'Perfectly executing the wrong plan'
After the seminar, I watched the YouTube video 'Perfectly executing the wrong plan' and took notes in order to better retain information and refer back to when conducting our questionnaire for the second assignment.
The video draws upon how and why app developers fail in developing a successful app. The first problem discussed as to why apps fail is that developers are not IN LOVE with the problem they are trying to solve - the product is rushed without fully thinking through how they are solving a problem for potential users.
Problem two comes in the form of inappropriate market research. App developers should refrain from gaining market research from friends in family as answers will be majorly biased and unhelpful to build the foundations of an app on.
'don't listen to users, instead observe their behaviour'
Social psychology states that as humans, we are bad at predicting our own behaviour. This is supported by a 1937 study where students were asked 'would you cheat in an exam', a week later researchers returned and gave students the opportunity to cheat - there was a 0% correlation between predicted behaviour and actual behaviour. In 2010, researchers went into a public restroom at a petrol station and asked people 'did you wash your hands' - 99% of people said yes, albeit researchers put recorders on the taps and revealed only 32% of men and 64% of women actually washed their hands. In essence, there is a massive difference between what we say we do and what we actually do and thus it is imperative that app developers don't solely rely on what people predict about their behaviour.
Problem four, researchers didn't test their riskiest assumption. Apps fail because developers assumptions are wrong, and they don't make necessary precautions to address those false assumptions. Developers guess that users have a problem and that an app with solve this problem but these are just assumptions - if assumptions are not tested through interviewing potential users then apps businesses fail.
Problem five - Bob the builder mentality. Rushing into coding and physically developing the app without knowing what they're doing it for. In essence, CAN we fix it instead of SHOULD we fix it.
Problem six - PERFECTLY EXECUTING THE WRONG PLAN. Developers fail to focus on PROBLEM → MARKET → PRODUCT; is there a problem people care about? → do enough people care about it? → is our app solving the problem? If developers don't do sufficient research into these questions they will end up creating a 'beautiful app no-one needs'.
THE RIGHT QUESTIONS TO ASK;
Who are my customers? Do people NEED my product? Is the product usable? Is the product better than the competition? Is the product getting better? Do people WANT the product?
SOLUTIONS?
In order to conduct successful market research its important to know what to ask and when through LEAN USER RESEARCH. Techniques to carry this out are;
2. Observation; gathering data in user environment. 4 Pillars; observing, listening, noticing and gathering. 🔑- paying attention to behaviour such as routines, interruptions, annoyances, delights and transitions. Through observational research, app developers can learn about human behaviour - what the like and what they need helping to validate assumptions.
3. Fake doors; 'Fake it till you make it'. Instead of collecting emails to measure interest generate a 'button to nowhere' asking users to buy the app increasing levels of commitment. Who clicked the button ➗ people exposed to the page = who's interested. Helpful in learning about user needs cheaply, quickly and more simply.
Comments
Post a Comment