jason moore - why releasing 50 features are less than 1 solution - bsdc 2016

Start with the Problem:Why releasing 50 features < 1 solution

Jason Moore | UX Manager, Workiva | June 11th, 2016

2016 BigSky Devcon | Jason Moore

Ever encountered a project like this?


Or this….

Endless requests of features to build, hoping you arrive at success?


You’re not alone.

Recently, 200 enterprise product managers and startup founders were interviewed.

198 said they were keeping a list of product features they wanted to make a reality “some day”.

Source: “Validating Product Ideas Through Lean User Research” by Tomer Sharon

How do I know if I am only releasing features?

If a product doesn’t solve a problem, no one cares.

A “...single-focus exercise product synonymous with the Nike brand,” says Wohlsen. “If consumers simply want to track their activity, they can do it on their phones; there is no need for an extra device.”

Marcus Wohlsen, WIREDApril 22, 2014

Trying to beat Facebook at its own game is like “trying to beat Google in search.”

Bradford Cross, CEO of Prismatic

So...what does work?


Someday...

What’s most impressive is what the other two startup founders were doing.

These founders were keeping a list of problems they wanted to solve. They chose to fall in love with a problem rather than a list of ideas they wanted to build.


Experiencing your problem solved

Think about the first time you used a great product, digital or otherwise.




● It probably felt like it was designed for you.




● It probably felt like it was designed for you. ● It was intuitive, or the barrier to learn how to use it, was low - if at all.




● It probably felt like it was designed for you. ● It was intuitive, or the barrier to learn how to use it, was low - if not

nonexistent.● You may have not even knew everything it could do and yet it still met a

need you had.




● It probably felt like it was designed for you. ● It was intuitive, or the barrier to learn how to use it, was low - if not

nonexistent.● You may have not even knew everything it could do and yet it still met a need

you had.

You might have said “wow” while using it.


#mindBlown, right?

Probably not.

The beauty of a well designed product is how quick it embeds with your daily life/workstyle.


An UBER Example

Why not just build a better taxi?

Well they kind of did, but they also solved pain points!


4 Distinct “wow” moments

1. How do I know if a cab is available right now?a. Uber shows you cabs around you on a map.




2. When will my driver show up?a. Uber shows you a map of where your driver is with an

estimated time of arrival






3. Will my driver take credit card or do I need cash?a. Uber connects with your credit card.






3. Will my driver take credit card or do I need cash?a. Uber connects with your credit card.

4. What should I tip?a. Uber automatically includes a tip you set.


But the reality is...

...creating multiple “wow moments” within your product takes time to construct. Uber took a year to build their first app and launched in just one city.

Can you do this?

Yes.image credits: http://jmoo.re/dope-jump


Why releasing 50 features < 1 solution

This question is critical.

By understanding your user and the major elements of their problem, it will drive the development of your next product or service into what users need: a solution.

“How do users currently solve [insert pain point]

today?”


When should I ask this question?

All. The. Time.

Continuously asking this question within your team is critical for product and market fit.

Best timeto ask

Good timeto ask

When Planning When Building After Releasing


When Planning

The predictor of future behavior is current behavior. Planning to solve a problem today paves the road to building it tomorrow.

Even if you have a “product idea”, framing it by what problem it solves will improve it significantly.

Best timeto ask

Good timeto ask



When Building

Even in the middle of development, it’s critical to reassess what you are building with fresh eyes.

You may find yourself fine tuning your idea, pivoting toward a better strategy or even realizing your solution isn’t relevant in its current form.

Best timeto ask

Good timeto ask



After Releasing

By observing your audience, you are able to circle back and understand what new problems may arise and how to help prioritize your next solution, or gain insight on what to tackle next on an existing roadmap.

Best timeto ask

Good timeto ask



Asking questions is great

But getting answers is even better.

One of the best ways to arrive at an answer for “How do users currently solve…” is through observation.


Observation can be referred to by many names

● Field observation● Field study, fieldwork, field research● Contextual inquiry● Guided tour● Fly-on-the-wall● Shadowing● Ethnography


Choosing the right tool for the job

The differences between these techniques is the level of interaction that happens between you and the user.

While shadowing, or fly-on-wall techniques entail almost no direct interaction, items like guided tours, or contextual inquiries involve much more of a back and forth conversation.

Little Interaction More Interaction

EthnographyShadowing Fly-on-the-wall Guided TourContextual

Inquiry

FieldObservation /

Research

The truth is that it doesn’t really matter what you call it.

As long as you are observing a person in their natural environment, you are in the observation business.


Observation, your new friend

There are 5 important things to remember when observing:

Observing Listening Noticing Gathering Interpreting


Observing

Watching people as they go about their daily lives at home, work, in between, or wherever is relevant to what the product team is interested in.

Observing will help you uncover not only what happened, but also why it happened.

Created by Mark Shorter from the Noun Project


Listening

Learn the language and jargon people use in their own environments. Listening to people’s jargon has an extra benefit of identifying words they use to describe things.

For example, when using online banking, many people struggle to find mortgage information because banks use the word loan to describe a mortgage.

Created by Kamaksh G from the Noun Project


Noticing

Just standing there watching what people do can be a challenging and overwhelming experience if you don’t know what to look for.

Looking for and paying attention to behaviors such as routines, annoyances, interferences, habits, etc. turns “just being there” into an effective design tool.

Created by fcFrankChung from the Noun Project


Gathering

Collecting different things (aka, artifacts) that people use or create to complete certain tasks might signal user needs for the solution.

For example, an artifact you might find useful if you were conducting an observation in a grocery store would be a person’s grocery list.

Created by Mike Ashley from the Noun Project


Interpreting

After you’ve observed people either struggling with a problem, or solving it in an interesting manner, you’ll need to figure out what the observed behavior means and why the person is doing it that way.

These interpretations sometimes become the outline for “user personas”.

Created by Gregor Črešnar from the Noun Project


Why does observation work?

Observation is an effective technique that can help you achieve several things:

● Validating team assumptions about users● Identifying problems people might have● Understanding user goals and motivations● Understanding people’s workflows

Creative commons http://jmoo.re/1UaF4lM

Observation leads to empathy

“In order to get to new solutions, you have to know different people, different scenarios, different places.”

Emi Kolawole, Editor-in-Residence, Stanford University d.school


Why we Validate

There are 2 ways you can validate the solution, determine whether more work is needed or realize you may be going down the wrong path.

● Internally through dogfooding● Externally with users


Internal Validation

Because slack is looking to improve team communication for, they are able to use their own software as part of their daily workflow.

● Using your own tools (dogfooding) is highly recommended.

● Larger teams will have segmented dept’s where they can target different personas and use cases.


External Validation

For smaller teams, or offerings that cannot be fully used internally, having a communication channel to users is key.

Example of ways to collect validation

● Feedback within your app/offering● 3rd Party Feedback tools● Dedication IM channels for instant feedback● Customer calls, or onsite visits


● Feedback form built within your application● Can scale for both internal and external uses.

External Validation - Feedback within your offering


● Use a 3rd party offering like Ignite Feedback (Bozeman Shout Out!), HelpScout or other widget based tools

External Validation - 3rd Party


External Validation - Dedicated IM Channels

Using a tool, such as slack, where users can be invited to participate live provides a number of benefits

● Instant, always on communication● The ability to use add-ons to save and archive feedback for later consumption● The user (internal or external) is left with a feeling of being valued, knowing their

feedback isn’t disappearing into an email box.


External Validation - Customer call and visits

The chance to meet virtually or in person has it’s own value. If you are able to travel to a location, or screenshare with a user, keep in mind:

● Talking to the right person: Find the metrics that matter for your product. Is it organizational role, license level, frequency of use, etc.? Talking to the wrong user is a waste of your time, but more importantly, it’s a waste of the users’ time. They get it when you’re trying to force it.

All Users

Your Customers


External Validation - Customer call and visits (cont’d)

● Technology as a hindrance: Do a dry run before. Make sure the technology doesn’t become a blocker to your conversation (your product, or support software)

Be ready if it does. Have a plan in place if things go south, whether:

○ You continue with screenshots○ Screen recordings to walk through the solution

○ Have a set of backup questions to make the most use of your time.


Building good products is challenging.

But, you can do it, even though it may look* like this.

*not to scale

Research Concept Validate ReleaseIterate

BUILD


If you only remember these 5 things:

1. Successful products solve problems. Always.2. Ask “Why”? ALL THE TIME.3. Observing users before, during and after releases keeps a fresh perspective.4. Empathy helps you relate to your user. 5. Validation confirms you know the user well enough to give them a solution, or

pivot toward one.

Recap


Where can I learn more?

http://greatproductsbydesign.com/http://jmoo.re/hooked-nir http://jmoo.re/ux-design-in-action

Thank you!

Questions? [email protected]@mooreplusone

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]