Analysis of Lean product development: value in product development

This article is the second part of the "Analytical Lean Product Development" series. In the first chapter we introduce Kanban methods, which help organizations to continuously improve and achieve smooth and continuous value flow. However, only the flow based on the correct value is meaningful, which is the prerequisite for the development of lean products. In this article, we will explore the value nature of product development and, on this basis, share a value definition and discovery practice for lean product development-impact maps (Impact Mapping).

1. The essence of value in product development

Traditional project management emphasizes predefined, decomposed, and estimated value, which is the basis for planning projects, and then implementing them as planned can achieve value. This idea is useful in engineering projects such as production or construction, but the application is problematic when it comes to product development. As an example of software development in waterfall mode, in the front of the project, it is usually possible to proceed as planned, but in order to meet the progress requirements, risks are often moved back; in the latter part of the project, risks and uncertainties emerge, difficulties and delays occur; What is more, if the delivered products do not meet the requirements of the customer or the market, There is no value in perfectly conforming to the plan. Why is there a problem with a useful method in a project that is used in product development? The reason is that product development and the nature of the value of the project is fundamentally different.

1.1 Information is the value carrier of product development, it follows the uncertainty

The output of a project, such as production or construction, is a physical product, the value of which is carried by the physical product, the output of the product development is the scheme, and the value is carried by the information in the scheme. In the analogy of "making food" and "making recipes", product development is equivalent to making recipes, and projects are equivalent to making food recipes. Make two copies of the same food and get two values. Making the same recipe two times does not produce two values because it produces no new information and no value.

Uncertainty is associated with the value of information and its bearing. The great scientist of the Bell Experiment Shannon (Shannon) first measured information with bits (bit) and laid the foundation of information theory. According to information theory, the quantity of information is the measure of the uncertainty of the event, expressed as Information =. A bit contains 0 and 12 kinds of uncertainties--and 1 byte contains 256 (0-255) uncertainties, with a quantity of 8bits ——。 Determine the amount of information for an event is 0 ——。 Product development cannot exclude all uncertainties and retain any value. As Peter Drucker, the father of management, described in his classic book, "Managing Practice":

In all the concepts of the future, the concept of "bag", "0 risks" and "never fail" will surely fail.

Each product development must be different from the past, which means uncertainty and risk, as well as injecting information into the product and bringing potential value. Tom DeMarco the risk and uncertainty as a bear in the book "Dances With Bears", and successful product development is the art of "Dancing with the Bear". The first iphone uses a new interface-multi-touch, new material-the Gorilla glass material, and the new business model-carrier (at&t) depth binding, these attempts to bring technical, production and business uncertainty, but also to achieve the product unique experience and extraordinary value. In today's rapidly changing technologies, products and markets, challenges of uncertainty and risk have become the begotten for competitive advantage in delivering value.

1.2 Information related to business goals can bring value

Information bearer product development value, but only the potential value. Only by achieving business goals can information become truly valuable, and organizations should assume uncertainty only where they can help achieve business goals. Imagine that if Apple were to try 4G (LTE) communication technology in the first generation of iphones, there would be greater uncertainty, but even if it did, it would not be worth it, because there was no commercial LTE network with it, and in fact, The first iphone didn't even support the already popular 3G communications technology.

Uncertainties unrelated to business objectives do not bring value and may be harmful. Google Wave was launched when Google and users placed high expectations, the product outspoken, but a year later because it failed to attract enough users to announce the end of development. Wave has almost added all the features it can add, but users don't buy it, and on the contrary, too much functionality leads to a lack of complex interfaces, blurred positioning and stability that keeps users away from wave.

The goal of product development is to achieve business goals, rather than completing functions. The function of the product should revolve around the limited and clear business target, otherwise can cause the scope spread, cause the project execution and the product maintenance predicament, but on the other hand cannot achieve the core goal. Wave introduces too much functionality at the expense of ease of use and stability, but the user is generally complaining that it does not meet its application requirements, it can do anything, but as a collaboration tool it does not compare with Google Doc or Zoho, as a social tool it is not as much as Facebook or Google Buzz, As a communication tool it does not compare to Gmail or existing IM tools.

Scott Berkun has successfully led several major Microsoft projects, including Internet Explorer 4.0, which laid the game of browser wars, and shared a once-used demand management practice in its best-selling book, "The Beauty of Project management" A simple mechanism is used to track the mapping relationship from Target to function to product item. Under this mechanism, each work item must correspond to a function, each feature must correspond to a target, and each version focuses only on a limited number of goals. Based on this mapping, the team can clearly determine whether a new work item can enter the project scope. This can effectively inhibit the spread of the scope, but also ensure the achievement of the core objectives.

1.3 Value to continue to discover in the development process

Product development is an information accumulation and knowledge creation process, the team continuously obtains the business demand, the market environment, realizes the technology and so on aspect information, deepens the cognition, the clear value. In recent years, the industry has made great progress in the practice of making this process more effective.

1.3.1 Advance decision is a general practice of traditional project management

Traditional project management emphasizes advance planning and execution as planned. As shown in Figure ㈠, the time when the team has the richest information and knowledge is at the end of the project, which is also the most likely time to make the right decision. However, the majority of decisions are made early in the project, such as setting product requirements, committing to project planning, and identifying technical solutions. Decisions can only be made on the basis of limited information and knowledge, but are the benchmark for later project execution. Premature decision-making becomes a constraint later, and it reduces the flexibility to respond to change.

Figure ㈠ Advance decision