Building better products: Are the best products created without a specification?
Following established best practices, having a detailed specification is necessary to build and design a new product or service. Theoretically, the specification is written in a form so that it can easily be handed over to “implementers” who will deliver the specified product. Realistically it never quite works out like that.
Creating a specification is a cumbersome process and takes a lot of iterations between multiple parties. Once everybody has agreed on the specification the implementation teams has a clearly defined goal and starts to work. It turns out that in this step the attitude of the implementation team changes and too often follows the economic minimalist principle.
The economic minimization principle
The implementation team has a clear economic incentive: deliver outcomes according to the specification and do this with the minimum effort. If you have a committed team they might put in the extra effort to under-promise and over-deliver, but there is no direct economic incentive to deliver more than what has been specified.
This way of cooperation is the preferred approach for most development and outsourcing projects. Nevertheless I was wondering if this approach is really suitable if we are aiming for breakthrough products and services. Are the situations when it is good that we let go of a strict specification? How do we need to change our design processes to create breakthrough products that not just meet but actually exceed a pre-defined specification?
The economic maximization principle
Working without a clear specification forces a development team to follow the economic maximum principle: Given set of resources aim to achieve the maximum outcome and deliver as much functionality as possible. This way you can focus on actually implementing the necessary requirements instead of negotiating the scope of the requirements that need to be implemented.
Obviously such an approach needs to incorporate agile principles and a leadership approach that is allows a team of highly motivated and talented individuals to perform at their best. Nevertheless one challenge remains: How can you ensure what the team should ultimately developed?
A product vision can compensate the absence of a specification
In the absence of a specification it is still necessary to define the direction the team should follow to implement a new product or service. Therefore the communication of the product vision becomes an increasingly important task with the product managers goal being that they ensure that the team has completely grasped the product vision.
Limits of this approach: When specifications are necessary
Obviously there are limits to this approach. If you are working on medical products or life-critical software applications, if you are replacing a legacy financial trading platform or if you are planning to outsource a multi-million dollar project it is necessary – also from a legal perspective – to ensure that there exists a document that describes the scope of the product. Nobody wants to be surprised by unexpected software bugs in the autopilot during mid-flight.
But I get the impression that if you are working on a breakthrough product or on a new innovation with a team that is able and winning to push the boundaries of what is possible, then I guess the results might be better, if you just drop any specification you might have and instead focus on a strong vision that allows the team to deliver on this dimension.
What is your experience with this approach? Will substituting a product specification with a clear product vision lead to better breakthrough innovations?
