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4 digital product development (DPD) myths debunked
Exposing four common misconceptions about digital product development and unveiling the truths that drive real business impact and growth.
Exposing four common misconceptions about digital product development and unveiling the truths that drive real business impact and growth.
Many digital projects fail not from lack of code but from false assumptions.
When teams build features that nobody uses, it’s not a tech failure, it’s a faulty assumption. For over 30 years, we’ve seen projects stall not for lack of code but for belief in four persistent myths.
We're confronting four myths around digital product development and address the realities that separate market-leaders from also-rans. Learn how to dodge these traps and turn your next digital product into a growth engine.
An executive might insist that a minimum viable product (MVP) is just a half-finished prototype or believe that design can wait until after coding. Such misconceptions inflate costs, delay launches and undermine user satisfaction.
You’ll learn why an MVP is your fastest path to validated insights, how design and development must proceed in tandem, why launch marks day one of an evolving lifecycle, and how partnering with expert consultancies de-risks every phase.
First-off, if you weren’t already sure, what is digital product development?
Digital product development is the end-to-end process of turning user needs and business goals into live software solutions. It combines research, design, engineering and ongoing refinement to deliver value at every stage.
This dynamic cycle ensures your product remains relevant, competitive and aligned with evolving market demands.
Many decision-makers mistake the minimum viable product for a cheap, half-built prototype.
Q: What is a minimum viable product?
An MVP is a focused experiment that validates your biggest questions with minimal effort and cost.
It focuses on delivering just enough functionality to test core hypotheses, gather real user opinions and prove that there is demand for your concept.
An MVP typically comprises the fewest features required to solve a real problem for early adopters. It is not about releasing something incomplete; it is about releasing something focused.
Those who are savvy enough to start with an MVP will:
Validate demand: Test core features early so you avoid sunk costs on ideas that won’t stick.
Uncover hidden needs: Gather user feedback to reveal use cases you never anticipated, shaping a richer product.
Adapt quickly: Use live data to decide whether to double down on a feature or chart a new course.
The goal is to treat the MVP as a learning machine. You launch it into the hands of your first users, track how they interact with each feature and then iterate.
This approach prevents you from building expensive functionality that nobody wants, and it ensures each subsequent release is more aligned with genuine user needs.
What questions do I ask before building an MVP?
With that misconception laid to rest, let’s tackle the next myth around design.
Treating design as a post-development add-on breeds rework and frustrates users. Instead, the most successful teams integrate UX design and engineering from day one.
You can ensure that every new feature is both technically feasible and user-centred by running parallel design sprints.
Q: What happens in a cross-functional sprint?
To see how we kick-off projects by blending rapid ideation with practical build-out, read our blog on innovation sprint vs design sprint - it’s the perfect precursor to laying the right tech foundations and setting your digital product up for lasting success.
Moving on from design, let’s dispel the idea that launch is the finish line.
If you believe your work is done once the product goes live, you’re in for a rude awakening. Digital product development is about consistently learning and improving.
A public launch simply moves you into a new phase of continuous delivery, optimisation and growth.
Q: How do you sustain continuous delivery?
Monthly active users (MAU), task completion rate and customer satisfaction form the core of your post launch playbook.
They reveal engagement trends, workflow bottlenecks and user sentiment so you can prioritise fixes and deploy updates seamlessly using CI CD pipelines and feature toggles.
Monthly active users tracks how many unique people engage with your product at least once in a thirty day window. A rising count signals growing interest while a flat line or drop highlights barriers that need removing. Correlating active user trends with recent releases lets your team link spikes or dips to specific features or fixes. That insight helps you focus future work on the elements that truly move the needle.
Task completion rate measures how often people succeed at core workflows such as signing up or checking out. It divides successful attempts by total attempts for each task. A high completion rate shows your interface is clear and intuitive. A decline points at confusing form fields or unclear instructions. Monitoring completion rate across user segments and devices surfaces precise areas for refinement in your next sprint.
Customer satisfaction score reveals how your users feel about the product experience. It often takes the form of Net Promoter Score which asks how likely someone is to recommend your product. Steady usage alone does not guarantee satisfaction. A sudden drop in sentiment can expose hidden frustrations even when engagement remains stable. Gathering feedback at key moments, like after onboarding or following support interactions, feeds valuable qualitative insight into your roadmap planning.
Finally, we’ll reveal why thinking consultancies are a luxury can cost you more than you realise.
Building an in-house team may seem cost-effective, but hidden expenses quickly mount thanks to recruitment hurdles, onboarding delays, and context-switch overheads.
In contrast, a specialised digital consultancy brings domain expertise, mature processes and flexible resourcing to every project.
Q: What can tech consultancies do to help you?
A partner who works alongside your in-house team can change everything.
Sherwen offer adaptable team setups that grow with your product, from delivering features each sprint to providing ongoing support.
With clear processes, open progress updates and a shared goal, you skip hiring delays and the distractions of task switching that often stall big plans.
What once felt like a luxury (having expert help on demand) can quickly become the cornerstone of ongoing innovation.
Before we wrap up, let's take a quick look at our digital transformation case study as an example of DPD.
A leading UK food wholesaler found its growth hampered by siloed inventory systems and manual ordering processes.
Customer satisfaction was slipping, and order errors were rampant.
We began with a customer journey mapping workshop to identify friction points across web and mobile channels.
Next, our designers and engineers collaborated in two-week agile sprints, rapidly prototyping and refining a unified ordering portal.
The new solution transformed the way our client managed their operations and elevated the overall customer experience. The integration with their ERP and warehouse systems ensured real-time stock updates.
Q: How do you start digital transformation?
For the full story on its challenges, approach and outcomes, read the UK wholesaler digital transformation case study for yourself.
Dispelling myths is one thing; witnessing transformation in action is another.
If you treat your MVP as a learning tool, weave design and development together, embrace continuous iteration and collaborate with expert partners, you’ll avoid the pitfalls that cripple so many digital products.
Claim your free 30-minute strategy session today with one of our digital consultants today if you’re ready to challenge the assumptions holding your project back.
See these principles in action in our UK wholesaler digital transformation case study.
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