How else can you reduce the size of the mountain? Let the user’s voice take out some of the options that the team has come up with. It is very easy to spend hours debating one function, but 5 min conversation with 10 users can discard a whole bunch of debated functions. Or even better, you discover in discussion, that 70% of the proposed features aren’t ever needed…!

By doing this, not only does this mean you deliver something more relevant, it lets you park a whole range of potential features. It takes some of the options out of the immediate sprints and gets you moving forward. There are many paths in any solution, and in many areas you can have multiple paths that are just as critical, so let the users help you spot them.

Steel threads

A term that has some up more often in recent years is building a “steel thread”. There aren’t that many references to this approach on the web, but  GDS building on the steel thread  is a good one.   It attributes the term coming from bridge building where you throw a steel thread across the river to help you start building, and gives you an immediate end to end connection.

In terms of your solutions this means aiming for actually completing a specific entire task. You then prioritise getting the basics working in every step along the entire length of that task – and you must be strict and really focus down to make it quick.  

Additionally this “steel thread” approach reinforces your product gravitating towards a solution that is focused on user need. Even if this doesn’t make the final solution any smaller, it does mean your delivery of meaningful features is much earlier than in other programme approaches.