Talk I gave on best practices in product management and UI design to SofTech in San Rafael on August 24, 2011.

1. How
to
Build
Great
Products
Dan
Olsen
Olsen
Solu:ons
LLC
August
24,
2011
Copyright
©
2011
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2. Copyright
©
2011
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3. What's
the
Formula
for
a
Great
Product?
n A
product
that:
n Meets
customers'
needs
n Is
bePer
than
other
alterna:ves
n Is
easy
to
use
n Has
a
good
value/price
n Also
known
as
product-­‐market
fit
n Simple,
right?
n It's
easy
to
understand
at
the
conceptual
level
the
aPributes
a
great
product
must
possess
n Hard
part
is
HOW
to
achieve
a
product
like
that
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2011
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4. My
Background
n Educa:on
n BS,
Electrical
Engineering,
Northwestern
n MS,
Industrial
Engineering,
Virginia
Tech
n MBA,
Stanford
n Web
development
and
UI
design
n 20
years
of
Product
Management
Experience
n Managed
submarine
design
for
5
years
n 5
years
at
Intuit,
led
Quicken
Product
Management
n Led
Product
Management
at
Friendster
n PM
consultant
to
startups:
Box.net,
YouSendIt,
Epocrates
n CEO
&
Cofounder
of
YourVersion,
startup
building
“Pandora
for
your
real-­‐:me
web
content”
Will
post
slides
to
hPp://slideshare.net/dan_o
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©
2011
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5. Quick
Poll
of
Audience
n Func:onal
role
n Industry
n Product
Management
n Web
n Marke:ng
n Mobile
n Other
business
roles
n Hardware
n Designer
n Biotech
n Engineer
n Greentech
n Other
technical
roles
n Other
n Market
n Size
of
company
n Consumer
n Small:
<
50
ppl
n Enterprise
n Medium:
50
–
500
ppl
n Large:
>
500
ppl
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©
2010
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6. Understanding
Customer
Needs
6
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©
2011
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7. Problem
Space
vs.
Solu:on
Space
n Problem
Space
n Solu:on
Space
n A
customer
problem,
n A
specific
need,
or
benefit
that
the
implementa:on
to
product
should
address
address
the
need
or
n A
product
requirement
product
requirement
Example:
n Ability
to
write
in
space
n NASA:
space
pen
(zero
gravity)
($1
M
R&D
cost)
n Russians:
pencil
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©
2011
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8. Problem
Space
vs.
Solu:on
Space:
Product
Level
Problem
Space
Solu:on
Space
(user
benefit)
(product)
Prepare Pen and
my taxes paper
Check my File my TurboTax
taxes taxes
Maximize Reduce TaxCut
deductions audit risk
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©
2011
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9. Problem
vs.
Solu:on
Space:
Feature
Level
Problem
Space
Solu:on
Space
Help me Tax Interview
prepare taxes Wizard
Empowerement/ Reduce my Audit Risk
Confidence audit risk Analyzer
Check my Tax Return
return Error Checker
Save time Tax Data
preparing taxes Downloader
Save Time Save time filing Electronic Tax
taxes Return Filing
Maximize my Tax Deduction
Save Money tax deductions Finder
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©
2011
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10. Priori:za:on
Part
1:
Customer
Value:
Benefits
&
Features
n How
do
you
priori:ze:
n Which
user
benefits
should
you
address?
n Which
product
features
to
build
(or
improve)?
n Importance
vs.
Sa:sfac:on
n Importance
of
user
need
(problem
space)
n Sa:sfac:on
with
how
well
a
product
meets
the
user's
need
(solu:on
space)
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2011
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11. High
Importance
+
Low
Sa:sfac:on
=
Opportunity
to
Add
Customer
Value
Importance
of
User
Need
High
Compe::ve
Opportunity
Market
Not
Worth
Going
Aner
Low
Low
High
User
Sa:sfac:on
with
Current
Alterna:ves
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©
2011
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12. Importance
vs.
Sa:sfac:on
Ask
Users
to
Rate
for
Each
Feature
100 98
Great
95
84 87
90
Bad
86
85 79 84
55 70
80
Importance
80
75 72
80
70
75
65
60
55
41
50
40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Satisfaction
Recommended
reading:
“What
Customers
Want”
by
Anthony
Ulwick
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©
2011
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13. Kano
Model:
User
Needs
&
Sa:sfac:on
User
Sa:sfac:on
Delighter
(wow)
Performance
(more
is
bePer)
Need
Need
not
met
fully
met
Must
Have
Needs
&
features
migrate
over
:me
User
Dissa:sfac:on
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©
2011
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14. What
is
Your
Value
Proposi:on?
n Which
user
benefits
are
you
providing?
n How
are
you
bePer
than
compe:tors?
Compe&tor
A
Compe&tor
B
You
Must
Have
Benefit
1
Y
Y
Y
Performance
Benefit
1
High
Low
Med
Performance
Benefit
2
Low
High
Low
Performance
Benefit
3
Med
Med
High
Delighter
Benefit
1
Y
-­‐
-­‐
Delighter
Benefit
2
-­‐
-­‐
Y
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2011
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15. Priori:za:on
Part
2:
Customer
Value
&
Engineering
Effort
n Customer
value
is
only
half
the
equa:on
n How
much
engineering
effort
will
it
take?
n Need
to
consider
value
and
effort
(ROI)
n Ruthlessly
priori:ze:
rank
order
(10
Highs
=
FAIL)
n Be
deliberate
about
scope
&
keep
it
small
n Strategy
=
deciding
what
you're
NOT
doing
n Break
features
down
into
smaller
chunks
n LAUNCH!
n Smaller
scope
→
faster
itera:ons
→
higher
cust
value
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©
2011
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16. Priori:zing
Product
Ideas
by
ROI
?
Return
(Value
Created)
4
Idea D
3
Idea A Idea B
2
Idea C
1
Idea F
1
2
3
4
Investment
(developer-­‐weeks)
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©
2011
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17. Very
Important
to
have
a
Priori:zed
Feature
List
n Have
only
1
list
&
only
1
keeper
of
the
list
n Should
be
a
living,
real-­‐:me
document
n Always
in
rank
order
&
always
up
to
date
n Update
as
new
ideas
come
up
n Should
be
accessible
any:me
by
team
n Google
Spreadsheets
works
great
for
me
n APributes
of
a
good
tool
n Other
tools
you’ve
used?
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©
2011
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18. UI
Design
and
Ease
of
Use
18
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2011
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19. User
Benefits
vs.
Ease
of
Use
n Q:
If
two
products
equally
deliver
the
exact
same
user
benefits,
which
product
is
bePer?
n A:
The
product
that's
easier
to
use
n “Ease
of
use”
provides
benefits
n Saves
:me
n Reduces
cogni:ve
load
&
frustra:on
n Makes
user
feel
empowered
n UI
Design
can
be
differen:ator
n Olsen's
Law:
“The
less
user
effort
required,
the
higher
the
percentage
of
users
who
will
do
it”
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©
2011
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20. The
UI
Design
Iceberg
What most
people see
and react to Visual
Design What good
product
people
Interaction think about
Design
Information
Architecture
Conceptual
Design
Recommended
reading:
Jesse
James
GarreP's
“Elements
of
User
Experience”
chart,
free
at
www.jjg.net
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©
2011
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21. Elements
of
User
Interface
Design
Consists
of
Three
Dis:nct
Elements:
n Informa:on
Architecture
n Structure
and
layout
at
both
site
and
page
level
n How
site
is
structured
(sitemap)
n How
site
informa:on
is
organized
(site
layout)
n How
each
page
is
organized
(page
layout)
n Interac:on
Design
n How
user
and
product
interact
with
one
another
n User
flows
(e.g.,
naviga:on
across
mul:ple
pages)
n User
input
(e.g.,
controls
and
form
design)
n Visual
Design
n “How
it
looks”
vs.
“What
it
is”,
onen
called
“chrome”
n Fonts,
colors,
graphical
elements
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©
2011
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22. Early
Stage
Product
Management
Dan
Olsen
CEO,
YourVersion
July
24,
2009
Copyright
©
2009
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23. Advice
on
UI
Design
n People
need
visual
ar:facts
to
facilitate
discussions
about
UI
design
n Sketch!
On
paper,
whiteboard,
sonware
n 1st
sketch
will
be
bad:
embrace
itera:on
n Diverge
(explore)
then
converge
(narrow)
n Collaborate
in
person
(vs.
remotely)
n Great
rapid
wireframing
tool:
Balsamiq
n Get
feedback
from
users
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©
2011
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24. Learning
from
Customers
24
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©
2011
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25. Customer
Feedback:
Problem
Space
vs.
Solu:on
Space
n Most
customers
CAN'T
ar:culate
problem
space
to
you
n Customers
CAN
react
to
solu:on
space
n But,
customers
can't
give
you
solu:ons
n Customers
aren’t
designers
n Mul:ple
use
cases
and
priori:es
n Trade-­‐offs
and
constraints
n Don't
have
PM,
design,
and
technical
skills
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©
2011
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26. Itera:ng
Your
Product
Vector
Based
on
User
Feedback
in
Solu:on
Space
Problem
Space
Solu:on
Space
(your
mental
model)
(what
users
can
react
to)
Help
user
Help
user
book
travel
plan
travel
Mockups
or
Product
Customer
Feedback
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©
2011
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27. What
Are
You
Gezng
Feedback
&
Learnings
About?
Problem
Space
Solu:on
Space
(your
mental
model)
(what
users
can
react
to)
Feature
Set
Customer
Understanding
(needs
&
preferences)
UI
Design
Messaging
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©
2011
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28. Persevere
or
Pivot?
Increasing
Product-­‐Market
Product-­‐Market
Fit
=
Fit
Gezng
enough
data
to
validate
that
you're
climbing
up
the
Pivot
right
mountain
Pivot
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©
2011
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29. “Ramen”
User
Feedback
for
Startups
n Anyone
can
do
it!
n Ingredients:
n Solu:on-­‐space
product/mockup
to
test
n 1
customer
(with
laptop
if
tes:ng
code)
n 1
desk
n 1
person
to
conduct
the
session
n Pen
and
paper
n Op:onal
note-­‐taker
and
observers
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©
2011
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30. Typical
Format
for
Customer
Session
n 5
-­‐
10
min:
Ask
ques:ons
to
understand
user
needs
and
solu:ons
they
currently
use
n 30
-­‐
50
min:
User
feedback
n Show
user
product/mockup
n Non-­‐directed
as
much
as
possible
n When
necessary,
direct
user
to
aPempt
to
perform
a
specific
task
n 5
-­‐
10
min:
Wrap-­‐up
n Answer
any
user
ques:ons
that
came
up
n Point
out/explain
features
you
want
to
highlight
n Ask
them
if
they
would
use
the
product
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©
2011
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31. Dos
&
Don’ts
of
Conduc:ng
Usability
n Do
n Explain
to
the
user:
n Their
usability
test
will
help
improve
the
product
n Not
to
worry
about
hur:ng
your
feelings
n Think
Aloud
Protocol
n Ask
user
to
aPempt
the
task,
then
be
a
fly
on
the
wall
n Ask
non-­‐leading,
open-­‐ended
ques:ons
n Take
notes
and
review
them
anerwards
for
take-­‐aways
n Don't
n Ask
leading
ques:ons
n Help
the
user
or
explain
the
UI
(e.g.,
click
over
here )
n Respond
to
user
frustra:on
or
ques:ons
(un:l
test
is
over)
n Get
defensive
n Blame
the
user
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©
2011
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32. Lean
Product
Management
for
Web
2.0
Products
Dan
Olsen,
CEO,
YourVersion
O Reilly
Web
2.0
Expo
SF
May
6,
2010
Copyright
©
2010
YourVersion

33. Case
Study
on
Valida:ng
Product-­‐Market
Fit:
Marke:ngReport.com
33
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©
2011
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34. Product-­‐Market
Fit
Case
Study:
Marke:ngReport.com
n My
consul:ng
client,
CEO
of
TrustedID,
had
an
idea
for
a
new
product
n Team:
me,
CEO,
head
of
marke:ng,
UI
design
consultant
n Goal:
n Validate
product-­‐market
fit
quickly,
cheaply
without
wri:ng
a
single
line
of
code
n Determine
if
their
was
a
business
opportunity
here
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©
2011
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35. Product-­‐Market
Fit
Case
Study:
Developing
Product
Concept
n Product
Concept
was
marke:ng
report
that
let
consumers
control
the
direct
mail
that
they
receive
n Concept
was
fuzzy
with
various
components,
so
I
broke
it
into
2
different
flavors :
n #1
Marke:ng
Shield :
Service
to
reduce/stop
junk
mail
n #2
Marke:ng
Saver :
Opt
in
&
receive
money-­‐saving
offers
n Each
product
concept
consisted
of
several
modules
that
each
mapped
to
a
specific
user
benefit
n Worked
with
UI
designer
to
create
paper
mockups
of
pages
for
each
flavor
concept
(5
pages
each)
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©
2011
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36. Copyright
©
2011
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37. Copyright
©
2011
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38. Clustering
Poten:al
User
Benefits
to
Create
Product
Concepts
Shield Concept Saver Concept
Reduce Find out what Money Compare Social
Junk Mail they know Saving Yourself Networking
about you Offers to Others
Save Marketing
Trees Report
Marketing Marketing
Score Profile
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©
2011
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39. Product-­‐Market
Fit
Case
Study:
Recrui:ng
People
n Telephone
recruit
of
prospec:ve
customers
n Wrote
phone-­‐screen
ques:onnaire
to
create
rough
target
customer
segmenta:on
n Wanted
users
who
work
full-­‐:me
&
use
internet
n Fit
for
opt-­‐in
concept:
use
coupons,
Costco
membership
n Fit
for
an:-­‐junk
mail
concept:
use
paper
shredder,
block
caller
ID
n Scheduled
3
groups
of
2
or
3
people
to
discuss
each
product
concept
for
90
minutes
n Moderated
each
group
through
the
paper
mockups
to
hear
their
feedback
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©
2011
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40. Product-­‐Market
Fit
Case
Study:
Findings
on
Concepts
&User
Benefits
Shield Concept Saver Concept
Reduce Find out what Money Compare Social
Junk Mail they know Saving Yourself Networking
about you Offers to Others
Save Marketing
Trees Report
Legend
Marketing Marketing
Score Profile Strong appeal
Somewhat positive
Low appeal
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©
2011
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41. Product-­‐Market
Fit
Case
Study:
Learnings
from
Research
n Shield
(an:-­‐junk
mail)
concept
stronger
than
Saver
n People
didn’t
like
many
Saver
concept
components
n Learned
concerns/ques:ons
about
Shield
concept
n Refined
Shield
concept:
n Removed
irrelevant
components
n Improved
messaging
to
address
user
concerns
/
ques:ons
n Tested
revised
Shield
concept
with
quick
2nd
round
n No
customer
concerns
n Clear
willingness
to
pay
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©
2011
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42. Copyright
©
2011
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43. Product-­‐Market
Fit
Case
Study:
Summary
n 4
weeks
from
1st
mee:ng
to
validated
product
concept
with
zero
coding
n Cost
$1,500
to
talk
to
20
users
($75
each)
n 1
round
of
itera:on
on
product
concept
n Iden:fied
compelling
concept
that
users
are
willing
to
pay
$10/month
for
n Trimmed
away
non-­‐valuable
pieces
n You
can
achieve
similar
results
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©
2011
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44. Gezng
Quan:ta:ve:
Op:miza:on
Using
Metrics
44
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©
2011
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45. Approaching
Your
Business
as
an
Op:miza:on
Exercise
Given
reality
as
it
exists
today,
op:mize
our
business
results
subject
to
our
resource
constraints.
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©
2011
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46. Define
the
Equa:on
of
your
Business
Peeling
the
Onion
Adver:sing
Business
Model:
Profit
=
Revenue
-­‐
Cost
nique
Visitors
x
Ad
Revenue
per
Visitor
U
mpressions/Visitor
x
Effec:ve
CPM
/
1000
I
isits/Visitor
x
Pageviews/Visit
x
Impressions/PV
V
ew
Visitors
+
Returning
Visitors
N
nvited
Visitors
+
Uninvited
Visitors
I
of
Users
Sending
Invites
x
Invites
Sent/User
x
Invite
Conversion
Rate
#
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©
2011
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47. How
to
Track
Your
Metrics
n Track
each
metric
as
daily
:me
series
Unique
Page
Ad
New
User
…
Date
Visitors
views
Revenue
Sign-­‐ups
4/24/08
10,100
29,600
25
490
4/25/08
10,500
27,100
24
480
…
n Create
ra:os
from
primary
metrics:
X
/
Y
n Example:
How
good
is
your
registra:on
page?
n Okay:
#
of
registered
users
per
day
n BePer:
registra:on
conversion
rate
=
#
registered
users
/
#
uniques
to
reg
page
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©
2011
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48. Registra:on
Conversion
Rate
Data
Daily Signup Page Yield vs. Time
New Registered Users divided by Unique Visitors to Signup Page
100%
90%
80%
Daily Signup Page Yield
70%
60%
50%
40%
30% Started requiring
registration
20%
Changed Added questions
messaging to signup page
10%
0%
1/31 2/14 2/28 3/14 3/28 4/11 4/25 5/9 5/23 6/6 6/20 7/4 7/18 8/1 8/15 8/29 9/12 9/26 10/1
0
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©
2011
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49. Iden:fying
the
Cri:cal
Few
Metrics
n What
are
the
metrics
for
your
business?
n Where
is
current
value
for
each
metric?
n How
many
resources
to
move
each
metric?
n Developer-­‐hours,
:me,
money
n Which
metrics
have
highest
ROI
opportuni:es?
Metric
A
Metric
B
Metric
C
Good
ROI
Bad
ROI
Great
ROI
Return
Return
Return
Investment
Investment
Investment
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2011
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50. Metrics
to
Validate
Product-­‐Market
Fit
n Survey
results
n Importance
&
Sa:sfac:on
n Net
Promoter
Score
n Survey.io
n How
would
you
feel
if
you
could
no
longer
use
Product
X?
n Very
disappointed,
Somewhat
disappointed,
Not
disappointed
n User
behavior
n Prospects
sign
up
(high
conversion
rate)
n They
keep
using
it
(high
reten:on
rate)
n They
use
it
onen
(high
frequency
of
use)
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©
2011
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51. Con:nuous
Improvement
51
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2011
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52. Adding
Metrics
and
Op:miza:on
to
your
Product
Process
Site
Level
Business
Product
Priori:zed
Plan
Objec:ves
Roadmap
Feature
List
Scoping
Feature
Level
Requirements
Design
&
Design
Code
Test
Launch
Develop
Metrics
&
User
Op:mize
Feedback
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2011
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53. Op:miza:on
through
Itera:on:
Con:nuous
Improvement
Measure
the
metric
Analyze
Learning
the
metric
Gaining
knowledge:
•
Market
Iden:fy
top
•
Customer
opportuni:es
to
improve
•
Domain
•
Usability
Design
&
develop
the
enhancement
Launch
the
enhancement
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©
2011
YourVersion

54. How
to
Build
Great
Products
Cheat
Sheet
n Clarify
problem
space
by
itera:ng
in
the
solu:on
space
&
gezng
user
feedback
n Revise
feature
set,
UI
design,
and
messaging
to
improve
product-­‐market
fit
n Ruthlessly
priori:ze
based
on
ROI
n Define
equa:on
of
your
business
n Iden:fy
and
track
key
metrics
n Launch,
learn,
and
iterate
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2011
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55. Best
way
to
stay
on
top
of
the
topics
you
care
about
Try
it
out
at
hPp://www.yourversion.com
Free
apps
for
iPad,
iPhone,
Android
phones,
Android
tablets
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2011
YourVersion

56. Ques&ons?
@danolsen
slideshare.net/dan_o
www.yourversion.com
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2011
YourVersion