Huang, Innovation Advisory – Professional Services, ASEAN, AWS Innovation starts with the working backwards from the customer. In this session, we will share how this approach plus culture and other mechanisms can enable everyone to be an innovator. Hear about how your company can build an effective system and an environment that will foster and support human creativity and drive technological progress.

1. © 2018, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Wen Huang
Innovation Advisory – Professional Services, AWS ASEAN
Working Backwards

2. Starting with the customer and
working backwards

3. It’s our thing

4. AMAZON CONFIDENTIAL

5. Customer delight is our ultimate goal

6. A M A Z O N C O N F I D E N T I A L

7. A M A Z O N C O N F I D E N T I A L

8. A M A Z O N C O N F I D E N T I A L

9. Moments

10. Moments

11. Great products and services come from
deeply understanding the customer.

12. Step 1: Start with the Customer
Step 2: Craft the Working Backwards documents
Step 3: Refine the documents
Working backwards process

13. Working backwards documents
Press Release FAQ Visuals

14. 1. Who is your customer?
2. What is the customer problem or opportunity?
3. What is the most important customer benefit?
4. How do you know what your customer needs or wants?
5. What does the experience look like?
5 Questions

15. 1. Who is your customer?
2. What is the customer problem or opportunity?
3. What is the most important customer benefit?
4. How do you know what your customer needs or wants?
5. What does the experience look like?
5 Questions

16. A M A Z O N C O N F I D E N T I A L

17. Meet Tatiana McLeod
“Travel is important to me. I keep a list of places I want to visit,
and I use various sites for inspiration and last minute deals. I
want memorable experiences in my life and I want it on my
terms. ”
C O N T E X T
66% of millennials consider travel an
important part of their life
Young travelers projected to take 320 million
international trips annually by 2020
H E R N E E D S
Personalization - seeks unique experiences for
her holidays.
Convenience – be inspired, informed, and plan
trips all from her mobile device.
*source: virtuoso.com

18. 1. Who is your customer?
2. What is the customer problem or opportunity?
3. What is the most important customer benefit?
4. How do you know what your customer needs or wants?
5. What does the experience look like?
5 Questions

19. “Our theories determine what we measure.”
– Albert Einstein
Identify your assumptions
Look beyond your frame of references
Data Driven
Improve and iterate quickly
Measure, Improve, and Iterate

20. GET TO KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS

21. SIMULATE THE EXPERIENCE

22. https://www.flickr.com/photos/havoc315/
SIMULATE THE EXPERIENCE

23. Press release
• Focus on the customer need
• The customer quote is key
• Leap into the future: Think BIG
• Avoid jargon
• Say it simply and clearly

24. The FAQ
• Include both customer FAQs
and stakeholder FAQs
• Include the hard questions
• Share your Press Release early
to gather questions

25. The Visuals
• Rough idea – rough drawing
• Match fidelity to maturity of your
idea
• Don’t be afraid to be provocative
• Create discussion

26. It’s a conversation starter
to achieve clarity and
customer focus.

27. We read, discuss, debate
and ask questions.

28. We revise, and
make the idea better
with each iteration.

29. We push ourselves to invent on
behalf of the customer.

30. © 2018, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or Its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
It’s about the Culture
§ Culture is the “software of the mind.” It is the core
logic that organizes people’s behavior.
§ The culture reflects the lessons learned that are
important enough to pass on to the next generation.
§ Values, beliefs, and practices that have been
developed and reinforced over time.
Culture is “the way we do things around here.”

31. © 2018, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or Its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Cultural Trends We Are Seeing
Moving from
§ Failure is not an option
§ Command-and-control
§ Silos “throw it over the wall”
§ Long due diligence
§ Talent outsourcing
Moving toward
§ Learning (start small, experiment, and iterate)
§ Decentralized ownership (guardrails via cloud CoE)
§ DevOps and cross-functional teams
§ Adopt early and often
§ Talent insourcing/niche partnering

32. Customer delight is our ultimate goal

33. Thank You!