Products that delight or exceed customer expectations are well positioned to succeed in the market place. Adherence to some “design thinking” principles below help Product Managers define and build successful products. With a good grasp of the customer problem, follow the steps outlined below.

1. Anita Rao
2015

2. Introduction
 Products that delight or exceed customer expectations
are well positioned to succeed in the market place.
Adherence to some “design thinking” principles below
help Product Managers define and build successful
products. With a good grasp of the customer problem,
follow the steps outlined below.

3. 1. Great products are built by Product
Managers that truly empathize with
their customers. In order to do this,
get into their skin, walk in their shoes
to experience their pain/problem.
You can either shadow them or
actually do their job. Interview
potential customers regarding their
tasks – ask them the “why, what,
when, how”. Question the complexity
or time needed to complete a task.

4. 2. Capture all your learning. Take
pictures or videos. Process all the
learning. Separate facts from
opinions. Get clarification if
required. Build “customer journey
maps” that tell their story.
Capture emotions during the
journey map. It will guide you to
the focus areas and “key moments
of truth”.

5. 3. Ensure that you have a clear
definition of the problem you are
going after in the customer
journey map. Capture the
outcomes and align on how
success will be measured. Be
aware of assumptions, get
clarification if needed.

6. 4. Creatively brainstorm ideas to
solve the problem. Dream big.
Use some brainstorming
techniques like “Affinity
Diagrams” with post it notes.
Unleash the team’s imagination.
Be patient and inclusive to diverse
ideas.

7. 5. Quickly build a prototype.
Use simple tools. Speed and
learning is more important
than getting it right the first
time. At this stage debate,
experiment, fail, and learn.
Sharpen ideas with feedback,
reflection, and adjustment. It
saves time and money in the
long run.

8. 6. Test the prototype with
customers. Get a diverse
sample of potential customers
to collect a holistic set of
opinions. Observe the
customer using the product
without participating and
influencing reactions. Ask
open ended questions.

9. 7. Debrief together to share
customer responses. Iterate
changes in the prototype based
on the comments. Take it out for
another test drive with a different
set of customers.

10. 8. Once you feel satisfied that you
have customer validation build
the MVP (minimum viable
product). Again, don’t wait for
perfection. “Go with your gut”.
Document all assumptions.

11. 9. Take the MVP for a trial run
with beta customers. Perceive
customer reactions and learn
from them.

12. 10. Launch the product, gather
and synthesize reactions, and
improve. Repeat the process with
another customer problem.

13. Reference Reading
For more information on Design Thinking :
http://dschool.stanford.edu/

14. Thank You