In a recent LinkedIn post, product expert Melissa Perri discusses a common misconception in product development: the idea that teams must choose between shipping in small, rapid increments or developing comprehensive, large-scale solutions. Perri argues that this is a false dichotomy, and that effective product teams can, and should, do both.
Challenging the ‘Big Release’ vs. ‘Small Chunks’ Debate
Perri, host of the “Product Thinking with Melissa Perri” podcast, addressed the perceived conflict between delivering value quickly through incremental updates and the necessity of building complete, user-centric solutions. She contends that teams often fall into the trap of believing they must sacrifice one for the other.
“I see this false choice often: you don’t have to choose between shipping fast in small chunks or building the complete solution users actually need,” Perri wrote on LinkedIn. This perspective challenges the conventional wisdom that prioritizes either speed or completeness, suggesting a more integrated approach is possible.
“Multi-month projects with big releases need to be de-risked, but that doesn’t mean going dark for three months and hoping it works.”
According to Perri, the key lies in de-risking large projects through continuous validation, rather than waiting until the final launch. She highlights that successful teams integrate testing and user feedback throughout the development lifecycle, even for long-term initiatives.
The Power of Testing Small, Building Big
Perri advocates for a strategy where smaller, discrete components of a larger solution are tested rigorously during development. This can be achieved through methods like feature flags and engaging beta users.
“The smartest teams I work with test smaller discrete chunks behind feature flags and with beta users during development, then craft the full solution for launch,” she explained. This approach allows for early feedback and validation, reducing the uncertainty associated with large, monolithic releases.
Case Study: Healthcare Software Development
To illustrate her point, Perri cited the example of healthcare software development. In this domain, frequent retraining of medical professionals on new features can be disruptive and impractical.
“Take healthcare software,” Perri noted. “You can’t constantly retrain doctors and nurses on new features while they’re working with patients. So teams spend months building comprehensive solutions, but they’re secretly testing components with opted-in users along the way.”
This method ensures that by the time a comprehensive solution is ready for a wide release, its core components have already been validated, significantly lowering the risk of failure or poor user adoption. Perri emphasizes that the goal is to validate user needs and the value proposition before committing all resources.
“When the ‘big release’ happens, it’s already validated and de-risked.”
Perri’s core message is that building significant solutions does not preclude the practice of iterative testing and validation. She encourages product professionals to move beyond the perceived limitations of this false choice.
“You can build big while testing small.”
She concludes by prompting readers to consider their own development processes: “Are you stuck in this false choice? What’s stopping you from testing while you build toward the bigger solution?” Perri also directs her audience to the latest episode of her podcast for a more in-depth discussion on the topic.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Melissa Perri on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on November 12, 2025 | View original post on LinkedIn →