Even at a very advanced stage, Hypothesis Driven Development can be used to keep the development lean and on target.
Product development at Netflix starts with a hypothesis, which typically goes something like this:
Algorithm/feature/design X will increase member engagement with our service, and ultimately member retention.
(...)
The second step is to design a test that will measure the impact of the hypothesis. Sometimes this simply means build it, but often we can build a prototype more quickly that captures the essence of the concept.
No matter how advanced your business is, building a full-fledged feature should rarely be the next move, unless it's been tested beforehand and you know for sure that it will directly impact your bottom line in a positive manner. Some final words from Netflix:
(...) the ideal execution of an idea can be twice as effective as a prototype, or maybe even more. But the ideal implementation is never ten times better than an artful prototype. Polish won't turn a negative signal into a positive one. Often, the ideal execution is barely better than a good prototype, from a measurement perspective.
