#RallyON15#RallyON15

#RallyON15#RallyON15

Jacob BrownLinking Agile with Market ResearchJacob@mozaic-group.com

Things are a little tense in Product Development.

For years, Market Research and Product Development worked together to create new products and services.

The groups were tightly linked to traditional development milestones.

That worked really well when product development looked like this.

But that model was built during a more leisurely time.

It was designed for making physical products.

You remember products?

• They had to be built• High fixed costs• Expected to last for decades• Years between new models

But products have changed.

What is an iPhone?

• Product?

• Service?

• Software

• Hardware?

• Platform?

• Device

• Marketplace?

We are on the 6th version of the iPhone in 7 years.

• New shape

• New features

• New materials

• New services

• New operating system

• New interface

• New everything

The old model just can’t cope with that pace of innovation.

Agile was created, in part, to survive the demand for rapid innovation.

But to support this pace, Agile teams need lots of information.

Information Needs• Occasional• Strategic - Big chunks• Easy to plan for

Information Needs• Continuous• Tactical – Small bites• Impossible to anticipate

This shift to Agile has made Marketing and Market Research out of sync with Product Development.

• By the time Research has an answer – the product team has already made a decision and moved on.

So what can we do?

16

The natural response has been to try to speed up marketing and market research projects.

But speed alone isn’t the answer.

We know it isn’t the solution; because we’ve been speeding things up for the past 15 years and clients still aren’t happy.

You can try queuing up a series of projects, so that Research is “always ready to go”.

That doesn’t work either.

20

The structure is too inflexible.

You can’t respond to the unplanned needs typical of Agile Development.

How can market research meet the needs of Agile Development?

21

How can we bring agility to market research?

22

What does Agile Market Research mean?

23

We apply Agile Values to the Market Research process.

Agile Values are the touchstones – the foundation – of any Agile implementation.

Individuals and interactions over

processes and tools.

Working product over comprehensive documentation.

Customer collaboration over contract negotiations.

Responding to change over following a plan.

Agile Value

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.

Agile Market Research Value

• Team meetings over completing Market Research Request Forms.

25

Agile Value

• Working product over comprehensive documentation.

Agile Market Research Value

• In-person debriefs over mountains of crosstabs and PowerPoint slides.

26

Agile Value

• Customer collaboration over contract negotiations.

Agile Market Research Value

• Embed Research into the Product team over Research as a supplier.

27

Agile Value

• Responding to change over following a plan.

Agile Market Research Value

• On-demand research processes over milestone research events.

28

What does Agile Market Research look like?

1. Small 2. Light

3. Flexible 4. Targeted

5. Includes DIY

29

Characteristics of Agile Market Research: Small

30

Agile research is quick – you only get to ask a few questions.

You only need a few questions because you are ONLY answering the questions the Product Team has TODAY or in this Sprint Cycle.

There is no room for “it would be nice to know” questions.

Small

Characteristics of Agile Market Research: Light Infrastructure

31

Agile Research is responsive.

You can’t have Agile research within a traditional approval and review infrastructure.

If you need to get 5 people to sign-off on the research - you’re already dead.

Agility requires a light infrastructure where the team can make decisions on their own.

Light

Characteristics of Agile Market Research: Flexible

32

Agile research is on-demand research.

If I have to plan the research weeks in advance it can’t be Agile.

This requires new ways of doing research.

Flexible

Characteristics of Agile Market Research: Targeted

33

Agile research is targeted.

You are not canvasing the world – you are not looking under every rock. This is NOT exploratory research.

We are talking with our “Prime Target” – they are the first customers. If we can’t please them – we’ll never get a chance to sell to the broader market.

Targeted

Characteristics of Agile Market Research: Includes DIY

34

DIY is here to stay.

Product Development wants to talk to customers – they need to talk to customers.

If the Market Research team stands in the way between Product Dev and their Customers it only robs the research of its Agility.

Market Research adds value by facilitating and optimizing the DIY research process.

DIY

Inserting research into the Sprint cycle.

35

Identify information needs for future sprints

Present research findings

Fitting Agile in the product roadmap.

There is still an important role for traditional strategic research studies. But there is also a time when an Agile process will work best. The goal is to find the right mix of traditional and Agile research.

36

What are the barriers to Agile Market Research?

The barriers to Agile Research are the same as the barriers to Agile Development.

Change – Companies fight change – Departments fight change – Groups fight change – Individuals hate change.

Loss of control – Managers enable Agile Research they don’t control it.

Prejudice - The belief that Agile Research is Bad Research.

Fear – A well known methodology feels safer than daily innovation.

37

How will Agile Market Research grow?

The same way that Agile Development grew.

Leadership – you can’t force change but you can lead change.

Grassroots – Product groups will start doing Agile Research before the Market Research group does.

Failure – We become open to trying something new only when the current process stops.

38

#RallyON15#RallyON15

Thank you

My next three challenges / or three big open questions:1.2.3.

Jacob BrownJacob@mozaic-group.com

Creating ways to integrate Marketing & Agile teamsBuilding global Agile programsSupporting Agile marketing transformations