LPCx Barcelona: How to use the design thinking methodology to revamp your API?
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The document discusses the application of design thinking methodology in revamping APIs for Weekendesk, a travel industry company facing challenges such as low margins and fierce competition. It emphasizes understanding user needs, collaborative stakeholder engagement, and iterative prototyping to develop a user-centered API product. Key takeaways include the importance of addressing underlying problems, understanding the operational context, and securing stakeholder alignment for successful product implementation.
LPCx Barcelona: How to use the design thinking methodology to revamp your API?
- 1. Revamp your APIs by using design thinking methodology Alessandro Pintaudi Lead Product Manager @ Weekendesk
- 3. The travel industry 10 years ago...
- 4. The travel industry ..5 years ago...
- 5. The travel industry ..and now
- 6. Global context of the e-travel Low margins High Entry Barriers Poor technological knowledge Sales driven organizationsFierce rivarly among existing competitors Demanding Customers Powerful alternatives (e.g. Airbnb)
- 7. The problem we wanted to solve “Increase the global generated revenues without further investments in marketing and with the same operational structure”
- 8. What we knew
- 9. The assumption we have made “Extend the current B2C distribution model to B2B companies, by leveraging the existing technology and providing easy and fast API integrations.”
- 10. The options we had VSSales Driven Approach Product Driven Approach
- 11. Option 1 - Sales driven approach
- 12. Option 2 - Product driven approach
- 13. Get all stakeholders on board “The better a PM is aligned about the WHY and the WHAT, the more autonomy he will be granted with regards to HOW exactly to built it.” — Arne Kittler, Director Mobile Product Management, XING
- 14. Autonomy through alignment Good alignment should be a collaborative effort during which ● the tricky questions about an upcoming initiative are discussed ● the underlying thinking of an initiative is sharpened for clarity of intent ● the results are made transparent to get everyone “on the same page”
- 16. What is Design Thinking? “Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” — Tim Brown, president and CEO, IDEO
- 17. What is Design Thinking? “Design thinking is a tool that equips stakeholders and product teams with a deep understanding of their users so that they can ideate, prototype, and test user-centered solutions”.
- 18. Human-centeredapproach Needs of People Possibility of technology Requirements for business success Deep understanding of the users
- 20. Understanding Phase Empathize & Define
- 21. Understanding Phase Who are our users ? What they need? What is the context? Who is offering the same service? Why would they benefit from it?
- 22. What we discovered Needs for quick and fast integrations Possibility of accessing Weekendesk deals The end users of our product were developers Players with a B2B model New players in the industry Fast time to market
- 23. Our User Persona - The Developer “API designers should ask how APIs can support the business function and not how they can support the needs of IT.” Phillipp Schöne, Axway
- 24. Exploring Phase Ideate & Prototype
- 25. The tool we used
- 26. Design thinking vs Design Sprint
- 27. Design Sprint - The process
- 28. Gathered the team together ❏ Identified key participants ❏ Explained the Project Vision and Business Goals ❏ Shown the User Research and User Journeys ❏ Competitive Overview ❏ Technical opportunities
- 29. Draw a Customer Journey Map “With a customer journey map, the solutions your team ideates, prototypes, and tests will be much more informed—and they’ll ultimately save you from costly redos.”
- 30. Diverging - Mind Mapping ❏ Empowered the team ❏ Listed all the ideas ❏ Clustered them into actionable
- 31. Clusters of ideas Security Well structured and clean data Versioning Multi language support Error management Dev Oriented Q&A section Clear and self explained documentation API usage restrictions Interface DX - Dev Experience Test Environment Live test / docs Payment Scalability Performance Media and content handling Backend
- 32. Diverging Phase ❏ Forgot any constraints ❏ Came up with diverse strategies ❏ Be creative, not crazy
- 33. Converging Phase ❏ Chose the best idea or ideas ❏ Defined the long term product / strategy ❏ Came up with the MVP and a plan actionable in the short term
- 34. Prototyping ❏ Minimum viable product ❏ Quick and dirty solution ❏ Address basic needs ❏ FITYMI strategy
- 35. Materializing Phase Test & Implement
- 36. Internal and External User Testing ❏ Gathered feedbacks ❏ Reiterated the prototype ❏ Re-tested again
- 37. Implementation Phase ❏ Well defined product is sent to IT ❏ Easier to understand ❏ Increased productivity and proactivity
- 38. What we have learned? Any product thinking should start from the underlying problem it is trying to solve.
- 39. What we have learned? Understand the context and the complexity environment in which we operate is fundamental.
- 40. What we have learned? Without proper frameworks and iterative approach we would have implemented a different product.
- 41. What we have learned? The importance of getting various stakeholders onboard is key to ensure autonomy during the project.
- 42. Any questions?