MHA2018 - Validate It Before You Build It: The Experiment Canvas - Brad Swanson
- 1. VALIDATE IT BEFORE YOU BUILD IT! THE EXPERIMENT CANVAS
- 2. BRAD SWANSON Build and Elevate • Software delivery & strategy consulting • CI/CD & Docker training 2 brad@kelsus.com @bradswanson bradswanson
- 3. “I MIGHT BE WRONG” • Think of a product or a feature you built that failed: it didn’t do what your users needed, or didn’t attract & retain enough customers. • What assumptions were made that turned out to be wrong? 3
- 5. EXPERIMENT CANVAS: PRODUCT EXAMPLE 5 4. Uncertainties / Risks (re: value / market, business viability, usability, technical feasibility) • Many merchants will offer deep discounts on last-minute inventory • Consumers will buy last- minute deals from app Which is riskiest / least certain? • Merchants – deep discounts 1. Problem/Opportunity • Small merchants can’t easily sell perishable (last minute) inventory (e.g. event tickets) Existing solutions/ alternatives? • Online & email marketing • Storefront banners 5. Experiments • Survey Chamber of Commerce members • Facebook page for local merchants to offer last- minute deals Lowest cost viable experiment? (survey, lo-fi mock, hi-fi mock, fake door, explainer video, concierge, prototype, A/B test, crowd funding) 6. Success Criteria • 10+ deals offered/week • Avg discount 40%+ • 1000+ likes in 1 month • 100+ purchases month 1 What does success look like? (Objective / quantifiable) 2. Customer segments • Small brick-n-mortar merchants • Bargain hunters Early adopters? • Small town merchants catering to locals 3. Possible Solution • Mobile app marketing last-minute deals What makes it costly? • Large scope, multiple platforms to support Inspired in part by the Lean Canvas from Ash Maurya
- 6. EXPERIMENT CANVAS: FEATURE EXAMPLE 6 4. Uncertainties / Risks (re: value / market, business viability, usability, technical feasibility) • Customers don’t trust a startup app to store their credit card info securely Which is riskiest / least certain? 1. Problem/Opportunity • Customers can save their credit card info to more easily make future purchases Existing solutions/ alternatives? • Enter card info every time 5. Experiments • Market research • Pop-up asking if customer wants to store card info • Implement the feature! Lowest cost viable experiment? (survey, lo-fi mock, hi-fi mock, fake door, explainer video, concierge, prototype, A/B test, crowd funding) 6. Success Criteria • > 25% of customers select ‘Yes’ in first month What does success look like? (Objective / quantifiable) 2. Customer segments • Repeat customers • Security-conscious consumers Early adopters? • Tech-savvy users familiar with ecommerce payment services 3. Possible Solution • Use Stripe (payment processor) to securely store customer credit card info What makes it costly? • Requires switching payment platforms Inspired in part by the Lean Canvas from Ash Maurya
- 7. EXPERIMENT CANVAS 7 4. Uncertainties / Risks (re: value / market, business viability, usability, technical feasibility) Which is riskiest / least certain? 1. Problem/Opportunity Existing solutions or alternatives? 5. Experiments (survey, mockup, fake door, explainer video, defer automation, A/B test, crowd funding, use existing platform) Lowest cost viable experiment? 6. Success Criteria What does success look like? (Objective / quantifiable) 2. Customer segments Early adopters? 3. Possible Solution What makes it costly? Inspired in part by the Lean Canvas from Ash Maurya
- 8. EXPERIMENTS / MVP • Market research / surveys (?) • Explainer Video • Crowd Funding experiment (e.g. Kickstarter, Indiegogo) • Fake door: ‘Coming soon’ web page with sign-up form • ‘The man behind the curtain’ - defer automation (opaquely) • Concierge MVP – defer automation (transparently) • Paper prototype • Clickable mock / wireframe • A/B test • Minimal Viable Feature (MVF) – simplest thing possible • Use an existing platform, e.g. Facebook, Wordpress • 3D printed prototype 8
- 10. VIDEOMVP 10
- 11. ‘COMING SOON’ – WHO WANTS IT? 11 http://www.freedownloadbest.com/best-coming-soon-templates/
- 13. MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN 13 https://www.flickr.com/photos/thelampnyc/
- 15. 15 CLICKABLE MOCK WITH INVISION
- 18. YOUR TURN TO CANVAS • Form groups of 3-6 people. • Select a realistic product idea of your choice • Create your canvas. Briefly #1-3; focus on #4-6 Stumped for a product idea? Try one of these. 18 Problem / Opportunity Possible solution It’s hard to track what I eat every day to monitor my nutrition. Chatbot to record what I eat; instant feedback on nutrition. There isn’t a good social network only for pet lovers. ‘Instagram for pets’ Backpacks are bulky and cumbersome. Lightweight stowable pack that fits in a pocket or purse Tools are expensive and I need them rarely ‘AirBnB for tools’
- 19. 19 Weak tech practices lead to firefighting. Firefighting kills innovation. Software craftsmanship & CI/CD with Docker are the cure. Kelsus will show you how.