embracing imperfection: when good enough is the perfect solution
TRANSCRIPT
EmbracingImperfec/onWhenGoodEnoughisthePerfectSolu/on
StevenJ.Weiskircher
ChiefInforma/onOfficerThinkGeek
Presented:September27,2016atRetail’sDigitalSummit
KeyTakeaways• WhatisAgileThinking?
• Whodoesthisapplyto?
• Howdoyourecognize‘goodenough’?
• Whatdoyouneedtogetstarted?
• Poten/alpiUalls
ThinkGeek began in 1999 with a group of friends who saw a hole in the marketplace: products that
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And after 17 years, we are still obsessed with creating and sharing unique experiences that excite our fans' imaginations and fuel their geeky passions.
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RetailEnvironmentToday• Paceofchangeisrapidlyaccelera/ng
• Dataprolifera/on
• Evolvingcustomerexpecta/ons
• Marketdisrupters
• M&A
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PostAcquisi/onAc/vity• Integratedourfinancialorganiza/ons
• Opened10physicalstores;moretocome
• LaunchedacombinedGi^Cardprogram
• Implementedtriggeredpersonalizedemail
• Developedpre-ordercapability
• Integratedproductrecommenda/ons
• Createdfirstna/veIOSapplica/on,Androidonitsway
• DevelopedWMS
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Tradi/onalProjectApproach-Ini/a/on• Abempttodefineeverythingupfront
• Becausewedon’tknoweverythingweaddthings‘justincase’
• Abachacostes/matetoit• Thenforgetitwasanes/mate
• Createaplan• Basedonincompletedata&• Lacedwithassump/ons
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hbp://jaymeholmes.com/jad.html
Tradi/onalProjectApproach
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Tradi/onalProjectApproach-Execu/on
• Requirementschurn
• Plaguedbyindecisiveness
• Lackofclarityleadstowastedeffort
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Sodowedivorcetheplan?
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No!Weholdit/ghter.
ImpactsandOrganiza/onalResponse
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Requirements(throwmoreinjustincase)
Bloated/changingreqs–pades/mates
PaddedEs/mates–stripfunding/
arbitrarydeadline
Arbitrarydeadlinenotbasedinreality–cutmaintainability/tes/ng
Deliverlate,notallrequirements
CircleofDistrust
Plansaresta/c• Theyaretheculmina/onofourbestunderstandingatthe/me
• Theyarelacedwithourassump/onsand(at/mes)ourbiases
• Theyarenotdesignedwithchangeinmind
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‘Thebestlaidplanrarelysurvivesfirstcontactwiththeenemy.’
-HelmuthVonMoltke19thCenturyPrussianGeneral
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TheRiseofAgile• Agileso^waredevelopment
• Scrum,XP
• Kaizen
• LeanManufacturing
• LeanUX
• DesignSprint
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CommonTenantsofAgileProcesses• Valueindividualsandinterac/onsoverprocessesandtools
• Priori/zeworkingproductovercomprehensivedocumenta/on
• Focusoncollabora/onovercontractnego/a/on
• Adapttochangevsfollowingaplan
• Eliminatewastewhereveritappears
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AgileThinking• Understandtheproblemyouaretryingtosolve• Equiptheteam• Minimizechurn• Timeboxeverything• Understandyourconstraints&bepragma/c• Communicateearlyando^en• Learnhowtosay‘no’• Remainflexible• Bedecisive
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Understanding the Problem:Minimum Viable Product
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MVP-Wikipedia• Inproductdevelopment,theminimumviableproduct(MVP)isaproductwithjustenoughfeaturestogathervalidatedlearningabouttheproductanditscon/nueddevelopment.
• GatheringinsightsfromanMVPiso^enlessexpensivethandevelopingaproductwithmorefeatures,whichincreasecostsandriskiftheproductfails,forexample,duetoincorrectassump/ons.
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Where to Start
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DefineyourMVP• Focusonsolvingacustomerproblem
• Minimizethenumberofindividualsinvolvedinthedecisionprocess
• Usetoolslike‘buyafeature’tobuildconsensus
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BuyaFeature• Createalistofpoten/alfeatures
• Putapriceoneach
• Giveeachstakeholderapileofchips
• Havethemplacetheirbetsonthefeaturesthey
value
• Lookforconsensusthroughthebesngprocess
• Drawacutlinewhereyouhave‘solved’the
problem
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BenefitsofFeaturePlanning
• Focusesaben/ononthemostimportantfeatures
• Conveysasenseofrela/vecostforcapabili/es• Nothingisfree
• Buildsconsensuswithinthestakeholders
• Formsapriori/zedbacklogforsubsequentitera/ons
• Minimizes‘earmark’nego/a/ons
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Build your credibility incrementally
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AddressNormaliza/onTheProblem:• Incorrect/incompleteaddressdatacausedmul/pleissues
• Customerservicecallsforlate/missingdeliveries• Addresscorrec/onchargesfromthecarriers
TheConstraints:• OnlyUXresourcesavailable• Noclearbusinesssponsor
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AddressNormaliza/onSolu/on:• JavaScriptbasedAddressCorrec/on
Service
Whyitwas‘perfect’:• Rapidintegra/on=Quickresults• Noprocesschanges
Results:• Reducedcorrec/oncharges• Improvedconversionrate
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Pre-Orders
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TheProblem:• Ver/calintegra/onhasincreasedinventoryrisk• Lateproductdeliveryputsalesatrisk
TheConstraints:• BillinginfrastructureandOrderManagementSystem• Manyinterestedpar/esbutnoclear‘owner’
Pre-Orders–Solu/onSolu/on:• Foundnimble3rdpartythat
specializesinpre-ordermanagement• ‘Light’integra/ononproductpage
Whyitwas‘perfect’:• Twoweekintegra/on• Over$1Minincrementalrevenuein
firstyear
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MarketplaceSelling
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Theproblem:• Needfornewrevenuechannelstoenablegrowth
Theconstraints:• 45daystodevelopandlaunchsolu/on• Systemconstraintsinpricingmanagement
MarketplaceSelling
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Solu/on:• Par/alintegra/onwithmarketplaceaggregatorandeBay
Whyitwas‘perfect’:• Timetomarket• Minimalinvestmentenabledustolearnquickly
Results:• Cancelledprograma^er10months
The Design Sprint
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DesignSprint• 5dayprocessdevelopedbyGoogleVentures
• Short-cutsnormalcycle/metoquicklymovefromideatolearning
• Reachconsensusonapproach
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Build
LaunchLearn
Idea
**h#p://www.gv.com/sprint/
DesignSprintAc/vi/es• Surfacekeybusinessopportuni/es
• Definingsuccesscriteria
• Exploringuserjourneys&analy/cs
• Analyze
• Interviewkeyteammembers
• Crea/ngconceptmindmaps,storyboards&
prototypes
• Cri/que&vo/ngonkeyideas
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DesignSprintProcessflow
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Test o Test the prototype on
actual users o Watch as users try out the
prototype to quickly see if the design makes sense.
Unpack Sketch Decide Prototype Test
Decide o Decide which solutions
are the best to move forward with
o Voting / etc.
Sketch o Sketch / Design
ideas on how to solve the problems.
o Paper sketches to encourage many ideas
Prototype o Build a working
prototype of the whichever solution(s)
o Use whatever tools possible.
o InVision + paper sketches + anything
Unpack o Identify the problem
you’re trying to solve.
o Mind-maps o Define success
metrics. o Research solutions
for similar issues. Other current iOS shopping apps.
o ID your killer feature
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OutputoftheDesignSprint-MVP
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FeatureGroup FeatureDetail BriefDescrip/on RequiredforMVP
No/fica/on BackinStock allowcustomerstoreceivea'backinstock'no/fica/onforaspecificproduct
Need
OrderStatus Orderconfirma/on Need Shipping Ordershipped Need Exclusivenewproducts Newproductsaddedtothesite/category nicetohave Shippingcutoffs limitedtokeyholidays nicetohaveBaseNaviga/on Search searchforproductbyname,id,abribute Need Filter filtersearchresultsbyabribute,filterbrowsepathby
abribute;e.g.filterapparelbysize/genderNeed
Browse navigatethroughtheproductcatalogusingatradi/onaltaxonomy
Need
Productlistview Thesearecategory/subcategorylis/ngpages. Need Ranking,sortorder Adjustproductlis/ngdisplaybasedonsortop/ons Need AccountManagement
Accountcrea/on Cancreateanaccount,sign-upforemailand/orgeekpoints
Need
Login Need Facebooklogin nicetohave Facebookregistra/on nicetohave Login/CheckouttouchID Need Enter/saveaddresses Customeraddressbook.Needabilitytoretrieveaddresses
fromandaddtotheaddressbookNeed
Addresscorrec/onandnormaliza/on
WeuseCapture+todaytonormalizeinput.NeedthisonthemobileUIaswell
Need
Accountintegra/on Tiedtothesameaccountasthedesktopsite need Cart Cartsshouldbemoveablebetweenthedesktop,mobile
web,andmobileappexperiencesprovidedthecustomerisaloggedinuser.
Need
Checkout Geekpoints needabilitytosignupforGeekpointsaswellasredeem Need Paypal wanttousethena/veIOSintegra/on Need Paymentmethod-credit
card Need
ApplePay nicetohave orderconfirma/on Need
IOSProjectTimeline
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July August - September
October
Design&AgileDevelopment
PublishDiscovery
Kickoff Support
• Design-Bi-weeklydesignreviews• Development-Twoweekdevelopmentsprints(Mobify)• ProjectManagement-Weeklystatuscall
AppResults• Deliveredin4months
• Approaching$1M
incrementalannualsales
• Currentlyexpandingto
Android
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Howdoyougetstarted?• Focusonsolvingacustomerproblem
• DefineyourMVP–thisiswhatsuccesslookslike
• ‘GoodEnough’isorganiza/onandsitua/onspecific
• Learnhowtosayno
• Bebold!
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