The business of software is not about the product really Does "P" mean Product or Project? Does it matter? We always talk about Product though... are we talking about the same Product here? Answer: "A product is something you build a sustainable business around."
Regression analysis: Simple Linear Regression Multiple Linear Regression
The product is not "the product". Who owns it anyway?
1. The Product is NOT
“the Product”
mini Agile Day - May 17 2014
Donato Mangialardo
Business of Software (Product) Coach
2.
Companies:
Silicon
Valley
(10
Years)
and
Italy
(9
years)
Products
and
Solu4ons:
SaaS
PLM
(Product
Lifecycle
Management),
RecruiAng
soBware,
Assessment
AutomaAon
SaaS
Smart
Energy
Management
SoluAons
CAD/PDM
-‐
Product
Data
Management,
Product
Design
collaboraAon
tools
Main
Focus:
Product,
Product,
Product
(management
and
markeAng)
Product
Strategy
Personas,
User
Stories,
Roadmaps
About
what
I
do
3. The
System
The
PlaPorm
The
SoBware
The
FuncAonaliAes
We
do
projects
for
our
customers
Services,
Projects
Product
??
5. So,
what
do
we
mean
by
“Product”?
What
Problem?
Who
has
it?
Do
we
solve
it
uniquely?
AlternaAves?
Will
people
want
our
product?
At
what
price?
How
will
they
buy
it?
How
do
we
make
money
with
it?
Revenue
Model?
How
do
we
go
to
market?
How
to
repeat
business?
None
of
these
is
“The
SoBware”
8. The
product
is
the
“whole
thing”
PROBLEM
(NEED)
WHO
HAS
THIS
PROBLEM?
SOLUTION
UNIQUE?
COSTS
HOW
to
SELL/
BUY?
…
9. Very
useful
models
Business Model Canvas (Alexander
Osterwalder)
Lean Canvas (Lean Startup + Alexander
Osterwailder + Ash Maruya)
Product Canvas (Lean Startup + Alexander
Osterwailder + Roman Pichler)
10. REVENUE MODEL
How do we make money with it
PROBLEM
The top problems we
aim to solve
EXISTING
ALTERNATIVES
How these problems are
solved today or
conditions that lessen
the need of our solution
SOLUTION
How we solve the
problem(s) in section 1
METRICS
What we measure to track
progress
UNIQUE VALUE
PROPOSITION
Simple, clear, effective
sentence that turns a
casual “visitor” into an
interested prospects that
“wants a demo”
ANALOGY
Something that pictures
our product. We are the
Ferrari of something. (the
best) Or, the Google Apps
of something (cheap and
easy to deploy)
COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE
What we do very well,
that the
market(section2)
appreciates and that
is hard to emulate for
others
TARGET MARKET
For whom we solve a given
problem in section 1. The
target segments of the
market.
(Buyer Personas)
EARLY ADOPTERS
List the “perfect
customers”, those who
would buy the product
today
CHANNELS
Path to/From Customers
COST STRUCTURE
Fixed and recurring costs
25
9 6
4
87
1 3
11. REVENUE MODEL
How do we make money with it
PROBLEM
The top problems we
aim to solve
EXISTING
ALTERNATIVES
How these problems are
solved today or
conditions that lessen
the need of our solution
SOLUTION
How we solve the
problem(s) in section 1
METRICS
What we measure to track
progress
UNIQUE VALUE
PROPOSITION
Simple, clear, effective
sentence that turns a
casual “visitor” into an
interested prospects that
“wants a demo”
ANALOGY
Something that pictures
our product. We are the
Ferrari of something. (the
best) Or, the Google Apps
of something (cheap and
easy to deploy)
COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE
What we do very well,
that the
market(section2)
appreciates and that
is hard to emulate for
others
TARGET MARKET
For whom we solve a given
problem in section 1. The
target segments of the
market.
(Buyer Personas)
EARLY ADOPTERS
List the “perfect
customers”, those who
would buy the product
today
CHANNELS
Path to/From Customers
COST STRUCTURE
Fixed and recurring costs
25
9 6
4
87
1 3Most
important
ones!
12. But…
we
are
about
Projects.
We
don’t
sell
“Products”
So,
we
don’t
need
any
of
those
Canvas!
14. A group of customers with one problem
Potential customers
Supports a repeatable business
Unknown lifecycle
Several plausible scenarios
Quality is very expensive
Complex: business model, analysis, marketing,
sales, support, revenue model, etc.
One
customer
at
a
Ame
ExisAng
customers
Specific
deliverables
Limited
duraAon
A
few
defined
scenarios
Cost
of
quality
is
limited
RelaAvely
simple
Project
Product
15. But…
who
is
the
customer
again?
Is
it
my
client?
…my
client’s
customers?
…my
client’s
customer’s
customers?
17. That is …
Something you can build
a sustainable business around
Example: a digital marketing company (formely known as web agency, at least
in italy)
Product: ability to build and offer a specific set of services service that make a
group of target customers happy and paying, in a repeatable, sustainable
manner
18. Very
useful
acrodd
the
board
Business
evaluaAon
and
Investor
pitch
StarAng
up
a
business
Manage
a
business
(and
related
products)
Take
a
product
to
market
Brainstorm
new
ideas
Understand
what
the
market
really
needs
As
in
“why
are
we
doing
this?
We
should
do
that
instead…”
22. Most
difficult
parts
These
don’t
depemd
on
“our
soluAon”
They
exist
regardless
of
“us”
They
are
not
made
up
in
a
room
filled
by
smart
people!
These
need
you
to
get
outside
the
building!
23. In
other
words…
The
answer
to
most
of
your
quesDons
is
not
in
the
building.
PragmaAc
MarkeAng
hdp://bit.ly/1eLM3yM
Get
outside
the
Building!
Eric
Ries
hdp://bit.ly/18rPN0X
24. Most
difficult
part
again…
Start
wit
something
(think
product
and
start
draBing)
25. Then,
iterate
MVP1
MVP2
MVP3
Real,
Measurable
Progress
Build
Minimum
Viable
Products
of
your
canvas
26. I
don’t
want
to
see
any
canvas!!
Get
back
to
work!
Alright…
In this case just do it “secretly” as much as you can.
Then show progress and lead
27. Case
Study
The
paper
sheet
(the
persona
technique
at
work)
Sorry…most contents are in Italian
28. “Le
Personas
mi
sembravano
una
.
Invece
sono
uno
strumento
formidabile”
Passionate Scrumaster
Participant @ Product Ownership Camp 2013
29. 2006
“Cloud”
Company
SaaS
PLM
Urlo
di
dolore
delle
vendite
(=tum)
“Manca
l’integrazione
con
altri
sistemi”
“I
clienD
ce
la
chiedono
sempre”
30. “OK
facciamo
sta
integrazione.
Ma
in
3
mesi!”
Disse
il
CEO
“Basta
assumere
uno
che
conosca
bene
entrambi
i
sistemi,
e
via!
“
Disse
il
CTO
31. 2
anni
dopo
…
Tudo
come
prima,
ma
spendendo
di
più
“Prendiamo
un
Product
Manager
per
le
integrazioni!”
– dissero
quasi
tum
Missione:
definire
che
integrazione
fare
e
come
32. 3
semmane
dopo…
La
missione
diventò:
• Perchè
nessuno
ha
usato
l’integrazione
aduale?
• Perchè
dovremmo
fare
una
integrazione?
• Quale
problema
vogliamo
risolvere?
• Per
chi?
• Come
moneAzzeremo
la
soluzione
a
questo
problema?
33. Dopo
alcuni
iterazioni
…
Interviste
e
triangolazioni
varie
…
Il
“Product
Manager”
trova
un
“padern:”
34. Mad
Progemsta
Sistemi
eledromeccanici
industriali
Integrazioni
?
L
Nuovi
sistemi
?
L
Non
voglio
perdere
tempo
e
rischiare
di
sbagliare
L
Sono
un
progemsta
J
voglio
conAnuare
ad
esserlo!
35. so
that
…
• Ma8
wants
to
share
his
design
with
suppliers
for
a
prototype
run.
• He
need
to
generate
automaAcally
specific
neutral
file
formats
from
his
several
3D
CAD
models
so
that
he
can
save
Ame
and
distracAon
from
his
core
engineering
tasks.
He
is
required
to
do
this
several
Ames
during
his
working
week
36.
37.
Obiemvi
di
Business
• Sviluppare
prodom
che
soddisfino
requisiA
funzionali,
siano
consegnaA
in
tempo,
massimizzano
il
riuAlizzo
di
componenA,
siano
in
linea
con
regolamentazioni
e
cosA,
etc.
Mad’s
Personal
Goals
• Mad
adora
progedare
componenA,
risolvere
gli
intricaA
problemi
di
meccanica
che
incontra
ogni
giorno.
E’
anche
molto
bravo
nel
farlo.
• Mad
ha
una
vita
e
persino
una
famiglia,
fuori
dall’ufficio
tecnico.
OK
le
emergenze,
ma
non
vuole
impazzire
fino
a
tarda
sera
ogni
santo
giorno.
• Mad
ODIA
budare
via
il
suo
tempo
nel
passare
a
mano
daA
da
un
sistema
all’altro.
ODIA
excel.
Il
suo
lavoro
è
diventato
ormai
un
incubo.
Passare
daA
sbagliaA
è
un
rischio
che
corre
tum
i
giorni,
cosa
che
avrebbe
gravi
conseguenze
in
rpoduzione,
persino
un
“recall”
• Sono
un
progemsta
e
voglio
conAnuare
ad
esserlo!
Environment
• Team
of
15
Mech
engineers
on
MCAD
and
XDOC
and
3
locaAons
around
the
world
(US,
NL
and
Philippines)
A
perfect
day
• I
resolve
a
design
problem
with
a
cool
soluAon.
It
gets
the
product
out
back
on
schedule
and
my
boss
praises
my
deep
technical
skills.
I
go
back
home
on
Ame
Primary User Persona
Matt il Progettista CAD
Sistemi elettromeccanici industriali
38. I
WANT
TO
BE
AN
ENGINEER!
SHIP
DATE
RECALLS
ERRORS
CAST
Primary
Buyer
persona:
Brad
VP
of
Opera4ons
I
want
my
product
out
the
door
on
$me
and
at
the
right
cost,
maintaining
quality
standards.
Brad
needs
the
product
record
updated
as
oBen
as
possible.
The
informaAon
provided
by
engineer
forms
the
foundaAon
for
many
of
his
decisions
and
forecasts.
Therefore
any
barriers
to
adopAon
or
use
of
the
tool
he
can
eliminate,
directly
improves
his
effecAveness
and
accuracy.
Secondary
Buyer
persona:
Henry,
VP
of
Engineering
I
want
my
team
to
be
able
to
build
products
on
$me
and
in
a
predictable
and
cost
effec$ve
way.
Accuracy
of
my
product
record
is
everything.
And
I
need
my
team
to
be
able
to
be
produc4ve
with
no
arAficial
barriers.
Accuracy
of
the
product
record
is
in
quesAon
when
SuperCAD
is
used
in
conjuncAon
with
any
BOM
management
tool.
His
team’s
producAvity
is
negaAvely
impacted
as
well.
Primary
User
persona:
Ma8,
the
Mechanical
Engineer
I
want
to
be
an
engineer.
I
don’t
want
to
spend
Dme
doing
the
same
thing
on
two
different
systems.
This
is
manual,
error
prone
and
$me
consuming
Mad
is
wasAng
40
hours
per
product
release
on
the
manual
upload
of
item
and
part
data
39. Persona:
• Un
ritrado
composito
di
un
gruppo
di
persone
reali,
che
viene
visto
come
una
persona
vera.
40. Brad
Responsabile
delle
Operazioni
(VP
Of
OperaAons).
“Sono costantemente sotto pressione affinche’ il
prodotto venga consegnato ai clienti nei tempi
stabiliti e con la qualita’ stabilita”.
Non dormo bene di notte perche’ so che che il
minimo errore potrebbe costarmi la carriera nel
caso di un recall.
41. Personas:
personificazione
di
daA
provenienA
da
una
ricerca
Valore:
“vivificazione”
dei
daA
persona
vera,
che
A
parla,
che
ha
nome,
volto,
problemi
e
necessità,
desideri
e
doveri,
punA
dolenA
e
obiemvi.
E’
una
tecnica
di
modellazione
della
realta’
esiste
indipendentementa
da
nostro
prododo
43. The
Power
of
Personas
• Riconoscibile
• Internalizzabile
• Parlante
• I
propri
occhi
• RequisiA
e
priorita’:
the
“Why”
• Connessioni
44. • Dev1:
“Questo
piacerà
da
maR
ai
clienD!!
“
• Dev
2:
“Guarda
che
MaS
non
ha
bisogno
di
fare
questo
perchè
ha
bisogno
di
fare
quello
prima”
• Dev1:
“Va
beh,
ma
non
sarebbe
troppo
ganzo?”
• Dev2:
“Si,
ma
facciamo
felice
MaS
prima!”
45. LIVE
INTERVIES
Best
• NO
focus
groups
• NO
surveys
• NO
sales
interviews
only
• Potenziali
clienA/utenA/buyers
nel
loro
ambiente
lavoraAvo
46. Dangers
(paths
to
“cagata
pazzesca”)
• Trying
to
find
an
average
set
of
adributes.
• Average
=
“killing”
• Use
demographics
only
• Outsource
Ownership
(one-‐Ame
project)
• Brainstorming
and
CreaAvity
49. Come?
• Ricerca,
assunzioni,
elemenA
chiave
• ParAre
con
qualcosa
(MVP)
• Uscire
dall’ufficio
• Iterare
(LOOP)
• Mad
1.0
–
use
it,
share
it,
see
if
others
recognize
him
• Iterare
(LOOP)
• Then
magic
happens!!
You
will
recognize
when
you
have
nailed
down
a
persona
(like
in
a
ficAonal
serial
killer
book)
50. IngredienA
• Credibilità
• Zero
opinioni
personali
• Autorevolezza
• Ascoltare
e
scomporre
problemi
• Vedere
paderns
• Ricomporre
fedelmente
• Iterare
(Minimum
Viable
Persona)
Customer
Involvement
Root
Problem
vs.
Symptoms
56. Start
• At
the
start,
all
you
have
is
an
inkling
of
a
problem,
a
soluAon,
and
maybe
a
customer
segment.
• Do
not
rush
to
Build
a
soluAon,
Pick
a
Customer
Segment
or
Business
Model
57. My
method
(5-‐5-‐100)
• Turn
what
we
know
today
into
AssumpAons,
Falsifiable
Hypothesis.
Including
potenAal
buyers
and
their
problems,
the
revenue
model
etc.
• Understand
what
you
need
to
ask
• Interview
them
5
live
(round
I)
• Loop
back
to
improve
assumpAons,
hypotheses,
buyers
• See
paderns,
build
learning
into
the
“product”
• Rebuild
interview
quesAons
• Interview
them
5
live
(round
II)
• …
• Close
loop
• Survey
100
people
58. Personas
• Ricerca,
assunzioni,
elemenA
chiave
• Start
with
something
(MVP
where
P=Persona)
• Test:
GET
Outside
the
Building
• Iterate
–
persevere/pivot
• Brad
1.0
–
use
it,
share
it,
see
if
others
recognize
him
• Iterate
–
persevere/pivot
• Then
magic
happens!!
You
will
recognize
when
you
have
nailed
down
a
persona
(like
in
a
ficAonal
serial
killer
book)
• Brad
2.0
• Survey
100
59. Details
about
the
persona
discovery
process
Just
like
a
“Product
Requiremnent
Document”
is
not
a
useful
final
deliverable
Personas
are
always
work
in
progress
Treat
it
as
a
Product,
an
Experiment
60. • Persona
descripAon
must
be
precise
• Personal
Goals
must
be
well
understood
• Can
accommodate
secondary
personas
only
if
that
does
not
violate
the
primary
persona
goals
• Usually
there
is
one,
2
is
ok,
3
is
too
much
(break
problem
down)
61. Prima
di
tudo…
• Se
l’azienda
ha
varie
linee
di
business
e’
bene
parAre
dall’area
piu’
opportuna
• Un
certo
mercato
potrebbe
essere
troppo
vasto
per
riuscire
ad
idenAficare
una
unica
buyer
persona.
• Focus
(align
to
Vision)
62. Ricerca
(prima,
dopo
e
durante)
• Read
everything
they
read
• Adend
seminars
they
adend
• Monitor
conference
topics
• Talk
with
Sales
people
• Gain
info
from
winloss
analysis
• Use
your
website
to
capture
persona
info
(who
looks
for
what,
how
much
Ame
etc)
• Interview
them
where
they
work
• Interview
on
the
phone
• Interview
at
conferences
• Triangulate
buyer
informaAon
from
CRM
reports
63. ParAamo
Cominciamo
col
raggruppare
informazioni
Un
gruppo
di
persone,
rilevante
per
il
ns
progedo,
che
ha
cose
in
comune.
Demografiche,
di
business,
responsabilita’,
di
area
di
competenza
decisionale.
64. LIVE
INTERVIES
• E’
semplicemente
il
metodo
piu’
efficace
ed
efficiente
• NO
focus
groups
• NO
surveys
• NO
sales
interviews
only
• Abbiamo
dedo
LIVE
INTERVIEW
• Potenziali
clienA
nel
loro
ambiente
lavoraAvo
65. ElemenA
da
cadurare
• Priority
IniAaAves
• Sleep
deprivaAon
• Success
Factors
• Perceived
Barriers
• Buying
Process
• Decision
Criteria
• Personal
drivers
(not
hygienic
drivers)
66. Non
e’
Facile
• Un
giro
di
interviste
deve
avere
gli
stessi
obiemvi
per
poter
poi
comparare
i
risultaA
e
trovare
PATTERNS
• L’abilita’
di
individuare
PATTERNS
e’
fondamentale
• Il
management
deve
capire
e
dare
la
giusta
priorita’
a
questa
amvita’.
Sta
a
voi!
• ESEMPIO:
Mad
• Fatelo
anche
“di
nascosto”
67. Ma
non
c’e’
un
modo
piu’
veloce?
• Basta
chiedere
alle
vendite
!
• Ma
facciamo
un
focus
group!
• Facciamo
dei
gran
surveys!
68. Resist
this
temptaDon
• Surveys
are
useful
when
you
know
what
the
quesDon
is.
• Focus
groups
can
get
people
to
choose
the
best
of
three
alternaDves.
• But
these
techniques
are
OK
for
validaDng
what
you
already
know.
• The
buyer
persona
interview
process
goes
deeper
to
idenDfy
the
ques$ons
you
don’t
know.
69. Learn
and
deliver
at
the
same
Ame
• Chi
lavora
sulla
sintesi
delle
personas
vive
una
forte
internalizzazione
del
mercato
adraverso
gli
occhi
del
cliente.
• Il
processo
iteraAvo
di
rilascio
interno
e
validazione/
pivot
(pista
di
indagine)
porta
lo
stesso
vantaggo
agli
altri
componetni
del
team.
• Come
se
tum
fossimo
insieme
nella
squadra
invesAgaAva
in
vari
ruoli.
70. Elements
of
the
persona
descripAon
• Title,
years
in
this
job,
reports
to,
age,
educaAon
• CompuAng
skills,
apps
used,
frequency
and
proficiency
• Typical
day
in
the
life
• A
perfect
day
• Typical
interacAon
with
the
product
• Top
of
mind
issues
*
• How
rewarded
or
moAvated
*
• Personal
Goals
*
• Other
(Industry
specific
info,
etc)
71. Ma
cosa
e’
veramente
importante
per
loro?
• Where
people
send
their
Ame
reflects
their
prioriAes
beder
than
what
they
say.
• So
you
can
ask
a
lot
on
non-‐direct
quesAons
to
figure
that
out.
• The
biggest
signal
that
you've
hit
on
something
worth
probing
is
when
you
find
customers
spending
a
lot
of
Ame
or
money
on
clearly
inadequate
soluAons.
http://blogs.hbr.org/anthony/2012/01/
_usually_the_question_comes.html
73. The
Power
of
Personas
• Quando
abbiamo
la
persona
“in
pugno”
accadono
cose
meravigliose
• The
Dev
team…
– Understands
requirements
with
less
detail
and
specificaAon
– Makes
good,
reasonable
implementaAon
decisions
independently
– Raises
valid
concerns
and
opportuniAes
– Stays
focused
on
the
real
requirements
and
avoid
being
sidetracked
by
edge
cases
74. The
Power
of
personas
• The
Product
Team
understands
whether
a
feature
should
be
implemented
for
power
or
ease-‐of-‐use
• The
team
members
will
focus
on
delighAng
personas
instead
of
themselves.
75. The
Power
of
Personas
The
MarkeAng
Team
knows
what
language
to
use
and
what
topics
are
more
valuable
when
– WriAng
anything
in
the
website
– Semng
up
a
campaign
– WriAng
whitepapers
– Organizing
events
– Design
the
social
plaPorm
– Design
the
content
markeAng
process
and
contents.
– Create
buyer-‐centric
content
that
focuses
on
educaDng
-‐
not
selling
• They
talk
in
terms
of
Brad
would
want
to….
Brad
does
not
care
about
this!
Brad
does
not
know
what
Single
instance
mulAple
tenant
means!!
76. Management
Team
• The
Management
team
understands
beder
what
we
are
doing
and
why
• It’s
easier
to
“convince”
if
needed
• Knows
we
know
what
we
are
doing
• Knows
who
they
should
invite
or
visit,
read
about.
• Knows
why
a
painful
decision
has
been
made
(see
Adele’s
example)
77. Magically..
the
click!
Decisions
become
magically
easier
• Brad
does
not
go
to
this
event,
why
should
we?
• Brad
hates
direct
email.
He
researches
soluDons
in
his
professional
network
• Brad
reads
these
magazines:
we
need
to
be
there
• Brad
does
not
know
about
technology.
Let’s
not
bore
him
to
death
with
that
webinar
• Design
this
other
kind
of
webinar!
78. No
Shortcuts!
Overo,
come
evitare
“una
cagata
pazzesca”
Common
misuse
of
the
Personas
methodology
include:
• Trying
to
find
an
average
set
of
adributes.
(Average
here
means
“killing”
informaAon)
• Making
up
personas.
• Use
demographics
only
and
other
superficial,
non-‐personal
data
that
do
not
speak,
do
not
tell
us
anything.
79. Sources
and
acknowledgments
PragmaAcmarkeAng.com
–
The
Buyer
Personas
InsAtute
The
lean
Startup,
Eric
Ries
Running
Lean,
Ash
Maurya
Management
3.0,
Jurgen
Appelo
The
buyer
persona
insAtute,
Adele
Ravella
The
Inmates
Are
Running
the
Asylum,
Alan
Cooper
The
New
Rules
of
MarkeAng
and
PR,
David
Meerman
Scod
Tuned-‐in,
C.Stull,
P.Myers,
D.Scod
Market-‐driven.it,
Donato
Mangialardo
Malcolm
McDonald,
hdp://www.malcolm-‐mcdonald.com/biog.htm
80. More
Sources
• Mary
and
Tom
Poppendiecks
• Allan
Cooper
• joelonsoBware.com
• productpersonas.com
• Rally
soBware
• Sinan
Si
Alhir
• Ken
Schwaber
• Mike
Cohn
• Dean
Leffingwell
• Tom
Peters
• Peter
F
Drucker
• Feature
plan
• Jeff
Padon
81. Le
Personas
non
si
fanno
in
ufficio!
GET
OUTSIDE
THE
BUILDING
Suona
Familare?
82. Q&A
Ma
quante
personas
ci
sono?
QuanA
canvas
devo
usare
se
ho
N
prodom?
Quei
riquadri
li
devo
fare
proprio
tum?
84. Business
and
marketing
functions
are
important
as
development,
deserving
an
equally
rigorous
methodology
Steve
Blank
85. Lean Agile Italy
How do you distill and crystalize customer
and business needs into your “Agile”
product development process?
Product Ownership Camp 2013
What are the role and Responsibilities of a Product
Owner? Who owns what?
Origin
of
contents
Catalyst: Fabio Armani
@fabioarmani http://www.linkedin.com/in/armani
XPUG-Genova
Who is the subject of a user story? Which customer?