Software Product Definition

Fall, 2015Week 2

Prof. Sheryl Root

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

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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

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

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?

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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?

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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

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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 - Fishbone3. 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

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?

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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?

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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

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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?

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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?

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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, and4. Who reference each other when making a buying

decision

How relevant is #4 today in segmenting?

Adapted from Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm”

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What type of Innovation are you bringing to market?

Different types of riskDifferent types of market inquiryHigh tech is often Discontinuous

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Reflect• Is your team proposing a continuous or a discontinuous

innovation?• How might the distinction guide the way you select and

interview stakeholders?

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Market Dynamics and theTechnology Adoption Lifecycle

from Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm”

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The Lifecycle Really has Gaps – Why?

from Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm”

Finding a visionary can be likestriking gold 21

Gartner Hype Cycle 2010

Source: Gartner

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Gartner Hype Cycle 2012

Source: Gartner

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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…

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Steve Blank, 2014

Break• Take 15 minutes• Interviewing Discussion

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Steve Blank, 2014

An interview is not a…

•Quiz• Survey•Negotiation•Pitch•Date•Conversation•Validation it is about learning. 28

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

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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?

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.

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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

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.

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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.)

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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”

Questions to consider• What is your background and role?• How does the <issue> 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?

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More questions to consider (2)• What is your background and role?• How does the <process to be addressed by the

product> 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”

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Interviewing Users - Tips

The interview is about them, not youAsk open, unbiased questionsAsk the question and then let them answerFollow up with statements like “Tell me more”Adjust questions to their previous answersAsk questions in a vocabulary they understandBe flexibleDon’t lead the intervieweeListen to the complaints, but look for problemsPick up on examples, have them provide detailWatch for good quotesCapture the mood and the emotions as well

Interviewing Users

From the eChalk interview script (RCD p. 87): This won’t be a traditional interview withquestions and answers – see, I don’t evenhave 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?

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Interviewing for learning

•You got an answer, now what? Ask for• Explanations• Examples• Details• Results• Alternatives• Advice• Big Picture

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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

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Adapted from Goodwin’s “Designing for the Digital Age”

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?

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Structure your observations

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Circles Method by Lin, PM MS*

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* Lin, Director Product Management, Microsoft

Usability Interpretations

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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?

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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?

As you shift to requirements understanding…• Consider the following:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

The Expert – product engineer with users

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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

52Steve Blank, 2014

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

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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

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