Is your roadmap a mess?
Are you sprinting like crazy but feel like you’re going in circles?
Let’s talk about how I can bring some clarity and confidence to your process.
After a dozen customer interviews and a well-designed follow-up survey, you’ll be able to:
- Iterate with confidence
- Increase growth without guessing
- Know when to underdo the competition
- Market with precision
- Prioritize your roadmap with certainty
- Make data-based decisions
- Align your sales messaging with customer needs
- Reduce the role of chance and luck in your success
- Identify market opportunities
- Discover unmet customer needs
- Find opportunities for disruptive innovation
- Know when your competitors are following a bad trail
How Can I Help?
1: Free JTBD Knowledge Library
Get access to all the resources I’ve collected and designed over the years leading projects and workshops.
2: One-Hour Product Strategy Session
Sometimes you need a set of outside eyes on your problem to see things clearly. In this one-hour call, we’ll analyze your product strategy and plan your next move.
3: In-Depth Engagement
Want to go deeper with your strategy and product design processes?
Let’s work together to level-up your design process and discover opportunities for innovation in your business.
My Recent Articles
Feature Audit, Underdoing the Competition, and Hans Rosling on UI Breakfast Podcast
The following is a transcript of an interview with the Jane Portman on the UI Breakfast Podcast. Jane: Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the UI Breakfast podcast. I’m your host Jane Portman, and today our guest is Brian Rhea, product strategist and founder of Feature Audit. We’re going to talk about SaaS feature audits today. Hi Brian! Brian:…
Customer Acquisition & Customer Retention
If you’ve signed up for my JTBD Email Course, then you’ve heard me talk about the Forces of Progress already. Or, if you follow the Rework Group, you may have heard them unpack this powerful concept that can be helpful in understanding your customers’ decision-making process. I originally posted this short video to LinkedIn, but I’ll…
Jobs to Be Done, MVPs, and Red Pandas on Product Popcorn
The following is a transcript of an interview with the Product Popcorn podcast on Jobs to Be Done. Welcome and Introductions Kimberly: Hello and welcome to Product Popcorn- the podcast that explores topics related to product management … Most of the time. We talk with product managers and also designers and engineers that work on…
With Customer Interviews, Pretend the Stakes Are Low … Even If They Aren’t
When you’re kicking off customer interviews to collect feedback on a design or prototype, one of the most important things you should say is: “None of the designers are on the call. You aren’t going to hurt anyone’s feelings.” Or: “We’re in the very early stages here, so please feel free to shoot down anything…
Get Free Access to My Jobs to Be Done Resource Library
Download all the resources I’ve collected over the years as a JTBD practitioner and facilitator.
Here’s a preview of what you get:
1. JTBD Interview Resources
All the templates, worksheets, and emails I use to plan and execute a suite of customer interviews, including:
- Interview timeline sheet
- Outcome Statements template
- Forces of Progress Interview template
- Swipe file for Customer Interview Emails
2. JTBD Workshop Resources
An outline of the agenda and schedule I use as the baseline for planning and organizing a JTBD workshop, plus a handy checklist of the supplies you’ll want to make sure you have on hand.
- Suggested agenda
- Supplies list
- “How Might We” template
3. JTBD Presentation
The JTBD presentation I’ve delivered at conferences, workshops, meetups, and in private engagements to professionals from Twitter, Oracle, SendGrid and more.
4. Book Summaries (in progress)
Notes and key takeaways of Must-Read JTBD titles.
- Competing Against Luck by Clayton Christensen
- What Customers Want by Tony Ulwick (in progress)
- The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen (coming soon)
Let’s Work Together
Growth Strategy
Growth is never easy: whether your existing business model is being disrupted by new technology or if you’re trying to get traction with a brand new idea.
It’s impossible to eliminate risk entirely or to guarantee success, but there are design processes you can use to know what your market is looking for and how to build products with increased chances of success.
Training & Workshops
Onsite sessions designed to take your team’s design process to the next level.
In these fast-paced, fun, hands-on sessions, I’ll lead you and your team through a process that will change the way you think about product design.
I draw on my experience as a developer, product thinker, teacher, speaker, and entrepreneur to deliver content that resonates.
I’ve partnered with companies of all sizes to develop products, lead workshops, and deliver presentations to grow businesses and move strategy forward. I’m proud for my work to have been trusted by these companies and many others.
A Partner You Can Trust
It’s hard to find reliable help these days, that’s why sometimes it feels easier to just do things yourself.
But, you’re probably not going to teach yourself Ruby on Rails and continue spinning plates.
I can help. I’m also an entrepreneur and I grew up watching my mom and dad grow their business from a desk in the kitchen, to the garage, to a new office building in my hometown.
I get it. I’m in the middle of it growing this consultancy. It’s not about the tech, it’s about the business behind the tech and I understand both.
Experience & Expertise
I’ve been building websites since 1994.
I used Photoshop 3.0 on a Macintosh Quadra 650 and wrote code in BBEdit for Netscape Navigator.
The point is: I’ve been doing this for a while.
And I’ve had enough successes (executive member of an eight-figure acquisition) and made plenty of mistakes to have learned a thing or two about building successful businesses online.
Knowing how to build something is easy compared to knowing what to build. The customer-centric (Jobs to Be Done) approach I use will ensure you won’t waste time chasing bad ideas.
FAQ
You might have some questions about how I work before we get started.
These are the most common questions my new clients bring to me early on. If you’re still unclear about how we might work together, please reach out and I’ll look forward to hearing from you.
Can you travel to us for a kick-off / workshop?
Yes. Working remotely from anywhere I choose is a dream come true. But, sometimes there’s no replacement for face-to-face collaboration. I’m more than happy to come to you for a few days as my schedule allows.
How soon can you start?
It will depend on what’s currently on my calendar, but on average I’m booked out a month or two in advance. The sooner you get in touch and start the conversation, the more likely we’ll be able to plan for your project to get spun up.
Will we be working with only you?
Depending on the scope of your project, I may choose to bring in a team of designers, developers, and PMs I trust to ensure that your project runs smoothly and results in the quality we both expect.
What do you charge?
It will depend on the scope of your project and if you’re interested in a retainer for strategy, a workshop, or development. But generally, if your budget is under $15,000 then we probably aren’t a good fit.
Ready to get started?
Let’s grow your business together.