© 2013 ENERGIZED WORK LIMITED - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - WWW.ENERGIZEDWORK.COM Business Model Innovation by Experimentation Yoav Aviram Energized Work @yobo
May 19, 2015
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Business Model Innovation by ExperimentationYoav AviramEnergized Work@yobo
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IT Projects60% don’t meet schedule, budget or quality goals - IBM
50% failed to achieve what they set out to achieve - KPMG
17% go so badly that they can threaten the very existence of the
company - Calleam Consulting
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Innovative IT Projects (startups) 95% of technology startups fail - Allmand Law
93% of Angel investments never achieve expected ROI - University of
Washington
80% of VC investments never achieve expected ROI - National VC
Association
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WHY?
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Software, the Tip of the Iceberg
Too late
Poor quality
Missing functionality
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Agile
An iterative and incremental approach to development, where
requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-
organizing, cross-functional teams
- Wikipedia
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Who is the customer?
How do we acquire new users?
How do we convert users to paying customers?
How should the product look and behave?
How is our product used?
What problems does the product attempt to solve?
What features provide the greatest value?
...the Product Iceberg
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Lean Startup
A combination of business-hypothesis-driven experimentation, iterative
product releases, and "validated learning"
- The Lean Startup, Eric Ries
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...the Business Model IcebergWho are our customers?
Who is the competition?
How do we reach our customers?
What are the revenue streams?
What is the investment needed?
What is the operational cost?
What is our unique selling point?
What team members to recruit?
What are our business goals?
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Business Model
A plan for the successful operation of a business, identifying sources of
revenue, the intended customer base, products, and details of
financing
- Oxford Dictionary
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Business Model Innovation
- Business Model Generation, Alexander Osterwalder
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Product-Market Fit
There is a poorly met need a reachable market faces
There is a solution people are happy to pay for
There is a way to package and deliver the solution in a cost effective
manner
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Think About Risk
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Uncertainty
The lack of complete certainty, that is, the existence of more than one
possibility. The "true" outcome/state/result/value is not known.
- How to Measure Anything, Douglas Hubbard
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Quantifying Uncertainty
A set of probabilities assigned to a set of possibilities
“There is a 60% chance this market will double in five years”
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Risk
A state of uncertainty where some of the possibilities involve a loss,
catastrophe, or other undesirable outcome.
- How to Measure Anything, Douglas Hubbard
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Quantifying Risk
A set of possibilities each with quantified probabilities and quantified
losses
“There is a 40% chance the proposed oil well will be dry, with a loss of
$12 million in exploratory drilling costs”
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The Problem with RiskTechnology is used to solve complex problems
Our mind is wired to oversimplify complexity (we are not very good at
understanding probabilities)
We are solution oriented
We are optimistic (overconfident) by nature
People (grossly) underestimate risk & uncertainty
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Compound Risk
Combination of two or more related risks
Compound probabilities are (very) counter intuitive
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Monty Hall
A contestant on a game show is given the choice of three doors.
Behind one door is a new car, behind the others, goats.
After a contestant picks a door, the host, who knows what's behind all
the doors, opens an unchosen door, which reveals a goat.
He then asks the contestant, "Do you want to switch doors?"
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Should the contestant switch doors?
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Yes!The odds of winning are 2 out of 3 if you
switch
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Compound Probabilities
This answer is so counter intuitive, most people get it wrong
It’s why they made a game show off of it: the trick works every time
The lesson:
We need to give serious consideration to risk
We must not rely on our intuition when considering risk & uncertainty
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Risk Management 101Avoid by eliminating the situation or activity that presents it
Transfer through insurance or through other types of contracts
Reduce by hedging your bets or reducing uncertainty
Retain: because some risks are worth assuming
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Risk Reduction
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The Investor Mindset
Spread your bets on a portfolio of investments instead of one
Decide on an investment strategy
Split the investment into small incremental bets: abort bad products
quickly and ramp up investment in the good ones
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Uncertainty Reduction
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Value of InformationInformation reduces uncertainty
Reduced uncertainty improves decisions
Improved decisions have observable consequences with measurable
value
- Information Theory (1948)
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Sources of InformationExisting within the company
Other’s research
Experiments
Live product
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A scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test
a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact- Wikipedia
Experiment
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Experimental Discovery
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Prioritising Assumptions Uncertainty around making a decision is high (little existing information)
The value of the opportunity, or the cost of a mistake, is high
Experimentation is least expensive in terms of cost and time
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Designing Good Experiments
Attempt to falsify a hypothesis
Are objective, measurable and repeatable
Are controlled (variables tested in isolation)
Are cost effective
Influence a decision
Experiments aren't free
It's an investment decision
Information may be cheaper elsewhere
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Measurement
A measurement is an observation that results in information (reduction
of uncertainty) about a quantity
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Qualitative Measurements
The soft stuff
Subjective, messy and hard to quantify
Customer surveys, focus groups, interviews
But … provide insights about Perceived Value
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Good Qualitative QuestionsAvoid leading phrases such as "do you agree that..."
Make customers part with money or sign up, rather than asking them whether they would
Use follow up questions to get to the ‘why?’
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Quantitative Measurements
Start by decide on the right Metric (what to measure)
Then set lines in the sand: what success and failure look like
Always validate results with qualitative data
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Good MetricInfluences a decision
Comparative
Rates and Ratios are easier to compare and act upon
Measure what’s important to your customers
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Putting it all TogetherThe key to the success of IT Projects is better risk management
Information reduces uncertainty & risk
Experiments are the most effective way to obtain new information
Experiments have the biggest impact in a high value, high uncertainty
and little data situations
Hedge your bets by making small incremental investments
Challenge the distinction between business people and techies
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Reading List
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder
How To Measure Anything by Douglas W. Hubbard
Lean Analytics by Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz
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Questions?
Yoav AviramEnergized Work
[email protected]@yobo