Download - Creativity As Iterative Process
Creativity as an Iterative Process
Prepared for MGT150 Technology ManagementUC Davis, Feb 2010
Yee Lee www.linkedin.com/in/yeeguy
Product Manager
Investor/Advisor
Entrepreneur In Residence
Surgeon General's Warning:This talk primary applies to consumer internet companies.
CREATIVITY THEORY
Brainstorming Best-practicesBrokeringChallenge
Supp
ort
Freedom
DiversityEncouragement
Incentives
Risk-takingRep
eated
Trial
s
Umm, why are we doing this?
Why not just start here?
Creative Business Tasks
Business planningMarket-entry segmentationProduct/website information architectureMarketing call-to-action contentChoosing a color palletHow to implement a query functionHow to keep your team motivated
Common characteristics● Non-deterministic impact on business goal● No clear “correct” a priori solution
How to manage and evaluate creativity in dynamic businesses?
● Partial/ambiguous goals● Unbounded solution space
Evolutionary Strategies
Iteration & LearningDiversityIncrements & RevolutionsThink: loops, not linear flows
YOU ARE HERE
Jump forward? Look for mines?Step left? Shout for help?
If (slope > 0) {1 step forward}Else {rotate 30 right}
Wireless Data Encryption
Financial Data Encryption Wireless
Money Transfers
Email Payments
Email Payments for eBay Sellers ???
Desktop Realtime
Photosharing
Desktop Chat
Desktop Newsticker
Screensaver NewstickerScreensaver
Games
MySpace Photosharing Facebook
Apps ???
Value of Creativity
Diversity of testable ideas → provable or negatable
Impactful, normative testse.g., “double-down” or “fold”
Testing ConceptsTest vs. Control (A/B split tests)Measurable outcomes (analytics)Statistical significance (Chi square)Cohort analysisCompetitive benchmarking
Crap. Now what?
Creative AdvantagePaceRun quick & cheap experimentsFast decision-making
ConsistencyRepeatable experimental processWillingness to drop losing ideas
MotivationHigh morale, despite repeated failureIncentives and games
Rapid Iteration ResourcesSteve BlankFour Steps to the Epiphany (available on Amazon.com)www.sgblank.com
Eric Reiswww.startuplessonslearned.com
Sean Elliswww.startup-marketing.com
Google:“customer development”“lean startup”“minimum viable product”
Creativity as an Iterative Process