how we make apps and services@culturengine/@mikee

what we do

appsWeb Services

startup IncubationProduct development

Online x Offline installations

we approach brand projects in the same way we approach making apps and web services

for startups.

1. work out the minimum viable product/idea2. validate/test the idea in the real world

3. keep testing and improving

Minimum viable product

MVp

a minimum viable product (mvp) filter helps you to launch apps and services for less

budget and in a shorter timeframe by focusing teams on what is critical to validating a product, idea or market

1brainstorm and brain-dump a

wish list of features that your app/idea/experience

should/could have

2describe in detail the

context and benefit of each feature so everyone is

on the same page

3conduct a blind vote

on what features are critical to viability

steps 1-3 give you a mvp feature list that you can base prototyping and production upon

EXAMPLE

The mvp should focus on the key features such that if you took any one of them away, the app/idea wouldn't work or wouldn't be

fit for purpose

you should discuss any outlier votes to learn why they are only perceived as critical by

a minority. this will either convince all voters that they are critical, or the

outlier voters that they are not

making an mvp takes the ego out of what gets built because no ideas are killed off,

they are simply deemed currently critical to viability, or added to a feature backlog of things that might get implemented later

we used the mvp technique when making chatterbucks

chatterbucks showcases a new computer vision engine from sam hare that recognises

2d images (photos, logos, packaging, print, billboards etc) and triggers augmented reality experiences on devices like ipad/

iphone/android

you can find out more about:the app: http://chatterbucksapp.com

the engine: http://bit.ly/re-wiredsam^hare: http://twitter.com/therealsamhare

we were going to make a game as our proof of concept, but using the mvp process we launched the minimum viable app that we

thought would both engage a user and showcase the technology

this meant we had an app live in the itunes store in 4 weeks, not 6-12 months!

chatterbucks was simple, but it was featured by apple on every itunes app store homepage for

two months leading up to xmas as a ‘noteworthy’ or ‘staff favourite’ app

if we had taken the traditional approach we might still be building a larger initial

feature set...

instead, we are enjoying the rewards of a live app that has been heavily downloaded, entertained people around the world and

generated a ton of leads for our augmented reality engine

you can read more about mvp here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_viable_product

http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2009/08/minimum-viable-product-guide.html

http://www.slideshare.net/startuplessonslearned/2011-03-11-eric-ries-the-lean-startup-sxsw

A/B TESTING(ALWAYS BE TESTING!)

a/b testing can help to evolve a good idea into a successful product or experience

your team should be testing their ideas and executions as they go from concept through

to execution, and most importantly, post-launch

THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN TRIED OUT 24 DIFFERENT CONTENT AND CALL-TO-ACTION COMBINATIONS TO IMPROVE ONLINE DONATIONS

A FAMOUS RECENT EXAMPLE OF ONLINE A/B TESTING

THEIR A/B TESTING LEAD TO A 40.6% CONVERSION IMPROVEMENT WHICH HELPED TO RAISE $60 MILLION AND FUND THEIR CAMPAIGN

SOURCE: HTTP://BIT.LY/HQ6NDWHTTP://SLIDESHA.RE/ECBUME

RESULTS YOU CAN BELIEVE IN!

the testing game

A/b

take a look at the creative on the next slide and choose which copy you think will lead to greater conversion for our social expense

tracking service expensure.com

Which copy will be more effective?

A b

A

b

Version ‘a’ is approx. twice as effective so far(at the time of publishing this test is still going)

Which design will be more effective?

A b

@$!* @$!*

@$!* @$!*@$!* @$!*

A b

design ‘b’ has 55% better conversion than ‘a’

we think

testing helps turn a static idea into a process of improvement, and it’s not just for startups

testing can be a fun part of the creative process, not something dull to outsource

creative minds are curious minds and it’s crazy to end the creative process when

an idea goes live. this is where the fun/learning truly begins

how long should a test be? read: Easy statistics for AdWords A/B testing

http://bit.ly/gE1csz

What tools can you test with? try google ad words and optimizely.com

thanks for reading!you can try out some of our latest creations here:

http://thriveapp.com

http://elementalise.com

@harmonyparkinfo@harmonypark.net