embracing imperfection: when good enough is the perfect solution
TRANSCRIPT
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EmbracingImperfec/onWhenGoodEnoughisthePerfectSolu/on
StevenJ.Weiskircher
ChiefInforma/onOfficerThinkGeek
Presented:September27,2016atRetail’sDigitalSummit
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KeyTakeaways• WhatisAgileThinking?
• Whodoesthisapplyto?
• Howdoyourecognize‘goodenough’?
• Whatdoyouneedtogetstarted?
• Poten/alpiUalls
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ThinkGeek began in 1999 with a group of friends who saw a hole in the marketplace: products that
could speak to, and celebrate, the geek community.
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
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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.
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ImpactsandOrganiza/onalResponse
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Requirements(throwmoreinjustincase)
Bloated/changingreqs–pades/mates
PaddedEs/mates–stripfunding/
arbitrarydeadline
Arbitrarydeadlinenotbasedinreality–cutmaintainability/tes/ng
Deliverlate,notallrequirements
CircleofDistrust
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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’
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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
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MarketplaceSelling
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Solu/on:• Par/alintegra/onwithmarketplaceaggregatorandeBay
Whyitwas‘perfect’:• Timetomarket• Minimalinvestmentenabledustolearnquickly
Results:• Cancelledprograma^er10months
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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/
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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
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IOSProjectTimeline
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July August - September
October
Design&AgileDevelopment
PublishDiscovery
Kickoff Support
• Design-Bi-weeklydesignreviews• Development-Twoweekdevelopmentsprints(Mobify)• ProjectManagement-Weeklystatuscall
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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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