Our Philosophies of Product Building

At LaunchPad Lab, we have a core set of guiding directives that inform our daily work. In addition to our Motivations and our Company Constants, we have our Philosophies: values that are inherently related to the projects we work on.

As our team grows, the LaunchPad Lab Philosophies impact our approach and execution of projects—all while inspiring us to create a larger impact every single day.

Our Philosophies

1. Get the why.

At the core of our work, we’re product builders solving a particular challenge. To truly be effective for our clients and their users, we always start with understanding the why behind a project. When we have this information about the use case, product, or project, our team can fully apply our skills and expertise to the problem.

To accomplish this, we create small teams arranged by timezone, capacity, and skillset. All of our team members have a responsibility to uncover “the why” behind every project they’re working on.

2. Demo early and often.

There’s nothing we love more than demonstrating our work-in-progress to clients. When you’re able to gain a clear insight into how a project is being built, it builds trust—and it helps us stay on track, every step of the way. Demoing projects helps to ensure that we’re all on the same page in terms of expectations and functionality.

Our demos frequently feature far more than just a user interface. They can also include API documentation, system diagrams, and designs.

3. Put users first.

We build digital products for people—and we make sure that we keep this idea elevated throughout the entire process. The more we understand about our users, the better we can be at shaping the project and designing features that best meet a user’s needs.

During the discovery phase of a project, we aim to understand the audience deeply through interviews with team members, user research, domain research, and domain experts. When we understand the unique pain points of a user, we’re able to build more effectively.

4. Pass the baton.

As a team, we work to set each other up for success. Most digital experiences require several moving parts—and an impressive set of designers, developers, and product managers. Internally, we keep the next person in mind so we can prepare them for a great experience on the project.

To achieve this, we believe in transparency and collaboration between team members. From shared documents to documented code, anyone jumping into a project can get a clear understanding of the directive, the audience, and the vision.

5. Match the product to the constraints.

To make sure we show up for our clients, we continually cross-check our product in process with the core KPIs and the desired outcome of the work. Although it’s always fun to embrace iteration and explore new ideas, we keep our focus on prioritizing feature ideas within the given constraints of the project.

6. Plug into the LaunchPad “Mega Brain.”

We’ve developed a LaunchPad library of resources for our entire team to use on projects. This includes reusable components, product requirements library, design systems, and templates.

By contributing our individual knowledge to a collective whole, we’re able to stand on the shoulders of those who came before us—and gain access to valuable resources that help take projects to the next level.

7. Jump into the rock tumbler.

Lastly, we believe in sharpening and refining our products through honest feedback and discussion. Thanks to a culture that prioritizes peer review, our team is encouraged to be confident in our decisions—and yet open-minded in exploring other options.

Just as a rock tumbler refines the bumps and cracks, our team works together to ensure that every client receives a smooth and polished product that works for them.

Interested in learning more about LaunchPad Lab?

View our open positions here or schedule a discovery call to start your project.

Nick Lindeke

Product Manager

Nick learned his product fundamentals in mechanical engineering and brought his love of continuous improvement and process development to digital products when he shifted his career to the software industry. He found his calling as a Product Manager because he is fascinated by the intersection of technology and business. Outside of work, Nick enjoys throwing a frisbee around and learning everything he can about space exploration.