Same Software, Three Users: What Mobile Taught Me About Prioritising Features

After launching the main ERP modules on the web app for One Click POS (you can install it on your phone like an app), I thought everyone would go for it. I was wrong.

Three users, three completely different styles

The mobile-only user. Most people are mobile-oriented. They want their business in their hands. I have one client who doesn’t even have the desktop software. He doesn’t care for it and doesn’t need it. He just uses the mobile version to check his sales and inventory.

The middle ground. Like me. I use the mobile version for things like recording payments, checking stock or adding the salary advances employees take (what we call a “vale” here). But I use the desktop version too.

The desktop-only user. When I suggested the mobile version to one of two business partners, he asked, “Did my partner ask you to do this?” In other words: I don’t need it. His partner later gave me an interesting answer: “I don’t want to carry work on my phone. I’d rather look at it in the office, or on my laptop when I travel.” His theory: the less you see, the less stress.

Every feature has three possible futures

That’s one of the most interesting lessons you learn. Whenever you add a new feature, there’s a good chance it will never be used, a good chance it will be used in a way you never intended, and a chance it becomes someone’s daily bread.

How to prioritise features without a big team

When you’re doing this without a whole team, you have to be very strategic about how you prioritise features:

• Build what clients ask for first. It’s the safest bet, and it’s how a system grows organically.
• Watch how different users actually work, not how you imagined they would. As you grow, you have to cater for all of them.
• Choose what’s required over what’s nice to have or looks good.

Don’t waste time. Always invest it.

Which kind of user are you?