Idea Testing with Julia Shalet
- Ethen Dent
- Oct 5, 2021
- 4 min read
Introductions
On Wednesday, Julia walked us through the process of further testing the desirability, viability and feasibility of an idea. This understanding would be later applied in the context of our own ideas within our own time.
Additionally, the session would teach a method that would help you find paying customers and to check whether you're working on something that they either need or want.
"It's never too early to test out an idea" - Julia Shalet
"What if we found ourselves building something that nobody wanted? In that case what did it matter if we did it on time and on budget?" - Eric Ries
(Desirability should be the first priority of a business idea)
[Eric Ries profile shot]
The Really Good Idea Test
Julia Shalet details the main 7 steps of her book that is designed to test the desirability, viability and feasibility of a potential idea.
Write hypothesis
Identify Risks
Create Questions
Find Interviews
Measures & Targets
Conduct Interviews
Analyse & Decide
['the really good idea test' by Julia Shalet]
People Maps
Who is in your universe?
Are the customer & user the same person?
How about groups who could be influencers?
Personas - personas help us to understand our customers better. These personas are visualizations about how entire customer segments are potentially represented as.
When creating these personas, think about who you want to interview. Think about the characteristics...
- Demographic; age, gender, education, race, religion, occupation, etc.
- Psychographic; personality, characteristics and inclinations.
- Behavioural; how they act, who they buy from, which brands do they engage with, funds, early adopter or late adopter, etc.
- Geographic; where they are based, regular commutes/travelling.
Creating a Value Proposition Statement
A Value Proposition Statement is a promise of value that can be delivered. It is the primary reason that an entity should buy from you. This statement should explain how your product solves customers' problems, or improves their situation, or delivers a specific benefit. This proposition should be relevant to your intended audience, offer a quantifiable value and have a unique differentiator that stands out from the competition.
Value Proposition Statement structure
For - <customer/user/entity>
Who - <what problem/need/pain do they have that you think you can solve>
Our - <what generic product/service category does this fall into?>
Gives - <what benefit >
Unlike - <how does it differ from what is available today?>
Writing a Hypothesis
Julia Shalet worked with the class to write our initial hypothesis...
A. Acquire a persona to understand about your paying customer.
B. Create a Value Proposition to be clear on the benefits and why choose 'us' versus the competition.
C. Understand your goal so we know what success looks like.
D. Understand their action so we know what our customers need to do so we can hit our goals.
EXAMPLE
"We believe that we can generate £1m revenue in 5 years by creating an online marketplace introducing people who want to generate extra income through renting out their spare rooms to travelers looking for more choice, unique & authentic experiences than currently on offer."
MY EXAMPLE HYPOTHESIS
We believe that there is an opportunity to squeeze into the advertising industry if we create a studio that specializes in ‘odd-vertising’, that will provide value to entities/clients that sell products to consumers. Then act by hiring writers/storyboard artists that embrace creativity and/or a surrealist style.
Hypothesis Feedback
(no time frame)
(no income estimate)
(why would they bother?)
Risky Assumptions & Evidence
The riskiest assumptions will talk about how people/entities feel, what they want. In order to mitigate against the biggest risks a business can face, evidence needs to be collected.
When collecting evidence from people, you want responses to be objective and excludes emotional bias. Julia mentions her 'The Trilogy' format for asking questions:
- Qu. 1 Positive
e.g. Was there anything that worked particularly well?
- Qu. 2 Negative
e.g. Was there anything that you didn't like?
- Qu. 3 Wishes
e.g. Is there anything you wish you could have been offered?
Use this trilogy to get feedback?
1. Is there anything that interested you?
2. What questions do you have?
3. What do you hope this will do for you?
Prototyping
"If a picture is worth a thousand words, a prototype is worth a thousand meetings" - IDEO.org
Paper prototypes & storyboards
With a draft material, talk through the potential experience that your business is offering. Put the person in front of you into the story and invite them to scribble and critique on it. Learn where your assumptions may be wrong
Use parallel competitors/products
Metaphors: It's like <something else we know how to use>
Overtyping a competitor's page as a mock up
Basing on something they already know
Reflection Segment
"Prioritizing the desirability of the product/service that the business provides is a statement that I agree with. Research into personas and demographics will help identify wants/needs and mitigate risks that might involve with the potential that customers wont want or need your business. Like mentioned above, if we build something that nobody wanted, it wouldn't matter if it was within budget and on time. Agreed."
"People maps and personas have been an interesting concept to get my head around. I think it's to essentially help a business sell to a market by personifying it. It's easier, at least in my mind, to imagine a customer when you don't have to do any guess work. Researching your target market and then personifying it will make it easier to tailor your business around your customers, when you know who they are."
"Julia Shalet's template on a hypothesis is agreeable to a certain extent. She mentions, during the feedback sessions, that a hypothesis should include an income estimate. All other aspects I agree with except the income aspect. A suitable replacement, I believe, is to replace the income estimate with an end goal. Obviously, it is necessary to make money as a business. But I think a better replacement is to have an end goal in the hypothesis rather than an income estimate. For example; successfully establishing a relationship with a client within 3 months, establishing a studio that sells to a niche psychographic within 12 months, publish a collection of works with 'X' client in 6 months.
Having that end goal, in my opinion, should be prioritized over an income estimate."
"I see the value in constructing paper prototypes for clients. In the context of my idea, my business is to supply a business function and represent the client's brand. Ultimately, the client are the ones choosing how their brand is represented. Having that paper prototype encourages clients to edit and adapt how their brand is presented, helping to mitigate risks/problems. This concept felt so important to my idea, that I wanted to develop a small pipeline specifically for prototyping."
Citations
Shalet,J.,2020.The Really Good Idea Test. Pearson, pp.4.35-38,45-47,190-191.What I've been listening to:
Comments