Product Innovation Educators: BLOG

RM PCamp 2012 Smack Down—Winners

Chad — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 02:42:19 +0000

The judges deliberated over the accomplishments and failures of each team.

They had no easy task – the marketing presentations were creative and often hilarious! However, some of the prototypes did fail to meet the requirements or impress the customers. They praised each team for taking on the assignment and then moved to sharing their assessments.

Three teams were immediately eliminated for not producing a marble run that successfully worked per requirements and failed to satisfy the customers. That left two teams.

Each was given specific feedback – such as the inclusion of options, marketing flare, and application of a design process. The customers also spoke, sharing their observations, such as being alienated in the design and development process – they wanted to be included.

The secrets of the winning team – working really well together with each member contributing, dividing the work into tasks, and sharing the workload equally. They also praised their excellent spokesperson who shared the marketing presentation. The winners with their trophies are…

Everyone on this team made exceptional contributions, by their own admission of course One member, Larry Marine, in the black shirt near the middle is the only RM Pcamp winner two-years in a row – he was on the winning team in 2011 also. Way to go!

RM PCamp 2012 Smack Down—Post 7

Chad — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 02:11:22 +0000

Time for judging. A group of illustrious judges, each with applicable product development experience, assessed the teams’ accomplishments – both for prototype development and marketing presentation.

The teams began their presentations. One member of each team acted as spokesperson, sharing the marketing presentation, to include target customer, product features, pricing, and other information they wished to share.

A demonstration was also required – the marble had to traverse the entire run, meeting all requirements. Some teams, expecting that their prototype may not work, exaggerated their product capabilities during the marketing presentation.

For example, one creative team repositioned the product as a marble run construction kit. Also, one very confident team raised the stakes, promising 10 successful marbles from end to end without error – and they delivered!

RM PCamp 2012 Smack Down—Post 6

Chad — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:56:57 +0000

Competitive analysis and customer input? Throughout the prototyping activity, each team appeared to be focused on their task – creating a marble run that meets the requirements given at the beginning of the activity.

Interestingly, there was little to no involvement of customers in the design process and no observation of overt competitive intelligence – no “spying” on the design of over teams.

Great job with focus, but we can’t forget about the importance of research! Then again, the teams only had 45 minutes to wow the judges.

RM PCamp 2012 Smack Down—Post 5

Chad — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:47:52 +0000

Each team is focused on “just making it work” and fine-tuning to meet requirements. With 5 minutes left, they are busy testing their prototype, making adjustments, and striving to meet the requirements that were given. The room a buzz with internal product testing – one team cheers after a successful end-to-end test.

RM PCamp 2012 Smack Down—Post 5

Chad — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:42:05 +0000

What is the value of customers? Most if not all of the teams have asked the customers questions related to requirements. However, none of the teams have sought the customers to review their prototype progress or co-design it with them. Perhaps adopting such a tactic could result in better alignment with the customer’s expectations – just a thought!

Our happy customers…

RM PCamp 2012 Smack Down—Post 4

Chad — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:39:01 +0000

VP of Sales makes an appearance, along with a new requirement – make the marble run work with a larger size marble. Some of the teams are up to the challenge and begin testing their prototypes in-progress with the larger marble. Other teams find it difficult to get access to a larger marble to use.

Regardless, with about 15 minutes to go, most teams are “alpha” testing their prototypes and making adjustments – a marble must be able to make it from the beginning of the run to the end, landing in a cup.

RM PCamp 2012 Smack Down—Post 3

Chad — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:30:10 +0000

Ouch – a new requirement was thrown in to the mix. A representative from the “marketing group” just received competitive intelligence that a rival is adding a spiral to their marble run.

The teams now need to do the same. With 25 minutes remaining, the teams responded to the requirement in seconds, trying prototypes that could be worked into their plans.

The team to the left was meeting the requirements for length, in part by starting their marble run more than 10’ off the floor. However, they found the ball had too much momentum to make it through a spiral – back to the drawing board.

RM PCamp 2012 Smack Down—Post 2

Chad — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:22:08 +0000

Given the tight deadline to develop a prototype and marketing presentation in 45 minutes, it is no surprise the teams were off to a fast start. Many of the teams sent a person to talk to one of the “customers” to get their insights into requirements. One customer represented much more of the market share than the other customer – no surprise their requirements were very different – not every team has recognized this. Most of the teams started construction of a prototype almost immediately based on the initial requirements. A few teams spent more time deliberating before prototype building. I overheard one conversation about trying to get something built quickly to “test” the marble run concept without trying to design the entire product from the beginning. I wonder if any of the teams will engage a customer to see their early efforts – we’ll find out soon. Below are images of the teams in action.

Rocky Mountain Product Camp 2012 Smack Down Begins–Post 1

Chad — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:09:42 +0000

It is time again for the RM Pcamp 2012 smack down. You can read about the 2011 winners and process here. The posts that follow are written in real-time to capture the event.

The rules were different this year. Each team was given a box with identical contents. The task was to create a marble track. Specific guidelines were given as to the minimum length of the track and optional features that could be included. The primary rules are shown below.

The groups quickly organized….

… and explored the contents of their box – the raw materials for the product they would develop in the next 45 minutes.

Further, they also have to develop a marketing presentation that will address the needs of the customers. Two customer representatives are available to talk with. The team with the best product and marketing presentation will win the first place trophy – lots of creative energy in the room!

Law of the Hog

Chad — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 16:10:03 +0000

Our group has been researching performance, communication, and trust issues in teams. Product development and management is a very cross-functional activity, involving people from different groups, experience basis, and perspectives. It is not uncommon for conflict to occur – conflict is a characteristic of most groups and teams at times. Conflict, when dealt with appropriately, leads to better problem solving and can enhance team effectiveness and cohesion.

One source I appreciate that provides insights into dealing with difficult conversations and conflicts is VitalSmarts. Their free newsletter addresses many situations that are common to business environments. They introduced the Law of the Hog, which states “Anytime you hold a crucial confrontation poorly, a ‘hog’ gets fed.”

When intimidation and coercion are used to make your point or drive change, a hog turns on. Some people will “checkout” and only do the bare minimum to stay employed. Performance suffers and motivation dwindles. To learn more about the Law of the Hog, watch this video.