A product roadmap is a map to a just world -- the power of graphics that brings reality to the vision
A "product roadmap" that describes the vision for the product has been completed.
The project owner, XICA Development Headquarters Product Manager (hereinafter referred to as PM), Toshitaka Iwasawa, chose graphics as a means to communicate the product's vision.
What thoughts did Iwasawa put into this graphic? Also, how did the other members react to it? And,ADVAWhat is the world depicted?
This time, CEO Hirao, who was also involved in the product roadmap formulation project, invited Amano and Iwasawa, who serve as tech leads in the CTO Office, to talk about the background to the formulation of the product roadmap and the vision that XICA has.
Yoshiaki Hirao (left in photo)
CEO of XICA. After his father's bankruptcy, he strongly wanted to "eliminate the hopeless sadness in the world." He encountered statistical analysis while studying at Keio University's Faculty of Policy Management, and founded XICA Co., Ltd. in February 2012, just before graduating. He also has a unique career as a band member before founding the company.
Toshitsugu Iwasawa (center of photo)
Product Manager (PM) of the Development Division. Owner of the product roadmap formulation project. Joined XICA in August 2015. Hit it off with Hirao during the interview, and together they came up with the concept for Magellan, becoming a walking dictionary for XICA. Prior to becoming a PM, he was in charge of sales and has had the experience of meeting with representatives from over 8 companies.
Taichi Amano (right in photo)
He gained experience in development and organizational building at four companies, including FICC, Raksul, and Speee, before joining XICA in March 4. He serves as manager of the CTO Office, which solves difficult technical issues. He is currently the owner of a re-architecture project that includes a mathematical engine and web application.
I want to bring about an industrial revolution in marketing.
Hirao Thank you for joining us today. First of all, Mr. Iwasawa, could you tell us about the vision for XICA that you have outlined in this product roadmap?
Iwasawa Yes. The vision that XICA is aiming for is,The Marketing RevolutionI think it is.
It may be beneficial for some people, but it is not fair for others. By casting a ruler to measure fairness and equality,We are trying to create a world where everyone receives fair evaluation, can deliver what they want to deliver, and those who create the right things are properly paid..
Hirao As stated in the vision,"Creating a fair world where talent can flourish"That's what we're aiming for.Democratize data analysis to help everyone recognize information asymmetries and issues that are taken for granted but should be questioned..
In the context of the Industrial Revolution, Edison invented electricity, but what's really amazing about him is that he didn't just invent it, he created a company that supplied electricity (※1). He didn't just invent it, he made it something that everyone could use. From a broader perspective, that's what XICA is trying to do.
Amano They are trying to change the value chain itself, and I think what is amazing about XICA is that they have a solid roadmap for doing so, and that is why I find it so exciting as an engineer..
Hirao Eventually,Magellan (※2),ADVAWe want to contribute to the revitalization of the advertising industry by making it the de facto standard. To do that, we first need to gain acceptance ourselves. We want to evolve as quickly as possible to a level that we can be proud of as an advertising agency.
(※1) General Electric (GE), the world's largest general electric manufacturer.
(※2) In September 2020, Magellan was renamed "ADVA MAGELLAN." It was included in the lineup of "ADVA," a service that uses data science to maximize the results of marketing, mainly commercials. It is a tool that analyzes and visualizes the effectiveness of all advertising measures, including TV commercials and web ads, and simulates optimal budget allocation.
The product roadmap is a place to return to when you get lost
Hirao Next, I would like to ask about the background of this project. The product roadmap was initially compiled in text, right? Then, you shifted to graphics. You also held a town hall meeting (※3) to share the roadmap.
Iwasawa Yes. The product roadmap formulation project involved putting into words the vision that Hirao had in his mind, incorporating his own thoughts to give it concrete form, and outputting it in a format that everyone could understand.
As a PM, I am conscious ofHow can we make people excited about the vision? Can we make them feel that it is something real and tangible?It is an important role of a PM to convey excitement.We want to overcome the challenges of "it's hard to see what we're aiming for" and "it's hard to convey the creator's thoughts" as well as the barriers of understanding and enthusiasm that exist depending on one's position, with the power of graphics.I thought, and Numano Gumi Co., Ltd.Yuki NumanoWe asked them to produce it.
▲Completed product roadmap
Amano In my experience at other companies, there was a vision of "Let's create this kind of world," but there was nothing at a lower level of abstraction, and as a product creator, I felt the pain of not being able to bridge the gap between management and development. There are also development organizations that do not have a product roadmap based on a vision and mission, and instead pursue how to improve KPIs. In that sense, an effort like this to express a vision graphically may be unusual in itself.
▲We asked members of the Development Division how they had shared product roadmaps up until now. None of the members had ever shared them using graphics.
Hirao Looking back at the impact we shared,The product roadmap became a place to return to when in doubtNo matter how carefully you share things, they fade away over time, so I think it's great that there's a place to return to.
Amano The vision and mission became the organization's property.There's also a sense of it.
Hirao That's true. At the company-wide town hall meeting where we shared the product roadmap, there were so many questions that we couldn't answer, regardless of department. At the very least, it gave everyone something to think about.
Amano I used to think of a roadmap as something that was handed to us, but it has now become something that everyone should discuss.
Hirao If I had shared it as text, it might have ended with a simple "Hmm." Discussions like "How do we get to the second mountain?" and "Which is more productive to start with, the first or the second?" might not have happened without this graphic.
▲Sharing the excitement that Iwasawa has been focusing on. In a survey conducted after sharing the roadmap, many members felt "excited."
▲ 8% of the members responded that the passion was conveyed well.
(※3) A meeting that is conducted in a format that allows management and field staff to directly communicate with each other.solidThe main content of these monthly sessions is Q&A using the Internet, with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of important topics across the company.
Be unwavering, never give up, and do the right thing.
Iwasawa Magellan celebrated its fourth anniversary in September 2020, and the Magellan-embedded solution "ADVA(Advance)" has been released.
Four years ago, when we started creating Magellan, visualizing the effects of TV commercials was something a little unrealistic, something people would say would be nice. Didn't you feel like you were creating a market that didn't exist yet?
Hirao Yeah. It was the same worldview as "It would be nice if I could fly to work" (laughs).
Mainly statistical analysisMMMis an analytical method that has been used by global companies around the world since the 70s and is commonly used overseas. However, it has not yet caught on in Japan.
In the process, we have pushed the accuracy and speed of statistical analysis to the limits and continued to communicate from various angles what statistics can do.
▲The history of Magellan from the beginning of his conception to the present
Iwasawa For the past four years, you've been saying a simple thing: "Isn't it strange that we're spending billions of yen and yet we don't know what the results are?"It is great that he did not give up on conveying the value of statistics to the world.I think.
Hirao Really.I have tried my best not to shake things that shouldn't be shaken.Right.
I think we could have given up on the difficult techniques of statistics and provided something that was easy to understand.I thought that I must never damage the pride that we have in having the highest accuracy in "visualization.".
Iwasawa As a result of not shaking that belief,It is starting to create an atmosphere that it is better to do something as obvious as "visualizing."I feel.
Hirao The fact that we had the product (tool) was also a big factor.
Iwasawa That's right. Rather than consulting, we had a tool that allowed us to see the output immediately at any time, which allowed us to explain that "the effects of TV commercials should be monitored over a period of time."
Amano I,Corporate ethics are just as important as the worldview we aim forI think it is.
Hirao That's right. For example, when we make proposals to clients in the context of ADVA as an advertising agency, sometimes our analysis shows that they would get better results if they asked another company instead of us. In those cases, we present to the client, "Based on data science, it would be better to ask company XX instead of us. In that case, you will get about this much results."
Our customers are really surprised, though. We recommend other companies in a data-driven way (laughs).
Do what you think is logically rightThis has been XICA's stance for a long time.
A change in marketers' mindset will lead to a leap in the marketing industry
Hirao For the past four years, I have been running with Magellan, Iwasawa-san, and all the other members. Now that such a talented member as Amano-san has joined us, I would like to ask what we will do from now on. First of all, Iwasawa-san, can you tell us about the current challenges you are facing in order to achieve your vision?
Iwasawa XICA's goal is to "democratize marketing due diligence."Creating a world in which marketers themselves want to analyze and continue to see results" This can be rephrased as, "I'm busy and I just want to be told the results.Getting people to think that they should and should do their own analysis is the first step in democratizing marketing..
If we can take this first step, marketers will be able to properly evaluate the effectiveness of their advertising, and this will eventually change the shape of the industry. I strongly believe that Magellan will have a major impact on the entire industry.
One of the major elements in realizing this worldview is the challenges we are taking on right now.Development of a function that allows users to predict the future by themselvesMarketing should not be just a retrospective, nor should it be something to be enthusiastic about.We want to create a world where people can easily see what the short-, medium-, and long-term future holds and enjoy thinking about it for themselves..
Amano As a creator, I think it's interesting because it's rare to have the opportunity to develop a product that allows users to use highly difficult statistics themselves. Magellan optimizes statistical and mathematical knowledge and abstracts it as concepts, making it easy for engineers to understand and maintain.I enjoy abstracting concepts.Hm.
Hirao We are indeed a data analysis company, but as our mission states, "Democratize data analysis,"A company that makes data analysis accessible to peopleWhat is it?
Amano That's right. That's what's really interesting.
Iwasawa Looking back, including reflections on the past, I have come to the realization that statistics are difficult to use without a certain level of understanding.
When you started making Magellan, XICA was Sparta.
To use the example of an automobile, I would tell my customers, "We have the parts. We'll also teach you how to make them. So you learn how to make them yourself and build your own engine." But then nobody followed me, and I realized, "Oh, I should actually build the engines for them."
Based on that reflection, nowThe completed analysis model can be viewed from various angles, allowing customers to extract and combine what they need.I'm looking for a tool.
If you get to this point, you may be wondering, "What kind of statistical analysis are they doing here?"Your interest in and perspective on statistics will change.I think so.
Amano To achieve this, if all the creators had a background in mathematics and were just talking about the theory of how mathematics should be, it probably wouldn't work.One of XICA's strengths is that we have many people in the development department who can think purely about the product.is not it.
Hirao "How do we use it?" is what we need to think about.I think it is.
For example, XICA doesn't just think, "We have invented electricity," but rather, "If we use electricity, we can create an era where nights are bright, so let's make lights."
Second founding period
Can you maintain your intellectual curiosity and desire to grow and envision a vision?
Hirao XICA's development team continues to reform its organization under the leadership of Mr. Korezawa, who was appointed CTO in January 2020. The development department is in what could be called its second founding period. What kind of people are you looking for right now?
Iwasawa A PM has three roles: deciding the direction of the product, looking at the mathematics (data), and actually developing and delivering the resulting product. Each of these three roles requires:Being able to paint a vision.
To overcome this, there's a teaching called A mindset that doesn't take the initiativeIt is essential to be able to communicate with customers about their problems.People who can imagine what the root cause is and what the world would be like if it were solved.I would love to work with you.
Amano The premise is thatIntellectual curiosity and a desire to growI think it 's.
The 12 XICA guidelines for action:XICA WAYAt the end of the article, it says, "We promise success, not short-term profits."Face your true successI think this is an important element of working at XICA.
To achieve this, it is important that the ethical standards of the company and myself are aligned.Not being a bad guy trying to navigate the grey areaI think this is quite important.
Hirao That's true.Respect and encourage your peers. On the premise that different ideas are welcomed, people who want to change the world with their own hands and grow to the point of destroying their own brains.It would suit XICA.
On the other hand, people who seem like a good fit but aren't would be the kind of people who say, "I love data analysis, so I just want to be able to work with data."
Amano That's true. We're still in the second founding phase, and there are still areas of the organization that are developing, so chaos resistance is necessary.Not someone who can live in chaos, but someone who has the determination to solve chaos on their own.
At XICA's development headquarters,Manufacturing VisionIn order to realize the organizational vision of "Refine your choice and make it the Best,"You need the ability to find breakthroughs, the will to solve problems, and the confidence to believe in your own potential and continue to grow.I would like to develop the organization together with people like that.
Hirao In addition to this visualization and town hall meeting, the R&D department has been working on various initiatives, such as introducing miro and Discord, and holding deep dives to understand other departments. I'm sure they will continue to take on new challenges in the future. I'm really looking forward to it.
*The affiliation and title of the interviewee are those at the time of the interview.