For Verily's Onduo virtual diabetes clinic, should we prioritize expanding features or improving existing user experience?

Introduction

For Verily's Onduo virtual diabetes clinic, we're facing a critical trade-off between expanding features or improving the existing user experience. This decision will significantly impact our product strategy, user engagement, and ultimately, the health outcomes for our diabetic patients. I'll analyze this trade-off by examining our current product state, potential impacts, and proposing a data-driven approach to make an informed decision.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Context: I'm thinking about the current state of Onduo's user base and feature set. Could you share some insights on our user retention rates and the most frequently used features?

Why it matters: Helps identify pain points and opportunities in the existing product. Expected answer: Moderate retention with core features like glucose monitoring being most used. Impact: Low retention would shift focus towards improving UX, while high usage of specific features might suggest expanding those.

• Business Context: Based on our business model, I assume we're looking at subscription revenue and potential partnerships with healthcare providers. How does this align with our current revenue streams and growth targets?

Why it matters: Aligns product strategy with business objectives. Expected answer: Subscription model with growing interest from healthcare providers. Impact: Strong provider interest might lean towards feature expansion for clinical needs.

• User Impact: Considering our user segments, are we primarily serving Type 1 or Type 2 diabetics, and what's the age distribution?

Why it matters: Different segments may have varying needs and preferences. Expected answer: Mix of both types, skewing towards older Type 2 patients. Impact: Older users might benefit more from UX improvements, while younger users might desire new features.

• Technical: Regarding our current architecture, how modular is our system for adding new features versus optimizing existing ones?

Why it matters: Influences the feasibility and resource requirements for each option. Expected answer: Moderately modular, with some legacy components. Impact: High modularity would make feature expansion easier, while a more monolithic structure might favor UX improvements.

• Resource and Timeline: What's our current team capacity and budget allocation for the next two quarters?

Why it matters: Determines the scope of what we can realistically achieve. Expected answer: Moderate team size with budget for one major initiative. Impact: Limited resources might favor focusing on UX improvements over extensive feature expansion.