What The West Wing Can Teach Us About Building Products

Talk given at WordCamp Albuquerque, New Mexico 2018.

Transcript

1. WHAT THE WEST WING CAN TEACH US ABOUT BUILDING PRODUCTS AJ Morris
3. IDEATION/VISION AJ Morris
4. “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that are out there. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.” – Steve Jobs
5. VALUE PROPOSITION AJ Morris
6. WHAT IS A VALUE PROPOSTION? • HEADLINE • SUB-HEADING OR 2-3 SENTENCE PARAGRAPH • 3 BULLETS • VISUAL AJ Morris
7. EXAMPLES OF GOOD VALUE PROPOSITION AJ Morris
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11. MVP OR MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT AJ Morris
12. WHAT COULD WE MAKE AT A MINIMUM TO GET OUR PRODUCTS TO FUNCTIONS TO PROVE IT IS A SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM? AJ Morris
13. UNSPLASH MVP AJ Morris
14. UNSPLASH MVP • TOOK 3 HOURS TO BUILD • USED TUMBLR AND A $20 THEME • 10 PHOTOS BY LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER • UPLOADED FOR FREE USE AJ Morris
15. UNSPLASH MVP Today, over 2 million photos are downloaded a month. The simplicity ended up being the thing that made Unsplash special. Sometimes you don’t need to code or design anything to prove the product you want to make solves a problem. AJ Morris
16. KNOWING WHAT TO BUILD • START SIMPLE, SINGLE PRODUCT • KEEP ITERATING, WHILE CONSTANTLY SOLVING BIGGER PROBLEMS • CONSTANTLY COMMUNICATE THE VISION OF THE GRAND PROBLEM THAT WILL BE SOLVED. AJ Morris
17. PRODUCT MARKET FIT AJ Morris
18. PRODUCT-MARKET FIT MEANS BEING IN A GOOD MARKET WITH A PRODUCT THAT CAN SATISFY THAT MARKET. –MARC ANDREESEN AJ Morris
19. CUSTOMER FEEDBACK AJ Morris
20. CUSTOMER FEEDBACK • SURVEYS • FEEDBACK BOXES • REACHING OUT DIRECTLY • USER ACTIVITY / ANALYTICS • USABILITY TESTS AJ Morris
21. BUILDING PRODUCTS • IDEA / VISION • VALUE PROPOSITION • MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT • PRODCT MARKET FIT • CUSTOMER FEEDBACK AJ Morris
22. AJ MORRIS Product Manager LiquidWeb AJ Morris