Product discovery involves an iterative process of understanding customer needs, setting priorities, and testing solutions. Agile product discovery emphasizes shared learning among the team through activities like stakeholder interviews, prototyping, and usability testing. It focuses on understanding the problem rather than jumping to solutions. Prioritization considers factors like value, cost, risk, and learning potential.
4. what is product discovery?
what’s different about agile discovery?
who is involved in product discovery?
how much time should we spend on investigating problem vs the solution?
do I need a product vision? what is dual-track agile?
what is a problem definition? what are hidden insights?
who sets priorities?
how do you prioritise markets?how to prioritise for risk?
what is story mapping?
how does Kano model help set priorities?
is there a simple way to do product prioritisation?
what is the MoSCoW method?
what’s a good technique for discovering new features?
what are good tools for product vision?
what is a good tool for getting clarity on product vision?
what’s a good way to understand the customer?
product discovery: where do I start?
is a discovery sprint a good idea?
who are my stakeholders?
what is a prototype?
7. - Focus on building the right thing (vs building the thing right)
- The right product for the right audience
- Products
- that matter
- that people want
- that are easy to use
- we can build
- that we should build
- Look for evidence - collect facts and not opinions
- Validate your ideas during discovery not after
PRODUCTDISCOVERY
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8. - Traditionally product discovery was project “pre-work”
- In today’s world that’s not good enough
- user needs change and evolve over time
- technology capabilities change over time
- ideas emerge anytime, not just at the start
- the best solutions evolve over time
- So we need an iterative “inspect & adapt” process
AGILEPRODUCTDISCOVERY
understand
ideas
test
adapt
prototype
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9. - The agile team must discover & learn together
- They must have seen the customer’s pain together
- They must all have fallen in love with the problem
- They have explored possible solutions together
- They must all understand the vision for the product
BUT
- Wouldn’t the developers’ time be better spent coding?
- A tricky trade-off
ALLABOUTSHAREDLEARNING
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10. - Product discovery should mostly be about the problem space
- Problem prioritisation - which problem will we solve?
- Problem definition - do we truly understand the problem?
- We cannot rely on customers to tell us what to build
- We need to look for the underlying problems
- Jobs to be Done, Pains & Gains
- Fall in love with the problem, not the solution!
- Tell stories about the problem
PROBLEMSVSSOLUTIONS
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11. - How the future will be as a result of our actions
- Inspires the team (and the stakeholders)
- Helps the team fall in love with the problem
- Describes the purpose and the plan
- Answers the “why are we doing this?” question
- Is an ambitious leap of faith
- Stories are good, they help people share the vision
PRODUCTVISION
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12. - Discovery track
- Conduct stakeholder interviews
- Develop personas and user stories
- Perform market research (surveys, user interviews, etc.)
- Move items validated through this process onto backlog
- Delivery track
- Build prototypes
- Conduct iterative user testing
- Apply user feedback to product updates
DUAL-TRACKAGILE
DUAL-TRACK
not
DUEL-TRACK!
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13. A problem
definition states the
design objective in
one or two clear,
concise sentences
PROBLEMDEFINITION
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16. - experiments to quickly and cheaply test your thinking
- many techniques, one golden rule: it has to have realness
- typically prototypes test for:
- value
- usability
- feasibility
- viability
- Fidelity: how realistic the prototype looks & feels
PROTOTYPES
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17. - Imagine your product is
packaged in a box that
describes what the
product is and does in an
eye-catching way. Design
that box!
- Think about Product
Name, a Graphic, 3 to 4
key bullet points, Feature
descriptions/bullet points,
Operating requirements
etc
PRODUCTBOX
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18. - Collaboratively write a thank you letter from a delighted customer of
the product after it launches.
- Who would write the letter?
- What would compel them to write the letter?
- What would they tell you about what the product has done for
them?
- Would they thank you for something not related to product
functionality?
THANKYOULETTER
19. - Collaboratively write the press release you’d like to see published
at the product launch
- What are the key points you’d make about the product?
- What quotes would you have and who would they be from?
CEO? Team members? Customers?
PRESSRELEASE
The _______company announced today the successful completion of the
_________project. This project provides ___________________
_______________________________. The customer for this project,
________________, indicated in a recent interview that they selected
___________ as their supplier due to the following key benefits:
1. ______________________________________
2. ______________________________________
3. ______________________________________
________________ also identified several features that they felt were
particularly useful. These include:
1. ______________________________________
2. ______________________________________
3. ______________________________________
____________ noted that the single most important benefit of their
successful project was “__________________________________
_____________________________________.”
20. - Imagine your product is
packaged in a box that
describes what the
product is and does in an
eye-catching way. Design
that box!
- Think about Product
Name, a Graphic, 3 to 4
key bullet points, Feature
descriptions/bullet points,
Operating requirements
etc
PRODUCTBOX
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21. ELEVATORPITCH
A vision for the proposed product that is simple and compelling enough to be delivered
to a stakeholder while they are in an elevator (or waiting for an Uber to arrive.)
Structure is:
For (target customer)
Who (statement of need or opportunity)
The (product name) is a (product category)
That (key benefit, compelling reason to buy)
Unlike (primary competitive alternative)
Our Product (statement of primary differentiation)
For householders who want to clean
their carpets, a Dyson is a vacuum
cleaner that uses a unique internal
cyclone mechanism. Unlike all other
vacuum cleaners, our product does not
require a bag, and so never loses
suction.
Example
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22. - Empathy Maps are useful in exploring users & customers and to
understand their pains (obstacles, challenges) and their gains (needs,
wants and successes)
- You can use empathy maps with real users and customers! Just invite
them in for an hour or so and in groups of 5-8 have them completely
fill a poster with their insights. Make sure you leave enough time to
clarify what they have written so that it is all clear to you, in particular
the pains and gains
EMPATHYMAP
THINK&AND&FEEL?
SEE?
SAY&AND&DO?
HEAR?
PAIN? GAIN?
What%does%the%Customer
What%does%the%Customer
What%does%the%Customer What%does%the%Customer
Environment,%friends,%colleagues
What%is%important?
What%are%their%hopes,%dreams,%fears?
What%influences%the%customer?
What%obstacles%and%challenges? Needs%and%wants,%measures%of%success
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23. - Simple templates that help you ask the right questions
- Good way to identify where the key assumptions and major risks are
- It’s a one-pager!
- Great for collaborative group work
- Plenty of examples online
- startup canvas
- lean canvas
- business model canvas
- Value proposition canvas can be especially helpful
CANVASTECHNIQUES
28. - one week time box of product discovery
- Day 1 – Identify the challenge to be addressed and gather expert opinion
- Day 2 – Review existing solutions and sketch potential ideas
- Day 2 – Decide which ideas to progress, produce a storyboard for the
prototype
- Day 4 – Produce the prototype
- Day 5 – Customers evaluate the prototypes
- a.k.a. design sprints
- good for dealing with a big challenge or risk
BUT
- can be a “snake oil” remedy
- use a discovery coach!
DISCOVERYSPRINTS
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29. - sometimes it seems like everyone has a
say in the product!
- so consider who can say “no”, who has
veto power over the product. They are the
key stakeholders
- the product manager is responsible for
understanding stakeholders
- Build trust through transparency
- Prototypes trump Powerpoint every time
STAKEHOLDERS
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30. - Responsibility for prioritisation is shared across the whole team
- But the effort is led by the Product Manager
- Key Factors:
- Value
- Cost / Effort
- Level of Risk
- Amount of Learning / New Knowledge
SETTINGPRIORITIES
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31. - Total Addressable Market (TAM)
- how big is the market for your product?
- how large is the revenue opportunity?
- Go To Market (GTM)
- how will you distribute your product?
- which sales and marketing channels?
- Time to Market (TTM)
- roughly how long will it take until it’s available for sale?
PRIORITISINGMARKETS
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33. RISK/VALUE
High risk
Low Value
High risk
High Value
Low risk
Low Value
Low risk
High Value
Avoid Do first
Do last Do second
Risk
Risk
Value ValueLow LowHigh High
High
HighLow
Low
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36. - This simple approach to prioritisation involves taking your list of
features and initiatives and quantifying them using value and effort
scores.
VALUEVSEFFORT
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