How Community and Product Teams Can Build Awesome Products Together

How Community & Product Can Build Awesome Products Together

Jason @Evanish

June 12, 2014

Let me tell you a story…

By @Evanish#CMXSummit


Goal Today:Teach you the Product Development process.

The Product Lifecycle

1: Gather Signal

1



1: Gather Signal 2: Prioritize

12




3: Build

12

3




4: Launch

3: Build

12

3

4



1: Gather Signal

5: Iterate

2: Prioritize

4: Launch

3: Build

12

3

4

5


1: Gather Signal

12

3

4

5


Don’t Give Them a Huge Feature Request List.


Do help them understand customer problems.



Use 5 Why’s Root Cause Analysis

Why?

The Real Problem.

Why?

Why?

Why?


Example: Big feature request vs. small feature update


1: Gather Signal Goal Communicate Problems, not Features. Ask why.


2: Prioritize

12

3

4

5


Don’t take “No” personally.


17

Do help them understand the business impact.


Quantify what you relay to your Product team

• How much time are you spending on this task?

• How many users does this impact?

• How many users are churning because of this?

• How would solving this increase revenue?


Example: oneforty spammers


2: Prioritize GoalQuantify & share the value of your problems.


3: Build

12

3

4

5


Don’t try to do the their job.


“… in my excitement I told product what I thought the community wanted, and then how exactly to make it and what it should look like

Natalia Krasnodebska

… I managed to piss off every product manager on the team.”

Do bring community into the product.


Ways to get community into the product

• Dog food features pre launch.

• Invite Product into conversations with the community.

• Share examples from others.


Example: Product Hunt


3: Build Goal Build a product that fitsyour community.


4: Launch

12

3

4

5


Don’t promise a release date to your community.


29

Do help the product team with early adopter users.


How to collaborate on a launch

• Help anticipate issues.• Get your community excited.• Let users know they're heard. • Create documentation and

education in advance.


Example: oneforty toolkits


4: Launch GoalBuild excitement and involve users early.


5: Iterate

12

3

4

5


Don’t separate yourself from the product team.


Launch Story

Do help product understand community feedback.


Do help product understand community feedback.


How to connect product to the community.

• Introduce the users who requested the feature.

• Relay feedback.• Connect Product to a

spectrum of users.• Share how you make

passionate, power users.


Example: Customer drinks and dinners


5: Iterate Goal Bring the voice of the community to product.


1: Gather Signal

1


Community & the Product Lifecycle

1: Problems, not Features

1




2: Prioritize

12




2: Quantify Value

12




2: Quantify Value

3: Build

12

3




2: Quantify Value

3: Add the Personality

12

3




2: Quantify Value

4: Launch


12

3

4




2: Quantify Value

4: Engage & Excite


12

3

4




5: Iterate

2: Quantify Value

4: Engage & Excite


12

3

4

5




5: Bring their Voice

2: Quantify Value

4: Engage & Excite


12

3

4

5




Jason Evanish

How can I help?

[email protected]: @Evanish

Want to be a Better Manager? Check out my startup: GetLighthouse.com

Want to learn more about Product?Sign up for my ebook: BeCustomerDriven.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://GetLighthouse.com/

http://BeCustomerDriven.com/

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How Community and Product Teams Can Build Awesome Products Together