The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth)

· Founder of Evident Studio
· 25+ years in tech as CPO/CTO
· $MM exit of digital healthcare app

Building apps for companies to make data-driven decisions

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

Hi 👋 from London

I'm an experienced CTO and if you're interested in

📊 Data
🕸️ Web 3.0 and Blockchain
🌐 Web development
🏦 Startups and entrepreneurship
💡 Guides and resources

Follow me ☑️

I use Twitter to share content and ideas you don't want to miss

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

@CypherZox_ Or the classic..

Like, retweet and comment "waste of time" for my next to useless guide which is about to waste your time.

(Must be following so I can send useless guide to you)

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

@scrumtuous Reminds me of the CIA sabotage manual - you've seen it?

Some other crackers

Talk as frequently as possible at great length
Bring up irrelevant matters as frequently as possible
Refer back to matters previously decided upon

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

@scrumtuous Change to "You do you" checkbox

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

@scrumtuous If you can enter those conversations with an open mind and ready to listen its always a huge growth opportunity

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

You launched your MVP and it was a roaring success

So, after the initial applause, what's next?

It can be a hard question to answer.

Thankfully, there’s an easy solution to quickly identify the next highest leverage opportunity for growth.

Here are 5 sources of data to help decide where to focus

1. Security Assessment
↳ Understand security flaws and risks. Close high-priority risks

2. Performance Audit
↳ Remove any areas of poor performance.  Start with user-facing features

3. Usability Testing
↳ Understand points of friction for your users.  Remove them.

4. Processes and Procedures
↳ Review processes and procedures and replace time-consuming manual processes with automated ones

5. Integration Architecture
↳ Build integrations with commonly used tools or platforms in your industry

Take these steps to solidify the strong foundation of your MVP.

What else would you add to the list? 👇

P.S. Don’t forget to address your tech debt!

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

@FELICIAGOMEZ8 @scrumtuous You said it! 👌

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

@chrisrickard I think they're valuable but always around a purpose or goal.

If the goal is to socialise. Better to be a social event

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

In digital design, there's a secret trick that top designers swear by.

A trick that helps apps get greater engagement with less design time.

What is this trick?

UI patterns.

But what are they exactly?

They are tried and tested solutions to common design challenges, so they have

📱A common set of features
🔁 A common way to interact
💢 A common set of responses

That means when your users see them, they instantly understand how to use them

Still not convinced they are for you?

Here’s 5 reasons I think you should adopt them

Familiarity
↳ Users appreciate consistency; your app interface is quick to learn and

Hours of design wisdom:
↳ Why start from scratch? UI patterns are the culmination of years of design expertise.

User Confidence:
↳ Familiarity breeds confidence. When users encounter familiar UI patterns, they know what to expect

Delivery speed:
↳ The time to re-use the wheel is a lot lower that the time to invent it

Less errors:
↳ The more familiar the interface, the lower the chance your users will make errors

Use UI patterns to get consistency into your designs in double time.

What’s your top tip for driving quality in design?

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

Defining MVP scope

(... how to keep the scope small and still deliver huge value)

It’s a hard balance to strike

You need to create a complete product but if you do everything, you’ll never launch

This is the MVP challenge

And it’s a tough one

The best way we’ve found over many years and projects is to let discovery and design apply the constraints i.e. you have …

- A clear understanding of the customer
- A clear definition of the problem you’re looking to solve
- A defined set of user needs (that support solving that problem)
- A vision of a solution that addresses those user needs

Creativity thrives within constraints. So create those constraints.

Now the question becomes, what slice of that vision will still produce a complete product that you can evaluate

Your vision will be a hierarchy

- Customer journeys
- Screens in those journeys
- Features in screens in those journeys

And now we cut

- To the most critical user journey
- With only the necessary screens to deliver it (replacing with manual options or external tools where needed)
- And using the simplest version of each feature in the screens

This is your MVP

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

@scrumtuous @AmigosCode But seriously yes, very disappointing

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

@scrumtuous @AmigosCode Maybe he's just creating a business opportunity for Removing Certainly as a Service (RCaaS) Darcy

An act of tech philanthropy to help those struggling for startup ideas 😇✨

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

@lpdahito Depends on the language I'm using

Camel case for Java or Javascript/Typescript
Snake case for Python or Ruby

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

Estimates is just one part of the delivery process.

If you want to read about the others and download out costing template, go to

https://t.co/22UhUCSrkf

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

Tailor-made project estimates

(… how to get rough costs when you only have a rough idea using t-shirt sizing)

Let's face it management loves estimates

But they don’t love

🔎 Details
🛑 Caveats
🅱️ And contingencies

So how can you deliver something accurate without a DeLorean and a Flux Capacitor?

Step forward t-shirt sizing.

T-shirt sizing is a simple method to estimate the number of points and thus size of the elements within a new build. The basic process is…

1. Take your user needs
2. Define the features needed to support them
3. Give an estimate of how complex they are S, M, L, XL, XXL

We now have features with complexity estimates, we need cost

1. Assign each entry a role
2. Assign all roles a day rate
3. Convert each size into a number of days S = 3, M = 5, L = 10 and so on

Then let your favourite spreadsheet do the math!

Hey Presto - estimates fit for a king  👑

Want to see t-shirt sizing in action (and get a free template to help build this out yourself)? Check 👇👇👇

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

User testing: The game-changer for apps

(... a low barrier to learn skill that will 10-100x your user base)

Watching real users use your app can be a painful experience

But there is hands-down no better way to know how to improve it

It’s also surprisingly easy to get started .. here’s how:

Define your goal
↳ What are you trying to improve - a starter for 10: pick your key user journeys

Select your test participants
↳ Get a cross-section of users from your target audience - they’re the ones that want to achieve the goal

Design scenarios 
↳ Define tasks with background and objectives that achieve the goal

Set up your test environment
↳ Have a test version of your app to complete the tasks - could be a paper prototype, lo-fi prototype or working app

Run your tests (and observe)
↳ Have your participants attempt to complete the tasks - be quiet, observe, find points of frustration

Identify common issues
↳ What did most users struggle with - these are your highest-priority improvements

Implement and go again
↳ Make changes that will resolve your users' problems and test again

User testing isn't just a step; it's a strategy. Embrace it, refine your apps, and watch user satisfaction skyrocket!

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

@scrumtuous Would love to connect Darcy and everyone

https://t.co/rD9zzgrcdh

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

@MichaelAsiedu_ This is so true

And maybe it depends on the type of work you're doing

But anything creative, or where you need to engage your brain, I don't believe music helps (even orchestral)

[The Intrepid CTO (intrepidcto.eth) @TheIntrepidCTO]

Stop wasting time covering low-impact questions on your user research calls.

Use this structure as a strawman to save you hours in planning:

Current role
↳ The user’s role (in the context of the problem) .. background for what follows

Current Process
↳ The end-to-end process and what a typical day / week looks like as a result

Decision points
↳ Any decisions that are made, how they are made, with what data, and what’s the next action

Challenges and strengths
↳ What works well and what is painful in the current process

External Interactions
↳ Who the user interacts with - people, teams, formal groups

Regulations, governance, and responsibilities
↳ Any regulations to consider or reporting responsibilities, how the process is governed

Critical KPIs and success measures
↳ What good looks like and how it is measured

The voice of your users is the compass to your product's success.  Great user interviews start from the right structure.