491: Product Design & Development: Fifth of Seven Knowledge Areas of Product Mastery – with Chad McAllister, PhD

Product Mastery Now for Product Managers, Leaders, and Innovators

How product managers can master product design & development

Watch on YouTube

TLDR

This article explores the crucial role of product design in product management, focusing on ideation and concept design tools. It covers various ideation techniques such as SCAMPER, brainstorming, mind mapping, storyboarding, brainwriting, Six Thinking Hats, Delphi, ethnography, Day in the Life, empathy analysis, personas, and customer journey maps. The article also delves into concept design, discussing the Kano Method for classifying product requirements and identifying customer perceptions. By understanding and applying these tools, product managers can create customer-centric products that drive satisfaction, differentiation, and competitive advantage.

Introduction

Product design is a critical aspect of product management, as it directly impacts the success of a product in the market. To create products that customers love, product managers must have a deep understanding of their target audience and employ various tools and techniques to generate ideas, validate concepts, and optimize the user experience (UX). In this episode, we will explore the essential product design tools that every product manager should know, focusing on ideation and concept design.

Ideation Tools

Ideation is the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas. It is an essential part of the product development process, particularly in the early stages when product managers are looking to identify customer needs and develop innovative solutions. Here are some powerful ideation tools that can help product managers in their quest for product innovation:

1. SCAMPER is an acronym that stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse. This tool helps generate new ideas by prompting product managers to think about their product in different ways. By applying each of these actions to their product, they can come up with creative solutions and improvements.
2. Traditional brainstorming involves gathering a group of people to generate a large number of ideas in a short period. However, research has shown that this method may not be the most effective. The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is an improved version of brainstorming that incorporates individual reflection time before the group discussion, leading to better quality ideas.
3. Mind Mapping is a visual tool that starts with a central idea and builds a web of relationships around it. This tool is particularly useful for collaborative ideation sessions, as it allows team members to see the connections between different ideas and build upon them.
4. Storyboarding focuses on developing a story to understand the problems or issues customers face when using a product. By visually representing the key elements of the story, product managers can gain insights into the customer journey and identify areas for improvement.
5. Brainwriting is a variation of NGT that involves individual writing and idea sharing. Participants write down their ideas and then pass them to the next person, who builds upon them. This process continues until everyone has had a chance to contribute, resulting in a diverse set of ideas.
6. Six Thinking Hats encourages team members to examine a problem or topic from multiple perspectives. Each hat represents a different way of thinking, such as facts, emotions, or creative ideas. By wearing different hats, product managers can approach a problem from various angles and generate more comprehensive solutions.
7. The Delphi method utilizes a panel of experts to provide insights and scenario planning. Through a series of surveys, experts independently share their thoughts on a specific topic. The results are then synthesized and shared back with the group for further refinement. This process helps product managers make informed decisions based on expert opinions.
8. Ethnography involves observing users in their natural environment to gain a deeper understanding of their needs and behaviors. By combining ethnography with interviews, product managers can uncover valuable insights that may not be apparent through other research methods.
9. The Day in the Life method helps product managers uncover the routines, behaviors, and challenges customers face when using a product. This can be done through remote user observation, such as video submissions, allowing product managers to gather data from a diverse set of users.
10. Empathy Analysis is crucial for creating customer-centric products. By immersing themselves in the user’s world, product managers can better understand their problems and develop solutions that address their needs. Empathy analysis should be a fundamental part of any product design process.
11. Personas are fictional characters based on real customer interactions. They help product managers understand their target audience by incorporating demographic, behavioral, and psychographic data. By adding jobs-to-be-done to personas, product managers can gain even more clarity on the outcomes customers are trying to achieve.
12. Customer Journey Maps are flowcharts that visualize the actions and behaviors of customers as they interact with a product. They identify touchpoints, emotions, and visible interactions, providing a comprehensive view of the customer experience. Product managers can use this information to optimize the user experience and improve customer satisfaction.

Ideation Tool	Key Benefits
SCAMPER	Generates new ideas by prompting different ways of thinking about a product
Brainstorming (NGT)	Incorporates individual reflection time for better quality ideas
Mind Mapping	Visualizes connections between ideas and facilitates collaborative ideation
Storyboarding	Provides insights into the customer journey through visual storytelling
Brainwriting	Encourages diverse idea generation through individual writing and sharing
Six Thinking Hats	Examines problems from multiple perspectives for comprehensive solutions
Delphi	Utilizes expert opinions for informed decision-making and scenario planning
Ethnography	Uncovers deep insights through observing users in their natural environment
Day in the Life	Reveals routines, behaviors, and challenges customers face when using a product
Empathy Analysis	Helps create customer-centric products by understanding user needs and problems
Personas	Provides a clear understanding of the target audience based on real customer data
Customer Journey Maps	Visualizes the customer experience, identifying touchpoints, emotions, and interactions

Concept Design

Once product managers have generated ideas through ideation, the next step is to develop and refine these ideas into product concepts. Concept design involves creating a detailed description of the product, including its features, benefits, and user experience. One powerful tool for concept design is the Kano Method.

The Kano Method classifies product requirements into three categories:

1. Basic (Must-be) Requirements: These are the essential features that customers expect from a product. If these requirements are not met, customers will be dissatisfied.
2. Performance (One-dimensional) Requirements: These requirements are directly related to customer satisfaction. The better a product performs in these areas, the more satisfied customers will be.
3. Excitement (Attractive) Requirements: These are unexpected features that can delight customers. While their absence does not lead to dissatisfaction, their presence can significantly boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The Kano Method also helps identify customer perceptions through surveys, which focus on four key aspects:

1. Attractive Quality Elements: Customers are satisfied when these elements are present, but not dissatisfied when they are absent.
2. One-dimensional Quality Elements: These elements have a direct impact on customer satisfaction. More functionality leads to higher satisfaction, while less functionality results in lower satisfaction.
3. Must-be Quality Elements: Customers expect these elements as a minimum. Their presence does not increase satisfaction, but their absence leads to dissatisfaction.
4. Indifferent Quality Elements: These elements do not impact customer satisfaction, whether they are present or absent. Investing resources in these elements is not advisable, as they do not contribute to the product’s success.

By applying the Kano Method, product managers can prioritize product features and allocate resources effectively. This helps create products that not only meet customer expectations but also exceed them, leading to higher customer satisfaction, differentiation, and competitive advantage.

Conclusion

Product design is a vital aspect of product management, and product managers must be well-versed in various ideation and concept design tools to create successful products. By understanding and applying tools such as SCAMPER, brainstorming, mind mapping, storyboarding, brainwriting, Six Thinking Hats, Delphi, ethnography, Day in the Life, empathy analysis, personas, and customer journey maps, product managers can generate innovative ideas and gain deep insights into customer needs.

Furthermore, by utilizing the Kano Method for concept design, product managers can classify product requirements and identify customer perceptions, ensuring that they focus on the features that matter most to their target audience. This customer-centric approach to product design leads to higher customer satisfaction, product differentiation, and competitive advantage.

Investing in product design and continuously improving the product development process through iterative design and customer feedback is essential for long-term success. By staying attuned to the voice of the customer (VoC) and leveraging these powerful product design tools, product managers can create products that not only meet but exceed customer expectations, driving product adoption, customer retention, and ultimately, business growth.

Useful links:

• Special Offer: Unlock a 30% discount on the Rapid Product Mastery training program using the code “podcast” at productmasterynow.com/rpm
• Check out the 2024 Product Development and Management Body of Knowledge by Allan Anderson, Chad McAllister, and Ernie Harris

Innovation Quote

“Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” – Albert von Szent-Gyorgy

Application Questions

1. What ideation tools have you used or seen used?
2. Think critically about your experience with these techniques and list the positive and negative aspects.
3. Do you have a “go to” tool you must often use?

Chad’s Bio

Chad McAllister, PhD, is a product management professor, practitioner, trainer, and host of the Product Mastery Now podcast. He has 30+ years of professional experience in product and leadership roles across large and small organizations and dynamic startups, and now devotes his time to teaching and helping others improve. He coauthored “Product Development and Management Body of Knowledge: A Guide Book for Product Innovation Training and Certification.” The book distills five decades of industry research and current practice into actionable wisdom, empowering product professionals to innovate and excel. Chad also teaches the next generation of product leaders through advanced graduate courses at institutions including Boston University and Colorado State University and notably re-engineered the Innovation MBA program at the University of Fredericton, significantly broadening its impact. Further, he provides online training for product managers and leaders to prepare for their next career step — see https://productmasterynow.com/.

Thanks!

Thank you for taking the journey to product mastery and learning with me from the successes and failures of product innovators, managers, and developers. If you enjoyed the discussion, help out a fellow product manager by sharing it using the social media buttons you see below.