DARDEN ACADEMY

YOUR FUTURE AS
A TECH PRODUCT MANAGER
Alex Cowan

2015 COWAN+

ABOUT ME

Entrepreneur (5x)
Intrapreneur (1x)

2015 COWAN+

ABOUT ME

alexandercowan.com
2015 COWAN+

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN CAPITALISM

The spread of computers and the

Internet will put jobs in two
categories:
People who tell computers what to do,
and people who are told by computers
what to do.
@pmarca
2015 COWAN+

(YES, EVEN BANKING)

Bank jobs could fall by 50% in 10

years says ex-Barclays boss BBC
Nov. 15

Citi: Robots could kill another 30%

of bank jobs
Apr. 16
Apr. 16
2015 COWAN+

(YES, EVEN CONSULTING)

Consulting on the Cusp of Disruption

Declining budgets trend in
management consulting
Declining budgets trend in
management consulting

10- 13

2015 COWAN+

BUILDING A SOFTWARE PRODUCT/VENTURE GETTING CHEAPER

COST TO LAUNCH A TECH STARTUP

$5,000,000

2000

Source: CB Insights

Open source and

horizontal scaling

Cloud and AWS

$500,000

$50,000

$5,000

2005

2009

2011

2015 COWAN+

BUT ITS TOUGHER THAN EVER TO CREATE VALUE

64% of Features Rarely or Never Used

50-70% of IT Projects Fail
90% of New Products Fail

Sources: see bit.ly/sw-class

2015 COWAN+

THINGS HAVE CHANGED

Scale
Friendly

Innovation
Friendly

!?

ALEX COWAN
alexandercowan.com
@cowanSF
2015 COWAN+

YOUR HAPPY PLACE

(you)

2015 COWAN+

IS IT THE IDEA?

2015 COWAN+

IS IT BEING TECH/CODE SAVVY?

(this is not real)

(coding experience helps,
but not like this)
2015 COWAN+

THE ANSWER IS GRINDING IT OUT

2015 COWAN+

THE VENTURE DESIGN PROCESS

2015 COWAN+

THE VENTURE DESIGN PROCESS

OPTIONS

COST
2015 COWAN+

HOW WILL WE WORK TOGETHER?

converge the best
of what youve
created (as a
group)

alternatives

generate
divergent ideas
(by working
individually)

divergence

convergence

time
source: adapted from The Design of Everyday Things

2015 COWAN+

THE VENTURE DESIGN PROCESS

CUSTOMER
DISCOVERY &
EXPERIMENTS

Was the implemented

story relevant to the
proposition?

S HO

IF
AT

WH

How did the customer

/user react?

PRODUCT &
PROMOTION

Did the
implementation
deliver on
the story?

VALUE
PROPOSITIONS &
ASSUMPTIONS

AL

E?

USER STORIES
& PROTOTYPES

Do we understand
this person? What
makes them tick?
PERSONAS

WHO?

WH

PROBLEM
SCENARIOS &
ALTERNATIVES

AT

SC

PIVOT?

Is the problem
relevant? Is the
proposition better
vs alternatives?

2015 COWAN+

DESIGN THINKING: EMPATHY & PERSONAS

2015 COWAN+

DESIGN THINKING: EMPATHY & PERSONAS

2015 COWAN+

PERSONAS- THINK SEE FEEL DO

2015 COWAN+

OUR CAST

Sally the
Single Mom

2015 COWAN+

WAKE UP!

2015 COWAN+

WAKE UP!

2015 COWAN+

GEARING UP FOR THE DAY

2015 COWAN+

AT WORK

2015 COWAN+

AFTER WORK

2015 COWAN+

PRE-BED

2015 COWAN+

BED

2015 COWAN+

GEAR

2015 COWAN+

IF I HAD 3 EXTRA HOURS

2015 COWAN+

ABOUT SALLY THE SINGLE MOM

Whats her favorite kind of music?
Where did she buy her last pair of shoes?
What movie did she last see?
What are the top 3 mobile apps she uses?
What did she drink with dinner last night?
If she had a dog, what kind?

bit.ly/daynthelife

ALEX COWAN
alexandercowan.com
@cowanSF
2015 COWAN+

OUR CAST

Bob the Baby Boomer

2015 COWAN+

WAKE UP!

2015 COWAN+

WAKE UP!

2015 COWAN+

TO THE OFFICE

2015 COWAN+

AT THE OFFICE

2015 COWAN+

WORK/PLAY

2015 COWAN+

FITNESS

2015 COWAN+

LEISURE

2015 COWAN+

DINNER AT HOME

2015 COWAN+

ABOUT BOB THE BABY BOOMER

Whats his favorite kind of music?
Where did he buy his last pair of shoes?
What movie did he last see?
How does he prepare his taxes?
Whats his favorite magazine?

ALEX COWAN
alexandercowan.com
@cowanSF
2015 COWAN+

THE VENTURE DESIGN PROCESS

CUSTOMER
DISCOVERY &
EXPERIMENTS

Was the implemented

story relevant to the
proposition?

S HO

IF
AT

WH

How did the customer

/user react?

PRODUCT &
PROMOTION

Did the
implementation
deliver on
the story?

VALUE
PROPOSITIONS &
ASSUMPTIONS

AL

E?

USER STORIES
& PROTOTYPES

Do we understand
this person? What
makes them tick?
PERSONAS

WHO?

WH

PROBLEM
SCENARIOS &
ALTERNATIVES

AT

SC

PIVOT?

Is the problem
relevant? Is the
proposition better
vs alternatives?

2015 COWAN+

PERSONAS & PROBLEM SCENARIOS

PROBLEM SCENARIO

2015 COWAN+

PERSONAS & PROBLEM SCENARIOS

PROBLEM SCENARIO
What job(s) are you doing for the
customer?
What existing need or behavior
are you fulfilling?

2015 COWAN+

PERSONAS & PROBLEM SCENARIOS

PROBLEM SCENARIO

ALTERNATIVE(S)

2015 COWAN+

PERSONAS & PROBLEM SCENARIOS

PROBLEM SCENARIO

ALTERNATIVE(S)

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.

2015 COWAN+

PERSONAS & PROBLEM SCENARIOS

Hiring technical talent.
(Too Broad, Abstract)

Screening technical talent.

(Probably About Right)

The HR manager wants to send notes on candidates to the

functional manager.
(Too Detailed, A Feature vs. a Product/Venture)
2015 COWAN+

WHATS HE DOING?

2015 COWAN+

THE ART OF CUSTOMER DISCOVERY

2015 COWAN+

THE VENTURE DESIGN PROCESS

CUSTOMER
DISCOVERY &
EXPERIMENTS

Was the implemented

story relevant to the
proposition?

S HO

IF
AT

WH

How did the customer

/user react?

PRODUCT &
PROMOTION

Did the
implementation
deliver on
the story?

VALUE
PROPOSITIONS &
ASSUMPTIONS

AL

E?

USER STORIES
& PROTOTYPES

Do we understand
this person? What
makes them tick?
PERSONAS

WHO?

WH

PROBLEM
SCENARIOS &
ALTERNATIVES

AT

SC

PIVOT?

Is the problem
relevant? Is the
proposition better
vs alternatives?

2015 COWAN+

TESTABLE PROPOSITIONS
PROBLEM SCENARIO

ALTERNATIVE(S)

YOUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS

Are they better enough than the
alternative(s)?

!
2015 COWAN+

HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN INNOVATION VIA LEAN STARTUP

Do I have real evidence from my buyer that
this is compelling?

01 IDEA!

What is our value hypothesis and what are

its key assumptions?

02 HYPOTHESIS

How do I definitely prove or disprove the

assumptions with a minimum of time and
effort?
Am I reacting or am I focused on
validating my pivotal assumptions?
Pivot or persevere?

If we [do something] for [persona],

they will [respond in a certain way]
source: adapted from The Lean Startup

6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis

03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

04 EXPERIMENTATION

05 REVISE?

6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis

2015 COWAN+

CASE STUDY: DROPBOX

OPPORTUNITY
Underlying demand and supporting
infrastructure ready for a great file 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.

2015 COWAN+

CASE STUDY: DROPBOX

Persona

Tom the Techie- early adopter who works on projects that require swapping a lot of files between a shifting
network of collaborators.

Problem
Scenario

Its difficult to share files between a network of collaborators, particularly if theyre: big or numerous or change a
lot.

Alternatives

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.

Value
Hypothesis

If Dropbox created a file sharing service that truly felt transparent to the user across all major platforms- OSX, iOS,
Windows, etc., then a mass market of users would prefer it over the alternatives, subscribe to it and use it over
time.

What Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?

That you can bootstrap?
That doesnt require software at all?
2015 COWAN+

THE WIZARD OF OZ MVP

Created a synthetic web demo tailored
for early market (techies), promoted it,
and measured email sign-ups.
Result: Excellent traction and
conversion to sign-ups.
Strong validation signal.

2015 COWAN+

THE VENTURE DESIGN PROCESS

CUSTOMER
DISCOVERY &
EXPERIMENTS

Was the implemented

story relevant to the
proposition?

S HO

IF
AT

WH

How did the customer

/user react?

PRODUCT &
PROMOTION

Did the
implementation
deliver on
the story?

VALUE
PROPOSITIONS &
ASSUMPTIONS

AL

E?

USER STORIES
& PROTOTYPES

Do we understand
this person? What
makes them tick?
PERSONAS

WHO?

WH

PROBLEM
SCENARIOS &
ALTERNATIVES

AT

SC

PIVOT?

Is the problem
relevant? Is the
proposition better
vs alternatives?

2015 COWAN+

THE IMPORTANCE OF FORM & NOTATION

2015 COWAN+

(THE WHOLE) AGILE USER STORY

Epic Stories
Stories
Test Cases

Who is this user?

What makes them tick?
Whos an example of such a person?
As a [persona],
I want to [do something]
so that I can [realize a reward]

2015 COWAN+

(THE WHOLE) AGILE USER STORY

Epic Stories
Stories
Test Cases

Who is this user?

What makes them tick?
Whos an example of such a person?
As a [persona],
I want to [do something]
so that I can [realize a reward]
Why do they want to do this?
What's the benefit/reward?
How will we know of its
working?

2015 COWAN+

CREATING HIGH QUALITY, TESTABLE NARRATIVE

EPIC
As Ted the HVAC
technician, I want to
identify a part that needs
replacing so I can decide
my next steps.

2015 COWAN+

THE VENTURE DESIGN PROCESS

CUSTOMER
DISCOVERY &
EXPERIMENTS

Was the implemented

story relevant to the
proposition?

S HO

IF
AT

WH

How did the customer

/user react?

PRODUCT &
PROMOTION

Did the
implementation
deliver on
the story?

VALUE
PROPOSITIONS &
ASSUMPTIONS

AL

E?

USER STORIES
& PROTOTYPES

Do we understand
this person? What
makes them tick?
PERSONAS

WHO?

WH

PROBLEM
SCENARIOS &
ALTERNATIVES

AT

SC

PIVOT?

Is the problem
relevant? Is the
proposition better
vs alternatives?

2015 COWAN+

DONALD NORMANS 7 STEPS: ANOTHER EXAMPLE

2015 COWAN+

DONALD NORMANS 7 STEPS

Goal
Plan

Compare

Specify

Interpret

Perform

Perceive
World

source: adapted from The Design of Everyday Things

2015 COWAN+

IDEAS?
1. Online Shopping?
2. Used Car Purchase?
3. Photo Search?
4. General Record Search (CRM, Email, )?

2015 COWAN+

PATTERN IDEA: ONLINE SHOPPING

source: jet.com

source: walmart.com

source: target.com

source: bestbuy.com

source: ui-patterns.com

source: ui-patterns.com
2015 COWAN+

A) I know the part and I want to

order it so I can figure out next
steps on the repair.
B) I dont know the part and I want
to try to identify it online so I can
move the job forward.
C) I dont know the part and I cant
determine it and I want help so I can
move the job forward.

CONCEPT 1
2015 COWAN+

A) I know the part and I want to

order it so I can figure out next
steps on the repair.
B) I dont know the part and I
want to try to identify it online
so I can move the job forward.

CONCEPT 1
2015 COWAN+

CONCEPT 1

D) I want to see the

cost of the part and
time to receive it so I
decide on next steps
and get agreement
from the customer.
2015 COWAN+

A) I know the part and I want

to order it so I can figure out
next steps on the repair.
B) I dont know the part and I
want to try to identify it online so
I can move the job forward.
C) I dont know the part and I
cant determine it and I want
help so I can move the job
forward.

CONCEPT 2
2015 COWAN+

CONCEPT 2

D) I want to see the

cost of the part and
time to receive it so I
decide on next steps
and get agreement
from the customer.
2015 COWAN+

YOUR CAREER AT DARDEN

2015 COWAN+

FINI
Slides

bit.ly/hicadets

Venture Design

bit.ly/vdesign

Coursera Class:
Agile Development

bit.ly/hiagile

Twitter

@cowanSF

Get in touch!

acowan@alexandercowan.com

2015 COWAN+