The 3X Framework
The three stages to discovering new products
Heroic efforts are often part of the myth of building a new product. Working towards a key milestone evokes visions of teams working feverishly in a war room, and being on-call in the middle of the night in order to push a release.
While teams may sometimes have a push where they need to work long hours, the falsehood is that last mile heroics is where success is determined. To the contrary, that last push is only the last part of the last stage in a three stage framework that contributes to the success of a new product. Building a hit product starts in discovery, and asks product managers to play the roles of Detective, Scientist, and Builder as they lead the discovery through the 3X Framework: eXplore, eXperiment, and eXecute.
eXplore
Before you can start building a new product, you need to explore and articulate why you’re building it. What problem will it solve? Who will want to use it?
I love this stage of discovering new products because you get to play detective. Like a detective, you get to interview users to hear about what they like or dislike, what they consider to be a major pain or a minor inconvenience. You get to dig into data to see how users are interacting with the product. You get to play with the competitor product to experience its strengths and weaknesses.
This stage can be simultaneously fun and frustrating. Just as a good mystery novel keeps the reader in suspense with many unexpected twists and turns, user discovery done well can play out similarly. One user interview will point you in one direction, another user interview will point you in the opposite direction. It’s up to you to filter out the gems from the red herrings. You will use deduction and reasoning to unearth the most important user needs, wants, and problems that you must solve.
You have to keep exploring the problem space and collecting all of these clues until you can piece together a clear picture and articulate the target user and their unmet need. Only then can you create your first hypothesis on how you can solve the problem.
eXperiment
With your first hypothesis in hand, it’s time to put on your lab coat. You are no longer a detective. Instead, you are now a scientist. Your job is to gather as much data as you can that will enable you to accept, modify, or reject your hypothesis.
This stage should be a period of rapid experimentation. Take your first hypothesis to users and stakeholders and get their feedback. This could be anything from a paper prototype to a fake door test, as long as you are able to get useful feedback quickly. The amount of analysis should be commensurate with the amount of risk or investment that you would take on if you move forward with the hypothesis. Don’t forget to bring key stakeholders along in your journey, especially if you’ll need their help later to execute. They may offer insight that you don’t see.
Perhaps your initial hypothesis was not quite right. Tweak your hypothesis and test it again. Keep cycling through testing and learning until you have validated a hypothesis and are ready to take the plunge to build the solution.
eXecute
You’ve done the research and built the business case. Now, you finally get to be a builder. It’s time to make your new product come to life!
It is a busy yet fulfilling time. There are so many hats to wear. As the product manager, you will hunker down with the product development team to define user stories and requirements, collaborate on designs, and test new features before they’re released to the public. But you’ll also be asked to do much more. You’ll partner with Product Marketing and Sales to plan the go-to market. You’ll be responsible for arming any frontline teams like Customer Success or Operations with training and resources. You’ll work with Analytics to monitor metrics, diagnose problems, and synthesize learnings.
As you and your team get close to the finish line, sometimes there is a crunch time or a war room. Hang in there! Your baby is about to meet the world.
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There’s a mantra in carpentry: “measure twice, cut once.” When you’re building new products, you should follow a similar mindset and explore and experiment before you execute.
The 3X Framework doesn’t have to be linear. As you learn new information during eXperiment, you might need to go back to eXplore. It may take several loops before you’re ready to move onto eXecute. Whatever you do, resist the temptation to run straight to solutions and start building before you’re ready.
And once your baby is out there? Keep listening. Keep looking for problems. And get ready to do it all over again! Use the 3X Framework to discover new products: eXplore, eXperiment, and eXecute.
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