how to build great products by dan olsen
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Talk I gave on best practices in product management and UI design to SofTech in San Rafael on August 24, 2011.TRANSCRIPT
Copyright © 2011 YourVersion
Dan Olsen Olsen Solu:ons LLC August 24, 2011
How to Build Great Products
Copyright © 2011 YourVersion
Copyright © 2011 YourVersion
What's the Formula for a Great Product?
n A product that: n Meets customers' needs n Is bePer than other alterna:ves n Is easy to use n Has a good value/price
n Also known as product-‐market fit n Simple, right? n It's easy to understand at the conceptual level the aPributes a great product must possess
n Hard part is HOW to achieve a product like that
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My Background n Educa:on
n BS, Electrical Engineering, Northwestern n MS, Industrial Engineering, Virginia Tech n MBA, Stanford n Web development and UI design
n 20 years of Product Management Experience n Managed submarine design for 5 years n 5 years at Intuit, led Quicken Product Management n Led Product Management at Friendster n PM consultant to startups: Box.net, YouSendIt, Epocrates n CEO & Cofounder of YourVersion, startup building “Pandora for your real-‐:me web content”
Will post slides to hPp://slideshare.net/dan_o
Quick Poll of Audience n Func:onal role
n Product Management n Marke:ng n Other business roles n Designer n Engineer n Other technical roles
n Market n Consumer n Enterprise
n Industry n Web n Mobile n Hardware n Biotech n Greentech n Other
n Size of company n Small: < 50 ppl n Medium: 50 – 500 ppl n Large: > 500 ppl
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6 Copyright © 2011 YourVersion
Understanding Customer Needs
n Problem Space n A customer problem, need, or benefit that the product should address
n A product requirement
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n Russians: pencil
n NASA: space pen ($1 M R&D cost)
Example: n Ability to write in space (zero gravity)
Problem Space vs. Solu:on Space n Solu:on Space
n A specific implementa:on to address the need or product requirement
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Problem Space vs. Solu:on Space: Product Level
Problem Space (user benefit)
Solu:on Space (product)
TurboTax
TaxCut
Pen and paper
Prepare my taxes
File my taxes
Check my taxes
Maximize deductions
Reduce audit risk
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Problem vs. Solu:on Space: Feature Level Problem Space
Solu:on Space
Save time filing taxes
Save time preparing taxes
Maximize my tax deductions
Check my return
Reduce my audit risk
Help me prepare taxes
Empowerement/ Confidence
Save Time
Save Money
Tax Interview Wizard
Audit Risk Analyzer
Tax Return Error Checker
Tax Data Downloader
Electronic Tax Return Filing
Tax Deduction Finder
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Priori:za:on Part 1: Customer Value: Benefits & Features
n How do you priori:ze: n Which user benefits should you address? n Which product features to build (or improve)?
n Importance vs. Sa:sfac:on n Importance of user need (problem space) n Sa:sfac:on with how well a product meets the user's need (solu:on space)
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High Importance + Low Sa:sfac:on = Opportunity to Add Customer Value
Impo
rtance of U
ser N
eed
User Sa:sfac:on with Current Alterna:ves
Compe::veMarket Opportunity
Low High
Low
High
Not Worth Going Aner
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Importance vs. Sa:sfac:on Ask Users to Rate for Each Feature
98
8784
8679 847055 80
7280
75
4150
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Satisfaction
Importance
Recommended reading: “What Customers Want” by Anthony Ulwick
Bad
Great
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Kano Model: User Needs & Sa:sfac:on User Sa:sfac:on
User Dissa:sfac:on
Performance (more is bePer)
Delighter (wow)
Need not met
Need fully met
Must Have
Needs & features migrate over :me
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What is Your Value Proposi:on?
n Which user benefits are you providing? n How are you bePer than compe:tors? Compe&tor A Compe&tor B You Must Have Benefit 1 Y Y Y
Performance Benefit 1 High Low Med
Performance Benefit 2 Low High Low
Performance Benefit 3 Med Med High
Delighter Benefit 1 Y -‐ -‐
Delighter Benefit 2 -‐ -‐ Y
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Priori:za:on Part 2: Customer Value & Engineering Effort
n Customer value is only half the equa:on n How much engineering effort will it take? n Need to consider value and effort (ROI) n Ruthlessly priori:ze: rank order (10 Highs = FAIL) n Be deliberate about scope & keep it small
n Strategy = deciding what you're NOT doing n Break features down into smaller chunks n LAUNCH! n Smaller scope → faster itera:ons → higher cust value
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Priori:zing Product Ideas by ROI
Investment (developer-‐weeks)
Return (V
alue
Created
)
Idea C
Idea B
Idea D
Idea A
Idea F
1
1
2 3 4
2
3
4 ?
Very Important to have a Priori:zed Feature List
n Have only 1 list & only 1 keeper of the list n Should be a living, real-‐:me document
n Always in rank order & always up to date n Update as new ideas come up
n Should be accessible any:me by team n Google Spreadsheets works great for me n APributes of a good tool n Other tools you’ve used?
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UI Design and Ease of Use
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User Benefits vs. Ease of Use n Q: If two products equally deliver the exact same user benefits, which product is bePer?
n A: The product that's easier to use n “Ease of use” provides benefits
n Saves :me n Reduces cogni:ve load & frustra:on n Makes user feel empowered
n UI Design can be differen:ator n Olsen's Law: “The less user effort required, the higher the percentage of users who will do it”
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The UI Design Iceberg
Visual Design
Interaction Design
Information Architecture
Conceptual Design
Recommended reading: Jesse James GarreP's “Elements of User Experience” chart, free at www.jjg.net
What most people see and react to
What good product people think about
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Elements of User Interface Design
Consists of Three Dis:nct Elements: n Informa:on Architecture
n Structure and layout at both site and page level n How site is structured (sitemap) n How site informa:on is organized (site layout) n How each page is organized (page layout)
n Interac:on Design n How user and product interact with one another n User flows (e.g., naviga:on across mul:ple pages) n User input (e.g., controls and form design)
n Visual Design n “How it looks” vs. “What it is”, onen called “chrome” n Fonts, colors, graphical elements
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Dan Olsen CEO, YourVersion July 24, 2009
Early Stage Product Management
Advice on UI Design
n People need visual ar:facts to facilitate discussions about UI design
n Sketch! On paper, whiteboard, sonware n 1st sketch will be bad: embrace itera:on n Diverge (explore) then converge (narrow) n Collaborate in person (vs. remotely) n Great rapid wireframing tool: Balsamiq n Get feedback from users
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Learning from Customers
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Customer Feedback: Problem Space vs. Solu:on Space
n Most customers CAN'T ar:culate problem space to you
n Customers CAN react to solu:on space n But, customers can't give you solu:ons n Customers aren’t designers
n Mul:ple use cases and priori:es n Trade-‐offs and constraints n Don't have PM, design, and technical skills
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Itera:ng Your Product Vector Based on User Feedback in Solu:on Space Problem Space
(your mental model) Solu:on Space
(what users can react to)
Help user book travel
Help user plan travel
Customer Feedback
Mockups or Product
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What Are You Gezng Feedback & Learnings About?
Problem Space (your mental model)
Solu:on Space (what users can react to)
Customer Understanding
(needs & preferences)
Feature Set
UI Design Messaging
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Persevere or Pivot?
Increasing Product-‐Market
Fit
Pivot
Pivot
Product-‐Market Fit = Gezng enough data to validate that you're climbing up the right mountain
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“Ramen” User Feedback for Startups
n Anyone can do it! n Ingredients:
n Solu:on-‐space product/mockup to test n 1 customer (with laptop if tes:ng code) n 1 desk n 1 person to conduct the session n Pen and paper n Op:onal note-‐taker and observers
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Typical Format for Customer Session n 5 -‐ 10 min: Ask ques:ons to understand user needs and solu:ons they currently use
n 30 -‐ 50 min: User feedback n Show user product/mockup n Non-‐directed as much as possible n When necessary, direct user to aPempt to perform a specific task
n 5 -‐ 10 min: Wrap-‐up n Answer any user ques:ons that came up n Point out/explain features you want to highlight n Ask them if they would use the product
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Dos & Don’ts of Conduc:ng Usability n Do
n Explain to the user: n Their usability test will help improve the product n Not to worry about hur:ng your feelings n “Think Aloud Protocol”
n Ask user to aPempt the task, then be a fly on the wall n Ask non-‐leading, open-‐ended ques:ons n Take notes and review them anerwards for take-‐aways
n Don't n Ask leading ques:ons n “Help” the user or explain the UI (e.g., “click over here”) n Respond to user frustra:on or ques:ons (un:l test is over) n Get defensive n Blame the user
Copyright © 2010 YourVersion
Dan Olsen, CEO, YourVersion O’Reilly Web 2.0 Expo SF May 6, 2010
Lean Product Management for Web 2.0 Products
33 Copyright © 2011 YourVersion
Case Study on Valida:ng Product-‐Market Fit: Marke:ngReport.com
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Product-‐Market Fit Case Study: Marke:ngReport.com
n My consul:ng client, CEO of TrustedID, had an idea for a new product
n Team: me, CEO, head of marke:ng, UI design consultant
n Goal: n Validate product-‐market fit quickly, cheaply without wri:ng a single line of code
n Determine if their was a business opportunity here
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n Product Concept was “marke:ng report” that let consumers control the direct mail that they receive
n Concept was fuzzy with various components, so I broke it into 2 different “flavors”: n #1 “Marke:ng Shield”: Service to reduce/stop junk mail n #2 “Marke:ng Saver”: Opt in & receive money-‐saving offers n Each product concept consisted of several modules that each mapped to a specific user benefit
n Worked with UI designer to create paper mockups of pages for each flavor concept (5 pages each)
Product-‐Market Fit Case Study: Developing Product Concept
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Clustering Poten:al User Benefits to Create Product Concepts
Reduce Junk Mail
Find out what “they” know about you
Money Saving Offers
Compare Yourself to Others
Social Networking
Marketing Report
Marketing Score
Marketing Profile
Save Trees
“Shield” Concept “Saver” Concept
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n Telephone recruit of prospec:ve customers n Wrote phone-‐screen ques:onnaire to create rough target customer segmenta:on n Wanted users who work full-‐:me & use internet n Fit for opt-‐in concept: use coupons, Costco membership n Fit for an:-‐junk mail concept: use paper shredder, block caller ID
n Scheduled 3 groups of 2 or 3 people to discuss each product concept for 90 minutes
n Moderated each group through the paper mockups to hear their feedback
Product-‐Market Fit Case Study: Recrui:ng People
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Product-‐Market Fit Case Study: Findings on Concepts &User Benefits
Reduce Junk Mail
Find out what “they” know about you
Money Saving Offers
Compare Yourself to Others
Social Networking
Marketing Report
Marketing Score
Marketing Profile
Save Trees
Legend
Strong appeal
Somewhat positive
Low appeal
“Shield” Concept “Saver” Concept
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Product-‐Market Fit Case Study: Learnings from Research
n “Shield” (an:-‐junk mail) concept stronger than “Saver” n People didn’t like many “Saver” concept components n Learned concerns/ques:ons about “Shield” concept n Refined “Shield” concept:
n Removed irrelevant components n Improved messaging to address user concerns / ques:ons
n Tested revised “Shield” concept with quick 2nd round n No customer concerns n Clear willingness to pay
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Product-‐Market Fit Case Study: Summary
n 4 weeks from 1st mee:ng to validated product concept with zero coding
n Cost $1,500 to talk to 20 users ($75 each) n 1 round of itera:on on product concept n Iden:fied compelling concept that users are willing to pay $10/month for
n Trimmed away non-‐valuable pieces n You can achieve similar results
44 Copyright © 2011 YourVersion
Gezng Quan:ta:ve: Op:miza:on Using Metrics
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Approaching Your Business as an Op:miza:on Exercise
Given reality as it exists today, op:mize our business results subject to our resource constraints.
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Profit = Revenue -‐ Cost
Unique Visitors x Ad Revenue per Visitor
Impressions/Visitor x Effec:ve CPM / 1000
Visits/Visitor x Pageviews/Visit x Impressions/PV
New Visitors + Returning Visitors
Invited Visitors + Uninvited Visitors
# of Users Sending Invites x Invites Sent/User x Invite Conversion Rate
Define the Equa:on of your Business “Peeling the Onion”
Adver:sing Business Model:
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How to Track Your Metrics n Track each metric as daily :me series
n Create ra:os from primary metrics: X / Y n Example: How good is your registra:on page? n Okay: # of registered users per day n BePer: registra:on conversion rate = # registered users / # uniques to reg page
Date
Unique Visitors
Page views
Ad Revenue
New User Sign-‐ups …
4/24/08 10,100 29,600 25 490
4/25/08 10,500 27,100 24 480
…
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Registra:on Conversion Rate Data
Daily Signup Page Yield vs. TimeNew Registered Users divided by Unique Visitors to Signup Page
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1/31 2/14 2/28 3/14 3/28 4/11 4/25 5/9 5/23 6/6 6/20 7/4 7/18 8/1 8/15 8/29 9/12 9/26 10/10
Dai
ly S
ignu
p Pa
ge Y
ield
Changedmessaging
Added questionsto signup page
Started requiringregistration
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Iden:fying the “Cri:cal Few” Metrics n What are the metrics for your business? n Where is current value for each metric? n How many resources to “move” each metric?
n Developer-‐hours, :me, money n Which metrics have highest ROI opportuni:es?
Return
Investment
Return
Investment Re
turn
Investment
Metric A Good ROI
Metric B Bad ROI
Metric C Great ROI
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n Survey results n Importance & Sa:sfac:on n Net Promoter Score
n Survey.io n “How would you feel if you could no longer use Product X?”
n Very disappointed, Somewhat disappointed, Not disappointed
n User behavior n Prospects sign up (high conversion rate) n They keep using it (high reten:on rate) n They use it onen (high frequency of use)
Metrics to Validate Product-‐Market Fit
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Con:nuous Improvement
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Adding Metrics and Op:miza:on to your Product Process
Plan
Design
Develop
Business Objec:ves
Product Roadmap
Priori:zed Feature List
Scoping
Requirements & Design
Code
Test
Launch
Site Level
Feature Level
Op:mize Metrics & User Feedback
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Op:miza:on through Itera:on: Con:nuous Improvement
Measure the metric
Analyze the metric
Iden:fy top opportuni:es to improve
Design & develop the enhancement
Launch the enhancement
Learning
Gaining knowledge:
• Market
• Customer
• Domain
• Usability
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How to Build Great Products Cheat Sheet
n Clarify problem space by itera:ng in the solu:on space & gezng user feedback
n Revise feature set, UI design, and messaging to improve product-‐market fit
n Ruthlessly priori:ze based on ROI n Define equa:on of your business n Iden:fy and track key metrics n Launch, learn, and iterate
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Ques&ons? @danolsen slideshare.net/dan_o www.yourversion.com