Learning Launch

Challenge

I am a professional in charge of customer and sales support as well as internal projects of software  development at a software provider company. Several customers of the company are users of two  softwares: one to evaluate source code of business applications and a second one as a dashboard of  those evaluations. The dashboard product was a legacy I got and it was bad developed having bad  performance when used (more than two hours to get a single information) and the users stop using it.  The challenge was providing a new one, developed from scratch with limited budget ($ 60,000) and time  (four months) but also gaining back the customers’ confidence to use it.

Selection

Learning launch is a design thinking tool that provides hypothesis validation or not, quickly and cheap.   After talking to customers, gathering their desires and needs for using a new dashboard product  replacing the old one, I’ve decided to develop a new dashboard prototype and the most feasible action  due to limited budget and time, learning launch was the right tool to be used in this case.

Application

After aligning with one key customer to test the dashboard prototype we start developing it quickly  covering the aspects of performance (containing new summarized tables) and reports and visions  (according to what was previously discussed with the customers). It was our focus for the first learning  launch. Agile method for project management and the adoption of Scrum were used for new product  prototype development process and in a three-week timeframe it was ready to be installed to the key  customer. Three days were spent for product installation, configuration, preliminary testing, and  workshop for the key users. For one week we observed the new product utilization, talking to the users  and better understanding their needs. New reports and visions were incorporated to the new product  after two weeks and this was our second learning launch.

A second alignment was made with another key customer, but as the new product was stable and  working fine, we moved quickly to implement it. After one month of use, new demands for new visions  and reports raised from both customers. The users completed a survey about dashboard improvements,  and instead of developing new visions and reports we decided to develop a vision and report generation  engine in order to cover all aspects of current and future demands. The idea was discussed with both  customers and after having their agreement, in three weeks such engine was incorporated and tested in  both customers. This was our third learning launch. This tested our assumption and it was confirmed.

In three-month timeframe (75% of what was given) and $40,000 of investment (33% less than  budgeted), the company got a new dashboard product, stable and with an amazing performance,  providing a vision and report generation engine that provides to the users to build their own graphics

and reports avoiding to ask to the company to incorporate them to the new product. Now the rollout to  other customers is in place and the new dashboard is part of the company’s offering portfolio, also  leveraging new sales for the source code of business applications software.

Insight

With the use of learning launch tool it was possible to be ahead of schedule and under budget,  identifying and testing assumptions and anticipating results. It provided agility in the whole process  mainly when new demands from customers came to improve the new product in order to satisfy their  needs providing an outstanding outcome.  During the learning launch process we had to change the idea  to provide a dashboard product with fixed reports and visions that we have understood being what the  customers would want to have. Having the perception of an endless process of new demands, observing  the use of the prototype and gathering information from customers, provided us to change the path of  continuous reports development and start a new approach providing a report generator engine. The  right understanding of customers’ needs is crucial to identify the execution capability and related  investment to become an idea in value creation reality thru design thinking approach and tools.

The shared insights and the lessons learned in the course of the process are priceless for future  initiatives considering new ideas, hypothesis and assumptions validation and conducting small  experiments, managing risks by actions. These insights are assets to be visited often.

Approach

As we had to change strategy and ideas to better reflect customers’ needs for the new product during  the course of launch learning process, this brings the need to explore more mind mapping tool of design  thinking. The reasons are clear: based on the given insights, the research plan could be addressed  deeper generating more insights from exploration activities and using them to create a better design  criterion. Instead, the customers’ survey was done during the launch learning process (this is also in this  process important to validate the assumptions) and if it was done deeper preliminary, before the first  launch, probably more time would be saved before the second launch learning, providing a compelling  solution since the beginning.


Learning Launch Challenge I am a professional in charge of customer and sales support as well as internal projects of software development at a software provider company . Several customers of the company are users of two softwares : one to evaluate source code of business applications and a second one as a dashboard of those evaluations . The dashboard product was a legacy I got and it was bad developed having bad performance when used ( more than two hours to get a single information ) and the users stop using it . The challenge was providing a new one , developed from scratch with limited budget ( $ 60,000 ) and time ( four months ) but also gaining back the customers ’ confidence to use it . Selection Learning launch is a design thinking tool that provides hypothesis validation or not , quickly and cheap . After talking to customers , gathering their desires and needs for using a new dashboard product replacing the old one , I ’ve decided to develop a new dashboard prototype and the most feasible action due to limited budget and time , learning launch was the right tool to be used in this case . Application After aligning with one key customer to test the dashboard prototype we start developing it quickly covering the aspects of performance ( containing new summarized tables ) and reports and visions ( according to what was previously discussed with the customers ) . It was our focus for the first learning launch . Agile method for project management and the adoption of Scrum were used for new product prototype development process and in a three - week timeframe it was ready to be installed to the key customer . Three days were spent for product installation , configuration , preliminary testing , and workshop for the key users . For one week we observed the new product utilization , talking to the users and better understanding their needs . New reports and visions were incorporated to the new product after two weeks and this was our second learning launch . A second alignment was made with another key customer , but as the new product was stable and working fine , we moved quickly to implement it . After one month of use , new demands for new visions and reports raised from both customers . The users completed a survey about dashboard improvements , and instead of developing new visions and reports we decided to develop a vision and report generation engine in order to cover all aspects of current and future demands . The idea was discussed with both customers and after having their agreement , in three weeks such engine was incorporated and tested in both customers . This was our third learning launch . This tested our assumption and it was confirmed . In three - month timeframe ( 75 % of what was given ) and $ 40,000 of investment ( 33 % less than budgeted ) , the company got a new dashboard product , stable and with an amazing performance , providing a vision and report generation engine that provides to the users to build their own graphics and reports avoiding to ask to the company to incorporate them to the new product . Now the rollout to other customers is in place and the new dashboard is part of the company ’s offering portfolio , also leveraging new sales for the source code of business applications software . Insight With the use of learning launch tool it was possible to be ahead of schedule and under budget , identifying and testing assumptions and anticipating results . It provided agility in the whole process mainly when new demands from customers came to improve the new product in order to satisfy their needs providing an outstanding outcome . During the learning launch process we had to change the idea to provide a dashboard product with fixed reports and visions that we have understood being what the customers would want to have . Having the perception of an endless process of new demands , observing the use of the prototype and gathering information from customers , provided us to change the path of continuous reports development and start a new approach providing a report generator engine . The right understanding of customers ’ needs is crucial to identify the execution capability and related investment to become an idea in value creation reality thru design thinking approach and tools . The shared insights and the lessons learned in the course of the process are priceless for future initiatives considering new ideas , hypothesis and assumptions validation and conducting small experiments , managing risks by actions . These insights are assets to be visited often . Approach As we had to change strategy and ideas to better reflect customers ’ needs for the new product during the course of launch learning process , this brings the need to explore more mind mapping tool of design thinking . The reasons are clear : based on the given insights , the research plan could be addressed deeper generating more insights from exploration activities and using them to create a better design criterion . Instead , the customers ’ survey was done during the launch learning process ( this is also in this process important to validate the assumptions ) and if it was done deeper preliminary , before the first launch , probably more time would be saved before the second launch learning , providing a compelling solution since the beginning .