Focus On Voice Of The Customer
To be customer led means we listen to the customer about their context, needs and priorities. We build empathy with the customer paying attention to what they are saying and how they are saying it. We avoid getting into situations where we are “telling the customer”. Being trusted partners we offer guidance and advice, but we are still fundamentally led by the customer’s voice.
In A Nutshell
A customer-centric mindset helps us to understand who the customers are, their context, character, needs, expectations and understanding.
Capturing all aspects of the voice of the customer helps the team to learn about what the customer thinks of the team’s product or service, and avoid incorrect assumptions about the voice of the customer. Teams may define and evolve processes for capturing the voice of the customer.
The voice of the customer may be found out directly and verbally through exploratory discussions, product demonstrations and interviews with the customer. Teams can also gather customer input from written comments, social media and industry reports. Quantifying and verifying the customer feedback enables teams to make decisions on whether to act on the customer feedback or not.
By thinking of the customer first, we can focus on delivering what is of value to the customer. Feedback from the customer allows teams to focus on customer needs and preferences so adjustments can be made to the product or service. Responding to customer input in this way creates customer satisfaction and a more trustful relationship with the customer.
Feedback from the customer on whether we are building the right thing can save cost in the long run. Teams can use customer feedback to pivot in response to changes in needs and priorities. Factoring in changing customer needs and industry trends allows teams to improve chances of longevity and success for the product and its service.
Implementing Practices
Teams plan work to fill their short-term planning horizon. With a clear understanding of current priorities and the capacity of the team, work items are chosen to satisfy the forthcoming delivery goals. The team elaborates the plan as necessary to ensure that there is a shared understanding of the work that is required.
The Product Backlog is the vehicle by which needs are turned into requirements and requirements are turned into operational features in our product. It is a prioritised list of the work that the team currently intends to deliver in the next period of time. The less imminent a feature is, the less well it will be defined.
The Product Roadmap provides a simple view of how the product will grow towards its vision. As a forward looking view, the roadmap does not set fixed priorities or deadlines. Rather it is a fluid view that evolves as our understanding of customers’ needs evolves. Roadmaps are influenced by concerns in addition to the customers’ needs. These may include our capability and capacity to deliver change and the business, financial and legal context in which our product operates.
The Product Strategy provides the route map to achieve the current vision. It describes how different aspects of the product will evolve to realise the vision. Aspects described in the strategy include features, qualities and technologies. Specific products may need additional aspects to be described within the overall product strategy.
The product vision gives us the point on the horizon that everyone involved in the product is aiming for. The vision is a shared point of view created by the organisation through an understanding of what its customers are demanding. The vision focuses on the why of the product. This is the organisation’s unique view of the services that will be provided that makes it compelling for customers to use.