Stop Wasting Time on Technology Development

Stephen Fenwick

Speaker Bio

• Technology Development Specialist, Concept to Market

• 10 years in technology industry (Navman, Intel, etc)

• Worked in areas that extended company’s technological capabilities

• PhD in Computer Science (Australian National University)

Overview

• The problem:– A lot of technology development effort gets

wasted

• Why does this happen?– Difficulty integrating views of multiple

stakeholders

• How can we improve?

What’s so Hard?

• Small Auckland company building PC-based PBX product– Several reworks of technology before project cancelled

• Dialogic/Intel built CT Media (telephony middleware)– Strong technical drive– Good initial reception – especially trade press– Revenue was underwhelming – local office eventually

closed• Navman car navigation– Major problems deciding what product features to pursue

after initial success

Why does this happen?

The good…

The ugly…

The Pain

• Forget those bozos, we know best• Build it and they’ll come• Let’s just have fun• Just tell us what to build and we’ll build it• That looks like a customer, let’s chase it

Becoming Effective

• Understand different perspectives• Allow different voices to be heard• Reach as much agreement as possible– Avoid adversarial “win-lose” approach– Use objective data to avoid “loudest voice wins”

• Now plan way forward

Accept the inevitable…

… but see this as the starting point

Product development is:Enabler of business growth

Needs to know:How new product will advance business.

Is everything going OK?

Everything’s great…

That’s all wrong – you need to change everything!

Arrgh!!

This is how our technology development helps meet the company’s goals…

Where’s the revenue to justify the development expense?

Here’s half the budget you asked for.

With that budget we can expect revenue of $xx by this date.

Product development is:Cost centre with uncertain future revenue stream

Needs to know:Accurate picture of costs and projected revenue of new product

I’ve just sold a …. We can do that, right?

Yes, we can sell that

The new key product features are…

Product development is:Tool to help meet sales quota

Needs to know:Key product features and how to sell them to customers

What do you need?

We see an uptapped need for… How can we supply this need?

We have an idea for ... Do you see a market for this?

Product development is:An offer to meet needs of new markets

Needs to know:How product’s capabilities map to market needs

What can you give us?

Needs to know:How the product will add value for them

Here’s a great new feature. It’s just what you were waiting for, right?

This feature is great.

What do you like/dislike about the product?

This sucks!!!

Product development is:Going to make my day easier/more fun/…

orOh no… why have they changed everything?

Needs:Product that is easy to use and helps them

Bringing It Together

Encourage open, non-adversarial discussion to determine the best path forward

1. Pose the questions in the right way2. Allow all voices to be heard3. Summarise findings effectively4. Now plan strategy

Encourage Many Ideas

Real-Time

Traffic

Touch Screen

Camera

Symbian OS

Cost Reduction

Usability Testing

Improved Geocoding

Refresh Industrial

Design

Automotive Grade

Better Guidance

How Not To Ask

• Let’s build a product (or next release)! What shall we put in it?

Real-Time

Traffic

Touch Screen

Camera

Symbian OS

Cost Reduction

Usability Testing

Improved Geocoding

Refresh Industrial

Design

Automotive Grade

Better Guidance

A Better Way

• Focus on product capabilities one at a time• Avoids immediate focus on trading off

favourite ideas• Gather 360° perspective on each proposal

Communicate Proposal

121 Lucerne RdRemueraAuckland

Points of Interest

Landmarks

“Improved Geocoding”

Gather Viewpoints

Significant development cost,

but where’s the revenue stream?

Not a new feature, so hard to sell

This will help expand the market

beyond early adopters

Can I find my home? If not, I’m

not buying.

Can I find where I want to go? If

not I’m returning the product

Our aim is automotive

grade reliability.

Geocoding is a major source of bug reports, so is a clear weakness that should be fixed.

Summarise

CostCost to market: $500,000Time to market: 9 months

Benefits for CompanyHigher customer satisfactionLower rate of customer returns: $300,000 per annumWider adoption of product: $1,000,000 per annum

Strategic FitReadiness for automotive gradePushes product towards mainstream

Benefits for Customer/UserRapid ability to find intended destination

You now haveAbility to discuss impact on overall business of tech

development

Clear picture of costs and benefits; ability to

assess impact of budget changes.

Clearly articulate who you expect to buy product and why.

Understanding of how particular areas of functionality meet

market needs.

Ability to choose functionality that adds

real value.

Understanding of how users will actually use

the product.

Plan Product Releases

• You now know what’s possible• Define objectives of each product release– Target market– Specific customer needs– Revenue objectives

• Select features according to those objectives– You now have data to do this objectively

Conclusion

• Treat communication with multiple stakeholders as core part of tech development.

• Remember these stakeholders have very different viewpoints.

• Aim for styles of communication that engage different viewpoints in constructive way.

Questions?

• Slides available online:http://www.concepttomarket.co.nz/Articles++Downloads.html