Digital Transformation for Chiefs and Owners. Volume 1. Immersion. Dzhimsher Chelidze
improves the quality and quantity of ideas.
– Understanding Customer Needs
It’s not about what you’re interested in, it’s about what solves your client’s problems. This guarantees a public response, which means that the product will be used more often.
– Knowledge of IT
You can’t come up with a product without knowing what technology it’s going to be made with. Already at the stage of the project you need to know its future prospects and opportunities (transformation, expansion, integration).
– Ability to cooperate
One in a field is not a warrior. Although it often happens in startups that the product manager works as a marketer, developer, and salesman, but in the first place he is the organizer, which means he needs to be able to work in a team. In addition, it is important to build cooperation with other teams and companies. As the practice in the B2B market shows, the end customer wants to receive a comprehensive product, and the more technical partners, worked out system integrations, the higher the chance of success. Again, as practice has shown, relying on system integrators is very risky.
– Knowledge of basic product management tools and data analysis skills
No matter how smart you are, you need to own tools and be able to analyze data. It is not enough just to see data. Practice confirms that most companies suffer from neglect of analytics. Those who do not make the same mistake make better and more informed decisions.
2. UX/UI is a specialist who focuses on the development of a convenient digital product that will be comfortable and enjoyable for the customer. It manages the interfaces of your sites, applications, services: their logic, fonts, colors and so on.
One of the key competences here – knowledge of the principles of lean production. That is, the ability to organize the product interface so that the user does not have to make unnecessary moves.
Digital analytics
This is the collection and systematization of data from all channels and sources. What is known as Big Data, or big data? What it is, we will figure out later, but what kind of people are needed, is already clear. These are different analysts. Additionally, although it seems that they are all engaged in the same, they are distinguished by «specialization».
In general, they’re all data analysts. However, there are, for example, data scientists who are engaged in «science» and form mathematical models necessary for better design. The main direction of such a specialist is to predict and form new hypotheses.
Classical data analysts perform slightly more understandable tasks: collect, process, study, visualize and interpret the collected data about events that have already occurred.
Digital production (industry 4.0)
Technology, sensors, robotics, and artificial intelligence are beginning to be used in production, and some of the solutions in the pipeline are no longer human, but machine-driven. Design initially takes place in a digital environment along with the creation of digital counterparts, which inevitably leads to the discovery of new roles.
– The CAD engineer creates prototypes directly in the digital environment. In order to start production and collect operational data from them. Such a person should deeply understand mathematics, engineering and digital tools.
– The Robotics Specialist (RPA) knows how to build software robots and understands application scenarios. This is a business analyst with programming skills. A little later, we’ll look at who RPAs are, what kinds they are, what effects they have.
– Process Analytics analyzes and works in BPM-solutions (business process simulation systems), to which we will also return. The main difficulty – a large number of rules and standards to describe business processes. At the same time, ordinary people understand them with difficulty. It was therefore necessary to strike a balance between detail and accessibility for staff. And it is better to make several descriptions – one detailed for analysts and several role-playing ones that fit on sheet A4.
– The computer vision and learning specialist helps machines «see» and distinguish objects, people, animals and the world around. The machine itself will not understand what it sees – it needs to be trained. Computer vision is one of the promising areas. We will consider it below.
New ways of working
It’s about how we work and think at work. New ways of thinking are not so much about Agile’s flexible methodology and different approaches based on it as about philosophy, about leaving decision-making for creative potential.
For example, these include the use of digital tools to organize work: kanban tables, knowledge management, exchange of ideas, organization of online meetings and hybrid graphics. Also, important here is the use of digital tools for seamless communication: calendar, mail, messengers, audio calls, video meetings, task trackers.
There’s one new role – evangelist, or agile coach. Its main task is to explain that it is possible to build business processes in a different way, to work more flexibly. In essence, it should educate the organization’s employees about digital lifestyles. The more people use digital tools, the more they will understand this culture. For example, there will be no need to meet in person if you can use the Zoom service or if you dislike many Teams.
New Types of Business Models
The number brings the ability to create new business models. Let’s look at them.
– Free model (special model)
For example, it uses on Google. It’s about monetization through embedded advertising. That is, such companies sell you, your attention and time, and analytics of your behavior.
– Subscription model
Instead of one large purchase you make a subscription to the service, that is, you include constant «invisible» payments.
We all know Netflix or Office 365. These products are examples of the classic subscription model. The user receives access, updates, services, etc. on a monthly/annual basis.
Plus, for the company – stable flow of money regardless of the season or other factors.
– Freemium-model
Users have free access to the basic (Free) version of the product, which is usually limited in the most valuable features. To use more features or resources, you must upgrade to a paid version (Premium).
An example is Spotify. Everyone can use the service for free (and receive advertising), but if you want more features and better quality, you need to pay for a monthly subscription. This is also a great example of how business models can be mixed.
Now it’s one of the most popular models. In the free version you can «sew» advertising and earn on it, and if the user does not want to receive it, then earn directly.
– Model on request
On-Demand works, for example, in online video stores, where you get the right to watch a movie for a certain period of time (Amazon Video, Apple TV+ and so on. d.).
The same system is used when you book a consultant and pay depending on how long you need help.
– E-commerce model
This is an example of trading platforms (Aliexpress, Amazon) or online stores. Today, it is also the best-known business model on the web, as you can buy almost anything online.
– Platform model (two-way marketplace)
The bilateral market is something that we see quite often on the Internet. Sellers and buyers use the third-party platform (Yandex Market, Ozon) to trade their goods and services.
The biggest problem with this business model is its complexity and dynamics. If you don’t have sellers, you’ll never attract buyers,