This keynote presentation is all about validating your user's needs as early as possible in the product management process. You will gain experience in the basics of Customer Development, smart user interviews and how these methods apply to Mobile. Basic concepts, best practices and tools sum up this talk.

1. 1@mrclng
…paper prototyping sprints at Google #IO15
#MAE2015

2. 0 What to Expect From This Talk
Audience:
people who deal with mobile app development
Content:
research & prototyping
basic concepts
best practices
examples & tools
2@mrclng #MAE2015

3. There are thousands of apps out there that nobody asked for.
How can we make sure we build something people actually need?
3@mrclng
?
#MAE2015

4. There are thousands of apps out there that nobody asked for.
How can we make sure we build something people actually need?
4@mrclng
?
…don’t waste our precious time & money?
#MAE2015

5. once upon a time…
…at a software company
5@mrclng #MAE2015

6. 1 check yourself!
6@mrclng
…implementation without prior validation
#MAE2015
after a necessary pivot, it took Roomister only five days and the right methodology

7. have you ever built
something you had to trash later?
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honest self-assessment
1

8. calculation
how to go broke over ideas
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65k / 12 * 2 = ~10k
*if you pay a dev 65k, and you have to trash 2 months of work…
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9. why do features fail?
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#MAE2015
1

10. why do our apps fail?
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?
#MAE2015
1

11. why do startups fail?
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1

12. why do multis fail?
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?
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1

13. 1 Some Food For Thought
Some Unicorns Might
Be Overvalued, But All
Dinosaurs Gonna Die.
@mrclng
“
Dave McClure,
Founder, 500 Startups
#MAE2015

14. premature deployment
bad idea
lack of user validation
2 A Burning Question
14
Why does most of what we build fail?
lack of funding
bad timing
lack of competence
@mrclng #MAE2015

15. premature deployment
bad idea
lack of user validation
2 A Burning Question
15
Why does most of what we build fail?
lack of funding
bad timing
lack of competence
@mrclng #MAE2015
if you validate early enough, you can hardly waste any money

16. late validation
the number one reason you trash software
16@mrclng #MAE2015
2

17. 17
Hi, I’m Marc
…and I am an efficiency advisor
@mrclng + startups, + multinationals…

18. 18
Marc C. Lange there’s supposed to be a video playing underneath this. if it doesn’t: blame keynote/adobe acrobat (;
Product Strategy, UX, Business Acceleration,
3x Founder, Google Expert & Google Design Sprint Master
@mrclng

19. 19
Hi, I’m Marc
…and I bring innovations to markets
@mrclng + startups, + multinationals…
no excuses: mobile is made for customer development

20. “I know the customer problem” and “I know the features to build”
are rarely true at the beginning of planning software
20@mrclng
!
#MAE2015
2

21. opinions are weak
hypotheses are key
21
rinse & repeat:
@mrclng #MAE2015
2

22. this is not
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…where to find out what to build

23. this is not
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…how to decide what to build

24. hypotheses are key
no more build, ship, trash!
24
RINSE & REPEAT:
@mrclng #MAE2015
2

25. methodology
25
mobile product strategy
@mrclng #MAE2015
3
how to fail less, more early and better

26. 3 Current Situation*
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the
clueless
spot
#MAE2015
plan
ship
test
Desired Situation
*in most companies
the
sweet
spot
know
ship
test
plan
ideally, data drives our decisions, not meeting room discussions

27. customer development
aka how to find out what to build and how to built it
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3
no excuses: mobile is made for customer development

28. 3 Customer Development
28@mrclng
You’re
here
#MAE2015

29. The three phases of Customer Discovery:
1. Problem-Solution fit: validate with prospects that you solve their problem to the degree
that they will buy it
2. MVP: build an MVP/a product that achieves (1) above and have it validated with
prospects
3. Sales Funnel: establish the customer's buying process & what you have to do to move
your customer through the funnel
29@mrclng
3 Customer Development: Customer Discovery
#MAE2015

30. The scientific method:
1. observe and describe a phenomenon (pain)
2. formulate a causal hypothesis to explain the phenomenon
3. use a hypothesis to predict the results of new observations
4. measure prediction performance based on experimental tests
30@mrclng
observe -> formulate -> predict -> test -> learn -> repeat
3 Customer Development: Customer Discovery
#MAE2015

31. 3 Customer Development Works for Features, too
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what & who how onboarding

32. 3 Customer Development Works for Features, too
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what & who how onboarding

33. problem-solution fit
the kind, nicer brother of solution-problem fit
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3

34. observation
user interviews
market analysis
3.1 Problem-Solution Fit
34
how to test before you test
user testing
analytics
design sprints
@mrclng #MAE2015

35. Customer interview dos & don’ts:
1. have a domain expert on your team
2. observe, study, then ask - avoid the lab
3. ask the right type of questions (H&W)
4. don’t ask wether they like your product
5. write it down & evaluate
6. no false opportunism
7. rinse & repeat continuously
35#GoogleLaunchpad@mrclng
3.1 Customer Development: Customer Interviews

36. compared to your users
you know nothing about your users
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3.1
don’t ask them wether they like your product

37. MVP
not your final…
product
app
feature
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38. Minimum Viable Product
the minimum unit that helps you gain the insight you need
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39. Make Validated Progress
a test vehicle, nothing more, nothing less
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40. 3.2 MVP
minimum viable product:
helps you test demand
does not have to be a feature, yet
does not have to be software
≠ your ‘final’ feature or app
40@mrclng #MAE2015

41. 3.2 MVP
A minimum viable product (MVP) is not necessarily the smallest
product imaginable, but whatever helps entrepreneurs start the
process of learning [from their customers] as quickly as possible.
#GoogleLaunchpad@mrclng
“
Eric Ries,
Author of „The Lean Startup“

42. 3.2 MVP
42
what to build before you test again
paper prototyping
digital prototyping
software prototyping
@mrclng #MAE2015
observation
user interviews
market analysis

43. proposed funnels
aka getting people to use your new build
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44. push
video
blog
3.3 Proposed Funnels
44
„have you heard of our new killer feature?“
in-app
social
email
@mrclng #MAE2015

45. 4 New Setup
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Solutions
the
sweet
spot
know
ship
test
plan
interviews, design sprints, analytics, observation
engineering, UX QA + proposed funnels
analytics (track everything!), and interviews
paper prototyping, mock-ups, software, interview
know before you plan, ship only validated features, save a lot of time & money

46. 5 Appendix: Featuritis / Creeping Featurism / Bloatware…
46@mrclng
unnecessary
core
nice to have
#MAE2015
sort all features into these three categories according to your customer development

47. 5 Appendix: Tools, Tools, Tools…
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• qualitative research w/ 8-12 users
• extract what they NEED vs. want
• care about N00bs
• think beyond the words
• get out there
• informal interviews
• interview in teams
• don’t dominate
• OBSERVE

48. 5 Appendix: Tools, Tools, Tools…
48@mrclng #MAE2015
• open questions
• manage silence
• specific vs. wide-open questions
• important: warm-up questions
• have a script
• five „whys“
• don’t pitch!
• prototype vs. presentation
• provide alternatives

49. Thanks…
Ever tried. Ever failed.
No matter. Try again.
Fail again. Fail better.
@mrclng
“
Samuel Beckett,
Author, Nobel Prize winner
#MAE2015