FROM 0 TO CROSS-DEVICEVytautas Jakštys, Product OwnerVytautas.jakstys@adform.com

AGENDA

Personal backgroundWhat’s Adform?What is the solution?What problem does the solution solve?Stages & lessons learnedOverview

PERSONAL BACKGROUND

Graduated Economics & BusinessJoined Adform (almost) 2 years agoNo background in IT, product, managementDoing product stuff for ~6-9 monthsProduct Owner for ~3 months

WHAT IS ADFORM?

ONE PLATFORM SINGLE VIEW OF THE USER ACROSS CHANNELS

PROBLEM

THE MULTI-SCREEN WORLD PROBLEM

Users own a large numberof devices

(On average 10 per household; ~3-5 per person,

depending on region)

90% use multiple devices to accomplish a task

One User, Multiple Ids

Source: Cisco VNI Service Adoption Forecast 2013–2018 White Paper

$$$?

SOLUTION

Targeting

Recognition

Impression Impression & Click

VideoPlay

Impression Conversion

STAGES

STAGES

EvaluatingShould we do it?How do we do it?

POC #1POC #2DevelopmentGo to marketFuture

EVALUATING

SHOULD WE DO IT?

CAN WE DO IT?

EVALUATING

Should we do it?Yep

Can we do it?Yep (how well?)

Total time spent: ~5 minutes

POC

POC #1

POC #1

Time taken: ~2 months• Found 1st client• Understood process• First technical challenges to overcome

• Results: problems with scale

POC #2

POC #2

Time taken: 3 months• 3 more clients• 2+ partnerships with providers

• Internal product knowledge• More teams involved• Lack of resources

POC - LESSONS LEARNED

Negative:Why 2 stages?Why POC overall?

Positive:Client expectationsPartnership managementCompany-wide product awareness

Would do again? No

DEVELOPMENT

STAGE 1

2+ DEV No domain knowledge/experience1 Month deadline + hard requirementsRapid Development2 cities

Result:Unsellable product (PM mistake)1st steps done for the engine1.5 months for DEV w/o sellable product (PM mistake, again)Understanding product/domain

Would do again? No

STAGE 2

3 DEVSemi-proper roadmapSolving client problems

Result:Usable product (1st clients kicking in)Back-end integrations with key system partsPossible to optimize testing workflowTime: ~1.5 months

Would do again? yes

STAGE 1&2: BOTTLENECKS

No clear business benefit of V1Hassle between cities & technologiesMultitaskingFocus on back-endNo “what’s next” definition (stage 2)

STAGE 3: INTEGRATIONS

Building UI on connected products (2 products)Time spent on waiting: 1.5 monthsTime spent on DEV: 1 week (MAX)

PM mistake – not defined/communicated value

Bottlenecks:Lack of communicationLack of value explanation for other teams

Would do again? Yes (!!)

DEVELOPMENT STAGE LEARNINGS

POC is not enough – vision neededStructured start is a must

Time wasteResource wasteMotivation waste

Business value defined & communicatedWhat problem do we solve?

Envision, discuss, execute

GO TO MARKET

GO TO MARKET

Lots of talk about product in media over the year/summerShippable product 1st week August-> need PR/case study/quote/etc. to get through

GO TO MARKET - BOTTLENECKS

Only 1 client for case study (no diversification)Had 2 ready, didn’t pursue

Client relationship problemsMinimal understanding of product within company

Result – ~6 weeks delay in PR

GO TO MARKET - RESULT

GO TO MARKET - LEARNINGS

Key product lifecycle componentFirst movers own the market

Little need to do it – talk!

Diversify options, if possibleTalk early – ship earlier (!!!)Talk inside, talk outside

OVERALL LEARNINGS

Vision is a mustPlan dependenciesAddress dependenciesLeave space for side turns

Testing – not mandatoryBlurry line between too early & too lateSell – internally, externally; sell everywhereClient services are crucial for product success

RESULTS -

1 year start -> rolloutProduct deliverable within few months from start

Unreasonable cost/benefit of V1No visionNo strategyNo “what do we solve” approach

Not first moverStill only key functions shipped

RESULTS +

Board support & priority for resourcesMarket interestActual business growingShipped a working product

FUTURE

Short term:Market pushIntegrationsUI for value propositionAdditional features

Long-ish term:Defined visionDefining priorities/needed resources to achieveCommunication$$$

WILL IT BE A HERO?

@adforminsider