Technology | Family Media Management | Consumer Applications

A stealth startup sought to develop an innovative app to manage family media consumption, including parental controls, device access management, and usage tracking. However, the team lacked clarity on user needs, market positioning, and key feature priorities. With a limited budget and a complex device landscape to address, the startup needed validation of its product idea to ensure development focus and cost-efficiency.

As the Product Consultant, I conducted a focused 2-week discovery sprint to validate the product concept and identify the most impactful features. Key steps included:

Cost Savings: Reduced initial development costs by $130K through a reprioritized feature list that focused on high-value, user-validated functionality.

Validated MVP Concept: Delivered a high-definition MVP prototype that provided clear direction for development and stakeholder alignment.

User-Centric Insights: Identified critical challenges related to ease of use, security, and the diverse device ecosystem, ensuring these were addressed early in development.

Complex Device Landscape: Simplified workflows to ensure compatibility across multiple devices and platforms.

Ease of Use: Designed an intuitive interface to accommodate both tech-savvy and less technical parents.

Security: Addressed privacy and data security concerns, a top priority for families managing sensitive information.

Early user validation and research can significantly reduce costs and de-risk product development.

A well-designed, user-centric MVP prototype accelerates alignment among stakeholders and development teams.

Feature prioritization frameworks like MoSCoW ensure focus on delivering value while managing scope effectively.