Optimizing Solution Delivery

The easiest part of building #optimization and #decisionintelligence solutions is writing the code. Yet, I've found few references dealing with the more critical parts of successfully delivering the right solution. Here's my step-by-step approach to increasing the likelihood of delivering a solution with high business impact. 1) Understand the business process: Expanding your view from the problem presented to the process in which it is embedded allows for more holistic solutions and de-risks solving the wrong problem. 2) Interviews with business users and stakeholders: Understanding how users perceive their business process gives a better picture of the communication flow. This is important for change management as you roll out your solution. In addition, it provides a first glimpse to assessing the client's "tech maturity" which influences how you architect your solution. 3) Present an initial solution in plain English: Write a document with a clear problem statement, a high-level description of the solution, and the expected metrics improvements without technical jargon. This serves a double function as an exercise to have mental clarity and a means to #communicate and align with stakeholders. 4) Build a "scrappy" prototype and get it to stakeholders: This is one of the best ways to keep stakeholders engaged, validate that it's on the right path, and streamline change management. The prototype should include the solution, a method to evaluate the relevant metrics, and an interface for stakeholders to interact with your solution. 5) Build a metrics tracking mechanism: Create a dashboard that will be used to review the latest performance metrics of interest so that you can clearly build the story of how your solution is improving them over time as you iterate. 6) Build a CI/CD pipeline: After the prototype's initial validation, build a pipeline that allows you to ship new releases quickly to stakeholders. Establish cadenced checkpoints and demos to get feedback and review metrics. This is an important part of your change management. 7) Pilot: Once the metric improvements have been achieved, run a pilot where you follow how your solution is used as part of the business process. Make any final necessary tweaks to secure adoption. 8) Documenting and closing: Once adoption is satisfactory, close out the project by properly documenting your artifacts for your stakeholders. Include a section identifying other potential improvements to the process and an estimate of their impact for future work. Successful projects go far beyond models and algorithms, they ensure business impact and adoption. This is how we'll make #decisionintelligence the most widely adopted #AI in business. What steps would you also include?

When optimizing delivery operations across industries, from ride-sharing to logistics, there’s a sweet spot. Too efficient, you risk customer satisfaction. Too conservative, operations are inefficient. Here’s how to find it: 1. Define your operational boundaries or SLAs a) Order batching Whether you're running a ride-hailing service, food delivery platform or delivering parcels, order batching is crucial. First, you need to figure out the parameters that make the most sense for your business: Response time (e.g., 20 seconds for ride-hailing ride confirmation) Ride time (e.g., 25 min ride becoming 30 min for shared rides) Load capacity limits (e.g., max 50kg per driver) Customer service expectations (e.g., takeout delivery within 30 minutes) Figuring out API performance expectations helps you balance efficiency and good service. Warning: Beware of solutions that show fantastic efficiency metrics and huge cost reductions, but lead to unhappy customers or drivers. e.g. loading a driver with 100kg or 1hr delivery times for pizzas. b) Cost savings Calculating the right customer price point needs to be weighed against time and customer/driver preferences.   Example 1: A shared ride can take 25 minutes at a 20% discount. But if the ride takes 35 minutes, a rider won’t accept those conditions, even with a discount. Example 2: A premium rider might never want to ride share. Example 3: You might want to reward loyal, experienced drivers with 10% better orders/rides, or ensuring they’re assigned customers in familiar neighbourhoods. Surprisingly, a lot of companies haven’t figured out these boundaries, meaning there are often huge blind spots when it comes to the customer experience or employee satisfaction. 2. Know what you want to optimize and what tradeoffs are okay to make. Understand your business conditions and your boundary constraints and determine what you’re really optimizing for. e.g. How fast you assign a driver vs. optimization potential e.g. Cost reduction vs. service quality You might want to assign a driver instantly, but not batch riders together. On the flip side, maximizing deliveries or number of riders per car might require 5-10 seconds more time to batch ride requests and lower costs, but if the rider gets a 10% discount, it’s worth the wait. 3. Use a flexible system and can handle all your constraints Each business is different. Delivering pizza is different from delivering ice cream. Some companies might be focused on rapid growth, with others on reducing costs or maximizing on-time deliveries for premium customers. Choosing a flexible system lets you adapt according to changing needs and priorities. The system should be: - Configurable so you can run different simulations and test different tradeoff scenarios  - Stable so you can run your business-critical operations reliably - Easy to integrate your constraint and tradeoff parameters within your existing system

In intricate product organizations, effective communication plays a vital role for product leaders to engage all contributors in the product delivery lifecycle. Communication needs vary, from securing "yes" commitments to sharing go-to-market updates, demanding diverse strategies for optimization. Here are key strategies from a product executive: - **Prioritize Clarity:** Start by dedicating time in the initial stages to crystallize ideas, ensuring clarity on the problem, value proposition, and urgency. - **Early Feedback Gathering:** Embrace the "draft and show" approach to gather feedback early, fostering trust and reducing unnecessary information requests. - **Clarify Decision Processes:** Establish clear escalation processes to define decision-making authority, encouraging constructive debate while ensuring timely decisions. - **Transparent Decision-Making:** Learn to defer commitments when uncertain, transparently documenting challenges and risks for well-informed decision-making. - **Establish Communication Channels:** Develop formal channels for updates, follow-ups, and escalations to uphold focus and efficiency. - **Utilize Tools for Progress Tracking:** Keep decision logs, consistently update artifacts, and leverage platforms like Confluence, Jira, and Kanban boards for effective progress tracking. - **Promptly Address Blockers:** Identify and escalate blockers promptly, seeking leadership support to effectively tackle critical issues. Avoid the temptation to solve issues independently to prevent noise, delays, and partner concerns. Trust leaders to intervene when needed. Navigating the complexities of product leadership within organizational settings requires strategic communication and planning. These optimization strategies enhance productivity and ensure smoother product delivery processes with shared responsibilities among key organizational stakeholders.