Our approach at MetaLab is to design products that people can use today.

While it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of “10 years from now,” we know things have to work in the present day with the tech currently available. We think innovation is about pushing the boundaries of the here and now to make useful, wonderful products people love. 

When we had the opportunity to reimagine a construction development app this year, it was the perfect opportunity to push some boundaries. 

At first glance, the app is a great and simple tool that helps engineering professionals get accurate building specs and reports on the go. Behind the scenes, it’s all about turning tons of raw data into useful, interactive features for construction professionals to do their job better. 

Here’s how we designed in three dimensions for the first time.

Trivially easy, then almost impossible

In the beginning, our development team had a clear vision for a 3D feature that would make measurements more understandable than they were on the existing 2D reports—but it had never been done before so we had to figure it out from scratch. 

We believed that an interactive, tactile experience was right for our audience and that it was technically possible. All we had to do was figure it out.

The idea was to give home builders and construction professionals a 3D visualization of a building. This “visualizer” would help them explain and sell real estate development concepts to their clients, and collaborate better with colleagues during construction planning.

The challenge is that we didn’t have any working experience with 3D product rendering or augmented reality (AR) design. Not the dynamic duo you might expect to build this feature. But as seasoned iOS developers, we knew we had great resources available to us like Apple’s SceneKit, and a supportive internal team at MetaLab for help along the way.

We believed that an interactive, tactile experience was right for our audience and that it was technically possible. All we had to do was figure it out. 

Trivially easy, right?

We began with a flurry of research, learning as much as we could about 3D product rendering and AR design. The challenge was to invest our research time wisely, without getting pulled into the weeds of a broad and complex subject. We also found that not all information was relevant, credible, or actionable—and that this build might not be as easy as we thought.

Phase one: getting the basics right

The good news was that we had a great starting point from a data perspective. 

Through stakeholder interviews during our research phase, we found that they had a ton of measurement data on the back end that could be used to render a building in 3D. 

By translating that information into a practical feature, we could help users access this rich, detailed information in a simple way. These first versions looked more like a blueprint than 3D buildings but it was a great starting point. 

Phase two: exploring 3D rendering

As we moved forward, our team had exciting new additions. Will, an iOS developer, with 3D rendering experience, joined the team. We also brought in a 3D design consultant, who brought expertise in 3D product rendering and helped us fully realize the visualizer. 

With their expertise combined, our blueprints started to actually look like houses. Light and shadow became much more realistic, and we even added interchangeable roof and wall textures. 

The feature was now a usable, 3D experience that contractors could use to preview building materials on a realistic model of their client’s actual house. This would be valuable for them internally, but also a great way to help their clients visualize a concept early on.

Phase three: a bright idea

At MetaLab, continuing education is always in play. It’s actually baked into our schedules— developers have a few hours each week set aside just for learning and development. 

One day, during this education time, we got to thinking: what if we could use augmented reality to give users an even more interactive, useful visualization? 

We used Apple’s ARkit to test it out. And it worked! With AR, contractors can not only show a building in 3D—they can move around it as if it’s in front of them. These initial tests showed us that AR was possible and that it could be immensely valuable to the end customer. 

At MetaLab, continuing education is always in play. It’s actually baked into our schedules.

Beyond the surprise and delight that comes with presenting a 3D house on a conference room table, AR Mode provides a more granular way to examine a building with complex geometry. A contractor can blow up the image to show unique features and discuss the best way to approach it from, quite literally, any angle. 

Through a little curiosity and excitement to support our users, we built a feature that took the app from competitive to completely cutting-edge.

Lessons from our first 3D project

Transparency is key

Throughout the project, we were reminded often that it pays to be honest: with each other and with our client. 

Honesty is central to how we work at MetaLab, but it felt especially important on this project. From day one, we were transparent about our learning curve. We made extra effort to keep our client in the loop on what was working, what was not, and how we were overcoming any obstacles. 

Our commitment to communication is what made each challenge a collaborative learning process. This also applied to design.

Communicate often

Collaborating with designers at MetaLab is essential but even more so on this project. On a typical project, our development team would be working with thoughtful design templates and room for healthy iteration. But this project was new for everyone. 

It all came back to communication.

We changed the way we worked together on this project by talking things through at an even more frequent level than normal. We were sharing sketches, ideas, and roadblocks between designers and developers each day. By keeping everyone in the loop, design and development worked in tandem to great success.

Know when to ask for help

The project got big momentum when we added expert talent to our team. Although we may have been able to figure it out on our own (eventually), it made much more sense to ask for help. 

It was one of the smartest moves we made on this project. No matter how ambitious or driven you are, remember that you don’t have to do it all alone. With expertise from outside consultants, we were finally able to move past blueprints into our fully realized 3D visualizer.

The final outcome

When we first started, a fully rebuilt app and an augmented reality experience wasn’t part of our client’s initial ask. They had come to us to add on a few new features but were open to advice. After meaningful research into the client’s resources and the needs of their market, we delivered the best solution for their customers and turned their hidden 3D data into a stand-out feature.

After the project, our client partners called the visualizer one of the most important things they are working on. We couldn’t be more proud.

Now that you have a strategy and your differentiators in place, it’s time to draft the entire product experience into a single document. This is a key step in the product lifecycle called product definition. 

One of the key deliverables that comes out of the product definition is the product blueprint. Your product blueprint allows you to visualize the entire product service on one page. This helps manage its complexity, including the actions and touchpoints of all the actors, key features, technical dependencies, and operational requirements.

Behind the scenes, there are several key assets that power this product blueprint: 

This view helps to ensure your team is aligned on the critical pieces of success.

That being said, it’s easy to go overboard with product blueprints, so don’t boil the ocean! Focus on the few critical features and components that will make a big impact for your customers.

Remember to trust in yourself and the research that has been done. Your customers don't always know what the right solution is for their wants and needs. That's why it's your job to consider their needs in the context of your product's potential and develop an appropriate blueprint that can scale in the future.

We saw earlier that you’re going to be spending the majority of your time in the product definition/design, testing, and build phases, which means you need a talented team of skilled makers. 

This may seem obvious, but when building the right team with the right chemistry within your budget, there are a lot of factors to consider. How long will it take for the team to gel? Do you stick with who you have? When should you contract vs. hire?

Too often, we see companies spend big budgets hiring a ton of great developers and designers. They throw them onto a project expecting the product will be delivered fast only to find the team isn’t hitting their milestones. Why? 

Teams typically struggle to get going immediately because of differing working styles, personalities, mindsets, and honestly… sometimes ego. That’s why you shouldn’t focus on individual hires but on the team as a whole.

If you have time, budget, and desire to invest in the future culture of your company, you have to invest time to build the team dynamics. We find that it typically takes 4-5 sprints for a team to find its groove — approximately four months, or more.

If you are an early stage startup, and don’t have a lot of time (six months or less), but still want to get a product out there quickly, we recommend hiring a pre-built team of skilled makers who have launched several products together. 

The key takeaway is to not waste all of your time and money hiring. Building a successful team takes time and cycles of members working together to hit their stride. When necessary, augment with experts to help your team grow, add a skill, or just simply to outsource a function. It ultimately comes down to how you want to allocate your resources.

Don’t reinvent the wheel… and don’t build everything from scratch! Accelerators are existing tools and technologies you can leverage or integrate into your product.

Some of the tools that we use to help accelerate the design process to create and test out designs, concepts, and prototypes with users include Figma, Framer.io, and even Typeform.

For development, we use many different tools and platforms on our projects to help accelerate the product development lifecycle and build products that can scale to meet customer demand.  Several of the most popular and impactful integrations and platforms used by our teams include:

AI is everywhere these days for a reason. It’s powering brand new ways to get work done and being incorporated into almost every tool we already use to make workflows easier. From content creation to scheduling, we are seeing tools popping up for everything. Here are a few that can help accelerate product development:

There are important considerations to keep in mind when using any AI tool in a responsible way. Sensitivity of data uploaded into any of these systems and the originality of the content is a big one.

Policies and regulation with AI are still being figured out, so it’s wise to exercise caution when setting guidelines for your product teams. Leverage these tools as inspiration or starting points for copy, as pieces of a larger composite for images, or to get as specific as possible with prompts in order to generate something unique.

Product development succeeds when teams develop a culture of continuous learning. This is fueled by rigorous testing, analytics, and strategic iteration during key phases of the product lifecycle.

In the discovery phase, we immerse ourselves in understanding our potential early adopters' needs and motivations (see #validators). Alongside this, we work with clients to think through solid analytics strategies. This step instills a data-centric culture from the start, setting the stage for ongoing learning and adaptation. 

By aligning qualitative user insights with a framework for quantitative data capture, we ensure the product strategy we craft will continually evolve to meet user needs.

As we pivot to the alpha and beta stages, the emphasis turns to iterative improvement. We engage early adopters in testing programs. Their first-hand experiences provides invaluable feedback to detect bugs and potential enhancements. 

This feedback, bolstered by real-time analytics data, drives our evidence-based refinement process, prepping the product to be market-fit.

By investing in this cycle of continuous learning — persistent testing, data-informed analytics, and strategic iteration — we embrace a user-centric ethos in product development. This equips our clients to not just navigate, but also thrive.

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When Ravi Mehta (former CPO at Tinder/Product Director at Facebook) was working on the first iteration of his personalized coaching product, he validated it quickly with a paid offering he pieced together with a number of low-code tools.

Leveraging learnings from a community of early adopters, he partnered with MetaLab to help enhance, refine, and evolve the product into the Outpace app.

Outpace launched earlier this year. It provides guided programs for personalized career development designed to level up with the support of a one-on-one AI coach.

We are in a post-WeWork/Theranos era of founders promising growth without showing any profit. You need to ask yourself "What do we need to show investors?" Users are great, but how is this actually going to make money?

You have to show real numbers and an actionable monetization strategy. This means outlining your marketing and growth strategies — and the mechanisms that will bring in not only revenue but profit.

Revenue strategies can vary greatly, but the following are a few of the most common buckets of digital product monetization mechanisms:

There are many ways to monetize a product, and this is by no means an exhaustive list. The right way is the one that will resonate with your audience, so feel free to experiment and be flexible when choosing a strategy.

We’ve been supporting Modular with the release of their new AI platform and product offerings. Early in our engagement, they asked us to design a marketing site to help them grow and segment their sales pipeline. This allowed them better understand, and target, existing and potential users. We took those early learnings to ensure the product landed with their audience and supported their revenue targets.

The product lifecycle doesn’t end with a launch, it goes far beyond. Once you begin to get a better understanding of your customers and their purchase behaviours, it’s vital to adapt, being flexible with pricing, monetization strategies, and identifying unexpected revenue drivers. 

For example, you may see that your primary offering for your SaaS tool is slowly gaining traction, but over and over customers are requesting access to an API for a specific data flow. You may be sitting on a large additional untapped revenue stream and there could be more. Meet your customers where they are!

It helps to consult the people who’ve been there before. There are a million people on LinkedIn who are trying to sell you a service or product that you may not need. There are critical steps that could cost you if you miss them. There are shortcuts you may not even know exist. Trusted advisors can help you navigate this and more. There is just no substitute for experience.

Find seasoned product leaders, designers, or engineers who have launched products in the past and will be familiar with the nitty-gritty details. They will have the perspective to help you find the forest through the trees. You want people on your side who can make sure you are spending your time, efforts, and money on the right things.

These are the Product Survival Kit items that we recommend to anyone who is creating and launching a product in today's climate. It's a mix of techniques, processes, people, actions and tools that we've seen provide success to many of our clients, colleagues and partners out there. But remember — each product is different, so find the mix that worst best for you. 

It may seem daunting but it is possible to successfully bring your idea or product concept to life today.  This may even be the right moment to go after it. Companies who launch useful and impactful products during economic downturns have a history of surviving and thriving. The next one could be you.