AALTO VENTURES PROGRAM
?What do we need to find out next?
Developing a new business:
Extract value out of uncertainty.Endless quest for information.
1. What information?2. How to get it?
Levels of uncertainty
1) Unknown unknowns“Surprise”
2) Known unknownsEg blank boxes in canvas
3) Hypothesis (weak knowns)How reliable is the info?
4) Decision making foundationCan we make a decision?
Solution
Key metrics
Cost structure Revenue Streams
Channels
Unique value proposition
Customer segment
Unfair advantage
Problem
1.1.
2.2.
2.
3.4.
5.
6.
? …
Interviews = verbal communication
Let’s build a house!
Perception of «a house»!
? …
Experimentation and prototyping enhance verbal communication with artifacts
Method to gain new data
Goals and examples Stakeholder involved
Artefact Price/performance
Pre-requisites
User research Understanding user situation and problem, using eginterviews, contextual research, observations
Yes No Low reliability Almost none
Other research Competitor analysis, expert interviews, benchmarking, calculations, modelling …
No No Variable, mostly setting context and boundaries
Experts, software,specific qualification
Experiments Analysing user behaviour andpreferences in a more neutral way
Yes Yes, but not of the end-product
Improvedreliability, a bit higher cost
Almost none
Prototyping Testing solution acceptance, eg. features, customer experience, usability, design and aesthetics
Yes Yes, subset of end-product
Best reliability, highest cost
Materials, certain qualification
Example case
Starting point:
People have problems transporting big items
Outcome
Transport service tailored for second hand
market places
Experiment: How big an item causes problems?
Experiment
• Bring different size boxes to Sello shopping center
• Ask people how they would transport the boxes home.
Outcome of experiment
Noone uses boxAdditional information
Beds and sofas bought on second hand market places cause problems
Experiment: How much would a wan cost?
Experiment
• Set up a meeting with a wan company
• Discuss/ask for offer for wan + driver
Outcome of experiment
Price for wan + driverAdditional information
Cheapest time of the day 16-18
Prototype: How much would a customer pay?
Experiment
• Post a fake add on tori.fi• Offer people calling about the
sofa to deliver it home at different prices
Outcome of experiment
Price range and % of customers interested in deliveryAdditional information
Scheduling of delivery key question
Market research: How big is the market?
Experiment
• Search for relevant products ontori.fi
• Do count with some days in between to estimate turnaround
• Map relevant cases to find driving times
Outcome of experiment
Estimates of addressable market + length of wan routeAdditional information
-
Prototype: Actual delivery
Experiment
• Find customers on tori.fi that sell bed or sofa.
• Offer to handle the delivery• Borrow a wan and do the actual
delivery
Outcome of experiment
Delivery was successfulAdditional information
Insights into how the delivery process would need to be structured
*https://blog.leanstack.com/the-7-habits-for-running-highly-effective-lean-startup-experiments-f1daaa93f85b
1. Declare your expected outcomes upfront“If you simply plan on seeing what happens you will always succeed at seeing what
happens because something is guaranteed to happen.”
- Eric Ries, The Lean Startup
2. Make declaring outcomes a team sport
3. Emphasize estimation not precision
4. Measure actions versus words
5. Turn your assumptions into falsifiable hypotheses
6. Time-box your experiments
7. Always use a control group
Experimentation guidelines
*https://designabetterbusiness.tools/tools/experiment-canvas
*https://designabetterbusiness.tools/tools/experiment-canvas
BU
ILD
MEASURE
LEARN
In teams make a plan of
your next experiment.
Be ready to present it.
20 min.
TASK #1
Prototyping
• You can prototype anything!
• Build just enough to learn, no more
• Results always (more) unreliable than real life
Prototype parameters:
• A form of representation (paper, physical
object, digital ...)
• Quality / accuracy - details, realism
• Interactivity – can we interact with the
prototype?
• Lifespan – disposable or reusable?
Prototypes
Role play game
The card game
The video
Low and high
fidelity wireframes
Small scale real
prototype
Sketches
Interactive
prototype Lego serious
game
Co-creation prototyping
workshop
Sequence of prototypes in UX design process
Information
architectureSketches
Low fidelity
wireframes
High fidelity
wireframes
Interactive
prototypeMVP
Information
architectureSketches
Low fidelity
wireframes
High fidelity
wireframes
Interactive
prototypeMVP
testing
Sequence of prototypes in UX design process
Paper prototyping - sketches
Paper prototyping -
sketches
* UX design for customer relationship management for ISS Finland
Prototyping. Wireframes
• Adobe XD
• Illustrator - Invision
studio
• Sketch
• Zeplin
• FIGMA
• Flinto
• MockFlow
• Balsamiq
• Webflow
• Framer
• etc.
Programs for prototyping
Prototyping. High fidelity
wireframes9.
The role play game
Example: project
“People’s
pharmacy project
for YTA” by Hellon
(Helsinki, Finland)
The process
Full-scale cardboards mockups in
Hellon studio to simulate
prescription events involving staff
and customers.
The process
The cardboard pieces had a coating
that invited participants to write and
draw on them.
For example, the hook for bags drawn
on the counter’s surface.
Key project results
The video
Example: the one-hour prototype - prototyping for Elmo's
Monster Maker iPhone App.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SOeMA3DUEs&feature=youtu.be
Elmo's Monster Maker
Story:
The prototype made
1 hour before crucial
meeting with client;
The prototype made
with simplest
materials for free.
Outcome:
The video was fun and
endearing;
It was also much more
persuasive than just
talking about ideas;
Client accepted the
feature.
Long-term
outcome:
Designers team
subscribed to the
law:
Never have a
meeting without
a prototype!
Elmo's Monster Maker
Experiments are one way to
lower the bar in trying out an
idea. And the faster the
experiment, the more likely
you are to try.
Small scale real prototype
A mock–up on Miera Street in Riga to test what the street profile would look and
feel like with combined tram and car lanes, wider sidewalks and real cycle lanes.* https://vimeo.com/110836621
•14 meters long real installation
•Built in 3 days by 2 urbanists
•Remained in place for 1 week
•Founded by City of Riga for Riga
Capital of Culture event
Small scale real prototype
The board game
Example: project a training model to put Stockmann’s new sales and service model into practice
with staff, by Hellon (Helsinki, Finland)
Training simulation sessions for the Stockmann sales trainers.
Stockmann diamond game
• Conduct your experiment till
the 11th February
• Add report of the experiment to
the COO report for sprint 3
• Plan
• Execution
• Results/learnings
TEAM ASSIGNEMENTS
• March 5 will be Prototyping
testing event.
• Prepare a prototype for your
concept and bring it to the
event for testing with your
peers.
TEAM ASSIGNEMENTS