What consumers want to create

Many years ago, my job was to do newspaper commercials, there was an old saying: I know half of your advertising is wasted, but I don't know which half is wasted. When I was a software Product manager, the same problem annoyed me: I knew that the user would only use half of the functionality, but I didn't know which half.

If your job is also responsible for a software product, you must also worry about the day, consider the spend time and energy resources to improve which features. And I'm currently working as a consultant with a variety of application development teams, and it's the software industry's biggest waste of time and resources that the ability to develop a customer is simply not in use. If this waste is not discovered in time, the company is likely to be dragged down.

Creating the wrong product or function is not just a waste of time and money, it also kills the creativity, intelligence, and energy of team members, making it more difficult to recruit and retain talent. Let me elaborate:

A bloated function--that's what the industry calls it--can lead to functions that are useful to users that are submerged in a wide variety of functions that are not needed. Customers start to feel bad and call customer service, hiring customer service must be your own money, and then your customer service will face an avalanche of questioning and questions. In the end, too much functionality is making new features harder to develop, and developers are starting to get upset. As a result, we cannot see the end of this vicious circle until competitors steal market share because their products are cheaper, more reliable, more aesthetically pleasing and easier to get started.

Apple is a good example of the world's most valuable company, with its streamlined products, reduced functionality, and the development of reliable and usable applications and equipment. The company found a way to continue to build the right product. The same opportunities exist in your company. Even if your product may not be as good as the ipad, it can still be simple, elegant, and beautiful, as long as you are willing to place the needs of users and users at the center of the enterprise.

This is the agile mindset mind-set: eliminate waste by creating a business that focuses on exploring the needs of users and quickly satisfies them in a way that can be affordable. In fact, this is why we operate business: to provide value to customers. Not just existing customers, but new customers in new markets.

So why do our businesses always lose their way?

The first step in building a customer-centric business is to be aware of the problem. We need to understand that the flashy designs we are accustomed to and the myriad of program functions are part of the problem. But what should we do next? How do we begin to reshape our system to make it more customer-centric?

Many products have plans, but only a few have long-term planning. We have countless functional building plans without a unified long-term planning direction that we all strive for. A long term plan for a product is the value you want to provide at a higher level, and the right understanding of the object you want to provide value for. It's that simple. In fact, the simpler the better.

I suggest you randomly take 5 employees or partners and ask them what the vision of your product is. Most of the results are that you get 5 different answers, or even the opposite. That's why a lot of companies get lost in their internal struggles when they should be working together to make customers happy. Once you have a consistent vision, choose the product function together, the development sequence will be relatively easy, and everyone will begin to work in a consistent direction.

In short, you are creating higher standards and values for your product, and a company that creates this product. Without a clearly visible vision, you are shooting in the dark. You feel that it is like elephant to conform to the public opinion, it is likely that everyone on the team has a very different understanding of the product being done. Take your time and chisel this part first.

Whether we are repeatedly released function or continuous adjustment, the most important thing is to design our manual process and technology infrastructure, in order to safely, step to complete the work.

Managing master Peter Drucker often says that "doing the right thing is more important than doing things right". To do this, we need to develop our own "synaesthesia": we have to be able to look at the world from a customer's perspective.

Agile Design Training (practices) encourages us to quickly test our ideas, make use of such tools as rapid prototyping, and lucidity the original form of the product. Organize free lunches every week, and let your team see how customers are using the product, so it's easy to build a sense of teamwork and inspire new ideas. As far as I know, the team is also very enthusiastic.

In addition, the creation of a "product user" role can have far-reaching implications. A product user refers to a role that is shared with your development team and is used by the customer to determine the order in which to build the functionality and to choose between different functions. Then, for the selected function, the product user should work with the team to explore how to make the customer satisfied. In some cases, the user of a product can be a real customer, but the role of the actor is usually to develop a sense of synaesthesia and to identify valuable elements. Just such a middleman can help developers understand the real key to creating the right product.

By creating a solid vision, regular updates, and uninterrupted conversations with customers, you can focus your organization's collective attention where you can truly satisfy your customers. Although these changes look small, they will not only make you better products, but also make everyone happier and the company more powerful.

(via PandoDaily)