Interim Report 2

INTERIM REPORT
ON
New problem solving techniques for a business analyst
By xxxxxxxxxx enroll.no.
SIP/PurpleTalk Inc./IBS/13BSPHH010555 Page 1
INTERIM REPORT
ON
NEW PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR A BUSINESS ANALYST
By
xxxxxxxxxxxx
A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of
Distribution list:
Company guide:
Faculty guide:
xxxxxxxxxxx
Dr.Subhendu Dutta
Director - Enterprise/Consumer Mobility
IBS Hyderabad
PurpleTalk Inc.
Date of Submission: April 11,2014
SIP/PurpleTalk Inc./IBS/13BSPHH010555
Page 2
Table of Contents
Abstract: 4
Introduction: 4
About PurpleTalk Inc.: 6
How PurpleTalk does Business? 9
Understanding the current working methodology 10
Pre-sales Department: 10
2. I have a faint Idea of what is to be built: 11
3. I dont have any Idea but I want to go mobile 11
Steps to create a business proposal: 11
Writing Business Requirement Document: 12
Client: SQL SMS 12
Project Shraman: 12
Understanding JTBD methodology: 14
What is Jobs-to-be-done? 14
Who is Jobs-to-be-done for? 14
Why study switching behavior? 15
Relating Jobs-to-be-done to disruption: 16
The forces diagram: 17
The Timeline: 18
Applying JTBD to Urbanspoon: 20
Applying Jobs-to-be-done in a B2B Environment 20
Objective: To understand what the client is trying to build. 21
(Related to the End Customer) 21

(Related to the Client) 21
Objective: Conduct Job Interview to identify the job the user is getting done.22
Phase 1: Set-up the stage 23
Phase 1: Set the scene to the day of purchase 23
Phase 3: Buying and after that, 24
Conclusions / Outcomes: 24
Future Schedule: 24
References 25

Abstract:
The objective of the internship is to understand the Job-to-be-done theory and design an end-to-
end framework on how it could be applied in the company. Adopt the "jobs to be done"
philosophy to execute the strategy/consulting approach for finding innovative solutions to
customer problems. Understanding the current way in which customer requirements are taken
and specification is prepared. Applying Jobs to be done framework in this process to create
products that have a higher rate of success.
The primary task will be to understand the current working methodology in PurpleTalk Inc. To
understand client requirement gathering and preparing a business proposal for project
Shraman. To understand the application of this theory to design, write job stories for
Urbanspoon application. Apply the framework on a live project and then conduct a workshop
for the entire design and the pre-sales team at PurpleTalk. A comparative study will be done to
understand the significance and advantages of the technique. Also, other new techniques like
lean and agile will be studied for their applications in collecting requirements from the customer
and creating innovative solutions.
Introduction:
In a company like PurpleTalk new products are created every day, they call it solutions. The
success of a new product completely depends on how it is satisfying a customer need. Most new
products fail because creating personas, using demographics and segmenting customers into
groups design them. Taking customer interviews in the traditional way is not useful as customer
is not aware of the reason behind buying a product or service. The Jobs-to-be-done framework
helps develop a new technique to conduct the interviews called job interviews, which will help
reveal the actual reason for a customer to buy a product or service. It helps get into the skin of
the customer to locate the actual context or situation the customer lies and the anxieties the
customer faces.
Understanding current working methods in Purple Talk:

Project Shraman: Shraman is a USA based NGO that works for creating awareness of south
Asia culture. I was involved in all the client meetings, understood the client requirements and
developed a business proposal.
Writing business requirement document for SMS SQL- The client provided the scope
document, I had to prepare a business requirement document.
3.Applying the theory to an existing application:
I understood the business applications of the application Urbanspoon, wrote job stories and
suggested additional features for the application.
4. Built a framework for applying Job-to-be-done in the company for both the client and the end
customer.
Scope:
The theory will be applied in the following areas:
Designing business proposals for the client
Designing UI/UX for the products
Purpose Branding
Market segmentation and identifying the target audience
Innovation and new product development
Objective:
To understand the latest problem solving techniques and its application in creating business
solutions for the client.

Apply Jobs-to-be-done theory for customer requirement gathering.
Apply Jobs-to-be-done theory for understanding the job end customer is getting done through
job interviews.
Apply the results obtained from the above to create business solutions and to identify an apt
feature list for the solution.
Limitations:
Applying jobs-to-be-done in a company like PurpleTalk is difficult as most projects are of the
B2B kind i.e. the client is not the end consumer. The theory focuses on observing/interviewing
actual customers. The purpose of this project is to extend the theory to a B2B like environment
and also set up actual job interviews for end customers for big projects.
About PurpleTalk Inc.:
The company provides a complete application development environment with services in

strategy, engineering, design, live operations and marketing. A company founded in 2007 has
created 700 plus applications and created value worth 2 billion.
The company is divided into the following three brands:

They have expertise in game design, art development, engineering, quality assurance,
promotion, analytics and monetization.

[x]cube DATA is in
the insights business. The business is to leverage the latest technology
available to
provide
actionable insights to enterprises that will have at their disposal vast
amount
of
business
data
collected
historically.
[x]cube LABS offers complete, end-to-end services for mobile application development across
all major platforms including Apple iPhone, RIM's BlackBerry, Google's Android, as well as
Microsoft's Windows Mobile.
Established in 2008, [x]cube LABS is a specialty mobile solutions provider headquartered in
Dallas, U.S and with offices in New York and Hyderabad, India. With expertise across all the
major mobile platforms, [x]cube has delivered more than 500 apps in both, consumer and
enterprise segments, and has an enviable client list comprising of some of the biggest brands
like GE, Texas Instruments, Hasbro, Mattel, UnitedHealth Group and 24 Hour Fitness.
The services in mobile application development includes-
Mobile Strategy

They partner as consultants with the client to understand business requirements and provide a
solution. So decisions like what to build and what features to include are best taken by the
company due to their experience in mobile technologies and in-depth research on the client
domain.
Design
Design is one of key determinants of an application's success. Nothing beats an aesthetically

pleasing UI that delivers a smooth flowing user experience. The company has an award winning
design team that builds trend-setting and unique design patterns while maintaining a perfect
user experience.
Development
With over 400 apps to the companys credit, they have one of the most experienced mobile
application development team in the world today. From simple games, to complex enterprise
level apps they have done it all. They have gone a level further with apps that work with
external hardware like a credit card readers and armbands to monitor metabolic activities.
Deployment And Maintenance
App deployment is a delicate process where a single error can get the app rejected. The
company provides specialized services in app deployment wherein experienced deployment
experts will assist in deploying the app. They also offer customized app maintenance programs
to ensure that your app is updated on time and runs well on all intended devices and platforms.
Portfolio:
How PurpleTalk does Business?
The various departments in PurpleTalk like any other company can be classified as marketing,
sales, operations and support.
Support: This will include the departments that support the core business activities in the
company. They are HR, Finance, Network and IT.
Operations: This is where the core of the company lies. They build the services and products
for the company to sell.
Business Analyst: This overlaps between operations and sales. They understand the client
requirements and design business solutions for the client. The business proposals are prepared
for the potential clients as well as for the existing clients.
Sales:
Inside Sales team: This team focuses on lead generation. They look for business that are
interested in going mobile and hence are prospective clients for PurpleTalk Inc. The task is to
collect leads, contact them and arrange for a meeting with the sales team.
Sales Team: This team will pitch to the customers and also collect requirements and forward it
further. The generated leads are converted into clients by the sales team. Both farming and
hunting is used to achieve the best conversion rate.

Marketing: It is the umbrella term that not just includes the above but has a lot more. Branding
and positioning the company, generating leads through social media, search engine
optimization, Google ad words form the marketing department.
Inbound Marketing: here clients are the people who are already learning and searching for a
mobile solution identify the company. In order to get identified an online presence that naturally
attracts visitors through search engines, social media and blogosphere needs to be built.
Outbound Marketing: It is the traditional form of marketing where a company initiates the
conversation and sends its message out to an audience.
Outbound marketing examples: Tradeshows, TV commercials, radio commercials, print

advertisements (newspaper ads, magazine ads, flyers, brochures, catalogs, etc.), cold calls, and
email blasts. The company focuses on outbound the most as it is targeted to the right audience.
Understanding the current working methodology
Pre-sales Department:
The department overlaps and bridges a gap between the sales and the development team.
The clients can be divided as the following:
1.I know what I want: These clients are generally big companies who have already
identified what product is to be built.
1.1 RFI - PurpleTalk applies to it.
1.2 RFP - The client provides a request for proposal. Documents containing details of what they
want. Churn these documents
Provide the features, suggestions and cost estimates.

Use the number sheet (A sheet prepared to get cost estimates for a project by PurpleTalk) The
sales team is back in action, some more interviews may happen, discounts may be given.
The deal is closed and project is signed

2. I have a faint Idea of what is to be built:
Sales Team identifies high-level requirements and passes it on to the pre-sales team. The pre-
sales team prepares a request for proposal document.
3. I dont have any Idea but I want to go mobile
These type of leads are mostly generated from the inside sales team.
The team identifies the various solutions that can be built and pitches them to the client.
Steps to create a business proposal:
Industry Research: Perform a complete in-depth study of the industry. Identify statistics related
to the domain.
Competitive analysis: apply the analysis to build a solution that gives an edge to the client.
Forums/Whitepapers: Identify relevant forums and whitepaper. Study them for further
understanding of the domain and business of the client.
Define a problem description for the client: This is the most significant step as you identify
what is the problem the client is trying to solve. Also, refine the problem into goals that are to
be achieved.
Problem solution:
Provide all possible solutions, the core functionality plus a feature list. Identify the goals that
will be achieved by each of the solutions. Determine the user acquisition strategy
Determine the user engagement strategy.

Writing Business Requirement Document:
Client: SQL SMS
I was given few mails that the client had sent explaing what they want. My task was to write a
business requirement document. This was sent to the client for approval and will then be used
by the development team.
A business requirement document for a small and basic app like this one consisted of screen
designs and navigation.
Following format was used for the document.
Screen Entry Point Feature Description
Project Shraman:
Shraman is a USA based NGO that works for creating awareness of South Asia's culture. The
task is to be involved in all the client meetings. Understand the client requirements and develop
a business proposal.
Meeting 1: The client meeting was conducted to understand the requirements of Sharman and
pitch a mobile solution to them.
Preparing a Business proposal: I have identified the mission, goals to be achieved. A lot of
research was done and I have shown statistics to prove that the proposed solution is good. This
statistics included how people spend time online in the US. How much time is spent on mobile
vs. web? How much time on social media? Research on gamification was also done.
Hence the proposed solution was designed to integrate social media and apply gamification.
I have also designed the user acquisition and user engagement strategy for both the solutions
proposed. The team composition required to build this solution was also provided.
Meeting 2: I presented the solution on the client and feedback was taken. Further meetings will
be held to refine the solution.
Understanding JTBD methodology:
What is Jobs-to-be-done?
Designing successful project is possible only by observing how real people solve their problems.
Exploring the context of the situation the customer is in and then understands the causalities,
anxiety and motivations.
Understanding the outcome is the next step, i.e the metrics customer uses to measure how well
they are executing the job to be done.
When do we use it?
It is applied to gain new market insights and create viable growth strategies.
Designing features for an existing product.
When there is no existing solution for the job or the customer is struggling to get the job done is
where the opportunity for innovation lies. This can be done by plotting all the jobs in a graph
with satisfaction and importance as axis. This will help categorize jobs into over-served, served-
right and under-served. The under-served are the jobs that have high importance but low
satisfaction. These are the areas of opportunity.
Who is Jobs-to-be-done for?
It is not who you are but the situation you are in that defines the need for this theory.
I am the growth guy: You have a growth target for the year and you need growth through new
products. To do so you need to look for new disruptive solutions. For e.g., the innovation team or
the new product development team.
I am the development girl: It is already decided that what product needs to be built. The business
cases are ready and the developers task is to convert these words into an actual product.
I am living in hell: You could be a developer or a designer. During the development phase, the
client wants you to add new features. How do you convince him and prove that the feature is
needed or not. The theory will give a better understanding to the developer/designer what
features to include.

Why study switching behavior?
People switch due to some struggle they have with the current solution and hope for a better
experience with the new solution. Identify this struggling moment, it is in this moment that all
the detail and emotional energy lies.
Identify the real competitors. Here is an example on how this theory identified the right
competitors. Consider milky bar and snickers, they both contain the same demographics,
product attributes, similar ingredients and form. But the theory revealed that they are not
competitors at all. True competitor of snickers would be a doughnut or a sandwich because the
job it is getting done is filling stomach while you are on the go.
Relating Jobs-to-be-done to disruption:
Uncover the dimensions people switch for.
Identify the jobs people are getting done. Plot these jobs along the axis above. Identify the jobs
that are of high importance to the customer and where the satisfaction is very low. These are the
areas where the need of a solution lies and could lead to disruption.
Opportunity Band
High
Satisfaction
Under-Served
Low
Low Importance High

The forces diagram:
The forces diagram is tool to understand the emotional energy involved in a purchase. Unpack
the energy and use the following while taking a job interview. This tool will help us understand
why a person switches from one solution to another. If the forces at the bottom are higher than
on the top, the user will not switch to the new solution. The user has lot of anxiety for the new
solution and at the same time is very comfortable using the current solution (habit of the
present). On the other hand if the user is really struggling in getting the job done using the
current solution, the push of the solution will be very high and if a new solution is introduced,
which pulls and attracts the user to itself, the user will switch to the new solution.
Push of the situation: something that has happened creates a push, this is when the user want to
make some progress in life. This is where the interviewer should dive-in.
Magnetism of the new solution:

Habit of the present
Anxiety of the new solution:
The Timeline:
This tool is to understand the path of progress the user goes through including the buying
decision. It is due to the situation the person is in and the progress the person wants to make that
a purchase occurs. Some events that have occurred lead to the purchase.
First Thought: Identify the moment when was the first thought? This is where the struggling
moment lies. Never ask them directly because this answer will be wrong. Understand the
situation, the where, when, how and the anxiety involved. Anxiety could be fear of the past or
of the future.
Event 1: Something happened that the user turns from a passive looking to active looking.
Passive looking is when the user is just making a Google search and casually searching. Active
looking is the time when the user really wants to search. Slow down time here and probe
further. This event adds to the push. The user will now start investing time. They are still not
sure if they are ready to invest the money.
Event 2: This is when the user has a time constraint, for e.g. I have to get a solution in 3 days
or my computer crashed and I need to buy one immediately. The push is really high.
Playing the consumption in the mind. The user sets the expectations right now. Now, the user
compares it to the other alternatives and makes the buying decision. It is at this point the user
puts down the money. The quality expectations are set at this time.
Satisfaction: The user will know whether the decision was good or not, Never ask directly if the
user is satisfied. Ask the experience and probe to identify if they are satisfied.
The steps one to four is when value is created in the mind, the user knows what the problem is
and they need to make progress.
Select the right kind of customers to interview:
Purchase/download in last 30 days
Purchased for the first time and not an upgrade
Switched from/to your product
Switched from/to similar product (competitor)
Applying JTBD to Urbanspoon:
It is a mobile application available in android and I-store. It is a food application that focuses on
finding a restaurant. Other features include reading reviews of restaurants, finding restaurant
based on distance, cuisine and budget. It has a shake functionality by which the Urbanspoon
slot machine will suggest a restaurant. Provides a comprehensive list of restaurants on a map,
reservations could also be done.
The task done was to understand other food applications and apply the jobs to be done
framework to re-design the application. I wrote job stories to understand what kind of jobs are
getting fulfilled using this application
The additional features suggested were:
Finding great deals and discounts
Place order through Urbanspoon

An example of a job story would be
When I have to give a treat to a group of friends
I want to look for deals and discount
So that it is not too expensive for me.
The when I have clause describes the situation the person is in. The I want to describes the
motivation and So that clause tells us the anxiety and the emotional energy involved.
Applying Jobs-to-be-done in a B2B Environment

Objective: To understand what the client is trying to build.
(Related to the End Customer)
What is the problem the product is solving?
Derive a problem description from the answer.
Mention few situations when the user will face these problems.
Understand the anxiety the user could be in these situations.
What are users doing currently to solve the problem?
Understand the habit of the present.
What do you think is the struggle the consumers are facing using the current solution?
Understand the anxiety.
What will attract the users to the new solution?
Pull of the solution.
How is the end customer going to measure the solution?
Success metrics used by the end user.
What will be the anxieties your customer can face on shifting to the new solution?
Anxiety added on shifting to the new solution
How much is the customer risking getting the product? (First download is free/ convenient
cash back).
Will help understand the anxiety to shift to a solution.
Who do you think are your competitors?
Apply the JTBD theory and re- defines competitors for the client.
(Related to the Client)
10. What progress are you(client) trying to make?
For e.g. increase sales/ get a task done. Understand the anxiety of the client.
11. Since when are you planning to build something like this?
Identify the struggle and the first thought.
12.What prompted you to take this is up seriously and invest time in this? (You still were
not sure of investing too much money into this)
Identify Event #1.
13. When did you decide to finally invest money in this product and go ahead in
developing this? / What made you completely sure?
Identify the event #2
(Identify the forces involved)

How did you reach your users now?
What was the biggest disadvantage of the current method?
Why do you want a mobile app?
Which platforms do you want the app to support (Apple/android)?
Do you want the app for mobile and/or tablets?
19. On what parameters will the solution be evaluated?
Success metrics
20 What factors pushed you to build this?
Push factors
What do you think can go wrong?
Anxiety
Do your existing users use apps?
If the user base is not using other apps, the challenge is bigger.
How many users do you expect to use this solution in the next 6 months?
Define User acquisition strategy
How many users do you expect to use this solution in the next one year?
Define User acquisition strategy
Objective: Conduct Job Interview to identify the job the user is getting done. Tools used:
Timeline and forces Diagram
Step 1: Go out for a survey
Step 2: Choose the right candidates
Purchase/download in last 30 days
Purchased for the first time and not an upgrade Switched from/to your product
Switched from/to similar product (competitor) Step 3: Set up a call
Step 4: A job interview will last for around 30-40 minutes, set the mission of the interview and
get started.

Phase 1: Set-up the stage
Say this because they will keep getting confused on the off topic questions you are about to ask.
Thank you so much for joining, hope you are ok with 40 minutes. It is just an early research,
the conversation is going to be absolutely casual. It is going to be a documentary, I am the
director and we will create a picture of you purchasing/ downloading the product. I am standing
there with the camera, it is just your story
Make them feel comfortable no right or wrong answers. Its just the story. I am the director.
Downplay the importance - this is just casual conversation
Give them an out - If you don't remember, its ok
Questions:
Phase 1: Set the scene to the day of purchase
When did you buy it?
Was it a weekend or weekday?
Were you alone or you had somebody with you to help?
What time of the day it was?
Where did you buy it? Mall/on-line/ app store/ google play
How was the day? The climate?
Phase 2: Before the buying (Look for the first thought, event #1 and event #2)
How were you doing this job before? (Manual/ other app)
What problems did you face?
What was good about using this previous solution?
Since when are you looking for a new solution?

Why did you have to think for a new solution? (Situation/ event)
Did you do a Google search?
When did you actually start investing time into the search? (Started searching online)
When were you sure you had to invest money too/ What made you decide that a buying
decision has to be taken?

Look for event 2. Something that happened made him decide. For e.g. I will be travelling for
the next 8 hours and I dont have anything to do on the way. I need a new game on my phone to
pass time.
Phase 3: Buying and after that,
Did you check if there was a way to return/ cash-back available?
How was experience while buying? (Was the queue long?)
Were you stressed/excited/fatigued? What were your feelings at that point?
Why was that day so important? /Why did had to buy it on that day?
So are you still looking for something better?
When do you next plan to replace this with a new solution?
How long have you be consuming this product?
Phase 2:
Conclusions / Outcomes:
First thought leads to the passive phase: Behavior: Google search, noticed others etc.
Importance: User Acquisition, advertisement time.
Event #1 to Active Phase:
Behavior: Weighing out features, mental trade-offs, comparing products and deciding.
Importance: How they are gathering information about the product.
Use their expectations which is beyond functionality
Future Schedule:
Apply JTBD to code review process in the company.
Applying JTBD in design.
Urbanspoon writing job stories and redesign

Understand mobile application marketing: Marketing analysis of Foursquare. Integrate lean
with JTBD theory
Implement JTBD to Tenet.

Work on live projects to understand client requirements and create business proposals for them
References
https://www.udemy.com/mastering-jobs-to-be-done-interviews/#/lecture/318455
http://jobstobedone.org/ http://www.christenseninstitute.org/key-concepts/jobs-to-be-done/
http://innovatorstoolkit.com/content/technique-1-jobs-be-done
http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/the-iceberg-of-jobs-to-be-done/X
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenwunker/2012/02/07/six-steps-to-put-christensens-jobs-to-
be-done-theory-into-practice/X
http://inpdcenter.com/blog/opportunity-scores-define-create-differentiated-products-customers/
http://www.purpletalk.com/X

Interim Report 2

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Исходное описание:

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Interim Report 2

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

INTERIM REPORT

New problem solving techniques for a business analyst

NEW PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUES FOR A BUSINESS ANALYST

A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of

About PurpleTalk Inc.: 6

How PurpleTalk does Business? 9

Understanding the current working methodology 10

2. I have a faint Idea of what is to be built: 11

3. I dont have any Idea but I want to go mobile 11

Steps to create a business proposal: 11

Writing Business Requirement Document: 12

Client: SQL SMS 12

Understanding JTBD methodology: 14

Who is Jobs-to-be-done for? 14

Why study switching behavior? 15

Relating Jobs-to-be-done to disruption: 16

The forces diagram: 17

Applying JTBD to Urbanspoon: 20

Applying Jobs-to-be-done in a B2B Environment 20

Objective: To understand what the client is trying to build. 21

(Related to the End Customer) 21

Phase 1: Set-up the stage 23

Phase 1: Set the scene to the day of purchase 23

Phase 3: Buying and after that, 24

SIP/PurpleTalk Inc./IBS/13BSPHH010555 Page 3

Understanding current working methods in Purple Talk:

3.Applying the theory to an existing application:

The theory will be applied in the following areas:

Designing business proposals for the client

Designing UI/UX for the products

Market segmentation and identifying the target audience

Innovation and new product development

SIP/PurpleTalk Inc./IBS/13BSPHH010555 Page 5

About PurpleTalk Inc.:

The company provides a complete application development environment with services in

The company is divided into the following three brands:

SIP/PurpleTalk Inc./IBS/13BSPHH010555 Page 6

The services in mobile application development includes-

SIP/PurpleTalk Inc./IBS/13BSPHH010555 Page 7

Design is one of key determinants of an application's success. Nothing beats an aesthetically

Deployment And Maintenance

SIP/PurpleTalk Inc./IBS/13BSPHH010555 Page 9

Outbound marketing examples: Tradeshows, TV commercials, radio commercials, print

Understanding the current working methodology

The clients can be divided as the following:

1.1 RFI - PurpleTalk applies to it.

Provide the features, suggestions and cost estimates.

SIP/PurpleTalk Inc./IBS/13BSPHH010555 Page 10

3. I dont have any Idea but I want to go mobile

Steps to create a business proposal:

Determine the user engagement strategy.

Client: SQL SMS

Following format was used for the document.

Screen Entry Point Feature Description

When do we use it?

Who is Jobs-to-be-done for?

SIP/PurpleTalk Inc./IBS/13BSPHH010555 Page 14

Uncover the dimensions people switch for.

SIP/PurpleTalk Inc./IBS/13BSPHH010555 Page 16

Magnetism of the new solution:

Purchase/download in last 30 days

Purchased for the first time and not an upgrade

Switched from/to your product