This document provides an overview of Ryan D. Hatch's approach to strategic product management. It begins by explaining why startups have risen and why a solid product management approach is needed. It then discusses how to determine what customers truly value through techniques like jobs-to-be-done interviews. The rest of the document demonstrates these concepts through examples of live and mock customer interviews. It emphasizes learning through an iterative process of generating and evaluating theories based on customer feedback. The goal is to continuously discover high-value opportunities and build the right solutions to meet customer needs.

1. Growing New Products
Ryan D. Hatch
rdkhatch
#prodmgmt

4. Growing New Products
Ryan D. Hatch
1. How we approach Product Management
2. Live B2C Customer Interview
3. Mock B2B Discovery Interview
rdkhatch
#prodmgmt

5. About Ryan

6. About Ryan
 Recovering Software Developer
 Co-Founder @ Startup, Dynamis
 Lean Product Strategy
 Startup / Accelerator Coach
 Focused on Innovation,Growing Software Businesses
 What do people want to buy?

7. Why are you here?
Are you Ready?
Intense Session.

8. MakeYour Mark

9. What type of Business?
High-Growth
Typically Product-oriented
Technology-Enabled
Larger Opportunity
Higher Risk
Repeatable product/service
Scalable Business Model
Scaling = sales + code
Traditional
Typically Service-oriented
Consultancy
Dev Shop
Ad Agency
Restaurant
Hair Salon
Scaling = staffing + locations
Full-time / Part-time?
Funding = Equity: High Risk InvestorsFunding = Debt is typical: Banks, etc.

10. Today you will learn the top ProductThinking
from around theWorld
 Clay Christiansen
 TeresaTorres
 Bob Moesta/Chris Spiek
 Alan Klement
 Marty Cagan
 Jeff Patton
 Steve Blank
 Eric Ries
 Among others

11. Share your amazing learnings today
#prodmgmt
#ThatConference
@rdkhatch

12. Growing New Products
Ryan D. Hatch
How we approach Product Management:
1. Why the rise in Startups?
2. Why do we need a solid approach?
3. What do we need to learn?
4. How do we learn?
5. How do we determine what people value?
rdkhatch
#prodmgmt

13. Setting the Context
for New Products

14. Why the rise in Startups?
Technology + Economic Forces

15. 1.) Speed of Business is Accelerating

16. 2.) Innovator’s Dilemma
Corporates seek higher margins – over innovation
Innovation is happening in startups – way more than corporates

17. 3.)TechnologyAccessibility >> More Startups

18. Why do we need a
solid approach?
Kill your illusions of grandeur

19. Questions I often get: (Execution/Delivery oriented)
 Protecting IP
 Low/no cost UI/UX
 Help with technical direction / platform at little/no cost.
 Progressive web vs mobile apps vs websites.
 Prioritizing new features
 Organizing alpha/beta programs
 Going from free to paid/subscription plans

20. 1.)Team comes up with idea + builds an awesome product

21. 2.) Ready to Launch like Rockets & Hockeysticks

22. 3.) Everyone will Love it!

23. Reality check. 90% of New Products Fail.

24. Strategic Product Management
Drawing Exercise
gettyimages.com

25. Strategic Product Management
What did you draw?

26. Strategic Product Management
Even with the best idea, business plan or product requirements
Reality will smack you in the face
You will be wrong.

27. Uncertainty grows into Future

28. Long-term planning is… Guessing

29. Attitude Check

30. Navigating
Uncertainty
unclear
no map
no documentation
no how-to guide.
Each New Product =
uncharted territory.

31. Complexity of ourWorld
Complexity of your Market

32. You are not seeing the whole
MultipleValid Perspectives

33. Attitude: Humility. Be willing to be wrong.
This is not about you. This is about your customers.

34. Attitude: #StayCurious. Empathy.

35. Ok, so – How do we do this?

36. What are we trying to Learn?
Mental Models / Approach

37. Problem & Solution Space
Problem Space
Biz Opportunities
Customers
Market Needs
Benefits
Desired Outcomes
Problems
Challenges
Solution Space
Business Model
Value Proposition
Product
User Experience
On-Boarding
Customer Success
Retention
Goal
Find a scalable
business model
Constraints
Within a market?
Using a technology?

38. New Product Flow
HighValue
Opportunity
Customer
Commitment
Customer
Success “Value Function”
Are customers able to achieve the value I’ve promised?
“Buy Function”
Are customers committing to my proposed solution?
Are customers purchasing my value proposition for price X?
How are customers struggling with their existing alternatives?
Is the market segment too small?
How likely is this opportunity to continue? (trend, regulation, etc.)

39. HighValue
Opportunity
Customer
Commitment
Customer
Success “Value Function”
Are customers able to achieve the value I’ve promised?
“Buy Function”
Are customers committing to my proposed solution?
Are customers purchasing my value proposition for price X?
How are customers struggling with their existing alternatives?
Is the market segment too small?
How likely is this opportunity to continue? (trend, regulation, etc.)
Problem
Space
Solution
Space
New Product Flow

40. Opportunity / SolutionTree (byTeresaTorres)
Are we chasing the best
market opportunity?
Are we chasing the best
business model / solution
for this opportunity?
What are we really trying
to accomplish?
Have we minimized the
highest risks / our core
assumptions at each level?

41. Our Assumptions
Opportunity
Business
Risks

42. Where do we start?
Follow the $$$

43. Supply Chain
 Can we built it? How do we build it?
 How will we manufacturer it?
 What parts will I need? at what cost?
 Who will my supplier/partners be?
 What price can I sell this for at X% margin?
 How do I push it out to market?
Supply Perspective
Push Product to Market
$
Product

44. Supply Chain
 What should we build?
 What are customers trying to accomplish?
 What market segments exist? Target?
 What solution options did they consider?
 Why did they choose option X over optionY?
 How did they learn these were good options?
 What are customers currently paying?
 What is the value / business impact?
 What gaps are there in their current solutions?
 What events triggered their buying process?
 Who are the decision makers / influencers?
Demand Perspective
Pull Products out of Supply
$
Product
Customers don’t care what it costs you to produce
Price and Costs are independent

45. Let’s work on Continuous Discovery
We often over-focus on delivery
LEARNWHAT
OPPORTUNITIESTO CHASE
WHATTO BUILD
HOWTO BUILD
SHIPPING

46. How do we Learn?
Mental Models / Approach

47. Learning Mental Model
Theory
Market
Reality
Learning

48. Clarity is Not Linear. It’s Iterative.
Theory
Market
Reality
Learning
Your theory today

49. Clarity is Not Linear. It’s Iterative.
Theory
Market
Reality
Learning
Your revised theory after encountering the real world

50. Clarity is Not Linear. It’s Iterative.
Theory
Market
Reality
Learning

51. Clarity is Not Linear. It’s Iterative.
Theory
Market
Reality
Learning

52. Clarity is Not Linear. It’s Iterative.
Theory
Market
Reality
Learning

53. Clarity is Not Linear. It’s Iterative.
Theory
Market
Reality
Learning

54. Clarity is Not Linear. It’s Iterative.
Theory
Market
Reality
Learning
We learn about the
Problem & Solution space
together, at the same time
Discovery is ongoing,
continuously

55. How do I draw myTheory
of my new product?
InVisuals

56. Learning Mental Model
Theory
Market
Reality
Learning
Opportunity Solution

57. Living Document

58. Customer Journey Map

59. Ecosystem ofTarget Customer

60. Core Assumptions
Core Assumptions / Highest Risks

61. Theory, Meet the RealWorld
Ouch.

62. Learning Mental Model
Theory
Market
Reality
Learning
Generative Discovery
Evaluative Discovery

63. Generative Discovery
 Richest encounters with the real world
 Seeking to understand
 Divergent in nature, Exploring alternate perspectives
 Starts with a Research Question
 to provide boundaries around what you want to learn
 Examples:
 Customer Interviews
 Observing People’s Behavior in their environments (ethnography)
 Asking data sets new questions
 Reading Blogs
 Etc.
Generative
Synthesis

64. Evaluative Discovery
 Determine if pieces of our theory are right or wrong
 Starts with a Hypothesis
 Experiments /Validation
 Tells us what happened - but not why
 Examples:
 Are X customers spending at least $Y on this problem?
 Will X customers buy this solution withinY days?
 Will this Feature increase App Engagement by X?
 Will this Feature increase Retention by X?
 etc.
Evaluative

65. DesignThinking – One Cycle
Problem Space Solution Space
Research Question
Ready to test
Switch to Evaluative
Proposed Solution
Generative
Discovery

66. Quick Break
Break into Teams

67. Starting with Demand:
How do we determine what
people really value?
Generative Research Question
To find a HighValue Opportunity

68. Customer Interviews
Zooming In…

69. Customers are Lying to you!!!
 Everyone is Lying to you! (unintentionally)
 Including your Mom!
 The MomTest =Would your mom tell you the truth?
 Voice of the Customer is unreliable
 People say one thing – do another
 Unable to summarize / aggregate multiple events together
 Rationalize to justify the decisions they’ve made
 Lie to let people down lightly / to get sales people to go away
 Sales person: “Prospect said no - but would definitely buy if it had feature X!”

70. Principles to arrive at theTruth
 Never talk about the future: what if, would you = BAD
 Never lead the witness, never talk about what you think
 Actual Self > Ideal Self. Never ask customers to aggregate how they do X
 Ask specifics about the past. Get deep into their real stories
 Stay in the problem space, don’t buy into their solutions
 Determine their desired future state – desired outcomes, value to the business
 Prioritize: Rank this problem more important / less important
 Have you tried to solve in the past? If so, How?

71. Jobs to be Done Overview
One approach to arriving at REAL value

72. No one Buys DeWALT Drills.
Job > Product

73. Jobs to be Done.
Job > Product

74. Jobs to be Done.
Job > Customer Demographic

75. Jobs to be DoneTheory
 People don’t buy products
 People hire products to fulfill a job for them
 People struggle >>Want to move to a better future state
 Competitors are not what you expect. Job Category, not Product Category
 Embedded in the story of a person’s decision will reveal the underlying value + tradeoffs

76. Example
Bombas Socks

77. B2B Sock Startup
 Wanted to compete with an existing company called Bombas
 Focused on understanding the stories behind people’s purchases of Bombas
 Requested over 150+ interviews to people Facebook who referenced @Bombas
 10% replied

78. What is the difference between 2 people
wearing the same brand of socks?

79. Job > Customer Persona
Casual Keith Showy Sy

80. Bombas
Socks
Same product - Used for very different Jobs
Hiring Criteria Job
ProductView

81. Activate
Live Customer Interview!
source podiohelp.com

82. ListYour Recent Purchases
 1.) Each of you –Write down 3 purchases over $100 you made within the past year
 2.) Narrow down to 3 purchases for each group

83. Let’s Pick a Purchase Decision!
 We’ll pick one purchase & have a conversation about it

84. Write down your theory - of the story behind the purchase

85. Live Switch Interview

86. Quick Debrief
 What did you learn?

87. Introducing Zach Gohr
Director of Product Development

88. Opportunity / SolutionTree(byTeresaTorres)
Are we chasing the best
market opportunity?
Are we chasing the best
business model / solution
for this opportunity?
What are we really trying
to accomplish?
Have we minimized the
highest risks / our core
assumptions at each level?

89. Activate
Your Theory - Business Idea
source podiohelp.com

90. Brief B2B Business Model
BestTarget Customer
(be specific enough that
you could contact these
types of people if you
wanted to)
Solution / Business Idea How you make money
Problems customers are
experiencing
What are they trying to
accomplish?

91. Brief Empathy
Trigger events that cause them to
struggle
What are they struggling with?
Urgent events when they need to
find a solution very soon
Existing alternative A
What they like / don’t like about it
Existing alternative B
What they like / don’t like about it
Existing alternative C
What they like / don’t like about it
Existing alternative D
What they like / don’t like about it
What do they want
life to be like?
Desired Future State

92. Activate
Mock B2B Discovery Interview
source podiohelp.com

93. Let’s pick a business model!
 We will now pick one & do pre-call planning for a discovery call

94. Activate
Mock B2B Discovery Interview
source podiohelp.com

95. Quick Debrief
 What did you learn?

96. Did you achieve
your Desired Outcome today?
What went well?
What could’ve been better?
What would you do differently next time?

97. Growing New Products
Ryan D. Hatch
rdkhatch
#prodmgmt

98. Strategic Product Management
1 Objective: Qualitative, Something worth suffering for
3 Key Results
Constraints
Anyone in Startup Submits Ideas to achieve OKR’s
RankingTeam votes on Relative Estimated Impact (0,.5,1,2,3,5)
Ideas
Goal: ValidateTop 5 ideas per week
Identify Underlying Assumptions vs. Evidence we Have
Design & RunValidation for each Assumption
Do we have enough evidence that it will advance theOKR’s?
Break into Stories, Estimate Storypoints
Develop,Test
Ship
Did it achieve OKR’s?
OKR’s
DiscoveryTeam:
Product Manager, Product
Owner, Ux1, Ux2
+ Consultants:
Architect, Lead UI Engineer
RankingTeam: Product
Manager, ProductOwner,
Architect, Lead UI Engineer,
UX1, UX2, InternalCustomer 1,
InternalCustomer 2
Set by Business Team:
CEO, Product Manager, Sales
Feedback loop
Feedback loop
DevelopmentTeam
Roles
Context
JTBD
Process
Facts
Discovery
Delivery

99. Example - B2B Preselling
 Meeting #1
 Had discovery call on a report he wanted modified
 Reviewed the report he’d been using
 What was wrong with it,What he was trying to accomplish, etc.
 Meeting #2
 Reviewed Goals we had heard
 Showed screenshot of excel prototype
 Asked if $150,000 would be fair
 SILENCE
 Verbally agreed to $100,000

100. Synthesis
How Reality updates yourTheory

101. Affinity Mapping >> Find Patterns