Main Takeaways: -Know your customers better!! -Engage and co-design solutions with customers. -Validate and answer the question - 'Why will customers use my solution?'

1. www.productschool.com
Going Beyond Customer Asks
by Microsoft Product Leader

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5. Going Beyond
Customer Asks
Vinay Jagannatha Rao
PM - Microsoft

6. Introduction
• >5 years product experience
• B2B and B2C
• Software engineer before PM
• MBA , Indian School of Business

7. Why go beyond customer asks?
What the customer
wants? (as explained)
What the customer
needs? (reality)
The way it was
understood
The way it was
designed
The way it was
built/programmed
Difference + Time + Usability

8. How?
1. UNDERSTAND THE
CUSTOMER WANTS
2. DEFINE CUSTOMER
NEED AND CO - DESIGN
3. VALIDATE DESIGN &
BUILD

9. Step 1: Understand the
Customer Wants!

10. Know more about the problem
Identify the personas
Analyse impact
Outcome = One pager document!
Secondary Research

11. Recruit
Teamates/
Internal
Customers
/ External
Outcome = Schedule meetings
with required stakeholders!
Account
Managers,
Engineering,
Design

12. Framing the problem
Questions 1x1 conversations /
Focus groups
Notes
Outcome = List of problems you can prioritize!

13. Step 2. Define need &
co-design!

14. Define the
Need
Jobs to be done (Wants > Needs)
Outcome = List of jobs/needs which can be prioritized!
Customer Want -> I should be able get food delivered in 30 mins
End user am hungry
Place an
order
Food is
delivered in
30 mins
Restaurant
owner
am notified
about the
order
Start
preparing the
food
The delivery
agent can pick
up the food in
20 mins

15. Co-design
Conduct design sprint
Generate ideas to solve the problem
Vote/ stack rank
Outcome = Ideas to design your solution!

16. Step 3. Validate Design and
build!

17. Why will the customer use my solution?
Outcome = Designs which are ready for internal evaluation!
Self Evaluation Customer Evaluation

18. Socialize to get
more feedback!
Engineering
Internal partners
Data
Outcome = Designs ready to be implemented!

19. So what have we done?
What the customer
wants? (as explained)
What the customer
needs? (reality)
The way it was
understood
The way it was
designed
The way it was
built/programmed
Difference + Time + Usability

20. Key takeaways
Understand the customer wants!
Define the customer needs and co-design!
Validate designs!
Build -> Get feedback -> Iterate
Engage with customers and internal stakeholders through-out the journey!

21. Thank
You!!
Vinay Jagannatha Rao
Gmail: vinay.karlekar@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinay-j/

22. www.productschool.com
Part-time Product Management Training Courses
and
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