CFCamp Notes - How Not to Launch a Product, Andy Allan

October 25, 2015

Not that we're building the project badly, but when we go to LAUNCH it, we get it wrong over and over

Why does project launch keep falling when nobody wants it to fail?

various reasons...
miscommunication
designing for the wrong user group
etc

they fail because of …

people --

pride (especially w/ dev's)
"We don't need marketing or customer service - we're EXPERTS"

technology --
different tech is sometimes forced upon us because of the execs at the company were taken out for lunch, getting football fix from a vendor, etc.

we as dev's will often use what we're comfortable with, not necessarily the best tool for the job

we need to get past that mentality, and use the right technology, not just what we're comfy with

marketing --
have to tell people about your product, or it will just sit there, with no buyers.

customer service --

the unknown --
did you renew your SSL certs?
have you had to do any server work?
power outages.
the "if you're hit by a bus" things
-- important people because he/she is the only person that knows how something works.

examples of high profile failures --

Instagram
pressure to build a Windows version of the app
social media goes crazy -- the app is broken, it can't actually TAKE photos
the problem wasn't that it couldn't take pics, it just didn't take them NATIVELY. it used the native camera app on the phone. the process wasn't fluid
but because of social media and our expectations of products, people went straight to atwitter, etc, said it was broken. big PR mess.

Dasani
bottled water from Cocacola
bottled TAP WATER. not from a spring in the mountains. from a FACTORY TAP WATER source.
"purified" on the label -- to make it taste better
part of the purification process, they added bromide -- can increase the risk of cancer
pulled from UK shops very quickly!

BetaMax vs VHS
BetaMax was better quality  but it couldn't hold as many minutes of footage on a given tape.

failed advertising / bad advertising

spotify --
changes made to terms and conditions, AFTER launch, screwed up the product launch.
big privacy concerns over the mobile app, social media went crazy.