How We Make Apps And Services at Harmonypark.

1. how we make apps and services
@culturengine/@mikee

2. what we do
apps
Web Services
startup Incubation
Product development
Online x Offline installations

3. we approach brand projects in the same way
we approach making apps and web services
for startups.
1. work out the minimum viable product/idea
2. validate/test the idea in the real world
3. keep testing and improving

4. MVp
Minimum viable product

5. a minimum viable product (mvp) filter helps
you to launch apps and services for less
budget and in a shorter timeframe by
focusing teams on what is critical to
validating a product, idea or market

6. 1
brainstorm and brain-dump a
wish list of features that
your app/idea/experience
should/could have

7. 2
describe in detail the
context and benefit of each
feature so everyone is
on the same page

8. 3
conduct a blind vote
on what features are critical
to viability

9. EXAMPLE
steps 1-3 give you a mvp feature list that you
can base prototyping and production upon

10. The mvp should focus on the key features
such that if you took any one of them away,
the app/idea wouldn't work or wouldn't be
fit for purpose

11. you should discuss any outlier votes to learn
why they are only perceived as critical by
a minority. this will either convince all
voters that they are critical, or the
outlier voters that they are not

12. making an mvp takes the ego out of what
gets built because no ideas are killed off,
they are simply deemed currently critical to
viability, or added to a feature backlog of
things that might get implemented later

13. we used the mvp technique when making chatterbucks

14. chatterbucks showcases a new computer
vision engine from sam hare that recognises
2d images (photos, logos, packaging, print,
billboards etc) and triggers augmented
reality experiences on devices like ipad/
iphone/android
you can find out more about:
the app: http://chatterbucksapp.com
the engine: http://bit.ly/re-wired
sam^hare: http://twitter.com/therealsamhare

15. we were going to make a game as our proof
of concept, but using the mvp process we
launched the minimum viable app that we
thought would both engage a user and
showcase the technology
this meant we had an app live in the itunes
store in 4 weeks, not 6-12 months!

16. chatterbucks was simple, but it was featured
by apple on every itunes app store homepage for
two months leading up to xmas as a ‘noteworthy’
or ‘staff favourite’ app

17. if we had taken the traditional approach we
might still be building a larger initial
feature set...
instead, we are enjoying the rewards of a
live app that has been heavily downloaded,
entertained people around the world and
generated a ton of leads for our
augmented reality engine

18. you can read more about mvp here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_viable_product
http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2009/08/minimum-
viable-product-guide.html
http://www.slideshare.net/startuplessonslearned/2011-03-11-
eric-ries-the-lean-startup-sxsw

19. A/B TESTING
(ALWAYS BE TESTING!)

20. a/b testing can help to evolve a good idea
into a successful product or experience
your team should be testing their ideas and
executions as they go from concept through
to execution, and most importantly,
post-launch

21. A FAMOUS RECENT EXAMPLE OF ONLINE A/B TESTING
THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN TRIED OUT 24 DIFFERENT CONTENT AND
CALL-TO-ACTION COMBINATIONS TO IMPROVE ONLINE DONATIONS

22. RESULTS YOU CAN BELIEVE IN!
SOURCE: HTTP://BIT.LY/HQ6NDW
HTTP://SLIDESHA.RE/ECBUME
THEIR A/B TESTING LEAD TO A 40.6% CONVERSION IMPROVEMENT
WHICH HELPED TO RAISE $60 MILLION AND FUND THEIR CAMPAIGN

23. A/b
the testing game

24. take a look at the creative on the next slide
and choose which copy you think will lead to
greater conversion for our social expense
tracking service expensure.com

25. A b
Which copy will be more effective?

26. A
b
Version ‘a’ is approx. twice as effective so far
(at the time of publishing this test is still going)

27. A b
Which design will be more effective?

28. A b
@$!* @$!*
@$!* @$!*
@$!* @$!*
design ‘b’ has 55% better conversion than ‘a’

29. we think
testing helps turn a static idea into a process
of improvement, and it’s not just for startups
testing can be a fun part of the creative
process, not something dull to outsource
creative minds are curious minds and it’s
crazy to end the creative process when
an idea goes live. this is where the
fun/learning truly begins

30. how long should a test be?
read: Easy statistics for AdWords A/B testing
http://bit.ly/gE1csz
What tools can you test with?
try google ad words and optimizely.com

31. thanks for reading!
you can try out some of our latest creations here:
http://thriveapp.com
http://elementalise.com

32. @harmonypark
info@harmonypark.net