Come to the performer with pain ready
Before implementing something, clearly understand what the problem is
If I see the client's uncertainty, then I giveuniversal product "homework" with examples and advice on each item. That is, I literally lead the company by the handle, direct the decision maker. This is how we highlight the real problem to see if the tool will help or not.
Homework. Five steps of the product approach
- Focus on the problem, describe it.Whatever you do - be it automationonboarding, saying goodbye to paper engagement questionnaires, or improving your hiring funnel, first pick one key pain you plan to take away from your colleagues.
- Interview employees affected by the process.For example, it seemed to the head of the department thatthe current task tracker for designers is outdated. We need a more progressive and convenient one so that teamwork is built even more efficiently and comfortably. At first glance, this seems like a good idea, but probably only for the manager. In the long term, this is fraught with the loss of time and money. Even the most seemingly positive changes in the company can be perceived negatively by the team. Therefore, first check if they have the problem that you are going to solve. To do this, conduct a series of interviews and analyze the audience. Ask at what stage the problem arises, what worries the employee? Perhaps he himself sees some solutions.
- Compose CJM - user card based on interviews conducted.It's there to see what's possible.improve old processes with a new product. For example, your candidates go through a hiring funnel where there are different users - HR specialists, onboarding managers, department heads, top managers, and so on. At each stage they may experience certain difficulties. The output is a map on which all the steps and problems are visible. You can start working with them by assessing the severity of the pain on a ten-point scale. This applies to any scale: from microprocesses to a customer card of 1,500 elements, like Auchan’s (I recommend opening it on a PC with a large screen). It all depends on the size of the business. Example of a schematic user map:
- Calculate your metric for success.It is important to measure dynamics using metrics so thatunderstand whether the tool worked. It is not necessary to use complex analytical systems. For example, you decided to implement AI and a cloud system to automate the selection of employees, so that recruiters do not suffer from routine and take on more ambitious tasks. Before connecting the tools, recruiters themselves guided candidates through the funnel: communicated via email, uploaded data into Excel, manually sent letters, tests and invitations to meetings to thousands of applicants. Now almost all communication with participants is carried out by a robot, and this is measured in saved hours of work for HR specialists, as well as an increase in the speed of progress through the funnel.
- Build an MVP - a working product with minimala set of functions for solving a point problem.Don't think about cool design at this stage,interface and cool fonts. It is important to understand if the tool will solve your problem. You can draw a simple prototype in Figma or even on A4 paper, and add instructions with pictures in Google Docs. The subsequent implementation is up to the developers: yours or from the executing company. For example, instead of a full-fledged mobile application, you can create a web page adapted for phones in a browser and so far only for iOS, since earlier, for example, we determined that 70% of the audience uses an iPhone.Recently, for the Utkonos online store, I collectedan interactive prototype that you can “swear by”. Plus - I did a demo so that everything was clear. Line managers and other participants in the process saw how the solution would work: "We used to call, but now we just go to our personal account, where we press these buttons and solve the problem." Next, it is important to collect feedback and refine the MVP, if there are any comments. After approval from the client, product development begins.
Avoid common mistakes- they slow down automation
- "Give us some IT solution."Top managers want to automate something, notunderstanding the needs of the company. They answer most questions vaguely, sometimes even avoiding answering altogether. In this case, large and very large companies will be helped by the product approach that I spoke about above.
- "Let's automate all of our pains at once."Take your time and don’t strive to embrace the immensity. Identify the key problem and build from there. You can even break it down into steps and figure out which foods will improve each piece.
- “We will write you such a cool technical specification - stunned. "Many companies want to appear advanced inIT: prepare 150-slide presentations with complex diagrams and a ton of extra numbers to impress. This is of no use. Tell the product manager in simple human language what is wrong now and what you want to achieve.
The process of introducing into a company with a specific pain
As it was.The company has four shifts of 300 people each.The shift manager is subordinate to the senior sections with their teams of 40–50 people. To understand how many employees he will have on a given shift, each senior site manager calls them, writes to them in instant messengers and on social networks. Next, internal documentation is generated with a list of those who confirmed or did not confirm the exit.
Problem.A constant operation that takes a lot of time is endless calls, recording arrivals and departures, as well as reasons for absence.
Solution.Introduce mobile technologies that will help bring workers to shift easier and more quickly.
How it became.All communication via mobile appI stayed on my smartphone, without calls. Employees write about the reasons for refusal via text in any messenger. And the shift manager in his personal online account sees the generated lists with reasons for refusal.
All employees are loaded into the application from SAP.We know which watch they belong to and what schedule they are working on. All shifts are formed automatically - the head of the section sees only responses from employees.
Results.It turned out to automate the process with manualoperational work before pressing one button in the application. They explained to the employees that they needed to install the application, added them to their personal account, where they would receive push notifications.
How was the implementation process.The decision maker described the company's pain in detail.We created a demo account with access for two weeks, a set of instructions (how to use it) so that employees could see how our solution works. Three days later they returned with a positive answer. We redesigned the demo access of our personal account module in a few days. The client immediately started using the application, adding all employees. After this, together with the decision maker, we once again went through the instructions and let the company float freely. A few days later I collected feedback myself to make sure everything was ok.
What is important to remember
The product approach is not a whim of the product manager, it’s better for you. Do not be lazy to use it when looking for pains in order to most accurately close the problem with the help of an IT solution.
Don't understand something and ask a lot of questionsproduct manager - this is normal and correct. You order a product and must clearly understand the implementation process. Don't be shy about not being able to draw MVPs or build CJMs - ask your product manager for help.
Remember, you don't have to be pretty.figures and take a long time to create a huge presentation with tasks for the executing company. Enough simple formulations that describe the problem. This will make the implementation process of any IT solution faster.
See also:
The first accurate map of the world was created. What's wrong with everyone else?
NASA told how they will deliver samples of Mars to Earth
Uranus has received the status of the strangest planet in the solar system. Why?