Getting Product, Engineering & Design In The Same Room: What Happens After You Write A One Pager (With Drift's Alexa Nguyen) - Build with Maggie Crowley Recap

Podcast: Build with Maggie Crowley

Published: 2023-01-03

Duration: 20 min

Guests: Alexa Nguyen

Summary

The episode explores the critical step of 'story time' after writing a one pager, emphasizing team collaboration to identify open questions and align on user pain points without jumping to solutions.

What Happened

In this episode, Maggie Crowley and Alexa Nguyen discuss the 'story time' phase in product development, which follows the creation of a one pager. This phase involves getting the entire team, including design and engineering, into a room to clarify the problem and develop open questions rather than immediate solutions. Alexa emphasizes the importance of everyone reading the one pager beforehand to avoid wasting time on basics and to start with a shared understanding of the problem.

They outline three key steps for a successful story time: orienting the team by defining the meeting's goal, collaboratively painting a picture of the customer's pain and job to be done, and developing ideas and open questions about potential solutions. Alexa stresses that the meeting should be fun and engaging, with everyone contributing their perspectives.

Maggie and Alexa share insights from their experiences, noting that story times should be a space for creativity and open-ended exploration, not a session for dictating solutions. Alexa points out the need for a facilitator rather than a leader in these discussions, ensuring that all voices are heard and that the conversation remains focused on the user.

They highlight the importance of preventing the meeting from becoming a debate over solutions by focusing on questions and user needs. Alexa shares that even experienced teams can fall into the trap of focusing on solutions too early, and she advises coming prepared with questions to guide the discussion.

The episode discusses common pitfalls, such as the tendency to assume too much about user needs without sufficient evidence, and the necessity of assigning direct responsibility for answering open questions. Alexa notes that story times often reveal gaps in research or understanding that need to be addressed before moving forward.

Finally, Maggie and Alexa talk about the use of taglines to keep the team focused on the overarching goal. They share examples of successful taglines that have helped teams stay aligned. Alexa concludes by encouraging listeners to try story time sessions and share their experiences, emphasizing that initial attempts might be challenging but can lead to better team alignment and product outcomes.

Key Insights

• The 'story time' phase in product development involves gathering product, engineering, and design teams to clarify the problem and generate open questions, rather than jumping to solutions.
• Effective story time sessions require a facilitator to ensure all voices are heard and the focus remains on user needs, preventing premature solution debates.
• A common pitfall in story time meetings is assuming user needs without evidence, highlighting the importance of addressing gaps in research before progressing.
• Using taglines during story time helps teams maintain alignment with the overarching goal, providing a clear focus throughout the development process.