KTH-SICS Annual Cloud Day 2011 2011-09-14 Stockholm

1. KTH-SICS Annual Cloud Day 2011
Product Development in Cloud Land
Why you should be tenacious in your product vision and
how to deal with customer feedback
Mikael Lirbank
Founder of Witsbits
mikael@witsbits.com
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

2. Focus on Customers from Day One
What up?
Customer Development!
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

3. Focus on Customers from Day One
What up?
Lean Startup! Iterate!
But don't do what they tell you to do
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

4. Customer Development
More startups Fail from a Lack of Customers than
from a Failure of Product Development
Steve Blank Eric Ries
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

5. Customer Development
Focus on Customers from Day One
(Customer Development)
Stop selling, start listening
(Customer Development)
Continuous customer contact
(Lean Startup)
http://www.slideshare.net/sblank/customer-development-at-startup2startup
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

6. Focus on Customers from Day One
Will reduce the risk of building something
no-one wants
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

7. Focus on Customers from Day One
Will reduce the risk of building something
no-one wants
Will increase the risk of building something that
already exists
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

8. Focus on Customers from Day One
Will reduce the risk of building something
no-one wants
Will increase the risk of building something that
already exists
1) Customers refer to what they know to describe what they need
2) and satisfying too many needs creates a very “feature rich” product.
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

9. Feedback Interpretation
I need water!
(I am thirsty)
I need water!
(my flowers are fading)
I need water!
(my car is overheating)
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

10. Feedback Interpretation
Water? Sorry, we don't have
that feature yet!
I need water!
(I am thirsty)
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

11. Feedback Interpretation
I need iSCSI support!
(I need file storage with fail-over) – technical reason
I need iSCSI support!
(I want to use my own storage subsystem to keep everything in
one place) – practical/policy reason
I need iSCSI support!
(I've invested a boat load of money in my existing iSCSI storage
subsystem and I WILL use it) – prestige/feeling
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

12. Feature Creep in Disguise
Customer
A structured process
may hide a feature
creep
Re
qu
t
ire
uc
d
d
pro
fea
tur
ow
e
Sh
Product Add new feature Product team
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

13. Feature Request Options
Implement feature
A
Feature request
B
Redefine target group
Is the feature not in alignment with your product vision? → B
Can we sell what we have to someone else? → B
Is the feature in alignment with your product vision? → A
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

14. Validate your Stance
Be loud with what you don't do!
If customers turn you down
– you know your stance!
If customers don't turn you down
– you know your stance!
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com

15. Summary
Don't loose your vision
– Or your product will become a pale version of some existing product
mikael@witsbits.com www.witsbits.com