1. Software Product Definition Fall, 2015 Week 2 Prof. Sheryl Root 1

2. Agenda Team problems being addressed Problem Statement Discussion Market Readiness Interviewing Team Check-In 2

3. Problem Statements Status of statements Sharpened problem statements Clarify stakeholders and potential interviewees Avoid too many contrived questions Open questions Practicalities Use facts, avoid generalities, avoid exaggeration You are involved in information capture potential user Team writing dynamics – consider format for integration Citation format – be sure to cite your work Research – check what is out there on the internet Questions? 3

4. Customer Discovery – 2 Phases Test customer perception of the problem and the customer’s need to solve it. Show customer the product for the first time to illustrate solution to the problem. Customers need to confirm both the problem and the solution. Apply your hypotheses to each element of the business model. Remember it is an iterative process. 4

5. Problem Definition A problem is the difference between the expected/desired state of affairs and the actual state of affairs. A problem statement is a concise description of the issue(s) that must be addressed. Most of the time, a problem is hidden. What is evident are the symptoms of the problem. Don’t make hasty assumptions or solutions before having a clear understanding of the problem. What are your hypotheses? 5

6. Questions to address Who is affected by the problem? What are the causes of the problem? When does the problem occur? Where does the problem occur? How is the problem manifested? What is the impact of the problem? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? 6

7. Problem Statement Development Define the issue. Considered from the customer’s point of view Clarify why the issue is important. Numbers tell a story What assumptions are you making? Don’t jump to conclusions Create a concise description/question/statement of the issue/opportunity you want to explore. Not the solution Limit jargon 7

8. Steps to defining problem A problem does not exist on its own. Usually a system in which it resides Not considering the system results in pitfall of solving a symptom which results in more or worse problems. Consider the steps: 1. Root cause: understand the hierarchy and the system that frames the problem Use the 5 Why’s… keep asking, follow the trail to the root Don’t get sidetracked by other problems – Fishbone diagram 2. Understand the scope: identify all the related issues to the root cause Identify all the related problems to root cause and sort into logical groupings - Fishbone 3. Determine initial solution: May be more than 1 Select the most appropriate – might mean pivoting The “elegant” solution will address the system in which the problem resides. 8

9. Problem statement examples Why do people still read books? Questions: Which way do you like to read a book: electronic or printed? Why? What types of books attract you most to a printed version? Why is there student violence in our high schools? Questions: What do you think the causes student violence might be? What is the cost of school violence? Does clothing matter? How would school uniforms affect the rates of school violence in Oakland? 9

10. Detailed Example for New Product You have an idea for a sales force effectiveness product. Now before you start thinking about what to build, you have to define the problem/domain. This will help you to better define the scope of your issue to be addressed. This creates your context. What would the next steps be? 10

11. 4 Steps: Step 1 Define the problem. Define the overall reason why this issue needs to be addressed in the first place Example: The current sales process is not generating enough sales for the business profitability. Consideration: An SFA product is needed 11

12. 4 Steps: Step 2 Map out and validate the problem. Break down the overall problem definition into its component parts. Identify the entities, people, processes and relationships between each. Here you use the “who, what, when, why, how” test. Example: People = sellers and buyers, entities = sales offers, purchase orders, sales invoices, pipeline, etc. Get out and talk to the people… to validate But first, create a set of questions to use. 12

13. 4 Steps: Step 3 Create the questions you would ask based on the types of potential people involved or impacted. Example: Who does the selling? What do they sell, when do they sell, how do they sell, what do they have to know to sell effectively, how long did the sell take, where does the sell take place, what problems are there, what are the processes, etc. Who does the buying? How did you identify the buyer? What causes them to buy? How do the two interact? Who else may be related to the buyer and the seller? 13

14. Step 3 process consideration Map or flow chart the task, people, entities, and relationships. Start with the most obvious players first. Brainstorm other players that may interact. Only put down those that have a direct bearing on your problem. Put down the things that your team needs to know to get the job done Example: you may need to know how the buyer makes a final decision (map it) as you might need to add functionality to help close the sale. 14

15. 4 Steps: Step 4 Describe the problem. If you have been diligent, this should be easy. Describe your problem map in detail such as defining the attributes of each key person type or business process and apply your business rules. Example: Why is the Sales process not generating a 20% increase in the volume of sales after implementing CRM? 15

16. Today What is a market? How does your product or service appear to the market? What are the dynamics that govern acceptance? How does this impact how you interview? 16

17. What’s a Market? 1.A set of actual or potential customers… 2.For a given set of product or services… 3.Who have a common set of needs or wants, and 4.Who reference each other when making a buying decision How relevant is #4 today in segmenting? Adapted from Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm” 17

18. What type of Innovation are you bringing to market? Continuous “Better mousetrap” Established problem Lots of competition Incremental improvement Discontinuous Radically new Selling uphill First-mover advantage Game changers Different types of risk Different types of market inquiry High tech is often Discontinuous 18

19. Reflect Is your team proposing a continuous or a discontinuous innovation? How might the distinction guide the way you select and interview stakeholders? 19

20. Market Dynamics and the Technology Adoption Lifecycle from Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm” 20

21. The Lifecycle Really has Gaps – Why? from Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm” Finding a visionary can be like striking gold 21

22. Gartner Hype Cycle 2010 Source: Gartner 22

23. Gartner Hype Cycle 2012 Source: Gartner 23

24. Reflect What segment or segments will you go after in selecting interview subjects? Think of a business that is similar to the one you propose – did they face a chasm? Think ahead – where can you narrowly focus so as to open the broad market? Be a big fish in a small pond first… 24

25. 25 Steve Blank, 2014

26. Break Take 15 minutes Interviewing Discussion 26

27. 27 Steve Blank, 2014

28. An interview is not a… Quiz Survey Negotiation Pitch Date Conversation Validation it is about learning. 28

29. Contextual Design Interview Watch users doing stuff Go where they work Users are bad at describing how they want it to work but are good at describing how they get around the system Learn what they do, see what they do Avoid the abstract of “needs” Gather “artifacts” Catch the flow and the sequence 29

30. 30 Interviewing Customers You are gathering the voice of the customer. Don’t talk… wait, listen for the problems Ask for stories… Interviews are used for: If applicable, what are the business issues? What is the customer’s problem/need/pain? What are the specific needs to satisfy to address the problem? Are there priorities to the needs? How are they solving the problem now, if at all? What are they considering?

31. Whom to interview? Formulate a Persona hypothesis (or user profile) : What different sorts of people might use this product? And which are likely to be early adopters? How might their needs and behaviors differ? What ranges of behaviors and types of environments need to be explored? Differentiation should be based on goals and behaviors, not on demographics! Consider environmental characteristics if they are likely to influence goals and behaviors. 31

32. Make a Plan Types of people to interview Potential users Potential customers Other key stakeholders, relations How many people to interview Minimum of one per team member, 5-8 ideal Assign members and roles Discuss progress of plan Track your progress, adapt to change stay flexible Practicalities of class may limit you Review with faculty as you go, need help? Ask! 32

33. Customer Interviews How have you identified the customers to interview? Do you have segment characteristics? Context for the work? Of all possible work contexts, which ones matter most? What is the work group for the context? How will you prequalify interview subjects? Do you have criteria? Should you interview experts and/or user advocates? Direct users? Buyers? Support staff? Prepare. Schedule. Script. Practice on each other. Request: time, time allotted, your role, purpose. 33

34. Alternatives for Conducting Interviews Surveys Focus Groups Unstructured – Semi-structured – Structured Contextual Inquiry Interviews: Apprenticeship Shadowing Retrospective Hypothetical (Don’t use this if one of the alternatives will work.) 34

35. 35

36. 36 When Interviewing Customers, Discover: Their goals in purchasing a product in this space The sources of pain they want to alleviate Their frustrations with current solutions Their process for making a purchase decision Their role in the deployment and management of the product/solution Any domain-specific issues “What do I need to know that I won’t hear from users and other stakeholders?” If they express design opinions, try to get at the “why” underlying them. Remember the 5 Whys Adapted from Cooper’s “About Face 3”

37. Questions to consider What is your background and role? How does the work for you today? Who is involved in the process? If others, what is the relationship and how do all work together? What are the inefficiencies today? What are the best/worst elements of how it works today? What would you change if you could? What would be the factors you would consider in selecting an alternative? 37

38. 38 More questions to consider (2) What is your background and role? How does the work at your company? What different groups are involved in the process? How do they work together today? What are the biggest problems/inefficiencies today? What are the best things about your current solution? What are the worst? Have you seen things done differently at your previous companies? What would you expect an ideal solution to do? What other factors are important in selecting a solution? Adapted from Goodwin’s “Designing for the Digital Age”

39. 39 Interviewing Users - Tips The interview is about them, not you Ask open, unbiased questions Ask the question and then let them answer Follow up with statements like “Tell me more” Adjust questions to their previous answers Ask questions in a vocabulary they understand Be flexible Don’t lead the interviewee Listen to the complaints, but look for problems Pick up on examples, have them provide detail Watch for good quotes Capture the mood and the emotions as well

40. Interviewing Users From the eChalk interview script (RCD p. 87): This won’t be a traditional interview with questions and answers – see, I don’t even have any questions with me. How can you go into an extended interview with no questions? What is the “backbone” of the interview? How can this possibly work? 40

41. Interviewing for learning You got an answer, now what? Ask for Explanations Examples Details Results Alternatives Advice Big Picture 41

42. 42

43. What Not To Do: Turn into a complaint department Turn into a product expert (even if your are!) Break “ground rules” for interview Don’t step on any toes Don’t interview someone with “interview fatigue” Don’t be late Don’t do all the talking… Engage in lots of chit-chat Pitch your idea/solution Break commitments you made Make promises you can’t keep Discuss specifics of your product… you may pivot 43 Adapted from Goodwin’s “Designing for the Digital Age”

44. After the Interview Interpret within 48 hours Read ahead: RCD Chapter 5 If > 48 hours, will need to do some prep Did you uncover something surprising? Observations versus insights Did you identify a new stakeholder? How will you use this information? 44

45. Structure your observations 45

46. Circles Method by Lin, PM MS* 46 * Lin, Director Product Management, Microsoft

47. Usability Interpretations 47

48. 48 Problem Analysis Initial Steps What sort of problem analysis needs to take place before conducting user interviews? How have you structured your interviews so as to optimize the analysis of them? How will you integrate your findings?

49. 49 Problem Analysis Questions to be answered based on analysis of customer interviews: Of all possible work contexts, which ones matter most? How will you decide this? Who have you decided is the work group that’s key to support? What is the difference between “job roles” and “market segments”? Did you prequalify potential interview subjects? Are your interview subjects experts or “user advocates” as surrogates for users? Why or why not?

50. As you shift to requirements understanding… Consider the following: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg The Expert – product engineer with users 50

51. Customer Discovery What are your customers problems? How painful is it? Would they pay to solve it? Does your concept solve them? Did your interviewees agree on issues? Did they value having the problem solved? Draw a “day in the life” of a customer. Before and after your concept Archetypes Draw the network chart of users, buyers, stakeholders 51

52. 52 Steve Blank, 2014

53. Elevator Door Opens… You step into the elevator with the VP who asks you for a team update on-the-spot. Summarize your team’s status in two minutes What was the last thing you said you would do? What did you do? What are you planning to do next? Most important issue or concern And how YOU will handle it 53

54. Questions? Readings. Skim “Lessons Learned: Using Contextual Analysis” to develop understanding of work models. Read chapters 3-5 of SOM Skim chapters 5-8 of RCD 54