To develop and manage “the best product” of the technological age, define processes, do not miss the metrics of view nor accumulate leadership roles. Or opt for a military strategy, such as Xing.
Anthony Douglas launched the current platform Hole19 in 2014, but the first product manager started working in the company just this Friday. So far, the young man of 34 years, was divided themselves (and weekly) in two: for two days managed everything that had to do with the application development – who wants to be a kind of Zomato for golfers; the other three competing you decide everything that had to do with the business. Since April 2014 there were 800,000 users on the platform. It is a product in constant development.
Decide how to improve the user experience, which features to add or remove and why design choose are choices that do not stagnate in a technological product. The need to update and adjust platforms web or mobile is constant. Check the before and after as well. For the product that Anthony Douglas is developing in Hole19 – and that is totally focused on mobile devices. – The demands were mostly in the “detail”
Anthony Douglas launched the Hole19 in 2012, but the new product has only been developed in 2014
“If you want your application to be highlighted in the App Store, for example, have to be developing something really special. We devote much of our time to design the application of the animations to the user experience, “said the observer. It is with the app that has been developing that wants to “turn the world of golf” – golfers fields – such as Zomato makes consumers and restaurants. Maybe it was not by chance that Gil Belford, former responsible for the overall growth of the Indian company, has been chosen for a new chief operating officer (COO) of Hole19.
Now that the signings line up and starts able to devote himself full time to the management of the company, Anthony remembers what cost him more in the last two years. To you and the team designer and engineers responsible for developing the mobile application. “The first difficulty that we felt was trying to figure out exactly what the user’s pain, what were we to solve. At the time, users were asking me many things and I, almost like a blind, followed everything they said. Not now. Now I can filter and try to see if that change will add something to our vision. Sometimes you have to say ‘no’, gain distance and take tougher decisions “, he said.
“the first difficulty that we felt was trying to figure out exactly what the user’s pain, what were we to solve”
Anthony Douglas, leader of Hole19
Diogo Teles, 29, agrees. Responsible for part of product development and management in venture capital Faber Ventures and coorganizador of Product Tank in Lisbon – Meeting ( meetup ) to people in the product area – explains the Observer that the feedback of users is important yes, but it must be read “in a healthy way.”
“I realize that there are many entrepreneurs that do not add this feedback in one place, cumulatively and organized. And this is a dilemma, because what users say is important, but to a reasonable range. One should look at the feedback as a whole, see what are the users who are most exposed to the problems and, sometimes, to say ‘no’ to three or four people, “said Diogo.
And if it is important to realize what is the pain of use, it is equally important not lose focus of what is the company’s strategy . Anthony Douglas explains that it is necessary to set priorities and decide what stays behind. Between, for example, launched a new feature within the period specified or amend an existing one, what to choose? “It is this type of management that has to be very well thought out, organized, have to define processes. Because it is very difficult to say no to something that is not right. But sometimes it takes and manage the product implies manage this balance, “he says.
“most startups do not define a correct methodology of product work does not define a correct workflow analysis. We must pay constant attention to metrics”
Diogo Teles, responsible for development and management product Faber Venture
Diogo Teles adds that it is in the definition of processes that most teams find problems. “As a rule, most startup does not define a correct methodology of the product work does not define a correct workflow analysis. We must pay constant attention to the metrics of the products. Know which indicators should be aware and let them visible, a place where everyone can see, “added
What metrics have? The engagement says Diogo Teles. It is these that allow us to know you and measure your behavior on the platform (to later be possible to reach the profile of consumers and identify those most profit they bring to the product), the conversion and retention (which measure the time the user remains active on the platform.
“the conversion is one of the most important metrics of the business. it shows the number of users who have the main action of the product, ie, how many made a purchase in a store online , for example, or how many users reserved a Uber through the application. in general, it is not only a value, but a set of values. Returning to the example of a store online , the user must enter the page, do a search, see a product, add it to the shopping cart, do checkout , perform payment and only then do the conversion. This is called a funnel conversion, “explains Diogo
Other metrics that the team responsible for developing the product should be aware:. that measures customer satisfaction and virality rate – which indicates the number of new users each of the users already registered on the platform draws for the product. “A healthy virality rate will be above one, ie, a user draws at least another user,” adds coorganizador of Product Tank.
“When I was CEO and product manager at the same time did everything to 50%”
Anthony Douglas, leader of Hole19
When the metrics and new features intersect with what are the decisions of management and business strategy, the difficulties increase. Anthony Douglas says that, for wanting to do both well, I could not do – well – no. “When I was CEO and Product Manager at the same time did everything to 50%. A product manager works directly with the designer and engineers must identify what should be the final result, pass this idea to the designer, creating a prototype, then it is he who shares it with the team technique, “he says. And all this takes time
The process is not tight:. When the product is being developed by the engineers, the manager is already thinking about what to do / update the medium term and to share this with the designer . And that is why it is important to draw a road map, explains Diogo, a strategy that defines the way forward. If long-term goal may be to transform it in the “best product in the world” – the best social network or the best shopping store online – in the medium term it is necessary to define what will be done the next two months, as will the conversion metrics and retention, what should be done next, if the objectives are not met, among others.
“When the CEO who is responsible for managing the product, the process makes it runs out time for those who are the major decisions of the company”
Diogo Teles, responsible for product development and management in Faber Venture
“what happens in many startup is the responsible technology (CTO) or the leader (CEO) tends to accumulate functions and they are the product managers. And this should not happen. The CEO must take high-level decisions that concern the business model, the contact with investors, the company’s strategy. When he, too, which is in charge of managing the product, the process makes time runs out for those who are the major decisions of the company, “explains Diogo
methodology Methodology -. Including the military. In Xing, a German social network to connect professionals (which competes with LinkedIn), the concept that defines how the teams develop and manage the platform was born in the nineteenth century and stems from a military strategy of Prussia, the “Auftragsklärung”. Objective:. Set goals that will allow the team shares remain always aligned with what is the overall mission of the company
Arne Kittler, responsible for product management mobile the company recovers a quote Helmuth von Moltke the Elder – who was leader of the Prussian Armed Forces for 30 years – to introduce the concept to the designer and programmers present the second edition of Product Tank in Lisbon. “No plan survives first contact with the enemy” as “there is no business plan survives first contact with consumers.”
” we want to avoid surprises and that everyone of the various teams has a very clear vision of what is the success of the product “
Arne Kittler, responsible for product management ‘mobile’ in Xing
How to solve this problem in Xing? With an alignment that begins “too early” between the team and the company’s mission and passing through six phases – context, product goals, business objectives, limits, which is absorbed, which is generated and the final result. “We want to avoid surprises and that everyone of the various teams has a very clear vision of what is the product’s success,” said Arne. It is in the context that ensure no surprises – all the people who belong to the various product teams know the same about the current status of the product. Or the complications that caused the reset.
The second phase has the right soundtrack. Do you remember the first hit the girls band British that marked a generation of teenagers giving the 90s, the “Wannabe”? On one level, the Spice Girls dominated the methodology of Xing, because to say what the product management “want, what you really really want” ( “I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want “). The goal is now to define what users need and what needs to be done so that this need is ensured
Then you have to look for those that are the major objectives of the company. – One that is strategy adopted by management. Recovering the Spice Girls: it is necessary that all teams know what the leaders want, but really want for the product. Only then is it possible to create a line of permanent harmony between the goals of the developers and the managers. And the outlines set, go for the analysis of difficulties: what limitations facing these same goals
The next step includes the analysis of all what it takes to acquire, improve or implement so that the limitations are eliminated and completed goals. Only after testing the ultimate experience that you have with those changes. In the end, all teams must be focused on the end result metrics. “That’s how you will measure the success of your product,” explains Arne Kittler.
Xing’s product development teams follow the same rules and performance standards, which are constantly being updated and a plan common set of two weeks. Before launching a new feature or upgrade, there is a group of 200 people testing this version. Only then launched on the market.
Diogo Teles a Masters in Computer and Telematics Engineering, University of Aveiro, and responsible for the area of development and product management at Faber Ventures since February 2014. In October 2015 was the one that is one of the largest conferences in the product area in London, the Mind the product. It was there that had contact with the concept Product Tank – discussion meetings for people in the area that are organized in various European cities. – And with Luis Trindade decided to bring him to Lisbon
“In Portugal, not I was aware of the existence of product managers of community or product owners. And if there was, then they do not communicate with each other. I spoke with Luis, we ask to be organizers in Portugal and our goal was to create the highest possible alert to this issue. Not only in terms of the larger companies, but also in terms of the smaller, “he says.
This Friday was the second edition of Product Tank Lisbon, at the Centro Cultural de Belém on management and output methodology. Besides Arne Kittler, was present Job van der Voort, responsible product in startup Dutch gitlab, an open source repository ( open source ), which allows you to program and test code collaboratively, or where any individual community can contribute to the development of a product. were registered 150 people. At first enrolled 120. “I was surprised to realize that there were so many people interested in discussing these issues, including designer and programmers,” he says.
also on Friday, Anthony Douglas hired one who is the first product manager at Hole19, Bruno Machado. Until then, reconcile the two functions has become a “crazy”. “I had to collect Feedback platform, whether the features were all working as was growing the user base. But there came a point where I had to make sure there was money in the account, “he says, pointing out that, to date, product management had been made in partnership with the designer Peter Spear and programmer John Costa.
“He realized that he had to hire a product manager so wake every day. And we could have recruited much earlier, but the truth is that this position in Portugal, especially for the mobile industry, does not have people with lots of experience “
Anthony Douglas, leader of Hole19
employing 25 people, the leader of Hole19 explains that, in 19 months, were thrown three million rounds of golf in the application, which has users in 154 countries and is translated into 14 languages. “I realized that he had to hire a product manager so wake up every day. And we could have recruited much earlier, but the truth is that this position in Portugal, especially for the sector mobile , still do not have people with lots of experience. And I wanted someone with experience, who knew of design and to manage people. ” Until he found Bruno Machado.
The Hole19 has about 2.2 million € of investment, Faber Ventures and Capital Cash, and hired eight people in recent times. Account that is not in the company’s DNA grow too fast and now that the priorities are to ensure that the company’s vision remains, who can run it and open a US office. When hired Bruno Machado, remember that this questioned him about whether he was ready to put aside the management of product and trust it.
“There was no alternative, it was the best for the company. To me it is up to me to ensure that everyone understands where does the project, which is the view of Hole19, “says Anthony. Recovering Arne and the Spice Girls, it is important that everyone realizes what Anthony want, what you really want.
No comments:
Post a Comment