T L ; D R :
- An open-source initiative was prepared to spend a lot of money taking their software to the next level but they wanted validation.
- After considerable research, we discovered that, nope, they shouldn’t do what they were going to do.
- Instead, we provided a set of different perspectives that got them on the right path with their community and user base.
An open source software initiative took hold in the education and non-profit sector much sooner than the founders anticipated. Adoption was climbing at a rate that they felt compelled to support by hiring an executive role with a six-figure budget. They were also seeking clarity on the relationship between this effort and their commercial business venture. In short, there were a lot of unknowns and they didn’t have internal resources to do this kind of work.
We were brought in to fully assess the current situation and provide an outside perspective to inform product market fit, contributor and user needs, and related operational needs. Through our work, we were able to bring clarity to many of their pre-engagement assumptions.
Working with the founders and the community at large we were able to identify specific needs and create and prioritize solutions, which informed the first product roadmap for features, marketing, community management, and industry advocacy.
In the end, we were able to show that a full-time role was not the priority, and many of their pre-project perspectives were skewed differently from the user community and open-source market. This worked helped them avoid hiring the wrong position and greatly refocus their resources and efforts.
