Innovation starts with the working backwards from the customer. In this session, we will share how this approach plus culture and other mechanisms can enable everyone to be an innovator. Hear about how your company can build an effective system and an environment that will foster and support human creativity and drive technological progress. Speaker: Dipen Mehta, Head of Digital Innovation, APAC, AWS

1. Working Backwards
from the Customer
Dipen Mehta
Head, Digital Innovation APAC
dipenm@amazon.com

2. Starting with the customer and
working backwards

3. It’s our thing

7. Moments

8. Moments

9. Great products and services come
from deeply understanding the
customer.

10. Working backwards process
• Step 1: Start with the customer
• Step 2: Craft the Working Backwards documents
• Step 3: Refine the documents

11. Working backwards documents
Press Release FAQ Visuals

12. 1. Who is your customer?
2. What is the customer problem or opportunity?
3. What is the most important customer benefit?
4. How do you know what your customer needs or
wants?
5. What does the experience look like?
5 Questions

13. 1. Who is your customer?
2. What is the customer problem or opportunity?
3. What is the most important customer benefit?
4. How do you know what your customer needs or
wants?
5. What does the experience look like?
5 Questions

14. A M A Z O N C O N F I D E N T I A L

15. Meet Tatiana McLeod
“Travel is important to me. I keep a list of places I
want to visit, and I use various sites for inspiration
and last minute deals. I want memorable experiences
in my life and I want it on my terms. ”
C O N T E X T
66% of millennials consider travel an
important part of their life
Young travelers projected to take 320 million
international trips annually by 2020
H E R N E E D S
Personalization - seeks unique experiences for
her holidays.
Convenience – be inspired, informed, and plan
trips all from her mobile device.
*source: virtuoso.com

16. 5 Questions
1. Who is your customer?
2. What is the customer problem or opportunity?
3. What is the most important customer benefit?
4. How do you know what your customer needs or
wants?
5. What does the experience look like?

17. Measure, Improve, and Iterate
“Our theories determine what we measure.”
– Albert Einstein
• Identify your assumptions
• Look beyond your frame of references
• Data Driven
• Improve and iterate quickly

18. GET TO KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS

19. SIMULATE THE EXPERIENCE

20. https://www.flickr.com/photos/havoc315/
SIMULATE THE EXPERIENCE

21. Press Release
• Focus on the customer need
• The customer quote is key
• Leap into the future: Think BIG
• Avoid jargon
• Say it simply and clearly

22. The FAQ
• Include both customer FAQs
and stakeholder FAQs
• Include the hard questions
• Share your Press Release early
to gather questions

23. The Visuals
• Rough idea – rough drawing
• Match fidelity to maturity of
your idea
• Don’t be afraid to be provocative
• Create discussion

24. AMAZON CONFIDENTIAL

25. AMAZON CONFIDENTIAL

26. It’s a conversation starter
to achieve clarity and
customer focus.

27. We read, discuss, debate
and ask questions.

28. We revise, and
make the idea better
with each iteration.

29. We push ourselves to invent
on behalf of the customer.

30. It’s about the Culture
 Culture is the “software of the mind.” It is the
core logic that organizes people’s behavior.
 The culture reflects the lessons learned that
are important enough to pass on to the next
generation.
 Values, beliefs, and practices that have been
developed and reinforced over time.
Culture is “the way we do things around here.”

31. Cultural Trends We Are Seeing
Moving from
 Failure is not an option
 Command-and-control
 Silos “throw it over the wall”
 Long due diligence
 Talent outsourcing
Moving toward
 Learning (start small, experiment, and iterate)
 Decentralized ownership (guardrails via cloud CoE)
 DevOps and cross-functional teams
 Adopt early and often
 Talent insourcing/niche partnering

32. Customer delight is our ultimate goal

33. Thank You!