IMPROVING BUILD-MEASURE-LEARN<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>THE VALIDATED LEARNING FEEDBACK LOOP<\/h6>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>Expanding \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 As presented in \u201cThe Lean Startup, \u201dReis\u2019 \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d feedback loop looks like the diagram presented in Figure 1\u00a0(Ries, 2011, p. 75); it has been modified here in Figure 5 to show the implied, but not diagrammed, additional steps.<\/p>\n<\/div>![](\"http:\/\/www.starpointgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/expanded-b-m-l-feedback-loop.png\" "\\"expanded-b-m-l-feedback-loop\\"")
<\/span><\/div>The lead element in the original feedback loop is \u201cIdeas\u201d: the vision, the inspiration, the dream that stands behind the development effort.\u00a0 But the core element of the \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d feedback loop is the \u201cminimum viable product\u201d (MVP): a stripped-down, but testable, version of the envisioned product that can be presented to prospective customers to test core assumptions regarding target customer responses and revenue growth potential.\u00a0 The MVP is the result of the \u201cBuild\u201d phase of the feedback loop and it is the focus of the testing cycle.\u00a0\u00a0 Ries specifies that the MVP should be constructed to permit a full turn of the \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d loop with the testing cycle accelerating as the MVP is progressively refined \u2013 or the decision is made to \u201cpivot\u201d to another approach.\u00a0 (Insert Fig 5 around here somewhere)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
THE BIG PICTURE<\/h6>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>Enhancing the Validated Learning Loop.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s demonstrate how the \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d feedback loop can be modified to incorporate prospective customer and\/or end-user feedback.\u00a0 Both of the recommended additional steps come at the front-end of the validated learning cycle where the impact can be the greatest: prior to any investment in the \u201cBuild\u201d phase of the process.<\/p>\n<\/div>![](\"http:\/\/www.starpointgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/figure-2-576x432-1.png\" "\\"figure-2-576×432\\"")
<\/span><\/div>The qualitative category exploration is designed to inform and to clarify the entrepreneur\u2019s vision of the market and of the proposed new product or service \u2013 specifically, how the startup might best fit within the framework of existing options.\u00a0 This, in turn, leads to the concept test phase where those ideas are translated into specific product descriptions complete with references to unique features and a clear, compelling customer benefit.<\/p>\n
By injecting customer research into the front-end of the process, the objective is to dramatically reduce uncertainty in terms of feature set, user benefit and product positioning, which form the conceptual framework for the MVP.\u00a0 This, in turn, should both focus and accelerate the \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d feedback loop by eliminating non-starters before the \u201cBuild\u201d process is initiated.<\/p>\n
Talk to customers first, not last!<\/strong>\u00a0 At one point in Reis\u2019 continuing saga of \u201cthings gone wrong\u201d he makes the following, rather startling, admission:<\/p>\n\u201cWhen I could think of nothing else to do, I was finally ready to turn to the last resort: talking to customers.\u00a0 Armed with our failure to make progress tuning our engine of growth, I was ready to ask the right questions.\u201d (Ries, 2011, p. 124)<\/em><\/p>\nWhy wait until you\u2019re at the point of failure before talking with your customers?\u00a0 For anyone coming from marketing background, that just sounds like either arrogance or lack of experience.\u00a0 There are three clear and compelling benefits to talking with prospective customers at the earliest stages in the startup development process.<\/p>\n
\n- To understand the category from the customer\u2019s perspective \u2013 thereby quickly dispensing with invalid assumptions that lead down blind alleys at the outset of a project.<\/li>\n
- To quickly isolate the crucial features and essential functionality that prospective uses demand, and to dispense with those they see as secondary or completely unnecessary \u2013 thereby creating a blueprint for the MVP and the initial build stage.<\/li>\n
- To identify the most compelling customer benefit and supporting product features (\u201creasons to believe\u201d) that will constitute the positioning platform for the product\u2019s roll-out.\u00a0 These are crucial elements for developing a marketing campaign that can effectively generate informed customer awareness and product demand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
SUMMARY<\/h6>\n<\/div>![](\"http:\/\/www.starpointgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pdf-screenshot-startup-218w-1.png\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>In summary, talking to your prospective customers early in the process can dramatically reduce the uncertainty surrounding the initial stages of any startup activity.\u00a0 A\/B testing and rapid turns of the validated learning loop are great for improving existing features, for prioritizing new features and for enhancing the user interface \u2013 once a validated product concept exists.\u00a0 But at the earliest phases, when it\u2019s all just an entrepreneurial \u201cIdea\u201d, a small investment in upfront customer research will do a lot more to reduce \u201cextreme uncertainty\u201d than will coding hunches and running in circles.<\/p>\n<\/div>
THE VALIDATED LEARNING FEEDBACK LOOP<\/h6>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>Expanding \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 As presented in \u201cThe Lean Startup, \u201dReis\u2019 \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d feedback loop looks like the diagram presented in Figure 1\u00a0(Ries, 2011, p. 75); it has been modified here in Figure 5 to show the implied, but not diagrammed, additional steps.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/span><\/div>The lead element in the original feedback loop is \u201cIdeas\u201d: the vision, the inspiration, the dream that stands behind the development effort.\u00a0 But the core element of the \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d feedback loop is the \u201cminimum viable product\u201d (MVP): a stripped-down, but testable, version of the envisioned product that can be presented to prospective customers to test core assumptions regarding target customer responses and revenue growth potential.\u00a0 The MVP is the result of the \u201cBuild\u201d phase of the feedback loop and it is the focus of the testing cycle.\u00a0\u00a0 Ries specifies that the MVP should be constructed to permit a full turn of the \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d loop with the testing cycle accelerating as the MVP is progressively refined \u2013 or the decision is made to \u201cpivot\u201d to another approach.\u00a0 (Insert Fig 5 around here somewhere)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
THE BIG PICTURE<\/h6>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>Enhancing the Validated Learning Loop.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s demonstrate how the \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d feedback loop can be modified to incorporate prospective customer and\/or end-user feedback.\u00a0 Both of the recommended additional steps come at the front-end of the validated learning cycle where the impact can be the greatest: prior to any investment in the \u201cBuild\u201d phase of the process.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/span><\/div>The qualitative category exploration is designed to inform and to clarify the entrepreneur\u2019s vision of the market and of the proposed new product or service \u2013 specifically, how the startup might best fit within the framework of existing options.\u00a0 This, in turn, leads to the concept test phase where those ideas are translated into specific product descriptions complete with references to unique features and a clear, compelling customer benefit.<\/p>\n
By injecting customer research into the front-end of the process, the objective is to dramatically reduce uncertainty in terms of feature set, user benefit and product positioning, which form the conceptual framework for the MVP.\u00a0 This, in turn, should both focus and accelerate the \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d feedback loop by eliminating non-starters before the \u201cBuild\u201d process is initiated.<\/p>\n
Talk to customers first, not last!<\/strong>\u00a0 At one point in Reis\u2019 continuing saga of \u201cthings gone wrong\u201d he makes the following, rather startling, admission:<\/p>\n\u201cWhen I could think of nothing else to do, I was finally ready to turn to the last resort: talking to customers.\u00a0 Armed with our failure to make progress tuning our engine of growth, I was ready to ask the right questions.\u201d (Ries, 2011, p. 124)<\/em><\/p>\nWhy wait until you\u2019re at the point of failure before talking with your customers?\u00a0 For anyone coming from marketing background, that just sounds like either arrogance or lack of experience.\u00a0 There are three clear and compelling benefits to talking with prospective customers at the earliest stages in the startup development process.<\/p>\n
\n- To understand the category from the customer\u2019s perspective \u2013 thereby quickly dispensing with invalid assumptions that lead down blind alleys at the outset of a project.<\/li>\n
- To quickly isolate the crucial features and essential functionality that prospective uses demand, and to dispense with those they see as secondary or completely unnecessary \u2013 thereby creating a blueprint for the MVP and the initial build stage.<\/li>\n
- To identify the most compelling customer benefit and supporting product features (\u201creasons to believe\u201d) that will constitute the positioning platform for the product\u2019s roll-out.\u00a0 These are crucial elements for developing a marketing campaign that can effectively generate informed customer awareness and product demand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
SUMMARY<\/h6>\n<\/div><\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>In summary, talking to your prospective customers early in the process can dramatically reduce the uncertainty surrounding the initial stages of any startup activity.\u00a0 A\/B testing and rapid turns of the validated learning loop are great for improving existing features, for prioritizing new features and for enhancing the user interface \u2013 once a validated product concept exists.\u00a0 But at the earliest phases, when it\u2019s all just an entrepreneurial \u201cIdea\u201d, a small investment in upfront customer research will do a lot more to reduce \u201cextreme uncertainty\u201d than will coding hunches and running in circles.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Expanding \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 As presented in \u201cThe Lean Startup, \u201dReis\u2019 \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d feedback loop looks like the diagram presented in Figure 1\u00a0(Ries, 2011, p. 75); it has been modified here in Figure 5 to show the implied, but not diagrammed, additional steps.<\/p>\n<\/div> The lead element in the original feedback loop is \u201cIdeas\u201d: the vision, the inspiration, the dream that stands behind the development effort.\u00a0 But the core element of the \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d feedback loop is the \u201cminimum viable product\u201d (MVP): a stripped-down, but testable, version of the envisioned product that can be presented to prospective customers to test core assumptions regarding target customer responses and revenue growth potential.\u00a0 The MVP is the result of the \u201cBuild\u201d phase of the feedback loop and it is the focus of the testing cycle.\u00a0\u00a0 Ries specifies that the MVP should be constructed to permit a full turn of the \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d loop with the testing cycle accelerating as the MVP is progressively refined \u2013 or the decision is made to \u201cpivot\u201d to another approach.\u00a0 (Insert Fig 5 around here somewhere)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Enhancing the Validated Learning Loop.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s demonstrate how the \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d feedback loop can be modified to incorporate prospective customer and\/or end-user feedback.\u00a0 Both of the recommended additional steps come at the front-end of the validated learning cycle where the impact can be the greatest: prior to any investment in the \u201cBuild\u201d phase of the process.<\/p>\n<\/div> The qualitative category exploration is designed to inform and to clarify the entrepreneur\u2019s vision of the market and of the proposed new product or service \u2013 specifically, how the startup might best fit within the framework of existing options.\u00a0 This, in turn, leads to the concept test phase where those ideas are translated into specific product descriptions complete with references to unique features and a clear, compelling customer benefit.<\/p>\n By injecting customer research into the front-end of the process, the objective is to dramatically reduce uncertainty in terms of feature set, user benefit and product positioning, which form the conceptual framework for the MVP.\u00a0 This, in turn, should both focus and accelerate the \u201cBuild-Measure-Learn\u201d feedback loop by eliminating non-starters before the \u201cBuild\u201d process is initiated.<\/p>\n Talk to customers first, not last!<\/strong>\u00a0 At one point in Reis\u2019 continuing saga of \u201cthings gone wrong\u201d he makes the following, rather startling, admission:<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I could think of nothing else to do, I was finally ready to turn to the last resort: talking to customers.\u00a0 Armed with our failure to make progress tuning our engine of growth, I was ready to ask the right questions.\u201d (Ries, 2011, p. 124)<\/em><\/p>\n Why wait until you\u2019re at the point of failure before talking with your customers?\u00a0 For anyone coming from marketing background, that just sounds like either arrogance or lack of experience.\u00a0 There are three clear and compelling benefits to talking with prospective customers at the earliest stages in the startup development process.<\/p>\n In summary, talking to your prospective customers early in the process can dramatically reduce the uncertainty surrounding the initial stages of any startup activity.\u00a0 A\/B testing and rapid turns of the validated learning loop are great for improving existing features, for prioritizing new features and for enhancing the user interface \u2013 once a validated product concept exists.\u00a0 But at the earliest phases, when it\u2019s all just an entrepreneurial \u201cIdea\u201d, a small investment in upfront customer research will do a lot more to reduce \u201cextreme uncertainty\u201d than will coding hunches and running in circles.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/span><\/div>THE BIG PICTURE<\/h6>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/span><\/div>\n
SUMMARY<\/h6>\n<\/div>
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
![](\"http:\/\/www.starpointgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pdf-download.png\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div>