Ufuoma Okon’s Post

To be a Product Manager, we need to develop strong research skills. Little did I know that there is more to research than just the mere understanding of gathering information and getting insights. I understood that we need to define the objective of the research: what is the purpose? Is it Innovation or Improving the revenue/reach/business? Generative Research and Evaluative Research: Generative research is about understanding user motivations, needs, and pain points. Evaluative research means determining how the existing product could be made better. One is used when you are getting started with the concept, and the other is when you have the product and want to improvise it. One path focuses on business innovation, while the other improves operations. P.S. I learned about these concepts in my Product Design and Evaluation course. Credits: Maze. Article link: https://lnkd.in/guvV3JCg #NewConcept

Four principles for effective solutions to reduce research waste in product development: There’s a wide variety of experiments that you might run to get more value from customer insights. Everything from a new type of workshop to consolidate research, to a new metadata standard, to a new type of recurring reporting – and anywhere in between. Any effective solution for activating research wealth will represent one or more of these common principles: 1️⃣ Durability 2️⃣ Adaptability  3️⃣ Connectivity 4️⃣ Visibility … A bit more on each: 1️⃣ Durability is about your research knowledge having saying power. Customer insights are wasted when people believe that any and all research learning becomes obsolete quickly. > Following this principle, your researchers can take a longer view on the shelf life of insights, creating enduring mechanisms to manage what’s still relevant. You can shape your collected research knowledge with a long-term, legacy mindset. 2️⃣ Adaptability is about the ways that research can be tailored to fit the particulars of your organization’s structure and ways of working. A one-size-fits-all approach won't be as effective at reducing research waste. There are many ways to break apart and pull together research learning in order to match your planning environment. > Following this principle, you can tailor your waste-reduction efforts to your organization's unique culture and the types of impacts that your community wants to see. 3️⃣ Connectivity is about building useful networks within and between your community’s research outputs. Isolated insights become waste. Qualitative and quantitative, generative and evaluative, one-time and continuous sources – different stripes of research inquiry are at their best when they’re united. Connected research knowledge can then be traced forward into your colleagues' work to envision, define, design, and implement what’s next. > Following this principle, you can forge meaningful links among your collective research knowledge, learners, and product development practices. 4️⃣ Visibility is about ensuring that your community’s research remains an ongoing part of internal conversations. Research is wasted when it's not seen. Exposure can be narrowly focused dialogs, wider broadcasts, or anything in between. It can be a series of one time touch points, but often benefits from becoming a repeated stream of planned messaging. > Following this principle, you can push mindshare and presence of essential insights, the research community that generated them, and the launched wins they enabled. … Much more to come in forthcoming ‘Stop Wasting Research’ book for Rosenfeld Media. Email update link below… #research #researchops #productops #designops #UX #marketresearch #datascience #productmanagement

This weekend, I had the pleasure of immersing myself in Erika Hall’s erudite tome, Just Enough Research. As a product professional perpetually navigating the nexus of market dynamics, consumer expectations, and innovation, this book resonated profoundly with me. It eloquently dispels the myth that exhaustive research guarantees superior outcomes, instead advocating for a paradigm where judicious inquiry and actionable insights are paramount. Hall’s treatise serves as an intellectual lodestar, illuminating the art of posing incisive questions that uncover the latent needs and desires of users. This transformative process converts nebulous concepts into tangible, resonant solutions—a quintessential skill for any product professional. Embracing Lean Research Central to Hall’s magnum opus is the principle of lean research. She extols the virtues of a balanced approach, meticulously aligning research efforts with the product’s developmental stage. This philosophy ensures that research functions as an enabler of agility rather than a bureaucratic impediment. Techniques such as guerrilla testing are adeptly illustrated, showcasing how to extract pivotal insights without succumbing to protracted timelines and exorbitant costs. Empathy at the Core Hall’s emphasis on empathy-driven research is particularly poignant. A profound understanding of the user’s journey and emotional landscape is paramount. For us product professionals, this translates to an intuitive design process, crafting solutions that deeply resonate with user pain points and aspirations. This empathy imbues our products with a human touch, elevating them from mere utilities to indispensable companions. A Repository of Practical Tools This book is replete with a pragmatic arsenal of methodologies. Hall’s discourse on ethnographic studies, contextual inquiries, and usability testing is not mere academic pontification; it is imbued with real-world applicability. This empowers product teams to seamlessly integrate research into their workflows, fostering a culture of relentless iteration and improvement. Cross-Functional Synergy A profound tenet in Hall’s narrative is her advocacy for cross-functional collaboration. She elucidates the imperative of democratizing the research process, ensuring that insights permeate organizational silos. This collective intelligence enhances the fidelity of insights and galvanizes innovation, making research a cornerstone of strategic alignment. In summation, this book is an indispensable guide for any product professional. It is a manifesto for strategic inquiry, offering a blueprint for delivering products that not only meet but exceed user expectations. As I continue to traverse the ever-evolving landscape of product development, Hall’s erudition will undoubtedly serve as a guiding light, ensuring that research is not a hindrance but a catalyst for innovation. #WeekendReading #ProductManagement #UserResearch #LeanResearch #DesignThinking #Innovation

As a product manager, conducting effective research is crucial for understanding user needs, market trends, and competitor offerings. Here's a step-by-step approach to conducting research: 1. Define Research Goals: Start by clearly defining the objectives of your research. What specific questions do you want to answer? What insights are you hoping to gain? 2. Identify Research Methods: Choose the appropriate research methods based on your goals. Common methods include user interviews, surveys, usability testing, market analysis, competitor analysis, and data analytics. 3.Recruit Participants: If your research involves gathering insights from users, recruit participants who match your target audience criteria. Consider factors such as demographics, behavior, and usage patterns. 4.Conduct Interviews or Surveys: If conducting user interviews or surveys, prepare a set of open-ended questions to gather qualitative insights. Be sure to listen actively, probe for deeper understanding, and capture detailed feedback. 5.Analyze Data: Once you've collected data, analyze it to identify patterns, trends, and key insights. Look for common themes or pain points that can inform your product decisions. 6.Stay Updated on Market Trends: Keep abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and competitor offerings. Subscribe to relevant blogs, attend conferences, and follow thought leaders in the product management space. 7.Test Hypotheses: Use research to test hypotheses and validate assumptions about your product. This could involve conducting A/B tests, prototype testing, or usability testing to gather feedback and iterate on your product. 8.Iterate and Refine: Continuously iterate on your research process based on feedback and learnings. Stay agile and be willing to adjust your approach as needed to ensure that your product remains aligned with user needs and market trends. By following these steps and adopting a systematic approach to research, you can gather valuable insights that inform your product strategy and drive the success of your product. Dr. Aanu Gopald Africa Agility Foundation Moyinoluwa Adetola Mercy Holumidey

This is a concise breakdown of the 2 main types of user research and when to use them. Also a gentle reminder from me that if there is no user researcher on your team, you could hire a freelancer to help you learn to do both well. 😉

There are two distinct types of user research: generative and evaluative. Both play crucial roles in the product development lifecycle, serving different purposes and conducted at different stages of the process. Let's explore the nuances of each and understand their unique roles. Generative Research (aka “Exploratory” or “Discovery” Research): a research method that “generates” a deeper understanding of your user’s motivations, pain points, and behaviors. Often conducted through interviews or observations, the goal of this research is to help you identify a problem statement and gather evidence in the form of big insights so you can move forward confidently. Yes to: questioning, observing, learning, exploring No to: solutioning; gathering specific requirements Evaluative Research: A research method that comes in handy when you already have a solution hypothesis or solution. Use this method of research to test your solution hypothesis or assess a current solution to ensure ease of use and that it is functioning as intended. Yes to: testing concept ideas, hypotheses, or usability; assessing competitor product No to: broad research questions that don’t assess the hypothesis, unless you are getting feedback you didn’t expect The key is to use the right type of research at the right time. Generative research avoids the build trap by ensuring the right problems are solved before development. Evaluative research keeps us honest and grounded, ensuring our execution aligns with user needs. In conclusion, both generative and evaluative research are essential tools in a product manager's toolkit. They complement each other, providing a comprehensive understanding of users and guiding the creation of successful, user-centric products. Start with generative research to explore unknowns and lean on evaluative research to refine solutions for optimal outcomes. Work with your user researchers to learn how to do both well. What strategies do you use to ensure you're incorporating both generative and evaluative research effectively in your product development process? I’d love to hear your insights. Learn more in our Product Institute courses: https://lnkd.in/gKrpruPW #ProductMetrics #CustomerLifecycle #UserEngagement #BusinessSuccess #ProductInstitute #ProductOperations

This explanation of types of user research is worth a bookmark (and Melissa’s course is likely worth a purchase if you want to learn more. I haven’t taken it but would love to) #productmanagement #productresearch #userresearch

Lately, I have started noting down important concepts, principles, key points while reading a book. Here are a few key points from the book "Inspired"- by Marty Cagan. 1. Half of the ideas on a product roadmap are NOT going to deliver what we hope. Really good team assume it atleast 75%. 2. If you are just using engineers to code, you are only getting half of their value. Involve Engineers in early stage of idea generation, they are typically the best single source of innovation 3. The biggest form of waste is to design, build, Test and deploy a feature or product only to find out it is not what was needed 4. Product is not just functionalities, but it also include the technology that enables features, user experience design that delivers the feature, how we monetize the feature, how we attract and acquire users, and offline experience 5. Discovery and delivery are two main activities in a product team that are typically ongoing and in parallel 6. The MVP should be prototype, not an actual product- building a actual product qualify deliverable to learn, even if that deliverable has minimal functionality , lead to substantial waste of time and money. 7. Product roadmap should be outcome based rather than output. Product roadmaps should contains item as business problems to solve rather than feature. It is equivalent to using a OKR system. 8. Product Vision describe the future we are trying to create, typically between 2 to 5 years. Product vision is not specs, it is mainly inform of a storyboard, a narrative such as a white paper or a special type of prototype referred as visiontype. 9. The product strategy is sequence of products or releases we plan to deliver on the path to realizing product vision. For consumer focused companies we often structure each product releases or product market fit around a different user or customer personal 10. Product principles speaks about the nature of the products you want to create. Product principles are not list of product features but it is about what company and product team believes is important. Good set of productsPrinciples inspires product features. 11. Testing Qualitative testing- about fast learning and big insights. Answers "why" Quantitative testing- about collecting evidence, Answers "what" Qualitative testing- usability testing followed by value testing Value testing- - asking money( BUT not actually asking. Just check if user is ready to give credit card details) - Asking recommendation, ask to share on social media, ask email of their boss or friends - asking time- check if they are willing to spend some time with you for discussion - asking access for other system- might be asking login credentials for their existing system Demand Testing - Landing page demand test Outcome - evidence on demand - list of users who are willing to talk about it Quantitative Testing - live data prototype -'collect actual usage data - A/B testing- From book - Inspired by Marty Cagan

Research always seems to be chasing the product roadmap. This reactive approach leaves researchers scrambling to validate decisions after they've been made rather than informing them from the start. It's like trying to give driving directions to someone who's already halfway to their destination—you might help them avoid a few wrong turns, but you've missed the chance to suggest a better route entirely. Product teams need continuous research insights, not just last-minute validation. When researchers are brought in early and often, they can identify opportunities, surface user needs, and help shape product strategy before key decisions get locked in. But, I realize that shifting from reactive to proactive research requires both organizational buy-in and a systematic approach to gathering user insights. Here are three ways to make that transition: 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗲) 𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 Create a central hub for storing and accessing research findings. This makes insights discoverable and helps prevent duplicate studies. 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 Schedule recurring touchpoints with product teams to understand upcoming decisions and align research priorities accordingly. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 Dedicate time to understanding user behaviors and needs independent of specific feature requests. This creates a knowledge base from which to draw when new opportunities arise. ===== 👋 I'm Ari...a criminal investigator turned customer investigator. 🤝 Need help getting insights fast? DM me. Also, if you liked this post: 👍 Like it 🛟 Save it ♻ Repost it 🔔 Follow me 💌 Subscribe (link in carousel)

🚀 Is it Time to Pivot or Abandon Your Product Development Project? Here's How to Decide! 🔄 Embarking on a new product development journey is exciting, but what if things aren't going as planned? Knowing when to pivot or call it quits is crucial for success. Here are some signs it might be time for a change: 1. Lack of Market Traction: 📉 If your product isn't gaining traction in the market despite your best efforts, it may be a sign to pivot. Listen to customer feedback, analyze market trends, and explore alternative strategies to better address customer needs. 2. Shifting Customer Preferences: 🔄 Customer preferences can change rapidly, and if your product no longer aligns with market demands, it may be time to pivot. Stay attuned to evolving trends and be willing to adapt your product to meet shifting consumer needs. 3. Resource Constraints: 💼 If you're facing resource constraints such as budget limitations or a shortage of skilled talent, it may hinder the success of your project. Assess whether reallocating resources or seeking external support could help revitalize the project. 4. Technological Obsolescence: 🖥️ In fast-paced industries, technological advancements can quickly render your product obsolete. If your technology becomes outdated or surpassed by competitors, consider pivoting to stay ahead of the curve. 5. Competitive Landscape: 🏆 Analyze the competitive landscape and assess whether your product can differentiate itself effectively. If competitors have a stronghold in the market or offer superior alternatives, pivoting may be necessary to carve out your niche. 6. Feedback from Stakeholders: 🗣️ Pay attention to feedback from stakeholders, including customers, investors, and team members. If the consensus indicates that your current approach isn't working, it may be time to pivot or explore alternative strategies. 7. Gut Feeling: 🤔 Trust your instincts. If you have a lingering sense that something isn't right with the direction of your project, it's worth taking a step back to reassess and potentially pivot towards a more promising path. Ready to navigate the complexities of product development with confidence? Dive into our comprehensive guidebook, "Design. Develop. Deliver.," for invaluable insights and strategies. Grab your copy today: https://lnkd.in/dwU83SaV 📘 Visit our website at www.brainbotlabs.com to learn more about our product development services and how we can help you pivot towards success. #ProductDevelopment #PivotOrPersist #BrainBotLabs #DesignDevelopDeliver