Designing MVPs for Enterprise Customers
Hi!
Original Agile India conference organizer
What do I do?
Product lead
Energy Management Software
Energy Utilities
Commercial buildings
Smart meter data
Archive and aggregate
Analyze
Measure and verify savings
Identify anomalies
Educate occupants and the public
Make the world a better place
Not just electricity...
Walk the talk
Poll
The Context
Product development landscape has shifted
Development is no longer the constraint
Biggest risk is no longer: Can we build it?
It is: Will anyone care?
Marketplace is flooded with great products
That nobody uses
Product design is the new black
Design thinking
Building software is a constrained problem
Designing a product is wide open
Explore the design space as quickly as possible
Tackle this risk directly
Minimal Viable Product (MVP)
What is an MVP?
An MVP helps entrepreneurs start the process of learning as quickly as possible
Groupon Wordpress blog
Dropbox video
Landing page
Examples mainly from the consumer product space
Selling to enterprises is different
B2C vs B2B
Deal size
- B2C: $ - $,$$$
- B2B: $,$$$ - $,$$$,$$$
Sales process
- B2C: self-service
- B2B: sales representatives
Risks
- B2C: low
- B2B: high
Decision maker
- B2C: buyer and consumer are usually the same person
- B2B: buyer and consumer are usually different people
Decision-making process
- B2C: consumer research
- B2B: Request for Proposal (RFP)
What does an Enterprise MVP look like?
Table stakes: what's needed to start learning process?
More than a landing page
Step 1: The Pitch
The Pitch
- Product vision
- Sales collateral
- Trained sales staff
Goal: validate product concept
Step 2: The Demo
Step 3: Limited-access account
Goal: close the deal
Problem: MVP without a product
Enterprise MVP: Approach
A 5 step program
1. Start with fixed, known constraints
2. Defer commitment on everything else
3. Leverage external products and services wherever possible
4. Start simple and iterate quickly
5. Focus on telling a compelling story
Enterprise MVP: Example
Fixed constraint: Our product is a web application
(for us, even this turned out to be invalid)
Foundation: Static, single page web application (SPA)
Tools: HTML, CSS + Javascript
Defer commitment: No back-end required
(3 months, 30+ demos without back-end)
Defer commitment: Hard-coded data
Leverage: Web application frameworks
Leverage: Hosting
Leverage: Web services
Iterate quickly: Continuous Deployment
Iterate quickly: Cross-functional teams
Iterate quickly: Direct feedback
Compelling story: User journey
(like user stories only better)
Personas that really work
Focus on workflow - not features
Static site illusion
Demo-driven development™
(reclaiming the term)
Demonstrability is a first-class concern
Not bolted on later
Resetability
Service orientation
User focused design
Focus on speed
Polyglot (growth mindset)
T-shaped people
Enterprise MVPs: Key Value Hypotheses
- Will customers buy our product?
(Purchase assumption) - Will users find the product to be valuable?
(Value assumption)
Purchase assumption
- More immediate
- Simpler
Value assumption
- Ultimately more important
- Harder
Customer perception of user value != Real user value
Simultaneous user testing
Small pilots
Summary
Test both Purchase and Value assumption
Follow the 5 steps to designing an Enterprise MVP
- Start with fixed, known constraints
- Defer commitment on everything else
- Leverage external products and services wherever possible
- Start simple and iterate quickly
- Focus on telling a compelling story