Inspired by The Lean Startup – Introducing experimentation to improve the new product development process for an IT service company in the social and healthcare sector

Linkola, Emmi

Inspired by The Lean Startup – Introducing experimentation to improve the new product development process for an IT service company in the social and healthcare sector

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Perustieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis

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Authors

Linkola, Emmi

Date

2019-03-12

Major/Subject

Information Networks

Mcode

SCI3047

Degree programme

Master’s Programme in Information Networks

Language

en

Pages

96 + 5

Abstract

Managing risks and ensuring that development time is spent on value-creating activities are critical concerns for companies operating in unpredictable environments. Experimentation is a method that can help such companies make data-driven decisions instead of relying on guesswork. The case company of this thesis was inspired by the method introduced in the book The Lean Startup. However, they found implementing it challenging due to the environment they operate in, where customer acquisition costs are high and developing solutions requires deep understanding of customer processes. The research problem that this thesis addresses is: how can experimentation be utilized to improve the new product development process in the case company? The research method utilized was action research, which consisted of mapping out the challenges in the current process through interviews and iteratively developing a proposal for an experimentation process. The most notable challenges in the current new product development process were related to how the project in question was sold, what the perceived goals of the project were, how work was estimated, and a lack of user research. The proposed experimentation process aims to help the team achieve a shared understanding of the goals of each experimentation project and to align them with company-wide goals. It also addresses the lack of user research by incorporating it into the process. This thesis provides implementation details on how to experiment at the case company. The case company should start experimentation with background research, acquiring a pilot customer and conducting user research before developing possible solutions.

Riskien hallinta ja kehitystyön keskittäminen lisäarvoa tuottaviin tehtäviin ovat äärimmäisen tärkeitä tavoitteita yrityksille, jotka toimivat ennalta-arvaamattomissa ympäristöissä. Eksperimentaatio on menetelmä, joka voi auttaa tämänlaisia yrityksiä tekemään päätöksiä kerättyyn tietoon pohjautuen arvailun sijaan. Yritys, jota tämä diplomityö käsittelee, kiinnostui The Lean Startup-kirjassa esitellystä menetelmästä. Yritys kuitenkin huomasi menetelmän toteuttamisen olevan haastavaa omassa toimintaympäristössään, jossa asiakkaiden hankinta on kallista ja ratkaisujen kehittäminen vaatii asiakkaan prosessien syvää ymmärrystä. Tämän diplomityön tutkimusongelma on: miten kyseenomaisen yrityksen uusien tuotteiden kehitysprosessia voidaan parantaa eksperimentaatiota hyödyntämällä? Tutkimusmenetelmänä oli toimintatutkimus, joka koostui yrityksen nykyisen uusien tuotteiden kehitysprosessin haasteiden kartoittamisesta haastattelujen avulla ja ehdotetun eksperimentaatioprosessin kehittämisestä. Merkittävimmät haasteet yrityksen nykyisessä uusien tuotteiden kehitysprosessissa liittyivät kyseisen projektin myyntiin, projektin miellettyihin tavoitteisiin, työmäärän arviointiin, ja käyttäjätutkimuksen puutteeseen. Ehdotettu eksperimentaatioprosessi pyrkii auttamaan työryhmää saavuttamaan yhteisen ymmärryksen kunkin eksperimentaatioprojektin tavoitteista ja siitä, miten ne ovat yhteydessä koko yrityksen tavoitteisiin. Se myös lisää käyttäjätutkimusta prosessiin. Tämä diplomityö tarjoaa käytännön neuvoja eksperimentointiin kyseisessä yrityksessä. Tämän yrityksen tulisi aloittaa eksperimentaatio taustatutkimuksella, pilottiasiakkaan hankinnalla ja käyttäjätutkimuksen teolla ennen mahdollisten ratkaisujen kehittämistä.

Supervisor

Kauppinen, Marjo

Thesis advisor

Järvensivu, Tuomas

Keywords

lean startup, experimentation, new product development, product development

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-201903172280

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[dipl] Perustieteiden korkeakoulu / SCI

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