5 Key Hacks for Breakthrough Innovation

for breakthrough innovation

5 Key Hacks Amy Jo Kim, Ph.D.

1 Section One – Introduction

Table of ContentsWhat We’ll Cover Today


Think Like a Scientist

Laser-focus on Early Adopters

Gather customer insights early

Build & test your Core Loop

Co-create a path to mastery

2 Section Two – 5 Key Hacks for Breakthrough Innovation

Table of ContentsWhat We’ll Cover Today


Think Like a Scientist

Laser-focus on Early Adopters

Gather customer insights early

Build & test your Core Loop


2 Section Two – 5 Key Hacks for Breakthrough Innovation

3 Section Three – Getting Started: 3 Smart Shortcuts

Table of Contents

Clarify your strategy & assumptions with the MVP Canvas

Gather early-adopter insights with Speed Interviews

Turn insights into product design with Habit Stories

What We’ll Cover Today

section one

IntroductionIntroduction Section One

A hunch is creativity trying to tell

you something.

Frank Capra

Filmmaker

You’ve got a great product idea

Section TwoHow I discovered these HacksHow do you know if it’s the RIGHT ONE?

co-founder, Shufflebrain

shufflebrain.com

Creator, MVP Design Hacks

http://www.shufflebrain.com

we partner with great companies to make

smart games for a connected world

what can we learn from

breakthrough innovations?

Rock Band

The Sims

Covet Fashion

eBay

5 Hacks for Successful Innovation

Section TwoHow I discovered these HacksCan we generate & validate innovative product ideas

Better, Smarter, Faster?

that lead to breakthrough innovations

5 Key HacksSection Two

Hack 1: Think like a scientist

Hack 1: think like a scientist

To increase your chances of

success, minimize time through

the Build-Measure-Learn cycle

Eric Ries

Author, The Lean Startup

you are here

Ask the hard, important questions upfront

Rock Band

The Sims

Covet Fashion

eBay

what do people want to do in a

virtual dollhouse simulation?

Think Like a Scientist: The Sims

What social systems do we need

to build trust online in a marketplace?

Think Like a Scientist: eBay

Can non-musicians play plastic instruments

together and feel like a band?

Think Like a Scientist: Rock Band

Will fashion-loving young women pay to play

dress-up with real designer clothes?

Think Like a Scientist: Covet Fashion

Hack 1: Think like a scientist

Hack 2: laser-focus on early adopters

Why focus on the early market? Ever heard of Crossing the Chasm?

Geoffrey Moore, 1992

Why focus on the early market? Successful innovations delight a small early market FIRST

Innovation Diffusion Theory

Everett Rogers, 1961

Early adopters will put up

with cost and ridicule for

innovations that meet

real needs.

Erika Hall author, Just Enough Research

you are here

Find & delight your early adopters

Gather ideas and feedback on key systems

Laser-Focus on Early Adopters: eBay

Cultivate relationships with content creators

Laser-Focus on Early Adopters: The Sims

Leverage relationships with avid music gamers

Laser-Focus on Early Adopters: Rock Band

Hack 3: harvest customer insights early

Hack 3: gather customer insights early

you are here

Create a culture of iterative play-testing

There is nothing quite so

useless as doing with great

efficiency something that

should not be done at all.Peter Drucker

Conduct onsite interviews with social gamers

Gather Customer Insights Early: Rock Band

Setup weekly interviews & play-tests

female team + fashion research crossover appeal to non-gamers

Gather Customer Insights Early: Covet Fashion

Expand playtests with team friends enthusiasts

Female-driven team strong appeal to female audience

Gather Customer Insights Early: The Sims

Hack 3: harvest customer insights early

Hack 4: build & test your Core Loop

What is – and isn’t - a core loop?

you are here

In a loop, you’re learning

a skill and updating your

mental model. That’s

what leads to player

delight.

Dan CookCo-founder, Spry Fox Games

DESIGN

& BUILD

Fake Landing Page?AKA Discovery

Fake Landing Page?AKA Discovery

Operant Conditioning Loop?

AKA Skinner Box

Operant Conditioning Loop?

AKA Skinner Box

skill-building =

making customers more awesome

Skill-building habit loop?

Skill-building habit loop?

Engaging activity + internal urge fuels the loop

Feedback & progress support learning & mastery

Investment & triggers pull people back

Focus on prototyping, testing & tuning the basics

Build & test your Core Loop: Rock Band

Create a daily skill-building reason to return

Browse your Style Feed

Browse New

Content

Show off your outfit

Raid your friend’s closet

Browse your Style Feed Accept an Invitation

Dress for the Event

See New

Invitations

Build & test your Core Loop: Covet Fashion

Hack 5: Create a path to mastery

Hack 5: co-create a path to mastery

you are here

DESIGN

& BUILD

Every artist was first an amateur.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Author, Essays on Self-Reliance

Engage customers with progressive skill-building

Empower enthusiasts & early adopters

by giving them tools, access & special powers

Harvest ideas from early adopters

Co-create a path to mastery: eBay

Release tools early to your fan communitythen harvest feedback & ideas for advanced features

Co-create a path to mastery: The Sims

Build mastery systems around

early adopter & non-musician aspirations

Co-create a path to mastery: Rock Band

Create rating systems that bubble up experts

Co-create a path to mastery: Covet Fashion

Think like a scientist

Recap: 5 Key Hacks


Laser-focus on early adopters

Recap: 5 Key Hacks



Harvest customer insights early

Recap: 5 Key Hacks




Build & test your core loop

Recap: 5 Key Hacks






Recap: 5 Key Hacks


3 Smart Shortcuts Section Three

to turbo-charge your Customer Discovery

CASE STUDY

Section Two1. MVP Canvas Shortcut #1: the MVP Canvas






Shortcut #1: the MVP Canvas

Section Two


1. MVP Canvas Clarify your product strategy

Section Two


1. MVP Canvas Identify strengths, values & success metrics

Section Two


1. MVP Canvas Prioritize your highest-risk assumptions

Section Two1. MVP Canvas Shortcut #2: Speed Interviews






Shortcut #2: Speed Interviews

Interview 10-15 (potential) early adopters

5-10 min. per interview

Ask just a few revealing questions

Needs & DesiresDaily Habits Beliefs & Ideas

Section Two


1. MVP Canvas

I’m in the

background, taking

notes and

categorizing patterns

I’m answering

questions

I’m asking

questions

Interviewer Subject Note-taker

Interviewer + Note-Taker Pairs =

Better, Faster Pattern Recognition

Section Two1. MVP Canvas Identify 5-7 Enthusiastic Early Adopters

Early

Adopters

Identify Early Adopters + Collect

InsightsCustomer

Insights

Section Two1. MVP Canvas

When

trigger

I want a

activity + goal

so I can

outcome

Shortcut #3: Habit Stories






Shortcut #3: Habit Stories

habits, ideas, unmet needs Habit Story =existing habit + unmet need Job Story

When _________

I want to _____________

so I can __________

trigger

activity + goal

outcome

+

habits, ideas, unmet needs Piggyback your Core Looponto an existing habit + unmet need

+

CASE STUDY

MVP Canvas

CASE STUDY

MVP Canvas Speed Interviews

CASE STUDY

MVP Canvas Speed Interviews Habit Stories

+

Covet Fashion BEFORE

Young women 18-30

who play mobile

fashion games

Aspirational dress-up

in designer fashions

PLUS advice from a

celebrity stylist


Young women 18-30

who play mobile

fashion games

Aspirational dress-up in

designer fashions PLUS

advice from a celebrity

stylist

F2P co-op game with

real-world fashion

content & hot trends

Vogue alternative -

stay up-to-date on

fashion by playing –

not just looking


Young women 18-30

who play mobile

fashion games




stylist

F2P co-op game with

real-world fashion


Vogue alternative -

stay up-to-date on


not just looking

like/dislike metrics

via interviews with

hard-core fashion

gamers

F2P game experience

Existing, addressable

audience for fashion

games


Young women 18-30

who play mobile

fashion games




stylist

F2P co-op game with

real-world fashion


Vogue alternative -

stay up-to-date on


not just looking

like/dislike metrics via

interviews with hard-

core fashion gamers

F2P game experience



games

Young women want a

mobile game based

on real-world fashion

PLUS access to a

celebrity stylist

Speed Interviews

WHO we spoke with

• 15 young women 18-40 who play mobile fashion games

• Recruited from existing player base & craigslist ads

Speed Interviews

WHO we spoke with



WHAT we asked them to do

• Spend 5-10 minutes answering 3-5 questions

The best interview subjects became paid testers

Speed Interviews

WHO we spoke with



WHAT we asked them to do

• Spend 5-10 minutes answering 3-5 questions

The best interview subjects became paid testers

WHEN & WHERE we ran these tests

• Via phone & Skype, over a period of 2 weeks

Research Results: 3 Key Patterns

Fashion Browsers want to immerse themselves

in a beautiful aspirational world that keeps them

up to date on fashion trends

Co-creators want to “do fashion” with a buddy –

a friend or relative they can dress with, shop

with, and borrow from.

Armchair Stylists love telling other people how

to dress – they want role-play a celebrity stylist,

and get credit for their fashion sense

When I’m tired after a long

day, I want to flop on the

couch & get the escapist,

immersive experience of

flipping through Vogue –

but in a game.

The Fashion Browser

When I

Login to the game

I want to

see gorgeous, creative outfits –

made from the latest designer

fashions

so I can

stay on top of fashion trends in a

fun and relaxing way

When I’m tired after a long

day, I want to flop on the

couch & get the escapist,

immersive experience of

flipping through Vogue –

but in a game.

The Fashion Browser

HABIT STORY

Patti told me to put these

shoes and belt together

with this outfit – I would

never think of that, but it

TOTALLY works. I need

her advice all the time!

The Co-Creator

When I

Need to dress up for an important

event

I want to

raid my friend’s closet and get her

feedback on my outfit online

so I can

have her accessorize my look and

help me feel confident - just like in

real life :-)

Patti told me to put these

shoes and belt together

with this outfit – I would

never think of that, but it

TOTALLY works. I need

her advice all the time!

The Co-Creator

HABIT STORY

I LOVE the idea a game

that lets me rate my

friends’ outfits & tell them

how to dress better – like I

do before every party

The Armchair Stylist

When I

Login to the game

I want to

see gorgeous, creative outfits –

made from the latest designer

fashions

so I can

stay on top of fashion trends in a

fun and relaxing way

I LOVE the idea a game

that lets me rate my

friends’ outfits & tell them

how to dress better – like I

do before every party

The Armchair Stylist

HABIT STORY

Covet Fashion AFTER

Young women 18-30

who play mobile fashion

games

Skews older – women

18-45 like the game &

older women spend

more $$

Aspirational dress-up

in designer fashions

PLUS advice from

aspiring player-

stylists

F2P co-op game with

real-world fashion


Vogue alternative -

stay up-to-date on


not just looking



core fashion gamers

F2P game experience



games

Young women want a

mobile game based on

real-world fashion

PLUS access to a

celebrity stylist

Covet Fashion AFTER

Young women 18-30

who play mobile

fashion games

Skews older - women


older women spend

more $$



advice from aspiring

player-stylists

F2P co-op game with

real-world fashion


Vogue alternative -

stay up-to-date on


not just looking

like/dislike metrics

via interviews with

hard-core fashion

gamers

F2P game experience

addressable audience

for fashion games

Young women want a


real-world fashion

PLUS access to a

celebrity stylist

Covet Fashion AFTER

Young women 18-30

who play mobile

fashion games

Skews older - women


older women spend

more $$



advice from aspiring

player-stylists

F2P co-op game with

real-world fashion


Vogue alternative -

stay up-to-date on


not just looking



core fashion gamers

F2P game experience

addressable audience

for fashion games

Young women want a


real-world fashion

and will spend $$ on

a game based on

real-world fashion

Young women want

access to a celebrity

stylist – AND to up-

and-coming stylists

iterative play-testing hit game

Try out these techniques for yourself

http://mvpdesignhacks.com/shortcuts





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Testimonials


This program gave

me a framework for

turning my startup

ideas into concrete

reality.

Megan Berwick


MVP Design Hacks

gave me the skills

and confidence to

quickly validate my

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product that our

customers love and

need.

Amanda Pouchot


Fantastic

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President, Happify

Testimonials


This program gave

me a framework for

turning my startup

ideas into concrete

reality.

Megan Berwick


MVP Design Hacks

gave me the skills

and confidence to

quickly validate my

ideas & build a

product that our

customers love and

need.

Amanda Pouchot


Fantastic

methodology –

the ROI you’ll

see is a no-

brainer.

Ofer Leidner

President, Happify

This program

was invaluable in

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connect ideas &

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needs of a real

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Ori Ratner

Co-founder, Pedago

Testimonials


This program gave

me a framework for

turning my startup

ideas into concrete

reality.

Megan Berwick


MVP Design Hacks

gave me the skills

and confidence to

quickly validate my

ideas & build a

product that our

customers love and

need.

Amanda Pouchot


Fantastic

methodology –

the ROI you’ll

see is a no-

brainer.

Ofer Leidner

President, Happify

This program

was invaluable in

helping us

connect ideas &

prototypes to the

needs of a real

audience.

Ori Ratner

Co-founder, Pedago

We created and

tested our MVP

in record time.

An invaluable

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CEO, Pley

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5 Key Hacks for Breakthrough Innovation