Prerequisites
Before you get started on our process, it’s worth having a basic understanding of the high-level how and why we build the Powered by Jumbo platform.
The Process
Our Product Process
We break our product process down into three high-level phases that make up our delivery cycle. Problem phase, Solution phase, and Delivery phase. The Problem and Solution phase represent the product design part of the process and the Delivery phase represents the software development & engineering part of the process.
Product Design
We use the Double Diamond structure to describe our process of understanding you and your customers, and the problems you and your customers are having, then to explore creative and innovative ways to solve the problems.
Using the Double Diamond structure, we approach problems and solutions by using two different types of thinking: divergent and convergent.
- Divergent thinking – think broadly, keep an open mind, consider anything and everything
- Convergent thinking – think narrowly, bring back our focus, and identify one or two key problems and solutions
Insight Gathering
To gain a better insight into a problem, based on the feedback coming in from you the customer, or your client, we will dive deeper into other qualitative or quantitative research. This may be client or customer interviews or setting up new behaviours to track and monitor the problem.
Problem Discovery
Once we have enough insights we can get down to the root cause of a problem. This includes details about how people are currently solving this problem themselves and why it’s not suitable to continue to let them solve it this way.
We also look at how many people it’s affecting and the level of impact it’s having on them. How solving this problem will impact the business. How do we plan on measuring success if we solved this problem, as well as any additional details that highlight other insights.
Solution Shaping
Our Tech Leads and Product Designers understand what is possible in a set timeframe better than anyone else. They are responsible for coming up with solutions that solve the problem within the appetite, as well as meeting our minimum UX, technical, and platform standards.
Ideally, they come up with multiple solutions and get feedback from the Product Managers to make sure the solution presented is suitable for the problem.
Scope Hammering
Once we have solutions, the Product Manager then removes parts of the solution to understand what’s required to solve the problem and what is ‘bells and whistles’. Scope hammering is about making sure we’re focusing on the right things and helps us better understand if we need to increase or decrease our appetite for this work.
De-risking is all about removing assumptions. If we’re not sure a solution will solve a problem we can prototype and test it with end-users. If we’re working in an unfamiliar tech space we can do a spike to research unknown risks. This is done so we can list what ‘rabbit-holes’ we won’t be going down to ensure that teams don’t get held up in the cycle. This gives us confidence in our delivery
Product Development
We adopt an Agile approach to our software development process that helps us deliver value faster and with fewer headaches.We refine the value that we are adding down into something we can achieve within a maximum of eight weeks, then tackle the solution in up to four small but manageable increments, allowing us to get feedback and results sooner, and keep you and other stakeholders updated on the progress of that work.
Cycle Planning
During the current eight-week development cycle we are starting to plan out the next cycle of work. In Cycle Planning we’re weighing up competing ‘shaped work’ to understand what makes the cut for the next cycle. We’re also including you the stakeholders in this process to ensure you get a say in what’s most important to you. If there is any uncertainty of what should be done first, the final decision rests with our COO and CTO.
Something may go through this entire process but still not make it into the next 8-week cycle. That is because we have limited resources and we want to make sure we’re working on the most valuable solutions first.
8 Week Development Cycle
Once work has been planned into a cycle it’s the team’s responsibility to deliver the shaped solution. As they have already been involved in the process they should know what’s required of them and what timeframes they have to work within. We understand there will still be some unknowns so we follow four 2-week sprints within each cycle. This helps keep Product Managers and teams aligned and communication open with you and other stakeholders on the progress of that teams work.
If delivery of the solution is at risk, the teams should notify the Product Manager at the earliest possible time. This helps the team find an alternative solution and manage your expectations.
Showcase
At the end of each cycle, we showcase the value we have delivered for you our client’s and your customers.
We also use this as an education piece for you and your entire business as some people might not have been across what were working on for the cycle.
Downloads
For a complete view of the Jumbo Product Process, you can download the Jumbo’s Product Process Graph.