentation 
  • Design virtual or online courses 

MVP, or minimum viable product, is a trial version of a product or service with a minimum feature set that brings value to the end consumer. This allows us to define a “viable” level, and if after testing we discover that it is not viable enough, we start it again.  

All the benefits can be summarized in one phrase: “feedback from the market.” However, here are some of the advantages of choosing to start with an MVP:  

  • Understand if there is a market and gather information 
  • Assess the potential of the product 
  • Reveal the weak points 
  • Attract investors for future funding 
  • Reduce engineering hours by reducing the feature set 
  • Avoid unnecessary expenses 

Identifying MVP must-haves: the MoSCoW method 

Creating an MVP for an ecommerce business can be complex, as the number of features you can implement is limited. The MoSCoW method can help break down the priorities and save your team time: 

The method breaks down the must-have (M), should have (S), could have (C), and will not have (W) of any product or feature you build. Let us break down what that means: 

  • Must-Have: For an ecommerce website, it is essential to have basic features such as multiple payment options, intuitive navigation, and customer service. These features are essential to include in the design. All features listed as Must-Haves have the highest priority. 
  • Should Have: This section covers some features of the ecommerce product not available at the current stage. For instance, the password recovery or reset feature using the forgotten password function. These are things that will enhance the user journey and benefit the product. It may not hinder the project at this stage, but it will certainly improve the experience offered. 
  • Could Have: These are add-on features: Once the core functionality of the application is tested, these features can be added only if the project delivery time is not affected. Skipping the could-haves will have less impact and could be added at a later stage. 
  • Will not have: These are the features that are deemed not feasible. The ‘will not have’ features will not be incorporated into the current version but may be considered in the next iteration. 

If you are looking for support to guide your strategy plans, reach out to our team today.