| Product
Strategy
Networked social products require a user-driven approach to
product development -- because collecting and responding to
user feedback is an inherent part of the design & development
cycle. Whether you're launching a new networked application
or redesigning an existing one , we can help you develop a
smart, informed, and flexible product roadmap that will guide
your ongoing development efforts. We’ve developed product
strategy for a variety of networked social products –
including There.com, eBay, SimCity, Ultima Online, and Adobe’s
User Forums. Our approach reflects many years of hands-on
experience in online community design, and involves the following
stages:
- Discovery.
We interview your internal team to develop a shared
understanding of your product vision, business goals, technical
platform, user needs and expectations. We also look at the
competitive landscape for your product, and assess the opportunities
and risks. We document our initial findings in a Product
Strategy document that captures the key product
vision and includes a first-pass product rollout plan.
- Design.
We test and refine these initial ideas by creating useage
scenarios, user profiles, and/or
interface mockups as appropriate to communicate
the product vision. We supplement this by conducting user
interviews and surveys (or incorporating existing research
into the plan).
- Roadmap.
We develop a product roadmap and multi-phase implementation
plan that outlines the features, programs and policies needed
to achieve your objectives, and includes explicit contingencies
for incorporating user feedback into the product design.
Product Design
If you're creating a networked social product, we can work
with you to develop social systems that will drive and harvest
member participation, and intuitive interfaces that delight
your users while meeting your business goals. To achieve this,
we can deliver:
- Interface Sketches that outline one or more conceptual
approaches to the look and feel of your product
- Design Documents that specify the features and
functional operations of your product
- Wireframe Schematics that show the page layout
and information architecture of your product.
- Social System Diagrams that describe in detail
how dynamic social systems in your product (e.g. groups,
ratings, reputation, events, experience points) function.
Product
Tune-up
Sometimes, what
your product needs is a "tune-up" -- a focused, intensive
evaluation that clarifies your objectives, identifies key
problems and creates practical solutions. This
process starts with a short questionnaire and phone interview
to asses your product strategy, business goals and technology
context. We continue with an all-day onsite meeting (or set
of shorter meetings) to evaluate and discuss your existing
features, programs, and policies.
The final deliverable
is a Product Tune-up document - a written list of
suggestions for tuning your product strategy and
design to better meet your strategic objectives. For
some clients, this is all they need -- for others, this is
the first step in creating a smart, effective strategy &
social design for their products.
Workshops
& Seminars
If you'd like to
teach your key staff members to develop successful networked
social products & services, we can provide a customized
internal training seminar for your company. These
seminars begin with a presentation of the essential growth
dyanmics and key design strategies for networked social software,
and can also include Q&A, brainstorming sessions, project
reviews, and executive briefings, depending on your requirements.
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