Customer 
Insights 
for 
Product 
Strategy 
h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/10225205296/ 
Johanna 
Kollmann 
~ 
@johannakoll 
WebExpo 
2014, 
Prague
“product 
architect” 
“product/UX/technical/delivery 
person” 
Photo 
by 
Shahar 
Nechmad
Customer 
Insights 
! 
“Customer 
insight 
is 
an 
oft-­‐used 
buzz-­‐word 
covering 
the 
process 
of 
using 
internal 
or 
external 
data 
to 
describe 
and 
predict 
customer 
behaviour.” 
Deloitte 
website 
business 
pitch 
speak.
Generative 
Evaluative 
Quantitative Qualitative 
Contextual 
inquiry 
Mental 
models 
Interviews 
Diary 
studies 
Adapted 
from 
Eigures 
by 
Janice 
Fraser, 
Nate 
Bolt, 
Christian 
Rohrer 
Surveys 
Interviews 
Automated 
card 
sort 
Surveys 
Automated 
studies 
Analytics 
A/B 
Testing 
Multi-­‐variant 
testing 
Usability 
testing 
Moderated 
card 
sort 
Wizard 
of 
Oz
Product 
Strategy?? 
https://flic.kr/p/nEao4R
Existing 
product New 
product 
Quant 
data 
to 
find 
out 
WHAT 
! 
Qual 
data 
to 
investigate 
WHY 
Limited 
quant 
data 
! 
(Contextual) 
qual 
insight 
to 
observe 
WHAT 
and 
understand 
WHY 
data mission
1) 
Challenges 
2) 
Skills 
3) 
Opportunity
1) 
Challenges 
2) 
Skills 
3) 
Opportunity
Lean 
Startup 
https://flic.kr/p/cfkUz7 
Customer 
Development??
Agile 
Lean 
Product 
Innovation 
Consulting
New 
= 
risky 
! 
Often a lot at stake for the owner/instigator. 
Hard to determine scope. 
Hard to plan. 
New tech/data structure/processes. 
Change (management).
Research 
= 
tricky 
! 
Customers can be hard to find/access. 
Lack of data. 
What to test with? 
Can’t be planned as well (no ‘agile recipe’). 
Research as a safety net, a crutch for making decisions.
1) 
Challenges 
2) 
Skills 
3) 
Opportunity
Generative 
Evaluative 
Quantitative Qualitative 
Contextual 
inquiry 
Mental 
models 
Interviews 
Diary 
studies 
Adapted 
from 
Eigures 
by 
Janice 
Fraser, 
Nate 
Bolt, 
Christian 
Rohrer 
Surveys 
Interviews 
Automated 
card 
sort 
Surveys 
Automated 
studies 
Analytics 
A/B 
Testing 
Multi-­‐variant 
testing 
Usability 
testing 
Moderated 
card 
sort 
Wizard 
of 
Oz 
Know 
research 
techniques 
! 
Pick 
up 
new 
ones
Product-­relevant 
insights 
! 
What we saw 
What it means 
Why it matters
Product-­relevant 
insights 
! 
What are they doing now? 
What mental models do we have to be aware of? 
What competitors do we have to be aware of? What is of value to 
them about the competitors? 
What are their needs and how do our value proposition and 
features match these? 
Which attitudes and needs are standing out across all people we’ve 
seen? 
What are we worried about now? 
….
by 
@lukew 
Set 
your 
product 
up 
for 
insights 
from 
day 
one
1) 
Challenges 
2) 
Skills 
3) 
Opportunity
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thank 
you! 
 
! 
Say 
hi: 
@johannakoll 
! 


Customer insights for product strategy

  • 1.
    Customer Insights for Product Strategy h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/10225205296/ Johanna Kollmann ~ @johannakoll WebExpo 2014, Prague
  • 2.
  • 3.
    Customer Insights ! “Customer insight is an oft-­‐used buzz-­‐word covering the process of using internal or external data to describe and predict customer behaviour.” Deloitte website business pitch speak.
  • 4.
    Generative Evaluative QuantitativeQualitative Contextual inquiry Mental models Interviews Diary studies Adapted from Eigures by Janice Fraser, Nate Bolt, Christian Rohrer Surveys Interviews Automated card sort Surveys Automated studies Analytics A/B Testing Multi-­‐variant testing Usability testing Moderated card sort Wizard of Oz
  • 5.
  • 6.
    Existing product New product Quant data to find out WHAT ! Qual data to investigate WHY Limited quant data ! (Contextual) qual insight to observe WHAT and understand WHY data mission
  • 7.
    1) Challenges 2) Skills 3) Opportunity
  • 8.
    1) Challenges 2) Skills 3) Opportunity
  • 9.
  • 11.
    Agile Lean Product Innovation Consulting
  • 12.
    New = risky ! Often a lot at stake for the owner/instigator. Hard to determine scope. Hard to plan. New tech/data structure/processes. Change (management).
  • 13.
    Research = tricky ! Customers can be hard to find/access. Lack of data. What to test with? Can’t be planned as well (no ‘agile recipe’). Research as a safety net, a crutch for making decisions.
  • 14.
    1) Challenges 2) Skills 3) Opportunity
  • 15.
    Generative Evaluative QuantitativeQualitative Contextual inquiry Mental models Interviews Diary studies Adapted from Eigures by Janice Fraser, Nate Bolt, Christian Rohrer Surveys Interviews Automated card sort Surveys Automated studies Analytics A/B Testing Multi-­‐variant testing Usability testing Moderated card sort Wizard of Oz Know research techniques ! Pick up new ones
  • 18.
    Product-­relevant insights ! What we saw What it means Why it matters
  • 19.
    Product-­relevant insights ! What are they doing now? What mental models do we have to be aware of? What competitors do we have to be aware of? What is of value to them about the competitors? What are their needs and how do our value proposition and features match these? Which attitudes and needs are standing out across all people we’ve seen? What are we worried about now? ….
  • 20.
    by @lukew Set your product up for insights from day one
  • 21.
    1) Challenges 2) Skills 3) Opportunity
  • 22.
            
  • 23.
    Thank you!  ! Say hi: @johannakoll ! 