Creative Sogou Input Method design concept (go 2008-02-04 21:14)

With the growth of market share, Sogou Input method has won the number of users success-now every two Chinese netizens, there is a person in the use of Sogou input method typing. It can be said that it is a good example from creative inspiration to product birth to application. As a search engine input method creative and promoter, I experienced the whole process of the story, from the birth of inspiration and the idea of marketing to Vice president, has been to do Sogou input method of product design all experience, also become my precious life experience. Should be "programmer" invitation, take Sogou input method as an example, in this article with you talk about what kind of technology can be transformed into a successful product.

from touch to action

Perhaps many people will care about the original source of inspiration for Sogou input method. That was my first year after graduation, is engaged in the machinery industry, is a typical user interested in the Internet. Every day after work is playing computer, watching it news, surfing the internet. At that time I used the main two products are violet Pinyin input method and Baidu search.

The accumulation of internet surfing, let me find the purple pinyin at that time a serious problem: many common words do not create a thesaurus in the input method. Some of the more typical words, such as Nokia, Titanic, Zhang Han Yun, and so on, are almost always selected from the entry. And another in the search engine found that I feel very useful, that is Baidu Web search in a particularly useful function: Pinyin recognition. For example, enter "Taitannikehao" in the search text box, Baidu will give "Titanic" hint.

After the experiment, I found that this function is extremely powerful, almost any pinyin can be recognized as Chinese. When I can not accept such a smooth output of the text, it is natural to think why can not Baidu search Pinyin recognition function used on the input method. So almost any word can be called out.

After that, I took this idea, experienced by Baidu refused, to later persuade Sohu to do the input method to the present wide application, but this initial inspiration is the process of the birth of the most important? I believe that everyone has experienced similar things and met a lot of difficulties, but there are few people who really try to solve the difficulties. But often successful products are born in such small difficulties. What this gives me is that when you're using a computer or the Internet, you're having problems. is a problem that many people have appeared. Whether it can be resolved. How to solve. What happens after the solution. Whether it will allow more users to be satisfied. After detailed questioning yourself, think deeply, you will find out where the product needs.

One of the most important requirements for mass-applied products is practicality. How to apply practical development to long-term application is the key to the problem. That's what we call user stickiness. I defined the product stickiness as: This time the user uses this product, the next time the user will use, it proves that this use has produced stickiness. Does your idea make people get the real benefits? If the design of the product is only to let people feel very cool, very fun, not to consider the actual needs of users, that such products are not used by people, will not be successful, only to grasp the needs of users and more than the user needs experience, product is a successful product.

be prepared to succeed

Any product in the absence of the birth, will meet different opinions, bad than good, any product in the absence of individual user identification, you want to enrich their ideas and through a variety of ways to contact more valuable people. I certainly am no exception.

I took my creative point to Beijing, first to Baidu wrote 4 letters, but did not get a positive answer. After being rejected, I was fortunate enough to enter Sohu by virtue of the 100 small 30-page manuscript that I submitted to Sogou. I have the opportunity to face-to-head with the then Sogou Sohu VP Old Wang (Wang Jianjun) demo I do the 1th on Sogou input Method creative ppt. I also clearly remember the 1th PPT content is to explain the current situation, enterprises are in the grab tool bar, address bar (at that time many enterprises are desperately promoting the tool bar class plug-in), and so, we do a "search" with the toolbar of the input method, on the one hand we occupy the toolbar, On the other hand, with search input method to seize the market. The strange idea soon touched the old king. At that time, we all want to buy the purple light Input method, the fastest way to occupy the market. But after a while, Violet refused to be acquired, the input method of the matter was shelved. The moment I rekindle my passion and continue to lobby, I do not believe this idea sank.

After trying to fail, I found that convincing others to have a deeper theory, not simply by mouth, to use data to persuade leaders. Since then, I live in the village in the cottage in the collection of the major software download station input method download volume. After the statistics, I was shocked by the statistics, the three software stations all the input method download volume is 100 million times. It is inferred that the total number of input methods downloaded from the Internet is approximately 200 million-300 million times. This number is too scary, except QQ no other software can reach such a large number of downloads. The need for input method is very large, any one of the Internet people to open the computer will use Chinese characters. So the demand is already there. I also counted the 03, 04, 05 on the market on the current input method update version, the answer is almost no update. These two data proved my decision to Sogou input method is correct, more determined that I do the determination to go on.

I took the new idea to do the 2nd ppt, and give the old king to demonstrate, time a second seconds to slip away, in this invisible time I know I have moved the old Wang to do this thing's determination. I finally sold out the idea of input method. That moment can not be described by "Joy", "Happy".

Analytical Product Manager

If you want to do a successful mass application products, you should choose what kind of product development. I would like to say from the demand level, mainly from 3 aspects to consider: the number of demand, the number of requests, the importance of the level of demand. The number of people in demand determines how many potential users a product can have. For example, after Wubi almost all of the pen input method is doomed to not succeed, because can learn to use a pen to type the number of users very little. If your product is very suitable for the vast number of fool users, your base will be very large, even if only a few percent of the share, there will be tens other users. The number and importance of demand determines the frequency and intensity of the product being used, which, if not enough, makes it difficult to become a successful product. For example, the Internet on the creative small products, playing is OK, but after playing once will not play the second time, such products can not become a competitive product. For example, you know that a successful product is almost always a product that needs to be used many times a day.

The level of demand is also only a basis, and there are many factors to achieve the ultimate success. This is described in the book "Diffusion of Innovation": "Five factors related to the rate of diffusion of an innovative product: comparative advantage, compatibility, complexity, usability, and visibility." "Sogou Input method in these several factors are in the advantages, especially the comparative advantage. Preconceived ideas make people impressed with the first really good product. Sogou input method with respect to the traditional input method advantage is very obvious, in the past years the words do not come out of a full dozen, do not leak a word. Also is the second generation of QQ input method and Google input method even after chasing the level of Sogou with the level is difficult to be accepted by users. When the relative advantage is very small, the competitiveness of the product is very small. When a product is approved, it should be considered: you have no obvious comparative advantage for users to use.

After the input method released the first version, I transferred to the input group, responsible for the Sogou input method two years of product design work. During this period, we released more than 10 versions with a rhythm of about 2 months and 1 versions, and designed a large and small dozens of small function. In the design of these functions and improvements, one of the main ideas is practical. These practical functions have been recognized and welcomed by the high-end user base. These high-end user groups in the process of disseminating products, has played a good word-of-mouth role. "Tipping the epidemic" to the key users of the dissemination of a very good description: "In the Internet product dissemination, these users are a class of computer experts, the company's network management, the Department of computer specialists." They judge all kinds of trendy software, try out various functions and recommend the best products to dozens of people around them. ”

Product managers in charge of a product mainly has two aspects of work: basic indicators and product function design. Taking the input method as an example, Sogou input method in the base index of the word database coverage, new word coverage, group words, such as accuracy rate, are in the forefront. The choice of product functionality also refers to three factors, such as the number of people required, the number of requests, and the importance level of demand. The use of a small number of English input method we put it to very late development.

Mastery of technology is not a must

Finally, I talk about the ability of technical staff to do product manager's view. I think it's not too much of a good technology to be a product manager. In other words, even if you do not have the technology, you may not be a product manager to have more disadvantages or advantages. Only in the creative, thinking, forward-looking, planning and other aspects of good talent for the product manager, as many people can not become good programmers. Mastery of technology does not make you an indicator of a good product manager. Whether the product manager is suitable for only one evaluation criteria, can identify problems (product requirements), problem solving (product design). Everyone has a view of the product, but the interest and good at it is not the same. To evaluate yourself objectively, don't waste your real advantage. It is worth mentioning that there are many categories of products, if you are not suitable for this category but may be good at another product category. For example, many game classes, community classes, and application products are not the same. But it is certain that the game must be a game of crazy talent.

    Product Manager is a specialized subdivision of a product project group. Whether it is to do the technology or do the product as long as the good, there will be a good way out, mainly to see your advantages, where the interest. A technology-savvy product manager is certainly a familiar advantage to a product manager who does not know the technology. If you usually creative a lot, the function of each product is well-known, the idea is not biased, the view is not stubborn, I can represent a typical fool user group and really know how to do a product, then you are suitable for a product manager. But from the ordinary to the outstanding, from the excellent to the outstanding also needs to undergo the practice examination.