How to prepare for a workshop on a new product or new functionality?

Innovation workshops are one of the best ways to get your digital product up and running. It’s also a great addition to the agile development process: having workshops done between iterations helps identify the most pressing issues in the project. What should you do to get the most out of innovation workshops?

Innovation workshops at BinarApps is a service that can be treated as a one-time offer that will help you launch your digital product or part of the complex app development process. Workshops are here to help you define and shape your idea into a working plan of action. Our team of consultants, designers, and developers spends the entire day with you to understand your product and it’s destiny. To put it simply – it’s the first step to make your idea a reality.

If you wonder what you should do to make the most out of that time, here are a few tips that will move the work forward!

Ask the basic questions

It’s one of the most common phrases you’re going to hear from BinarApps: for whom it is made? Whom it will benefit?

It may be obvious to you but is it as obvious to your potential audience? Those two questions are often the first time an idea is faced with the real world. If it only looks good on paper then it’s not going to make you any money. 

The value proposition is an essential part of digital product design. It makes you think about who would be interested in your product and why. If the answers to these questions are rather hazy, perhaps it’s the time to go back to the drawing board. 

Do your homework

It bears repeating that you need to know your audience. You can choose from a variety of tools to do so: surveys, interviews, A and B tests, data mining, open questionnaires. The more information you have on your target group, the better product you will create. Why? Because only by knowing exactly what their needs are you can provide them with a solution. That kind of research can be done by your team or a company specialized in gathering data. If you show up at the workshops with that information in hand, it will be easier for all of us to come up with the best options. 

Naturally, we can take the matter out of your hands and handle the research ourselves. We have trusted sources and experience in defining user personas. This way we can prepare an even better workshop for your team. 

Make sure your team is on the same page

Perhaps the most important advice anyone could give in terms of product development. This problem often emerges in startups: they often don’t have answers to every question under the sun – and that is understandable! However, before you take part in the innovation workshops, you need to have a sit-down with your team and discuss the major points of your digital product. We can do a lot for you but some decisions have to be made by the internal team and only the internal team. 

Read also: What tools do people use for product planning?

Anything else?

If you’re still unsure about what to expect from innovation workshops, don’t hesitate to ask!