As we get better at building tools that are modular and flexible, and as we get better at tracking interactions and engagement, product managers need to get better at testing every aspect of their tools.
My tip for today is to drill these ideas into your head:
Testing is fun
Testing is always useful
Testing is a journey
The idea here is simple but very powerful. If you see testing as fun, then others will want to be a part of it and help you test different hypothesis. I’ve seen resistance to product testing in organizations come from many sources. One of them is that it seems monotonous and dumb to constantly be changing things just to change them. What I try to to do is instill a bit of creativity into the process. I also like to get ideas from everyone on what we can test and how we can creatively get a signal without building too much. Once the process gets rolling people seem to enjoy it.
Testing also needs to be seen as giving us some kind of results. We want to get to a point where we see every test as useful. This helps ensure that no one will see their efforts as wasted on ‘failed experiments.’ It’s important to communicate to all stakeholders that a failed experiment is an opportunity NOT to waste our time building out scalable solutions for things that are not likely to deliver results.
Lastly, we need to get everyone on board for the long journey here. Testing is a way to make it across the desert to the promised land. Some paths are dangerous and full of scorpions and quicksand. Others are hot and dry with no signs of life for long stretches. And still others might be through an oasis. So we need to get out there and be constantly prodding and learning.
I’ll have more to say about this later. But having the right attitude about testing is the first step. If we love it, then we will enjoy it and we can create the right attitude around us.
Here’s a good book on the topic:
Here’s a great blog post from producttalk.org with tips on how to write a great hypothesis.
