9 (or is it 10?) product development learnings from the 2010 BBC News relaunch

The BBC News website, relaunched last yearAt the January 2011 ProductTank Meetup, Anthony Sullivan, Product Manager at BBC News presented his learnings from the site's 2010 Relaunch:

1. You will always have too many requirements
2. Audience needs are more important than business needs (see Dennis’ Alex Watson’s comment for an alternative view)
3. Most assumptions are wrong
4. Don’t follow the competition – you’ll always be playing catch up
5. Do the right sort of testing and avoid big bang launches
6. Organisational understanding is essential
7. [Success is] built on trust – and leveraging personal relationships throughout the organisation is key
8. Focus on the audience
9. Create a compelling vision

Sullivan's presentation also included stats showing user satisfaction measures dropping around the time of the relaunch, only to recover over the course of the following months.

Might point 10 be that this 'satisfaction dip' is more of a widespread phenomenon than generally discussed?

Along with the common negative feedback from users we see around relaunch time, perhaps true success or failure in redesigns can only really be gauged in the mid to longer term?

Read more about the January 2011 Product Tank event.

AOP has launched a new award reflecting the growing importance of Product Managers and Product Development in 2011 - Find out more about the AOP Awards.

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