5 design hacks to build a better product in less time

WEBINAR

5 Powerful Design Hacks to build a Better Product in Less Time

Wanda Meloni Exec. Director of the Open Gaming Alliance & Editor of the Gaming Business Review.

Amy Jo Kim CEO of Shufflebrain a design studio focused on smart games for a connected world.

WEBINAR

5 Powerful Design Hacks to build a Better Product in Less Time

Amy Jo Kim, Ph.D.

co-founder, Shufflebrain

Is this you?

• need to accelerate early design process

• tough to find the right early customers

• hard to make a stripped-down MVP

What You Will Learn

Actionable techniques for creating

a better product in less time

As a

child

I loved

to play

As a

child

I loved

to play

But I

didn’t

love to

compete

one night

on a beach

in Greece

my creativity

was re-ignighted

I found another way to play

I developed my coop design skills

then one day, I got THE CALL

we created a breakthrough hit

which led to more breakthrough hits

and design tips, tricks & shortcuts

Early Customer Funnel JTBD & Habit Stories Skill-Building Core Loop

Habits, Culture & Design Hacks

What I’ve learned

• Early product development is HARD

• It becomes faster & easier with the

right shortcuts & hacks

• 6 months of progress in 6 weeks

Amy Jo has a refined and effective process for bringing early product ideas to life.

Blair Ethington VP Covet Fashion

RESULTS

connected with aspirational market

evergreen hit with millions of players

Amy Jo’s MVP methodology is fantastic. The ROI you’ll see is a no-brainer.

Ofer Leidner President, Happify

RESULTS

iterated product with customer insights

now market leader in digital happiness

What if you could…

• Accelerate your early product development?



• Talk with EXACTLY the right customers early on?




• Turn those insights into a simple yet compelling MVP*?

*Minimum Viable Product




• Turn those insights into a simple yet compelling MVP*?

• Do all of this in just a few weeks?

*Minimum Viable Product

5 Design Hacks to super-charge your MVP

Small, high-learning experiments1

To increase your chances of success, minimize time through the Build-Measure-Learn cycle.

Eric Ries Author, The Lean Startup

Ideas

Design &

Build

Product

Measure

Data

LearnAsk the hard, important questions upfront

Will people subscribe to a digital service that deliversdaily happiness exercises?

Will fashion-loving, young women play a dress-up game with real designer clothes?

MVP Canvas

Surface & test your high-risk assumptions

Early Customer Funnel2

Early Adopters will put up with cost & ridicule for innovations that meet real needs.

Erika Hall Author, Just Enough Research

Geoffrey Moore, 1992

To cross the chasm…

Find & delight

a few passionate

early customers

Test & refine

your assumptions

Early Customer Funnel

Ask just a few

revealing questions

Daily Habits

Beliefs & Ideas

Unmet Needs

• 25 fashion-obsessed women 18-40

• both gamers & non-gamers • existing player base + Craigslist ads

WHO

• 25 fashion-obsessed women 18-40

• both gamers & non-gamers • existing player base + Craigslist ads

• 10 minute screening interviews

• 3-5 revealing questions • best subjects become paid testers

WHO

WHAT

Fashion Browser

stay up-to-date on fashion trends

Co-Creator

shop & dress with a buddy

Armchair Stylist

tell other people how to dress

RESULTS3 key

activity patterns

Customer Habit Stories3

The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.

Samuel Johnson Author

Piggyback on

existing habits

• Identify relevant habits

• Match habit to unmet need

• Look for emotional &

situational triggers

Study their daily routines

Capture Habit-based Insights

When _________

I want to ______________

so I can _____________

trigger

activity + goal

outcome

Habit Stories

Fashion Browser

stay up-to-date on fashion trends

Co-Creator

shop & dress with a buddy

Armchair Stylist

tell other people how to dress

Fashion Browser Existing habit

“When I’m tired after a long day at work,

I want to flop on the couch and get the

escapist, immersive hit of flipping through

Vogue - but in a game.”

Fashion Browser Habit Story

When I need to relax after a long day at work

Trigger



I want to see gorgeous, creative outfits – made

from the latest designer fashions

Activity

Trigger



I want to see gorgeous, creative outfits – made

from the latest designer fashions

So I can stay on top of fashion trends in a fun,

relaxing & playful way

Activity

Outcome

Trigger

Skill-building Core Loop4

In a loop, you’re learning a skill and updating your mental model. That’s what leads to player delight.

Dan Cook Game Designer

Fake landing page?

Fake landing page? X

Operant Conditioning AKA Skinner Box?

Operant Conditioning AKA Skinner Box? X

Skill-building =

making customers more awesome

Core Loop = skill-building habit loop

Skill-Building Core Loop

EscapeTime! urge to dive into an escapist world

Browse your Style Feed

Rate/Comment on Outfits

Earn $$, Dress for Events, Collect

Ratings

Activity

Feedback & Progress

Investment Path

Internal Trigger





Ratings

Activity

Feedback & Progress

Investment Path

When I need to relax after a long day at workI want to see gorgeous, creative outfits – made from the latest designer fashionsSo I can stay on top of fashion trends in a fun, relaxing & playful way

Urge or Need

Engaging Activity

Desired Outcome

Internal Trigger





Ratings

Trigger

Activity

Engaging activity satisfies an urge or need

Internal Trigger





Ratings

Activity

Fashion Browser

Internal Trigger

Feedback & progress promote learning & mastery





Ratings

Feedback & Progress





Ratings

Feedback & Progress

Armchair Stylist





Ratings

Investment Path

Investment & triggers pull people back

Engaged Trigger

Check your Stats

BreakTime! urge for a quick

social “hit”

Read & Respond to

Updates

Check Notifications

& Stats

Collect faves, RTs & followers

Check your Stats


social “hit”

Read & Respond to

Updates

Check Notifications

& Stats


Activity

TriggerEngaging activity satisfies an urge or need

Internal Trigger

Feedback & progress promote learning & mastery


social “hit”

Read & Respond to

Updates

Check Notifications

& Stats


Feedback & Progress

Investment & triggers pull people back


social “hit”

Read & Respond to

Updates

Get Notifications,

Check Stats

Activity

Investment Path

Engaged Trigger

Check your Stats


PartyTime! urge for a fun social activity

Play a Song Together

Get your Score, Accolades, $$

get better, play harder songs & bigger venues

Core Loop

Feedback & Progress

Investment Path

Activity

Internal Trigger

Beat the Song

Engaged Trigger

Lightweight weekly play-tests5

There is nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency something that should not be done at all.

Peter Drucker Author

The power of play-testing

• Find & leverage early customers



• Source & test ideas quickly



• Source & test ideas quickly

• Get high-value input for your MVP

Amy Jo helped us create our MVP in record time. An invaluable investment that’s still paying off.

CHALLENGE

build high-learning MVP for digital community

SHORTCUTS

clarify product strategy

find the right customers

prototype & test MVP

RESULTS

launched Youtube MVP, raised Series B, built sharing platform

Small, high-learning experiments


Customer Habit Stories

Skill-building Core Loop

Lightweight weekly play-tests

1

2

3

4

5

5 Design Hacks to accelerate innovation

How can you benefit from these shortcuts?

Accelerate your design & development process

+

Identify & leverage the right early customers

+

Use game thinking to build a simple, compelling MVP

What We Do

accelerate your path to

product/market fit with

gaming smarts

1. Plan your experiment

2. Identify the right customers

3. Distill their habits & needs

4. Prototype your Core Loop

5. Test your prototype

6. Validate your strategy &

design

Define & test your key assumptions

MVP Canvas







design

Find EXACTLY the right early customers








design

Distill key insights into design-ready stories

Habit Stories







design

Prototype a simple yet compelling Core Loop

Skill-Building Core Loop







design

Test your prototype with early customers

3-Part MVP Test







design

Validate your strategy & iterate your design

Alpha Product Brief

Let’s talk! • 15-30 minutes

• Review your project

• Provide feedback & answer questions

• Together decide if our programs are right for you

getting2alpha.com/apply

Let’s talk!

http://getting2alpha.com/apply