This is a concept I learned from Shreyas Doshi.
A product is something that unlocks new experiences for the users. So it is not just the buttons and the screens if your product is digital. The whole experience is the product. For example, an Uber ride experience includes the mobile app, wait times, driver matching, demand based pricing, live map showing where your driver is, security features, driver reviews, payment feature among other things.
A product is successful when multiple organizational functions work together and with a goal of unlocking a great experience for the user.
Big product, the definition
Shreyas defines this as “the main thing that makes or breaks the value proposition” for the customer. As an Amazon Prime member, the main value proposition for me is the trust I have that the product will arrive within 2 days. And if I dont like the product, I can return it and get full refund. So, for me, the logistics network and the technology that enables that unlocks the value that I care about. So that is my Big product for Amazon.
Little product, the definition
A reader opens nytimes.com or the New York Times app to access the news or play a crossword puzzle, or read a new recipe, or read the opinion columns. While the news is the big product, the application or the website is the little product. The product that “chiefly acts as the delivery vehicle for the Big product” is the Little product.
The signup flow, the payment experience, the subscription experiences acts as a vehicle to deliver on the main thing, the news. A good website experience improves the odds of success of the overall product. The app or the website in this example is the Little product.
Other features of big and little products
Big product is changing over time as the main thing about the product keeps changing. I started buying things on Amazon because it was easy for me to find everything on Amazon. But now, I can do the same with Walmart+ and other online stores. I still buy on Amazon because Walmart doesn’t always reliably deliver in under 2 days. So my big product for Amazon has evolved from the marketplace to the logistics network.
The big product is the key differentiator and acts as the moat against the competitors. Even if Walmart can match the price and selection, as far as the shipping and returns are substandard, I would not consider switching.
The little product must serve the big product. Serve by highlighting the big product’s capabilities and prioritizing the capabilities that will serve the big product. For me, Uber’s big product continues to be the driver network. The app, the little product, has to show the driver rating, and other safety features to safely and effectively deliver my rider experience.
Performance of Big product must be measured using reliable metrics and goals.
Little product is also important. A bad ‘little product ‘might kill the product and a good little product will improve the odds of success of the product.
Applying Big and Little product concepts to my work
I work on genetic research where I help researchers get access to data and human subjects for their research on autism spectrum disorder.
For SPARK participants, the main thing that SPARK enables is the opportunity to contribute their information to autism research. The website sparkforautism.org, account creation and security, online informed consents, and the saliva kit logistics enables an eligible participants to donate their personal health information to research.
After accumulating a sizable volume of participant data, SPARK original research unlocked genetic insights for many participants. So the ‘Big product’ evolved to offer personalized genetic results to eligible participants. The ‘little product’ that delivers the value includes notification of results, receiving authorization to release results to genetic counselors or the participant’s doctor, handling of genetic reports and documentation, among other things.
As a Product Manager, it is important for me understand the main thing about the product. Communicate to all the functions the ‘big product’ and prioritize the features or capabilities that enhances the delivery of the big product effectively to my customer.