Slides from Alison Heittman's Rant + Rave = Roadmap session at MoDevEast's Marteting & Monetization track, on December 13, 2013

1. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
Alison Heittman
CEO, Solertium
we build web & mobile apps for
outstanding brands and causes
#modeveast

2. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
secretly, I am
disclaimer: I’m not really the Lipstick Librarian, but it is
appropriate to address me as Alison, Lady of Glencoe.

3. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
you are here because:
1. you care about what your users (people) want,
or when they’re having a problem, or when
they want to tell you you’re awesome

4. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
you are here because:
1. you care about what your users want,
or when they’re having a problem, or when
they want to tell you you’re awesome
2. you might not want to be the only one
supporting them

5. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
I believe this is
just the start:
#modeveast

6. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
sometimes, this is the team:
the indie developer

7. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
in my case, the team is typically:
developers
- iOS
- Android
- UX
- graphic design

8. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
in my case, the team is typically:
developers
corporate IT
- iOS
- Android
- UX
- graphic design

9. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
in my case, the team is typically:
marketing
corporate IT
developers
- iOS
- Android
- UX
- graphic design

10. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
in my case, the team is typically:
marketing
corporate IT
developers
- iOS
- Android
- UX
- graphic design
training

11. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
in my case, the team is typically:
marketing
corporate IT
developers
- iOS
- Android
- UX
- graphic design
3rd party product teams
training

12. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
in my case, the team is typically:
marketing
corporate IT
developers
training
- iOS
- Android
- UX
- graphic design
3rd party product teams
back of house

13. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
in my case, the team is typically:
marketing
corporate IT
developers
- iOS
- Android
- UX
- graphic design
3rd party product teams
training
front of house
back of house

14. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
in my case, the team is typically:
users (people!)
marketing
corporate IT
developers
- iOS
- Android
- UX
- graphic design
3rd party product teams
training
front of house
back of house

15. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
pieces & parts
menus
user accounts
branding &
marketing
user preferences, data
- favorite items
- favorite stores
- recent orders
- wallet/cards on file
games
shopping cart &
checkout
social feeds
store information
loyalty program

16. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
So where do I find
all this feedback?
#modeveast

17. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
non-app channels
this is hard:
this is harder:
•
your corporate website
contact form
•
Comments on press or
app review sites
•
iTunes & Google Play
comments
•
•
3rd party ratings sites,
like Yelp, TripAdvisor,
Foursquare, etc.
your social media
accounts
•
•
personal blogs & social
media accounts
your physical locations

18. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
(wow, that can be
pretty public)
#modeveast

19. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
in-app feedback/support
•
•
•
•
•
feedback form
mobile view of the
corporate website
“contact us” form
email link
user forums
help desk widgets
•
•
chat tools
•
•
•
•
screenshot tools
advanced “assistant”
tools
crash analytics
ratings prompts
FAQs

20. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
And, just as important...

21. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
where (virtually) is the team?
•
•
•
•
•
•
email
chat
customer-focused help desk(s)
project management system(s)
developer-focused issue tracking system(s)
social media

22. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
the challenge:
1. finding & responding to the feedback & solving
any outstanding issues - in a way that doesn’t pile
on a lot of extra work.
2. aggregating all the feedback to help drive
your roadmap

23. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
what we do
#modeveast

24. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
users do this:
and
also
front & back of house,
training
entire team
marketing
marketing,
front & back of house
#modeveast

25. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
(we find they want to tell us things like)
•
•
•
•
•
I LOVE YOUR APP!!
I HATE YOUR APP!!!
Your app needs to....
How do I...?
So this went wrong:
•
I got to the store, and it
was awesome
•
I got to the store, and it
wasn’t awesome
•
This other app does X,
why don’t you?

26. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
& then we add on helpful data like:
•
•
•
•
platform (iPad, iPhone, Android)
version of the app
version of the operating system
most recent order data (date/time, store location, order
ID)

27. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
& we send it to places like
(we really <3 tools that will take in data via email or webhook)

28. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
& then we make the users happy
•
feedback gets routed across the team, so no one person
has to deal with it all
•
on some projects, we route by topic, so app feedback is
forwarded to the developers, order & store feedback
goes to the corporate help desk, suggestions go to
marketing, etc.
•
•
** we all work in our own systems **
at any time, all team members can see all the feedback

29. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
& we also regularly do this:

30. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
and periodically we all talk
marketing
corporate IT
developers
- iOS
- Android
- UX
- graphic design
3rd party product teams
training
front of house
back of house

31. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
& hammer out this:
$
(you know, the roadmap)
#modeveast

32. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
& hammer out this:
corporate goals
$
(you know, the roadmap)
#modeveast

33. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
& hammer out this:
corporate goals
varying agendas
of the teammates
$
(you know, the roadmap)
#modeveast

34. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
& hammer out this:
corporate goals
varying agendas
of the teammates
$
user behavior
and feedback
(you know, the roadmap)

35. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
And we frequently
find that it’s this
that drives &
informs the
discussion, and
enables the users
to be represented
@alisonheittman
#modeveast

36. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
plus: the customer service
bonus round
Because we’ve been personally reaching out
to & interacting with the users, as we
prioritize & build out features that are of
specific interest, we can casually email them
to give them a heads up that the latest build
has their fix/feature/request

37. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
and then all these people are happy:
users
marketing
corporate IT
developers
- iOS
- Android
- UX
- graphic design
3rd party product teams
training
front of house
back of house

38. Rant+Rave=Roadmap
@alisonheittman
#modeveast
see this guy to learn how:
Rob Heittman
Opening Next-Level Dialogue
with Native App Users
via Appygram
11am @ Conference A
Or track me down at @alisonheittman.
I seriously LOVE talking about in-app support.