What problem are you trying to solve? In this session we'll introduce a supremely simple & road tested framework for achieving desired outcomes in every part of your business through data. The framework, called Problem Solution Mapping (PSM) will be brought to life using real-world examples that were ultimately delivered and validated through testing & personalization.

1. Opticon
Ryan Garner
Co-Founder & CPO, Clearhead
@ryanTgarner
ryan@clearhead.me
Experiment Everywhere
A framework for solving your BIGGEST
problems and winning more in the process

2. plus
many
more…
Problem Identification
Solution Design &
Validation

3. have i got a
solution for you!
“10 test ideas guaranteed to
boost the bottom line.”
“Responsive design…Everybody’s
doing it.”
“Top 5 experiences to start
personalizing now.”
solution
solution
solution
solution
solutionsolution
solutiongoal
goal

4. the problems
1 Too many inconclusive results
Limited resources being invested on ideas that didn’t yield ROI2
Running into dead-ends3

5. why do ideas fail?
1 Why do they succeed?
Why are results inconclusive?2
How do we improve the odds of generating ROI?3

7. “A Lesson in Innovation –
Why did the Segway Fail?”
By: Paul Sloane

12. “Uber Solves the Fundamental
Problem of the Marketplace”
By: Steven Horwitz | 6.24.15

13. “If I had one hour to save the world,
I would spend fifty-five minutes
defining the problem… and only five
minutes finding the solution.”
- Albert Einstein

14. laws of ROI
Returns go up when the problems go down.
Returns go down when the problems go up.
Returns stay flat when the problems stay flat. =
problems returns

15. our cheat code
1 Love your problems. They are your most valuable assets.
Find them. Understand them. Size and prioritize them.2
Then focus your investments in solving them.3
Take the problems down and ROI goes up.4

16. A simple, unifying framework designed to take advantage of this law by
focusing our workflow and investments on solving Problems.
Problem Solution Management (PSM)
| Optimize Everything presented by Clearhead16
goals problems
1
2
3
PS
Ps
pS
ps
1
2
3
4
hypotheses
prioritized by data
1
3
experiments
validated by data
outcomes
product roadmap
design
containment
capabilities

17. “A good archer is known not by his arrows
but by his aim.”
- Thomas Fuller

18. Goals
1 Make them S.M.A.R.T.
Prioritize & stack rank2
Obtain leadership sign-off3
Share across organization. Is everybody on-board?4

19. Goals
• specific
• measurable
• actionable
• realistic
• time based
S
M
A
R
T
Ask Yourself?
We want to make it easier for our
customers to order.
poorly defined goal
We want to increase order
conversion rates by 20% over
the next 12 months.
well defined goal
• Identify goals
• Confirm KPIs
• Prioritize & stack rank
• Obtain leadership sign-off
• Share across organization
Steps

20. ? ?
We want to increase order
conversion rates by 20% over the
next 12 months.
goal

21. “a problem well put is half solved.”
- John Dewey

22. Problems
1 Find them
Validate that they are real2
Get to the root3
Size and prioritize4

23. How to find them
1 Internal brainstorm
Session recordings2
Customer service team3
Customer surveys & research4
Analytics5

27. Get to the root!
First-time visitors do not
understand the filters and facets
we are providing to browse our
products.
not the root problem
First-time visitors do not want to
use filters and facets to browse
our products. They want an
expert’s recommendation based
on their needs, and we don’t
currently offer that.
the root problem

28. ?
First time users want an expert’s
recommendation based on their
needs, and we don’t offer that.
problem
We want to increase order
conversion rates by 20% over the
next 12 months.
goal
?

29. “Determine the thing that can and shall
be done, and then we shall find the way.”
- Abraham Lincoln

30. Solution Hypotheses
1 Get specific
Will they solve the problem?2
Will they cause new problems? What?3

31. Solution Hypotheses
I believe if we design a
recommendation tool that uses
customer preferences to
recommend the most popular
matching blender, we can
significantly improve order
conversion rates.
good hypothesis
• Will it solve the root problem?
• Will it cause new problems?
• Is the change specific?
Ask Yourself?
• Try stating the hypothesis as:
• I believe that…
• If I am right then…
Tips
I believe we should improve how
first-time visitors find products.
poorly formed hypothesis

32. design a recommendation tool that
uses customer preferences to
recommend the most popular
matching blender
solution
We want to increase order
conversion rates by 20% over the
next 12 months.
goal
First time users want an expert’s
recommendation based on their
needs, and we don’t offer that.
problem
?

33. Experiment
Increase order conversion rates by
20% over the next 12 months
The Goal
First time users want an expert’s
recommendation based on their needs
The Problem
Design a recommendation tool that
uses a customer’s preferences to
recommend them the most popular
matching blender
The Solution

34. Experiment
Increase order conversion rates by
20% over the next 12 months
The Goal
First time users want an expert’s
recommendation based on their needs
The Problem
Design a recommendation tool that
uses a customer’s preferences to
recommend them the most popular
matching blender
The Solution

35. Experiment
Increase order conversion rates by
20% over the next 12 months
The Goal
First time users want an expert’s
recommendation based on their needs
The Problem
Design a recommendation tool that
uses a customer’s preferences to
recommend them the most popular
matching blender
The Solution

36. Experiment
Increase order conversion rates by
20% over the next 12 months
The Goal
First time users want an expert’s
recommendation based on their needs
The Problem
Design a recommendation tool that
uses a customer’s preferences to
recommend them the most popular
matching blender
The Solution

37. Experiment
Increase order conversion rates by
20% over the next 12 months
The Goal
First time users want an expert’s
recommendation based on their needs
The Problem
Design a recommendation tool that
uses a customer’s preferences to
recommend them the most popular
matching blender
The Solution

38. Experiment
Increase order conversion rates by
20% over the next 12 months
The Goal
First time users want an expert’s
recommendation based on their needs
The Problem
Design a recommendation tool that
uses a customer’s preferences to
recommend them the most popular
matching blender
The Solution

40. Every goal. Every problem. Everywhere.
1 Organizational readiness problems
Sales & marketing2
HR / employee retention3
Products of all types - IVR, OTT, IoT4
Everywhere5

41. Your PSM
Portfolio
solution solution
#retain-talent#grow-sales #improve-margins
solution
solution
hypotheses
solution
hypotheses
solution
hypotheses
problem problem problem

42. Takeaways
1 Returns go up when problems go down.
Want more returns? Focus your investments on solving them.2
PSM is a framework designed to put problems in the center.3
Experiment everywhere.4

43. thank you.
Ryan Garner
Co-Founder & CPO, Clearhead
@ryanTgarner | ryan@clearhead.me