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STRATEGY TO EXECUTION
Shipping products while adapting to new infomation
JONNY SCHNEIDER
Principal, ThoughtWorks UK
Service Design and Product Strategy
@jonnyschneider
jschneider@thoughtworks.com

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Predicting
the future
is hard.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Edison_and_phonograph_edit1.jpg

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Predicting
the future
is hard.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Edison_and_phonograph_edit1.jpg
The phonograph was imagined only for dictation, not entertainment
In 1908, he remarked that the aircraft had no future
In 1912, his vision for concrete furniture and homes wasn’t shared
Even Thomas Edison got it really wrong

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…many plans are built on projections
of future prices and costs that are
almost invariably wrong
—Michael E. Porter
https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/5397052359

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43% Average project cost over-run
71%
→ came in over budget
→ exceeded time estimates
→ underestimated scope
$
55b Annual waste
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathancohen/4766990832
Chaos Report, Standish Group, 2004.
of projects

Adapt,
don’t predict.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathancohen/4766990832

½ business
½ design

½ business
½ design
My job is to create viable digital products
I’m Jonny Schneider
That people love to use

7
Technology

7
Technology
I work with Technology teams,
because I like to ship
Also, engineering is design

EXPLOREUNDERSTAND CREATEDEFINE
strategy
and tactics
initial
vision
solution
LEARN BUILD
MEASURE
DEFINE STRATEGY EXECUTE SOLUTION
Understand why & define how Create the outcome
Adapted and extended from British Design Council.
A way of thinking, not a framework
The ‘Double Diamond’, adapted from Industrial Design
Brings strategy closer to execution

9
Divergent ConvergentEmergent
You’ll never find anything… unless you’re looking for something.
— Dave Gray, xPLANE

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AGILE
Build the
thing right
LEAN
Build the
right things
+DESIGN
THINKING
Explore
problem/solution
+

EXPLORE CREATEDEFINEUNDERSTAND
Observe customer behaviour, business processes and technology
A search for meaningful questions
Paint a picture of the ecosystem

Designers don’t search for a solution until they have
determined the real problem, and even then, instead
of solving that problem, they stop to consider a wide
range of potential solutions. Only then will they
converge upon their proposal.
—Donald Norman

EXPLORE CREATEUNDERSTAND DEFINE
Formulate the first expression a strategy for future success
Synthesise new knowledge and assess the opportunities
Do just enough to enable action to occur

Strategy is about action,
about doing something…
there is no greater tool for
sharpening strategic ideas
than the necessity to act.
—Richard P. Rumelt

CREATEEXPLOREUNDERSTAND DEFINE
Try something, learn something, invest incrementally to pursue success
Clear goals frame a search for the right solutions

EXPLOREUNDERSTAND DEFINE CREATE
Refine, hone and optimise the proposition
As the right solution becomes clear, focus on fidelity
Go to market, but don’t stop learning

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Theory into practice.

18
TRIGGER
REDUCE COST
OF ACQUISITION
SIMPLIFY
THE BUSINESS
BUSINESS
IMPERATIVES
It starts with high-level imperatives
This helps us to understand the current condition

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TRIGGER
REDUCE COST
OF ACQUISITION
SIMPLIFY
THE BUSINESS
UNDERSTAND
CURRENT CONDITION
OBSERVATION AND
JOINING THE DOTS
BUSINESS
IMPERATIVES
They’re often vague, and not immediately actionable
So, we need to go see, make observations, and join the dots

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TRIGGER
Process
Analysis
Operational
Research
Observation
Customer
Research
Behavioural
Analysis
Value Stream
Mapping
Customer
Archetypes
Design Thinking
Ideation
Context Map Service Blueprint
& OPPORTUNITIES
EMERGENT
PROBLEMS
REDUCE COST
OF ACQUISITION
SIMPLIFY
THE BUSINESS
UNDERSTAND
CURRENT CONDITION
OBSERVATION AND
JOINING THE DOTS
BUSINESS
IMPERATIVES
There are a lot of ways to do that
When we do, opportunities emerge from understanding

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TRIGGER
Process
Analysis
Operational
Research
Observation
Customer
Research
Behavioural
Analysis
Value Stream
Mapping
Customer
Archetypes
Design Thinking
Ideation
Context Map Service Blueprint
& OPPORTUNITIES
EMERGENT
PROBLEMS
ASSESS VIABILITY,
SELECT FOR IMPACT
DEFINE
TARGET CONDITION
REDUCE COST
OF ACQUISITION
SIMPLIFY
THE BUSINESS
UNDERSTAND
CURRENT CONDITION
OBSERVATION AND
JOINING THE DOTS
BUSINESS
IMPERATIVES
Based on new insight, how might we succeed?
Assess and select the most promising options
Formulate your hypotheses

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TRIGGER
Process
Analysis
Operational
Research
Observation
Customer
Research
Behavioural
Analysis
Value Stream
Mapping
Customer
Archetypes
Design Thinking
Ideation
Context Map Service Blueprint
& OPPORTUNITIES
EMERGENT
PROBLEMS
ASSESS VIABILITY,
SELECT FOR IMPACT
DEFINE
TARGET CONDITION
REDUCE COST
OF ACQUISITION
SIMPLIFY
THE BUSINESS
Kano Analysis
Value Proposition
Opportunity
Assessment
Hypothesis
Elaboration
Devil’s Advocate
Innovation
Accounting
Weighting Matrix
Evaluation
Frameworks
Pirate Metrics Prioritisation
UNDERSTAND
CURRENT CONDITION
OBSERVATION AND
JOINING THE DOTS
FIRST EXPRESSION
OF STRATEGY
BUSINESS
IMPERATIVES
Again, there are many ways to do that
Now define the target condition and first expression of strategy
Accept that it’s fuzzy and incomplete

VISION AND STRATEGY
(HYPOTHESES)
FIRST EXPRESSION
OF STRATEGY

VISION AND STRATEGY
(HYPOTHESES)
prototypes
quantitative
analytics
qualitative
fieldwork
marketing
experiments
innovation
lab
co-design
FIRST EXPRESSION
OF STRATEGY
EXPERIMENTS
EXPLORE
WITH EXPERIMENTS
This is about reducing uncertainty, not absolute truth
Experiments are a cheap way to get more information
Try something. Learn. Invest in the next experiment

VISION AND STRATEGY
(HYPOTHESES)
prototypes
quantitative
analytics
qualitative
fieldwork
marketing
experiments
innovation
lab
co-design
FIRST EXPRESSION
OF STRATEGY
REFINE AND ADAPT
STRATEGY
EXPERIMENTS
EXPLORE
WITH EXPERIMENTS
Refine and adapt to what is learned
As learning increases, fidelity increases

VISION AND STRATEGY
(HYPOTHESES)
prototypes
quantitative
analytics
qualitative
fieldwork
marketing
experiments
innovation
lab
co-design
FIRST EXPRESSION
OF STRATEGY
REFINE AND ADAPT
STRATEGY
CREATE
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS
do
PLAN AND MANAGE
DELIVERY
check
EXPERIMENTS
EXPLORE
WITH EXPERIMENTS
As confidence increase, create the real solution
Move from exploring opportunities, to exploiting product solutions

VISION AND STRATEGY
(HYPOTHESES)
prototypes
quantitative
analytics
qualitative
fieldwork
marketing
experiments
innovation
lab
co-design
FIRST EXPRESSION
OF STRATEGY
REFINE AND ADAPT
STRATEGY
new
discoveries
WORKING
SOLUTIONS
CREATE
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS
do
PLAN AND MANAGE
DELIVERY
check
EXPERIMENTS
EXPLORE
WITH EXPERIMENTS
Even though we’re building a solution, it’s still an experiment
Continue to refine, adapt and experiment

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Lessons From The Trenches
(Global Blue Experience Report)
Lessons from the trenches.

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LessonOne
Test the right things,
in small chunks,
within a real system.

bit.ly/hypothesis-driven Good start,
but it’s harder than it sounds

This sounds okay,
but it’s not very easy to test

evolved version of hypothesis template
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AWARE, INFORMED AND ON-BOARDED
We believe that
Better informing travellers about Tax Free Refund steps and
process
!
Will result in
an increase in repeated usage of the Global Blue app
We will know we’ve succeed when
IN PROTOTYPE REAL
Number of ‘active/engaged’
users increases by
Accuracy of submitted forms
increases by
PLAN
Acquisition
6% 30%
This was to measure customer acquisition
All experiments are not created equal
But it’s not about product/market fit at all…
It’s about optimising the execution of a sign-up flow

LessonTwo
Aim for learning,
not validation.

Aspirational Customer Journey

Aspirational Customer Journey
Product Hypotheses

Aspirational Customer Journey
Product Hypotheses
Design Experiments

Aspirational Customer Journey
Product Hypotheses
Design Experiments
User Story Map

Aspirational Customer Journey
Product Hypotheses
Design Experiments
User Story Map
Data/feedback

10
HUNDREDS
of ideas
12 FOUNDATION
HYPOTHESES
maximum reach
foundation touch-points
mapped to revenue funnel
3 OF 12
validated
4 OF 12
in progress
5 OF 12
to be started

LessonThree
Changing people is harder
than changing software.

© 2015 ThoughtWorks, Ltd. All rights reserved.
HEAD OF
CUSTOMER
SUCCESS
FOUNDER
TECHNOLOGY
DISRUPTOR
PRACTICALLY
CURIOUS
SYNTHETIC
THINKER
BUILDER OF
BRIDGES
MASTER OF
GETTING WORK DONE
PRAGMATIC
DETERMINATION
FLEXIBLE
RULE BENDER
BOUNDARY
PUSHER
EMOTIONALLY
INTELLIGENT
AFFABLE
PURSUES
COMMON VISION
RELATIONSHIP
MAVEN
FRONT-END
ENGINEERING
INTERACTION
DESIGN
VISUAL
DESIGN
CUSTOMER
RESEARCH
SERVICE
DESIGN
DIGITAL
PRODUCT
STRATEGY
BUSINESS
ARCHITECTURE
TECHNOLOGY
ARCHITECTURE
SOFTWARE
DEVELOPMENT
RETAIL
STRATEGY
ORGANISATION
DESIGN
DELIVERY
ASSURANCE
DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION
right PEOPLE right SKILLS
Change needs to be owned, not imposed
Know your limits, don’t be a hero
Different phase of product development require different mindsets

© 2015 ThoughtWorks, Ltd. All rights reserved.
A few good reads from friends
http://bit.ly/uxscot-lean
http://bit.ly/uxscot-insights

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Lessons From The Trenches
(IAG Experience Report)
A few other helpful things.

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Saddle Row Example
Get familiar with lean techniques
Practice Customer Development on a fictitious business
Train your team to think big, start small, and act fast

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2
DESCRIPTION AND NOTES: write, draw or sketch how your idea works.
1
CATEGORY
OPERATIONAL BENEFIT
CONVERSION FUNNEL PRIMARY FOCUS
STREAMLINE
OPERATIONS
cost reduction
Acquisition
Activation
Retention
Revenue
Referral
Commercial
(viability, financial)
process improvement
CUSTOMER ARCHETYPE TYPE OF BENEFIT
IMPROVE EXISTING
PROPOSITION
Digital Natives
Family Traveller
Affluent Indulger
Mainstream Traveller
Value Vacationer
Purposeful Business
High Flying Globe Trotter
Flying Practitioner
Air Warrior
Value Business
__________
__________
__________
pain relief Technology
(feasibility, innovation)
CREATE NEW
PROPOSITION gain creator Experience
(desirable to customer)
TITLE:
A little structure can goes a long way
http://bit.ly/uxscot-idea-cards

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Questions?
http://thedogist.com

JONNY SCHNEIDER
Principal, ThoughtWorks UK
Service Design and Product Strategy
@jonnyschneider
jschneider@thoughtworks.com
THANKS