Workshop: Running Discovery Projects

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Rob Harr RUNNING DISCOVERY PROJECTS WORKSHOP @robertharr

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GOOD MORNING!!

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Workshop Guarantee.

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YMMV!

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Speak Up

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Why are you here?

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Collaborative Notes http://bit.ly/os-disc

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Agenda Part 1: Context Part 2: Setting the Table Part 3: So you got the Project Part 4: Closing the deal Part 5: Lessons Learned Part 6: Anything goes

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Running Discovery Projects CONTEXT

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Story

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Running a business is hard.

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Running a proﬁtable business is even harder.

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Running a proﬁtable business while treating people like humans is a constant struggle.

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Our Craft What we believe. Business

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Our Craft The Truth. Business

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Web software studio specializing in development and design.

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Rob Harr Ben Callahan

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Rob Harr Ben Callahan

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PM Buddy.

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Hourly work for hire.

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Websites are software.

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Determining scope on software projects at the beginning is irresponsible and impossible.

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Reason 1: Determining scope on software projects upfront is impossible because: Clients are really bad at describing their actual needs.

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We are bad at estimating work because we are optimistic. Reason 1: Reason 2: Determining scope on software projects upfront is impossible because: Clients are really bad at describing their actual needs.

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Project don’t fail for technical or design reasons, they fail because of the people involved.

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I believe as an industry we often care more about how we get to the end, then the results.

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There is no “One Way.”

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I believe the biggest risk for software projects is building the wrong thing. Story

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What are Discovery Projects?

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What problems are we trying to solve?

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Committing to a large spend.

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Trust.

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Finding a the right client.

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Training our clients to work with us.

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Reducing Risk.

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A well deﬁned problem, a set of goals, & determining the correct ﬁrst step.

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“We’ll know more about your project tomorrow than we do today.”

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This is paid discovery

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Research Vendors Vendor Selection Negotiation Project

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Research Vendors Vendor Selection Negotiation Discovery

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Negotiation Project Discovery

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Prework In-person Meetings Wrap-up

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This is what we sell now.

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Running Discovery Projects SETTING THE TABLE

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Client Happiness = A small delta between project expectations and project reality.

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Client

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Managing Client Expectations

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Setting Client Expectations

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Research Vendors Vendor Selection Negotiation Project Expectations Set

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Research Vendors Vendor Selection Negotiation Project Expectations Set Expectations Managed

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Selling Discovery Projects

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The Pitch

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“I don’t know enough to estimate this right now, I don’t think that anyone does.”

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“There is no commitment to continue on with us”

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Take the risk out of the project.

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Initial phone call and gut feel estimate.

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Estimating Discovery

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Types of discovery projects

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Large Discovery: 3 - 4 weeks $40,000

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Medium Discovery: 2 - 3 weeks $25,000

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Small Discovery: 1 week $10,000 or less

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MSA vs SOW

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SOW Example

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SOW Example

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SOW Example 7*)."/74"$$77**#"70)707)2/./("(7#(7)(7)0 7)7+&!(0!)(7.7(7 *,)3"7 )&*(674"##7*+)3"7 #"(074"/77,2(7)707*)."/74"/"(70(7 72."(..7 6.7"7)(7".727 #"(174"#$77"(3)"7*,7/7/+'.7.*" 7"(70")(77)7/7.0+7 -3 .7-&(07 ".7+&(07".7(2%#7(73)"7"7()0752074"0"(7 772."(..76.7

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SOW Example

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SOW Example

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Still takes time months to sell discovery.

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Not talking about something gives it more power.

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The best way to make sure your project does not hit budget, timeline, and scope is to not talk about it.

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People are scared of things they don't understand.   We can take the mystery out of things by talking about them a lot.

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Short Break

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Design Direction Exercise

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The goal

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The setup

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Design Gut Check Exercise

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Running Discovery Projects SO YOU GOT THE PROJECT

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Now what?

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All projects should be designed as human experiences.

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Having a plan vs planning

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Prework In-person Meetings Wrap-up

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Prework In-person Meetings Client Excitement Agreement Wrap-up

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Prework In-person Meetings Client Excitement Agreement Wrap-up

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#1 Prework

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Interviews

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Who to interview?

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Feeling Heard.

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Sample Questions

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Tell us about your role and how it ties into the project.

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What are the primary business objectives with the redesign?

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Who will measure the success of the redesign?

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How we will measure the success of the redesign?

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Almost always the last question: (In your opinion) what will keep this project from being successful?

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Research

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Content Audit

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Competitive Analysis

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User Interviews

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#2 In-person Meetings

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Who?

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Studio Team

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The controller & anchor

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The pusher

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The closer

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Other smart people.

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Technical

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Creative

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User Experience

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This is a giant trust exercise. Story

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Client side

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Point of contact

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The fan

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The relevant executive

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The person who could kill the project

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Other stakeholders

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Home or away?

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Designing the Days

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Agenda Sample

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Setting Ground Rules

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Parking lot!

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Stick to your schedule.

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We always start with goals.

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What makes a good goal?

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Do not have implementation details.

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Can be measured.

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“Have an interactive, human website that shares relatable stories and reaches millennial and gen Z candidates.” Exam ple

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“Increase how often and deeply users engage with our content.” Exam ple

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“Increase revenue from new sales while maintaining renewals.” Exam ple

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Goal Setting Exercise

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The setup

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The goal

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Goal Setting Exercise

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Lots of listening and showing you understand.

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Don’t forget to have fun.

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UX Sketching Exercise

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The setup

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The goal

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UX Sketching Exercise

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Our clients are wanting to be collaborated with.

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Embrace the unknown.

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It is ok to not have all of the answers.

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“That is a great question, let me get back to you with an answer.”

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We always end with prioritization and phasing.

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Prioritization & Phasing Exercise

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The setup Exercise

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The goal Exercise

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The step back Exercise

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Priorization & Phasing Exercise

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Other ideas http://goodkickoffmeetings.com/

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Don’t forget to share what the process will look like after you leave.

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Prework In-person Meetings Client Excitement Agreement Wrap-up

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Short Break

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#3 Wrap up

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Prework In-person Meetings Client Excitement Agreement Wrap-up

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Deliverables

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Project Brief

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What is it?

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Situation

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Goals & Measurements

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Roadmap

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Estimate & Timeline

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Executive Summary

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Technical Strategy

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What is it?

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Architecture Diagrams

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Challenges & Recommendations

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Delivery

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Experience Strategy

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What is it?

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Tone & Voice

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Audiences

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Design Aesthetic

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Visual Vocabulary

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User Experience (UX) Strategy

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Collaborative Estimate

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Running Discovery Projects CLOSING THE DEAL

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Prework In-person Meetings Client Excitement Agreement Wrap-up

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Keep it simple.

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Negotiation

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Know where you stand.

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Working with purchasing departments.

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Don’t forget about cashﬂow.

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Embrace the “Ofﬁce of the Presidency”

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Running Discovery Projects LESSONS LEARNED

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The best part of project teams is that they are made up of humans. Humans sometimes suck. The worst part of project teams is that they are made up of humans.

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Don’t write code. Don’t create wireframes. Don’t design anything.

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Deliver a popluated task board.

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Project Drag.

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RFPs

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Don’t steal your client’s story.

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Deliver a popluated task board.

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Embrace your super power and understand your blind spots.

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Communication is the most important part of making any project work.

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Be willing to change directions.

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Accept the fact that you will be completely wrong about things that you are sure you learned.

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People Over Process

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It is ok to punt to future you.

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There will be dragons.

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Putting People Back Into Projects EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION

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If you can’t say no, it’s not collaboration.

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Often we confuse getting along for effective collaboration.

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Conﬂict can be healthy.

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Have difﬁcult conversations.

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My long term business plan is to have happy, healthy, well-adjusted humans and families.

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Rob’s two basic rules for happiness in business:

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Life is too short to work with people you hate. Rob’s two basic rules for happiness in business: Rule 1:

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If you ever become annoyed by a client, it is only because you’re not charging them enough money. Life is too short to work with people you hate. Rob’s two basic rules for happiness in business: Rule 1: Rule 2: