Posts tagged with "Workshops"

What is near-sourcing? How to start a development project fast without in-house engineers? Why run an on-site discovery workshop? We'll elaborate on these questions further. Today Finland, Sweden, and Norway experience a massive demand for all engineering disciplines. Government figures show that at least 650,000 people work in ICT, rising all the time. As technology becomes more integrated into our daily lives, the need for software, hardware, web, and embedded developers grows across the Nordic region. In addition to this equation, some available resources unfortunately only have experience with old obsolete or unfit technologies or tools - with a need for an immediate update, like with, i.e. Python 2, which is officially sunset by Python.org on January 1, 2020. Recruiting new skills is a time-consuming process. Finding the person with adequate competencies and being a match with the team is not easy. From the perspective of the result, it is often more important to bring the new service or product early to the market than have a particular skill in-house.  

To make proper technology assumptions for your product roadmap, a product owner or business analyst is not enough. The process may get complex right after the first user story you try to debrief. In this article, we share our understanding of a Technical Architect's role and its value to the project. Why do we need TA explicitly? How does it differ from having a senior engineer on your team? What are the touchpoints between business analysts and technical architects?  Continue reading, and you will understand why the collaboration between these two is crucial for successful delivery.

Project management is increasingly crucial in the delivery process, and the role of a Project Manager evolves. Delivering software projects is becoming more challenging. Organizations aim to swiftly adapt to rapidly changing environments and achieve their goals while also controlling project costs and timelines. According to PMI Pulse of the Professions ® 2018, there is a prediction based on the interviews and research that the role of project manager will expand and include also being: a strategic advisor, innovator, communicator, big thinker, and versatile manager.

It’s hard to overestimate the benefits of remote discovery workshops. Over the course of our work with many founders, startups and established companies building or refining more than 150 IT digital products and services, we’ve noticed how little understanding most leaders and project managers have of their own core values, those of their customers, and how their products fulfil those emotional needs. As the world pivots to working remotely in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, running remote workshops can help fill knowledge gaps, build consensus between stakeholders, and deliver more value-driven contributions to project planning and product development.

It would be impossible to cover the entire spectrum of business analysis tools and techniques with anything short of an encyclopedia-sized volume. In this article, we will explore a subset of business analysis techniques that we have integrated into our digital consulting at DO OK, using a methodological toolbox developed over thousands of hours working with many different clients across a wide variety of industries.

Throughout the preceding articles in this series, we’ve explored the discovery phase of project management, the benefits of conducting discovery workshops for startups, the product development process, and some considerations regarding whether to run a product workshop. Today, we’re delving deeper into how to conduct a product development workshop and what to anticipate at different stages of the process.

In the modern business environment, data has emerged as a pivotal factor that can determine the line between success and failure for products, established companies, startups, and various business operations. The collection, analysis, and comprehension of the vast volumes of data, which amounted to over 2.5 quintillion bytes per day in 2018, generated during business interactions and daily online activities, are fundamental for the success of any business.

When the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2020, most of us optimistically looked ahead to what promised to be a prosperous year. And with good reason. The global economy was booming. The stock market reached all-time highs. Then out of nowhere, COVID-19 swooped in and triggered a seemingly overnight economic recession.Many business owners had to close shop. Consumer needs and preferences changed, and entire markets for goods and services dried up. Businesses have been forced to find new ways to offer value to their customers to ensure both their short and long-term survival. But that is easier said than done. To make a successful strategic pivot, an organisation must employ a highly focused and proven method to identify and deliver value to customers.Product discovery workshops are an essential tool in this regard. In this article, we will explore some popular product discovery workshops and conclude by examining a revolutionary and exciting new approach: the value-focused product discovery workshop.

As software developers, working closely with product designers, project managers, and startup founders is integral to defining the values and goals of various companies and products. Collaboration is key in a product or design team, where the focus is on creating superior products to deliver enhanced value to customers. Understanding the nuances of planning and executing a product workshop is essential for every founder, manager, designer, and developer involved in conceptualizing or designing a new product. Product workshops are a pivotal part of product development, serving as a platform for ideation, alignment, and strategic planning. In this article, we will explore the concept of product workshops, delving into their significance in the product development process. We'll discuss how to effectively plan and conduct these workshops, and also identify scenarios where running a product development workshop is beneficial or, conversely, might not be necessary. This understanding will not only streamline the development process but also ensure that the end product aligns closely with the intended goals and customer needs.

Did you know that only 1% of all startups turn into unicorns? Furthermore, it takes them on average six years to earn this status, and it’s often an arduous and challenging road. The secret behind their success lies in their ability to quickly alleviate their mistakes and ensure that the product they’re working on truly responds to customer needs.   In today’s article, we’re going to cover the seven common risks that startups face on their way to market success and we’ll show you how you can avoid following in their footsteps.

Exploring the discovery phase and what is a discovery workshop is critical for understanding the goals and business needs of any new product or startup. In this article, I am explaining the importance of the discovery workshop and details on how you run one.

According to Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen, over 30,000 new products are introduced to the market annually, out of which 95% fail. Product development is undeniably challenging, but is there a way to prevent your product from becoming part of this bitter statistic? Fortunately, yes, and it involves creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). While it might seem daunting at first, taking part in a discovery workshop will make creating an MVP a lot easier.  Let us take a look at what MVP stands for. 

Gone are the days when a good idea and a lot of hard work were enough to create software products. If you want to build a successful startup, you need market validation. Why? Because turning ideas into fully functional digital products requires a lot of time and money. Luckily, attending a discovery workshop for startups can help you decide whether your idea is worth investing in.   In today's article, we're going to discuss why startups should consider attending a discovery workshop. Before we proceed, let’s take a look at what a startup workshop is.

As a result of recent learnings, I've diagnosed the main challenge thousands of firms currently have: How to align their roadmaps in the ecosystem affected by pandemics? The stated hypothesis bolds out the important aspect of customer values. In this article, I explain how did DO OK pivot in its consultancy offering to help businesses change their service or product development strategies. I reveal some details of two methods: Business Value Chart (™), and Value-Focused Product Planning Workshops.