A Romeo & Juliet Story COWAN + Agile Design Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF ABOUT ME Entrepreneur (5x) Intrapreneur (1x) Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF ABOUT ME Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ABOUT ME www.alexandercowan.com ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 COWAN+ OUR SUBJECT Agile Design ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 COWAN+ Empathy Creativity DESIGN ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF AGILE Individuals Interactions > Processes Tools Working software Comprehensive Documentation > Customer collaboration Contract negotiation > Responding to change Following a plan > Copyright 2014 COWAN+ OUR SUBJECT Agile Design ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 COWAN+ TRAGEDY OCCURS TOO OFTEN Agile Design ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 COWAN+ TRAGEDY OCCURS TOO OFTEN The Commerce Family The Implementation Family aka marketing, sales, product management aka engineering, operations, project management Copyright 2014 COWAN+ TRAGEDY OCCURS TOO OFTEN- WHY? The Commerce Family The Implementation Family ? we measure our efciency locally we want to feel we're completing our output Copyright 2014 COWAN+ WHAT'S ESPECIALLY HARD FOR THE FAMILIES The Commerce Family The Implementation Family 1. Connecting with customer needs 2. Managing uncertainty 3. Describing for implementation 1. Implementation strategy 2. Managing changes in need 3. Distributing actionable inputs Copyright 2014 COWAN+ WHAT'S ESPECIALLY HARD FOR THE FAMILIES The Commerce Family The Implementation Family bigger families, bigger disconnects ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 COWAN+ 4 WAYS TO MAKE IT BETTER, MAKE IT WORK 1: IMPROVED INPUTS 2: STORY-DRIVEN COLLABORATION 3: TEST ORIENTATION 4: BACKLOG DISCIPLINE ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 COWAN+ 1Creating High Quality Inputs Copyright 2014 COWAN+ STORIES Epic Stories Stories Test Cases As a [persona], I want to [do something] so that I can [derive a benet] AGILE USER STORIES- WHATIS ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Who is this user? What makes them tick? Who's an example of such a person? Why do they want to do this? What's the benet/reward? How will we know of it's working? Copyright 2014 COWAN+ DESIGN THINKING- PERSONAS ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 COWAN+ DESIGN THINKING- PERSONAS ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 COWAN+ NOT A GOOD PERSONA Women Age 28-45 Has kids Socialize with other moms Online with Facebook 86% said theyd like to be more organized 70% said theyd use an application that organizes them Copyright 2014 COWAN+ Women Age 28-45 Has kids Socialize with other moms Online with Facebook 86% said theyd like to be more organized 70% said theyd use an application that organizes them NOT A GOOD PERSONA Bullet points are almost never vivid or detailed Stock photo- not real This is a huge population- not exact These responses are fake actionable- survey responses like this are unreliable Copyright 2014 COWAN+ A BETTER PERSONA Mary is a mom by choice. She had a successful career in accounting, but welcomed the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. She loves it. But its not like having kids purged her creative, social instincts. She wants to connect, she wants to learn, she wants to interact. Being a mom is a job and she wants to do it well. That means corresponding with other moms on child education and keeping track of what works. She posts to Facebook at least twice a week and responds to other moms items more often than that. She has a few blogs and publications she reads regularly Mary the Mom Copyright 2014 COWAN+ A BETTER PERSONA the use of a rst name helps w/ vividness (a little) these full sentences look like a good start towards something vivid and detailed this is a real photo of a relevant person taken with an iPhone in the real world Mary is a mom by choice. She had a successful career in accounting, but welcomed the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. She loves it. But its not like having kids purged her creative, social instincts. She wants to connect, she wants to learn, she wants to interact. Being a mom is a job and she wants to do it well. That means corresponding with other moms on child education and keeping track of what works. She posts to Facebook at least twice a week and responds to other moms items more often than that. She has a few blogs and publications she reads regularly Mary the Mom Copyright 2014 COWAN+ DISCOVERY & LEARNING: THINK-SEE-FEEL-DO ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing V A R I E D ivid The persona should make anyone who reads it feel like theyve actually met this person. ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing V A R I E D ivid ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF If the persona doesnt inform how you sell stuff and build stuff, why bother? ctionable Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing V A R I E D ivid ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF eal Good personas arent created in cubicles. Go where the persona is and observe. ctionable Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing V A R I E D ivid ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF eal ctionable Make sure you can identify and target these personas, or you wont be able to nd a use for them. dentiable Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing V A R I E D ivid ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF eal ctionable dentiable Everyone is not your customer. Make sure the personas are distinct so you can apply relevant focus. xact Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing V A R I E D ivid eal ctionable dentiable xact etailed People are complicated and so good personas are usually pretty substantial. Copyright 2014 COWAN+ A LITTLE GAME FOR BETTER PERSONA DISCOVERY Day in the Life we look at a few photos for a given persona you make some guesses about them there are no right answers BUT there is a right process: observe and infer OBJECTIVE: get a feel for whats real; start to create something vivid (not a full picture, just snippets) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing OUR CAST Sally the Single Mom Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing WAKE UP! Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing WAKE UP! Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing GEARING UP FOR THE DAY Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing AT WORK Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing AFTER WORK Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing PRE-BED Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing BED Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing GEAR Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing IF I HAD 3 EXTRA HOURS Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing ABOUT SALLY THE SINGLE MOM Whats her favorite kind of music? Band/composer? Where did she buy her last pair of shoes? What movie did she last see? What did she drink with dinner last night? If she had a dog, what kind? Whats her favorite magazine? Copyright 2014 COWAN+ NEEDFINDING ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF X PROBLEM SCENARIO NEEDFINDING Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF X What job(s) are you doing for the customer? What existing need or behavior are you fullling? PROBLEM SCENARIO NEEDFINDING Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF ? X ALTERNATIVE(S) PROBLEM SCENARIO NEEDFINDING Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF ? X If they currently use spreadsheets, watch them use it and get a copy of it. If they currently put notes on the family fridge, ask about it, photograph it. ALTERNATIVE(S) PROBLEM SCENARIO NEEDFINDING Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF YOUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS ! ALTERNATIVE(S) ? PROBLEM SCENARIO X NEEDFINDING Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF X Are they better enough than the alternative(s)? ! ? YOUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS ALTERNATIVE(S) PROBLEM SCENARIO NEEDFINDING Copyright 2014 COWAN+ and they have a certain PROBLEMS(S) where theyre currently using certain ALTERNATIVE(S) and I have a VALUE PROPOSITION thats better enough than the alternatives to cause the persona to act (purchase, use, etc.). A certain PERSONA exists NEEDFINDING: THE PRODUCT HYPOTHESIS ! ? X Copyright 2014 COWAN+ PERSONAS PROBLEM SCENARIOS VALUE PROPOSITIONS STORIES Epic Stories Stories Test Cases As a [persona], I want to [do something] so that I can [derive a benet] AGILE USER STORIES- WHATIS ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing INVEST IN AGILE STORIES Independent Negotiable Valuable Estimable Small Testable Could this be implemented on a stand-alone basis or does it presuppose other content? Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing INVEST IN AGILE STORIES Independent Negotiable Valuable Estimable Small Testable Stories are not specs. This is an input for you to arrive at an optimal implementation with the developer, not a functional requirement. Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing INVEST IN AGILE STORIES Independent Negotiable Valuable Estimable Small Testable What problem scenario does this address? How have you validated your value proposition for it? Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing INVEST IN AGILE STORIES Independent Negotiable Valuable Estimable Small Testable How hard is this vs. the teams experience? Is it discrete enough? Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing INVEST IN AGILE STORIES Independent Negotiable Valuable Estimable Small Testable A big part of what makes agile (and lean) work is the use of small batches with measurable results. Make sure your stories are broken down to workable sizes. Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing INVEST IN AGILE STORIES Independent Negotiable Valuable Estimable Small Testable How will you know if its working in a way where you can validate its value? Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing CHILD STORIES A) As an HR manager, I want to get a list of topics relevant to an open position from the functional manager so I can set up a relevant and complete quiz for screening. B) As an HR manager, I want to browse the quiz banks [of available questions] so I can make sure Im subscribed to all the necessary topics for my quiz. C) As an HR manager, I want to purchase additional quiz banks so I can add additional technical topics to my quizzes. D) As an HR manager, I want to create a custom quiz banks so I can add custom questions the functional manager wants to add to the quiz. E) As a manager, I want to set the quiz up for a possible recruit to use. F) As an HR manager, I want to make the candidates scores available to the functional manager, along with the rest of my notes. EPIC STORY EXAMPLE: AGILE USER STORIES As the HR manager, I want to create a screening quiz so that I can understand whether I want to send possible recruits to the functional manager. Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing EPIC STORY EXAMPLE: AGILE USER STORIES As the HR manager, I want to create a screening quiz so that I can understand whether I want to send possible recruits to the functional manager. ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing STORYBOARDING AN EPIC As the HR manager, I want to create a screening quiz so that I can understand whether I want to send possible recruits to the functional manager. ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 COWAN+ PERSONA MEETS HALLWAY CONVERSATION So, I think feature [xyz] should really be at the top of our list Yeah? Tell me about the user. Who are they? What are they doing right now? Copyright 2014 COWAN+ NEEDFINDING MEETS HALLWAY CONVERSATION Here are a list of SEO keywords related to the exciting new solution we built What problems does this solve for the customer? What words do they use to describe it? Copyright 2014 COWAN+ 2Enabling Story-Driven Collaboration Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF AGILE FOUNDATIONS USER STORIES DISCUSSION DEVELOPMENT VALIDATION PERSONAS PROBLEM SCENARIOS, ALTERNATIVES PROPOSITIONS Copyright 2014 COWAN+ KEEPING IT TOGETHER In-doc links to personas and problem scenarios/ neednding Ditto for wireframes Copyright 2014 COWAN+ X PROBLEM SCENARIOS & ALTERNATIVES What? PRODUCT & PROMOTION / CUSTOMER DISCOVERY & EXPERIMENTS Tell me? DESIGNING A VENTURE (VENTURE DESIGN) PERSONAS Who? USER STORIES & PROTOTYPES How? Scale? Pivot? VALUE PROPOSITIONS & ASSUMPTIONS What if? ! Copyright 2014 COWAN+ VENTURE DESIGN (IN REVERSE) ! PRODUCT & PROMOTION USER STORIES & PROTOTYPES Did the implementation deliver on the story? / CUSTOMER DISCOVERY & EXPERIMENTS How did the customer/user react? VALUE PROPOSITIONS & ASSUMPTIONS ! Was the implemented story relevant to the proposition? X PROBLEM SCENARIOS & ALTERNATIVES Is problem relevant? Is the proposition better vs. alternatives? THINK SEE FEEL DO PERSONAS Do we understand this person? What makes them tick? Copyright 2014 COWAN+ COLLABORATION MEETS HALLWAY CONVERSATION We have an amazing new thing now where users can [x] their [y] Cool. Who does this? Whats the trigger? Whats the rst thing that happens?
Then what?
How do we know if they
have a good outcome? Copyright 2014 COWAN+ 3 Staying Focused on Validation Copyright 2014 COWAN+ EVIDENCE-BASED INNOVATION VIA LEAN STARTUP Do I have real evidence from my buyer that this is compelling? 6.a YES results disprove hypothesis 01 IDEA! 02 HYPOTHESIS 03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 04 EXPERIMENTATION 05 REVISE? 6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis What are the key assumptions required to make this business work? 6.a YES results disprove hypothesis 01 IDEA! 02 HYPOTHESIS 03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 04 EXPERIMENTATION 05 REVISE? 6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis How do I denitely prove or disprove the assumptions with a minimum of time and effort? 6.a YES results disprove hypothesis 01 IDEA! 02 HYPOTHESIS 03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 04 EXPERIMENTATION 05 REVISE? 6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis 6.a YES results disprove hypothesis 01 IDEA! 02 HYPOTHESIS 03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 04 EXPERIMENTATION 05 REVISE? 6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis Am I reacting or am I focused on validating my pivotal assumptions? Pivot or persevere? Copyright 2014 COWAN+ CASE STUDY: DROPBOX OPPORTUNITY Underlying demand and supporting infrastructure ready for a great le sharing app. CHALLENGE Building a great cross-platform app. required VC funding. VCs saw a space with lots of existing competitors struggling to get traction. Copyright 2014 COWAN+ CASE STUDY: DROPBOX Persona Problem Scenario Alternatives Value Prop. Tom the Techie- early adopter who works on projects that require swapping a lot of les between a shifting network of collaborators. Its difcult to share les between a network of collaborators, particularly if theyre: big or numerous or change a lot. Many existing products, but none of them super compelling and widely adopted. Also, custom setups which work but are cumbersome to set up and maintain. A le sharing service that truly feels transparent to the user across all major platforms- OSX, iOS, Windows, etc. What Minimum Viable Product (MVP)? That you can bootstrap? That doesnt require software at all? Copyright 2014 COWAN+ THE WIZARD OF OZ MVP Result: Excellent traction and conversion to sign-ups. Strong validation signal. Created a synthetic demo tailored for early market (techies), promoted it, and measured email sign-ups. Copyright 2014 COWAN+ DOCUMENT UX ASSUMPTIONS AS YOU GO Lets assume. Then test. Lets not argue Copyright 2014 COWAN+ EXAMPLE ASSUMPTIONS & EXPERIMENTS brand lattice UI: Drag and drop isnt yet in common use. Would users get it? Noted as key assumption and became early focal item in user test Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ITERATING BASED ON TEST RESULTS 70% of users didnt get the drag and drop in this version This change in the annotation was enough so they got it Copyright 2014 COWAN+ THE MTP P inimum estable roduct T M Copyright 2014 COWAN+ PARING AWAY ASSUMPTIONS VIA MTP Experiment Learn Hypothesize Lean Startup- Style Assumptions Pivotal assumptions about relevance Do they care? Tactical assumptions about usability Can they use it? Copyright 2014 COWAN+ PARING AWAY ASSUMPTIONS VIA MTP It has rough edges. We should x it before we show people. Just show it to volunteers on user testing. Do it soon. What if smoothing out those rough edges is 100% waste because there are deeper usability issues? Copyright 2014 COWAN+ PARING AWAY ASSUMPTIONS VIA MTP We only have a few people right now in our target market (persona). If you can get close in terms of prole, just give the user testing a try. Copyright 2014 COWAN+ VALIDATION MEETS HALLWAY CONVERSATION Im super excited about [this idea]. Im working on the business case to sell management so we can start building Sound neat. Whats the central proposition? Maybe theres a way we can bootstrap some proof points. That would super charge your business case. Copyright 2014 COWAN+ 4Planning The Work, Working the Plan Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF THE BACKLOG Story Backlog RELEASE X P R I O R I T Y ITERATION 01 ITERATION 02 . . . ITERATION N Story A size = x Story B size = y Story C size = z Story D size = a Story N.. size = c Story E size = b . . . Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF THE STANDUP 1. What did I accomplish last [period]? 2. What do I plan to accomplish [this period]? 3. What's impeding my progress? Copyright 2014 COWAN+ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF AGILE MANAGEMENT IN 4 FUN & EASY STEPS SET AN ITERATION Usually 1-4 weeks, shorter is probably better in the beginning. Stick to the list in this period. 2. Explicit Iteration CREATE STRONG STORIES Inputs matter a lot. They're usually preceded by quality design research. 0: Strong Stories PRIORITIZE A LIST Make it a little longer than you think you can achieve- that way if someone gets stuck they can move to something else. 1. Prioritized List TRACK WITH STANDUP'S Even if it's on email, do the standup daily or at least weekly. 3. Regular Standup's Copyright 2014 COWAN+ VALIDATION MEETS HALLWAY CONVERSATION Oh! I just [talked to a customer, read a blog, saw a demo] and I have a great new idea. Can we just put it in right this second? We can denitely put it in if you think it's important. Let's write a story for it that's anchored in a problem scenario and if you want you can put it at the top of the backlog for the next iteration. Copyright 2014 COWAN+ HERE'S TO A HAPPY ENDING! ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 COWAN+ acowan@alexandercowan.com @cowanSF www.alexandercowan.com/venture-design Slides: bit.ly/ac2SUGAR www.alexandercowan.com/startup-sprints FINI