Episode 119
Featuring Best selling author
Roman Pichler
The Roadmap - a blessing or a curse?
Sep 6 / Magnus Billgren
“I must admit, I’m still a fan of roadmaps.”
Best-selling author Roman Pichler is phenomenal. See host Magnus Billgren witness Roman’s reflections on his 10-year love affair with the outcome-based GO Roadmaps.
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Tool #2: Personas
Personas is one of the most basic yet best product management tools. It allows you to achieve an outside in persctive on your product. Often more than one Persona is used for a product. Defining a Buyer Persona and aUser Persona is a typical way of handling it.
Attached are three documents on personas:
- An overview of the tool Persona
- A short guide in designing Personas from aha.io
- A template
REMEMBER: In a changing market you will need to update ypur personas. Otherwise you will make decisions based on obsolete data.
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Tool #3: Scenario Planning
Scenario planning is a tool that allows you to get one step ahead of the competition. Instead of focusing on existing requirements in the market, you plan for the change. Scenario thinking is useful in a disruptive market. Especially for major technology shifts or where the fundamentals of the market is radically changed. Normally three or four Scenarios are created. Then you evaluate the likelihood of the scenarios. It is perfect tool to combine with the DIBB-model ((Data > Insights > Belief > Bet). In Scenario context:
- Collect relevant Data
- Conceptualize you data into Scenarios (Insights)
- Make a choice in what Scenario you believe in
- Make your bet and plan your actions for the Scenario you are choose
Scenario Thinking can be painful. It requires insightful and analytical individuals to create relevant scenarios. You could start with Lightweight scenarios. Then use the perspective of existing customers and users and create scenarios for them. The use of lightweight scenarios drastically reduces complexity, but it will also reduce the strategic value of scenario planning.
Attached are:
- Scenario Tool - description
- Scenario Planning - a short description for fast Scenario creation
- A review for using Scenario as a tool strategy and development
- Driving Forces - the underlying tool for creating Scenarios
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Tool #4: Opportunity Scoring
There is never a shortage of ideas or oportunities. But which ones are we to pursue? Can we use some metrics for evaluation? The Opportunity Scoring model is developed by Anthony Ulwick in his work with Outcome Driven Innovation. It is based based on the "Job To Be Done" methodology and how to deliver products that matters. You can use it to evaluate different opportunities based on two dimensions: Customer Importance (for getting the Job Done) and Customer Satisfaction (with his/her existing solution).
By looking at these two diemnsions we can identify Underserved Markets and real opportunities. You can use it to guide discussions and also as a basis for customer research.
By looking at these two diemnsions we can identify Underserved Markets and real opportunities. You can use it to guide discussions and also as a basis for customer research.
Perfect for creating your roadmap and defining the order in your development.
Attached are three objects:
- Opportunity scoring overview
- Quantifying your customers unmet need ( Opportunity Scoring ODI)
- Prioritization Techniques by Daniel Zacarias including Opportunity Scoring
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Tool #5: Customer Journey design
2014, rainy November day: I was angry with the Swedish telecom operator TELIA once again. It was hard to be a small company and get the right service and offer. It was not about the price; in fact, I was willing to spend more. But we didn't click. I was looking for other alternatives.
2018, an even rainier November day in Stockholm: I was dancing in the rain. Telia, the notorious Telecom Operator, delivered a proactive and excellent service again. What happened?
In 2016, Telia became obsessed with Customer Experience (The new CEO Helene Barnekow made it happen). The customer journey became a tool they started using. The Telia team had mapped the small company experience, which was filled with pain points. Step by step, they changed the touchpoints and services.
This phenomenal transition was guided by the tool "Customer Journey design". An invaluable tool for all Product Managers to experience the customer perspective
Attached are:
- Customer Journey Design tool - Overview
- A great description by Sofia Ohlson, Lumoa
- Research article on Customer research and Journeys
- A presentation by Zornitsa Nikolova, Leanify on how she helöps clients build Customer Journeys
- A presentation by Maira Malik on how Tesla has built their Customer Journeys
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Tool #6: Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
We have always created prototypes, pilots, Proof of Concepts. Still, the MVP-thinking changed everything. The MVP is not an isolated activity or a prototype; it is a part of a bigger picture. The picture of speeding up product development based on insights. The MVP plays a vital role in the learning process. We need to understand the customer and stakeholder response.
MVP is a tool for feedback. This is vital for the usage of the MVP. It is not primarily a commercial product but a tool for feedback. The MVP generates a solid foundation to discuss and gather relevant feedback from users. Traditional prototypes focus on testing product functionality and technology. The MVP tests the critical components of your product business.
To achieve this, you need to challenge what MVP you are building. It can be an algorithm, a process, a price list, or the delivery of your product.
The MVP thinking gained traction from the book "Lean Startup" by Eric Ries. It is today used widely but not optimally.
Rethink and challenge the way you use MVP in your company. Are you testing the critical stuff in your business? Have you built a functional feedback loop?
Attached are:
- MVP overview
- Extensive presentation by Eric Ries on MVP
- Puttin the MVP into a context and establishing a terminology
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Tool #7: A/B Testing
I remember a discussion with the UX director at one of Sweden's leading tech companies. We discussed products and usage. And I asked her why they had been so successful. "It's all about testing." She was obsessed with testing design and usability from step one in the development process to the final product.
Her favorite way of testing was A/B testing. It was easy to analyze the results and easy to create the tests. And by choosing the right alternatives, they had learned to extract lots of data from the analyses.
A/B testing is a simple way to compare two alternatives. From the comparisons, you can get different responses to how many respond or how quick they respond or the quality of response. The method is almost 100 years old and was at the time not designed for Internet ads ;-). Many of us have been using pairwise comparisons, QFD, or conjoint analysis. The A/B testing is the simplest case in these statistical methods.
American Express perfected their direct marketing campaigns using A/B testing in the 80s and 90s.
The fundamental math behind the model is the same, but the real-time environment makes it more powerful. Today multiple tools are available for testing websites and ads on the web, making the tests faster, cheaper, and more powerful.
Use the A/B testing when you want to:
- develop new products or features
- design online campaigns
- to improve the UX
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Tool #8: 5 WHYs
My first Product Manager job was at ABB. I was part of a great team to develop electricity meters for the IEC markets (with a focus on Europe). Lars-Olof, Ulf, John, and I had workshops to create the first ABB Meters. John was what in ABB was called a Specialist. A Specialist title was awarded to someone possessing unique skills. John was a specialist in metering and development, but it was a pain to work with John. He challenged everything I said and all the facts I put on the table. He kept asking "Why" in very many ways. Nike had recently launched their brilliant slogan, "Just Do It", and John kept demanding an answer to "WHY?". You can imagine the frustration around the table. It took me some time to see the greatness of John. But it didn't take long until I also became a PAIN for everyone. I had discovered the beauty of the word "WHY".
"Why" is compelling but frustrating. It makes us understand the logic of things. It forces us to think, not just repeat what someone said or believed. But it is often considered a frustrating technique that can flip into a "blame game" or annoy over-ambitious young professionals (as myself in working with John).
To master the "5 WHYs" - technique sounds easy. Just ask "WHY?" five times, right. That just won't get you ANYWHERE. You must always think and connect the answers to the next question. You are unfolding the logic of a problem not just getting answers. Use the "5 WHYs" technique to grok the logic!
Thanks, John, for sharing your greatness!
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Tool #9: Value Proposition Design
If we ask people, "What Value do you deliver?", everybody would probably propose a valid, but slightly different explanation. As a consequence of that, we could have many potentially useful definitions of the Value. Most descriptions would be able to stress different aspects of Value and would approach the word from different angles.
Value concepts are, however, often severely designed and rather useless. Especially if everyone has their own. Groups turn the value-work into details or a philosophical discussion and not into a business driver. To execute a value strategy, and truly leverage the powerful concept of Value, we will need principles and directions. We need to be concrete. We need to have principles. We need to have established ways of working.
The work by Christensen et al. in "The Innovators Dilemma" and Tony Ulwicks' work on "Outcome Diven Innovation" form the basis for a new Value-era.
The Value Era has been crowned by the models from Strategyzer and Alexander Osterwalder in the "Value Proposition Design" model. It truly helps us in becoming explicit in our Value Proposition.
It is a perfect start and ending for the Value work. Combine it with Resonating focus, Driving Forces, and Target Market Design, and you are set to go!
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Tool #10: Hegelian Dialectics
During my studies, I spent one year digging into the world of Philosophy. I never thought that I would learn ways of thinking that would help me create products faster and better. But I did. And to my big surprise, I see how today's agile methods are the thoughts of HEGEL. Friedrich Hegel was a German Philosopher from the early 19th century. He described the history and the world in new ways changing our way of thinking forever.
One of the most revolutionary thoughts is the concept of Hypothesis. He created what has been known to the world as Dialectics. We create a HYPOTHESIS, challenge it with an ANTI-THESIS, and create a SYNTHESIS. Some would call it an AGILE way of working. Then Hegel should be named the father of Agile methodologies.
Hegelian dialectics can be used on a thought, in a process, on your strategy creation and DevOps work. You can use it every day where you strive to accelerate your thinking.
Attached are:
- The summary of Hegelian Dialectics
- How hypothesis helps you develop the right product
- Agile strategy creation with hypothesis experiments
- DevOps with hypothesis