Agile and Design Thinking A Romeo Juliet Story

Copyright 2014 COWAN+
Agile & Design Thinking:

A Romeo & Juliet Story
COWAN
+
Agile Design
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
ABOUT ME
Entrepreneur (5x)
Intrapreneur (1x)
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
ABOUT ME
ABOUT ME
www.alexandercowan.com
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
OUR SUBJECT
Agile Design
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
Empathy Creativity
DESIGN
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
AGILE
Individuals
Interactions
>
Processes
Tools
Working
software
Comprehensive
Documentation
>
Customer
collaboration
Contract
negotiation
>
Responding
to change
Following
a plan
>
OUR SUBJECT
Agile Design
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
TRAGEDY OCCURS TOO OFTEN
Agile Design
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
TRAGEDY OCCURS TOO OFTEN
The Commerce Family The Implementation Family
aka marketing, sales,
product management
aka engineering, operations,
project management
TRAGEDY OCCURS TOO OFTEN- WHY?
?
we measure our efciency locally
we want to feel we're completing our output
WHAT'S ESPECIALLY HARD FOR THE FAMILIES
1. Connecting with customer needs
2. Managing uncertainty
3. Describing for implementation
1. Implementation strategy
2. Managing changes in need
3. Distributing actionable inputs
WHAT'S ESPECIALLY HARD FOR THE FAMILIES
bigger families,
bigger disconnects
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
4 WAYS TO MAKE IT BETTER, MAKE IT WORK
1: IMPROVED
INPUTS
2: STORY-DRIVEN
COLLABORATION
3: TEST
ORIENTATION
4: BACKLOG
DISCIPLINE
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
1Creating High Quality Inputs
STORIES
Epic Stories
Stories
Test Cases
As a [persona],
I want to [do something]
so that I can [derive a benet]
AGILE USER STORIES- WHATIS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
Who is this user?
What makes them tick?
Who's an example of
such a person?
Why do they want to do this?
What's the benet/reward?
How will we know of it's
working?
DESIGN THINKING- PERSONAS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
DESIGN THINKING- PERSONAS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
NOT A GOOD PERSONA
Women
Age 28-45
Has kids
Socialize with other moms
Online with Facebook
86% said theyd like to be more
organized
70% said theyd use an
application that organizes them
Women
Age 28-45
Has kids
Socialize with other moms
Online with Facebook
86% said theyd like to be more
organized
70% said theyd use an
application that organizes them
NOT A GOOD PERSONA
Bullet points are almost
never vivid or detailed
Stock photo- not real
This is a huge
population- not exact
These responses are fake
actionable- survey responses
like this are unreliable
A BETTER PERSONA
Mary is a mom by choice. She had a successful career in accounting,
but welcomed the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. She loves it.
But its not like having kids purged her creative, social instincts. She
wants to connect, she wants to learn, she wants to interact. Being a
mom is a job and she wants to do it well. That means corresponding
with other moms on child education and keeping track of what works.
She posts to Facebook at least twice a week and responds to other
moms items more often than that.
She has a few blogs and publications she reads regularly
Mary the Mom
A BETTER PERSONA
the use of a rst name helps
w/ vividness (a little)
these full sentences look like a
good start towards something
vivid and detailed
this is a real photo of a
relevant person taken with an
iPhone in the real world
Mary is a mom by choice. She had a successful career in accounting,
but welcomed the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. She loves it.
But its not like having kids purged her creative, social instincts. She
wants to connect, she wants to learn, she wants to interact. Being a
mom is a job and she wants to do it well. That means corresponding
with other moms on child education and keeping track of what works.
She posts to Facebook at least twice a week and responds to other
moms items more often than that.
She has a few blogs and publications she reads regularly
Mary the Mom
DISCOVERY & LEARNING: THINK-SEE-FEEL-DO
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
V
A
R
I
E
D
ivid
The persona should
make anyone who reads
it feel like theyve
actually met this person.
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
V
A
R
I
E
D
ivid
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
If the persona doesnt
inform how you sell stuff
and build stuff, why
bother?
ctionable
V
A
R
I
E
D
ivid
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
eal
Good personas arent
created in cubicles. Go
where the persona is and
observe.
ctionable
V
A
R
I
E
D
ivid
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
eal
ctionable
Make sure you can identify
and target these personas,
or you wont be able to nd
a use for them.
dentiable
V
A
R
I
E
D
ivid
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
eal
ctionable
dentiable
Everyone is not your
customer. Make sure the
personas are distinct so you
can apply relevant focus.
xact
V
A
R
I
E
D
ivid
eal
ctionable
dentiable
xact
etailed
People are complicated
and so good personas
are usually pretty
substantial.
A LITTLE GAME FOR BETTER PERSONA DISCOVERY
Day in the Life
we look at a few photos for a given persona
you make some guesses about them
there are no right answers BUT
there is a right process: observe and infer
OBJECTIVE: get a feel for whats real; start to create something vivid
(not a full picture, just snippets)
OUR CAST
Sally the
Single Mom
WAKE UP!
WAKE UP!
GEARING UP FOR THE DAY
AT WORK
AFTER WORK
PRE-BED
BED
GEAR
IF I HAD 3 EXTRA HOURS
ABOUT SALLY THE SINGLE MOM
Whats her favorite kind of music?
Band/composer?
Where did she buy her last pair of shoes?
What movie did she last see?
What did she drink with dinner last night?
If she had a dog, what kind?
Whats her favorite magazine?
NEEDFINDING
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
X
PROBLEM SCENARIO
NEEDFINDING
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
X
What job(s) are you doing for
the customer?
What existing need or
behavior are you fullling?
PROBLEM SCENARIO
NEEDFINDING
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
?
X
ALTERNATIVE(S)
PROBLEM SCENARIO
NEEDFINDING
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
?
X
If they currently use
spreadsheets, watch them
use it and get a copy of it.
If they currently put notes on the
family fridge, ask about it,
photograph it.
ALTERNATIVE(S)
PROBLEM SCENARIO
NEEDFINDING
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
YOUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS
!
ALTERNATIVE(S)
?
PROBLEM SCENARIO
X
NEEDFINDING
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
X
Are they better enough than the
alternative(s)?
!
?
YOUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS
ALTERNATIVE(S)
PROBLEM SCENARIO
NEEDFINDING
and they have a certain
PROBLEMS(S)
where theyre currently using
certain ALTERNATIVE(S)
and I have a VALUE
PROPOSITION thats better enough
than the alternatives to cause the
persona to act (purchase, use, etc.).
A certain PERSONA exists
NEEDFINDING: THE PRODUCT HYPOTHESIS
!
?
X
PERSONAS
PROBLEM SCENARIOS
VALUE PROPOSITIONS
STORIES
Epic Stories
Stories
Test Cases
As a [persona],
I want to [do something]
so that I can [derive a benet]
AGILE USER STORIES- WHATIS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
INVEST IN AGILE STORIES
Independent
Negotiable
Valuable
Estimable
Small
Testable
Could this be
implemented on a
stand-alone basis or
does it presuppose
other content?
Independent
Negotiable
Valuable
Estimable
Small
Testable
Stories are not specs.
This is an input for you to
arrive at an optimal
implementation with the
developer, not a
functional requirement.
Independent
Negotiable
Valuable
Estimable
Small
Testable
What problem scenario
does this address?
How have you
validated your value
proposition for it?
Independent
Negotiable
Valuable
Estimable
Small
Testable
How hard is this vs.
the teams
experience? Is it
discrete enough?
Independent
Negotiable
Valuable
Estimable
Small
Testable
A big part of what makes
agile (and lean) work is the
use of small batches with
measurable results. Make
sure your stories are broken
down to workable sizes.
Independent
Negotiable
Valuable
Estimable
Small
Testable
How will you know if
its working in a way
where you can
validate its value?
CHILD STORIES
A) As an HR manager, I want to get a list of topics relevant to an open position from the functional
manager so I can set up a relevant and complete quiz for screening.
B) As an HR manager, I want to browse the quiz banks [of available questions] so I can make sure
Im subscribed to all the necessary topics for my quiz.
C) As an HR manager, I want to purchase additional quiz banks so I can add additional technical
topics to my quizzes.
D) As an HR manager, I want to create a custom quiz banks so I can add custom questions the
functional manager wants to add to the quiz.
E) As a manager, I want to set the quiz up for a possible recruit to use.
F) As an HR manager, I want to make the candidates scores available to the functional manager,
along with the rest of my notes.
EPIC STORY
EXAMPLE: AGILE USER STORIES
As the HR manager, I want to create a screening quiz so that I can understand whether I want to
send possible recruits to the functional manager.
EPIC STORY
EXAMPLE: AGILE USER STORIES
As the HR manager, I want to create a screening quiz so that I can understand whether I want to
send possible recruits to the functional manager.
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
STORYBOARDING AN EPIC
As the HR manager, I
want to create a
screening quiz so that I
can understand
whether I want to send
possible recruits to the
functional manager.
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
PERSONA MEETS HALLWAY CONVERSATION
So, I think feature [xyz]
should really be at the
top of our list
Yeah?
Tell me about the user.
Who are they? What are
they doing right now?
NEEDFINDING MEETS HALLWAY CONVERSATION
Here are a list of SEO
keywords related to the
exciting new solution
we built
What problems does this
solve for the customer?
What words do they use
to describe it?
2Enabling Story-Driven Collaboration
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
AGILE FOUNDATIONS
USER STORIES
DISCUSSION
DEVELOPMENT
VALIDATION
PERSONAS
PROBLEM SCENARIOS,
ALTERNATIVES
PROPOSITIONS
KEEPING IT TOGETHER
In-doc links to
personas and
problem
scenarios/
neednding
Ditto for
wireframes
X
PROBLEM
SCENARIOS &
ALTERNATIVES
What?
PRODUCT &
PROMOTION
/
CUSTOMER
DISCOVERY &
EXPERIMENTS
Tell me?
DESIGNING A VENTURE (VENTURE DESIGN)
PERSONAS
Who?
USER
STORIES &
PROTOTYPES
How?
Scale?
Pivot?
VALUE
PROPOSITIONS
& ASSUMPTIONS
What if?
!
VENTURE DESIGN (IN REVERSE)
!
PRODUCT &
PROMOTION
USER
STORIES &
PROTOTYPES
Did the implementation
deliver on the story?
/
CUSTOMER
DISCOVERY &
EXPERIMENTS
How did the
customer/user
react?
VALUE
PROPOSITIONS
& ASSUMPTIONS
!
Was the
implemented
story relevant to
the proposition?
X
PROBLEM
SCENARIOS &
ALTERNATIVES
Is problem
relevant? Is the
proposition
better vs.
alternatives?
THINK SEE
FEEL DO
PERSONAS
Do we
understand this
person? What
makes them
tick?
COLLABORATION MEETS HALLWAY CONVERSATION
We have an amazing
new thing now where
users can [x] their [y]
Cool. Who does this?
Whats the trigger?
Whats the rst thing that
happens?
Then what?
How do we know if they

have a good outcome?
3
Staying Focused on Validation
EVIDENCE-BASED INNOVATION VIA LEAN STARTUP
Do I have real evidence from my buyer
that this is compelling?
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
What are the key assumptions required
to make this business work?
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
How do I denitely prove or disprove the
assumptions with a minimum of time
and effort?
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
Am I reacting or am I focused on
validating my pivotal assumptions?
Pivot or persevere?
CASE STUDY: DROPBOX
OPPORTUNITY
Underlying demand and supporting
infrastructure ready for a great le sharing
app.
CHALLENGE
Building a great cross-platform app.
required VC funding. VCs saw a space
with lots of existing competitors struggling
to get traction.
CASE STUDY: DROPBOX
Persona
Problem
Scenario
Alternatives
Value Prop.
Tom the Techie- early adopter who works on projects that require swapping a lot of les between a
shifting network of collaborators.
Its difcult to share les between a network of collaborators, particularly if theyre: big or numerous or
change a lot.
Many existing products, but none of them super compelling and widely adopted.
Also, custom setups which work but are cumbersome to set up and maintain.
A le sharing service that truly feels transparent to the user across all major platforms- OSX, iOS,
Windows, etc.
What Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?
That you can bootstrap?
That doesnt require software at all?
THE WIZARD OF OZ MVP
Result: Excellent traction and
conversion to sign-ups.
Strong validation signal.
Created a synthetic demo
tailored for early market
(techies), promoted it, and
measured email sign-ups.
DOCUMENT UX ASSUMPTIONS AS YOU GO
Lets assume.
Then test.
Lets not
argue
EXAMPLE ASSUMPTIONS & EXPERIMENTS
brand lattice UI:
Drag and drop isnt yet in common use.
Would users get it?
Noted as key assumption and became early
focal item in user test
ITERATING BASED ON TEST RESULTS
70% of users
didnt get the
drag and drop
in this version
This change in
the annotation
was enough so
they got it
THE MTP
P
inimum
estable
roduct
T
M
PARING AWAY ASSUMPTIONS VIA MTP
Experiment Learn
Hypothesize
Lean Startup-
Style Assumptions
Pivotal
assumptions
about
relevance
Do they care?
Tactical
assumptions
about
usability
Can they use it?
It has rough edges. We should x it before we
show people.
Just show it to volunteers on
user testing. Do it soon.
What if smoothing out those
rough edges is 100% waste
because there are deeper
usability issues?
We only have a few people right now in our target
market (persona).
If you can get close in terms of
prole, just give the user testing
a try.
VALIDATION MEETS HALLWAY CONVERSATION
Im super excited about
[this idea]. Im working
on the business case to
sell management so we
can start building
Sound neat.
Whats the central
proposition? Maybe
theres a way we can
bootstrap some proof
points.
That would super charge
your business case.
4Planning The Work, Working the Plan
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
THE BACKLOG
Story
Backlog
RELEASE X
P
R
I
O
R
I
T
Y
ITERATION 01
ITERATION 02
. . .
ITERATION N
Story A
size = x
Story B
size = y
Story C
size = z
Story D
size = a
Story N..
size = c
Story E
size = b
. . .
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
THE STANDUP
1. What did I accomplish
last [period]?
2. What do I plan to
accomplish [this period]?
3. What's impeding my progress?
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
AGILE MANAGEMENT IN 4 FUN & EASY STEPS
SET AN ITERATION
Usually 1-4 weeks, shorter is
probably better in the
beginning. Stick to the list in
this period.
2. Explicit
Iteration
CREATE STRONG
STORIES
Inputs matter a lot. They're
usually preceded by quality
design research.
0: Strong Stories
PRIORITIZE A LIST
Make it a little longer than you
think you can achieve- that
way if someone gets stuck
they can move to something
else.
1. Prioritized List
TRACK WITH
STANDUP'S
Even if it's on email, do the
standup daily or at least weekly.
3. Regular
Standup's
VALIDATION MEETS HALLWAY CONVERSATION
Oh! I just [talked to a
customer, read a blog,
saw a demo] and I have a
great new idea. Can we
just put it in right this
second?
We can denitely put it
in if you think it's
important.
Let's write a story for it
that's anchored in a
problem scenario and if
you want you can put it
at the top of the
backlog for the next
iteration.
HERE'S TO A HAPPY ENDING!
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
acowan@alexandercowan.com
@cowanSF
www.alexandercowan.com/venture-design
Slides: bit.ly/ac2SUGAR
www.alexandercowan.com/startup-sprints
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Copyright 2014 COWAN+

Agile & Design Thinking:

How do we know if they

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