Release Early, Release Often

(This was an answer to one of my coding assignments. List one pro and con of the popular concept of Release Early, Release Often)

Releasing early and often seems to be the way to go lately when pushing out tech products. The idea is to release a minimal version that provides basic functionality and then get users on board as soon as possible. By observing the users closely you can learn what the additional functionality should be. But this is very different from “throw something out there that’s still buggy”. Buggy is not the same thing as minimal.

The pros of releasing a minimal product EARLY are:
1) You get feedback early; you could be (probably are) missing the mark
2) Less expensive to test

The cons of releasing a minimal product early are:
1) Could earn you a bad reputation
2) Can be a distraction from original goals

Overall, it seems best to get it out there early, but not put out a product that is so sloppy that it gives you a bad reputation. The goal is to get feedback so you can be led to creating a more complete view of what your customer wants.

If you continue to do this quickly, you’ll get the product scope narrowed down quickly and you’ll have one happy customer.