Competitive and User Research
Understanding the user is key. We start by working with our stakeholders to understand their goals and to share in their knowledge of their customer. We review and study any available market research and we also review the analytics from current products and web platforms. We look closely at competitors—not just in the moment but over time, seeking to understand their paths over time and to understand how they see and serve their customers. Following that, we perform direct user research, working with customers to understand their goals and needs, and often defining personas. Finally, we present our findings to leadership, with the goal of building a shared understanding of exactly who will be using the software we build.
Requirements Analysis
Requirements analysis no longer means picking a set of technologies and hoping for the best. Increasingly, as platforms have grown, so have the third-party integrations that allow organizations to achieve the most value from their software. A modern application will work across an organization: Providing users with the expected experience, but linking in to analytics platforms, marketing automation, logistics and ERP, or connecting directly to CRM systems like Salesforce. Where Retailfriday excels is in understanding the entire system, making absolutely certain that the software that we deliver serves each stakeholder group fully. No group is an afterthought.
Product Architecture
Defining a product’s architecture is a specialize skill requiring tremendous insight into user behavior, technology platforms, user experience, and front-end design. Retailfriday product managers are unique in that they have the capacity to understand a product from the foundational code to the end-user experience, from JavaScript frameworks to font choice. Critically, we understand where friction can enter a platform: For example, what if marketing automation software or Salesforce integration slows down a mobile app experience? What if a website’s lack of efficient caching means that a critical global market is underserved? We are experts in defining the optimal product architecture for digital platform and product development.
Product Management
Product management is key to the work we do at Retailfriday . Product managers will drive the effort. They are your point for any overarching questions or feedback. They are also responsible for making sure the teams are in sync and that commitments are met. For product management, documentation is communication. All requirements and specifications are drafted and relied upon by both the client and the various teams. Product managers will be heavily involved in API and data spec drafting, as well as user interviews/research.