Do you have confidence in your innovation process?

Many companies set up a standalone innovation pod

Where all the best and greatest ideas are curated, designed and developed

This allows the process to complete in a quarter the time that it would normally take if the idea had gone through a traditional product development process

The challenge with this setup is that the standalone process eventually has to merge into the existing old backend systems and processes

In order for the end-to-end customer experience to be fully supported

So it becomes a case of forcing a square peg into a round hole

So how do you manage these complexities and minimize disruption to your business?

By focusing on and prioritizing the upskilling of your team

The truth of the matter is, don’t just innovate your processes….innovate your people as well

They will be the critical factor to whether your transformation succeeds or fails

So when you say that you are customer-centric, remember your internal customers as well….your people!

If you are frustrated with your innovation process, let’s do a gap analysis together and identify the pain points

Use a product roadmap, to help you plan where you are going, to drive agile

  • Have a plan
  • Define what success looks like
  • What are we focusing on vs not focusing on
  • Agile doesn’t mean no planning
  • Manage to outcome and not outputs

Shifting from outputs to outcomes

  • Test and experiment and try
  • Understand the difference b/n output vs an outcome
  • What does success look like?
  • Focus on the outcome, then design the solution from there
  • Iterate until you get to the outcome

How to align the roadmap with agile?

WHY – why are we building the product? Why are you working on this?

WHAT – what outcomes do we hope to drive as a result of the product?

HOW – bridge the gap between high level strategy and what you are building: NOW(2 weeks), NEXT (next 2 months), LATER….Is this really what we should be building?

Disclaimer – this is a strategic communication document, not a commitment…this is a living document

Don’t dictate solutions

How to build a roadmap?

  • Have some sort of a checkpoint
  • The team should know the strategy of the product (not the backlog)
  • Consistently use and reference to keep everyone on the same page
  • Ideally, everyone can provide inputs, ask questions
    • Product manager coordinates with the lead designer, lead developer, executive sponsor and other key stakeholders…essentially everyone who will need to approve it

Common Mistakes to avoid:

  • Too much detail – 1 to 2 page document. Additional info should go to an appendix
  • Not clearly defining priorities… Lack of discipline with strategic planning
  • Focusing on solutions and not on problems…it becomes a project plan

Good Roadmap Qualities:

  • Having an engaged team…everyone feels like they know what’s going on and what my part is. Even if people are not taking my ideas, I know where it stands
  • A leadership team that’s focused, know what’s important and know how to feedback that into the documentation

Summary:

  • Frustration & Friction on teams: sustained friction leads to burnouts
  • Start to ask questions…why does this product exist? I want to make sure I am aligned…is this right?

Change the mindset