1) STATE YOUR UNDERASTANDING OF THE PRODUCT

Waze is a mobile app that helps with navigation. It is unique in some ways, e.g. drivers can add notifications such as accidents, cop presence, etc. that get shared with other users. In addition Waze also provides real-time alternate routes in case of an accident, etc.

2) CLARIFYING QUESTIONS

> What is the goal of the improvement? Acquisition, Engagement, Monetization or other?

> Is there a geography that I should focus? US only, entire world, etc?

> Am I to keep any constraints in mind as I think about solutions?

> Are we talking about existing user types or create a new category, such as waze for flying enthusiasts, shipping and cargo delivery lines, etc?

Goal is Acquisition and US Only. There are no constraints and limit to vehicles that drive on the road.

3) TALK ABOUT PRODUCT GOAL

The goal of Waze is to help a person reach from point A to point B efficienctly. The efficiency could be time saved with fastest route, money saved by avoiding tolls, and manage expected or unexpected detours.

So, basically Waze is a NAVIGATION aid.

4) TALK ABOUT CUSTOMERS WHO USE THE PRODUCT

A) Those who drive: Drivers that drive themselves.

– Drive to work – PURPOSE > Get to work on time

– Drive during vacation – PURPOSE > Make sure you are headed the right direction and help explore

– Drive to a new place within the MSA where they live, e.g friend’s place, local vacations, new to the area, etc. – PURPOSE > Remove uncertainity of getting lost and reach on time.

B) Those who drive others: Drivers who drive others to their destination, UBer, Taxi, Private Bus Drivers, etc or drive to meet needs of others such as Amazon Prime delivery, Instacart, etc.

– PURPOSE > Drop off faster to make more trips and make more money.

5) WHO ARE WE SOLVING FOR?

Between A) And B) I will prefer to solve for A) because of some unmet needs that I will detail later. In case of B) users activeky use Waze but their needs are limited and already well met with existing functionality that is available today.

Within A) Drive to work is a segment that is pretty mature in usage and also their needs are met in some ways. Opportunities do exist such as make the drive exciting, etc but subsitutes such as radio, podcast, etc. exist. Driving new within MSA is the almost the same.

FOCUS: I will would like to focus on how Waze can be improved to meet needs of people who drive on vacation.

6) PERSONA NAME:

John and Jane: Exploring a new place

John and Jane with friends: Exploring and enjoying a vacation

John and Jane with two kids: Exploring and enjoying a vacation.

While the sub segments are different the needs are almost the same. The goal is to maximize fun, see more places and feel relaxed in a new place. Make driving a part of fun experience.

7) HOW IS PRODUCT USED TODAY DURING VACATION AND PAINPOINTS

Destination planning phase:

1)  Identify where to go?

2) If multiple destinations figure out priority

3) Not sure whether they are taking an optimized route

Driving phase:

1) Driving in unknown place?

2) Safety concerns

3) Are we missing anything on the way as we get there?

4) What is the history of the place or any other interesting fact that I can learn?

What next phase:

1) What next can I do?

2) Are there places around that I can check out?

3) Anything local such as food, etc, that I can enjoy?

8) PRIORITIZE AND PICK PAINPOINTS WITH RATIONALE

Our goal is acquisition, either new customers take customers away from competition such as Google and Apple maps. While I can solve for all I would like to focus on planning and what next phase. Most of the challenges users face in those two phases can have a halo effect of Waze being used for non vacation purposes as well. Also Google core strengths as an information warehouse and merchant listings can add immediate value to the experience.

Okay, go ahead

9) LIST POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS 

A) Trip explorer: Vacation mode in Waze that makes recommendations on what to do? I have 5 days in Maui, plan the trip for me?

B) Trip planner: I know where to go, help me plan my route better with exploration/spend time at each destination. I have 8 hours today, help me make the best out of it with these 10 places. While I am the destination, recommend things I can do around and impact on the planned trip

10) PRIORITIZE SOLUTIONS 

From a user perspective, ease of implementation, business impact, usability of feature, etc. trip planner is solution I would like to build. While the trip explorer sounds sexy, generaly speaking vacationers don’t want a software to control their experience 100%. There is an element of planning, involvement, etc that vacationers like to do. I can speak for myself and family and friends. Also, the scope of the project today is USA but expanding the solution later to the entire world will be difficult as Google may not have all the information to make the best recommendation. Hence, a hybrid of technology recommendation and human decisioning is my recommendation

11) HIGH LEVEL FEATURES

A) Separate vacation tab in Waze

B) Ability to input parameters such as time available to explore, possible destinations in mind

C) Scenario planning such as you can finish destination Kanapali beach and Front St and also spend an hour on Front st, Vs Beach, Front St and Pineapple grill if you skip time on Front St

D) Recommendations in places to stop with ratings, pictures, time spent by others, impact on the overall trip, etc.

E) At the destination, things to do, places to eat, etc.

F) Trip progress indicator: 80% you will cover everything planned for today. Leave now if you want to get to your next destination because traffic builds up in x minutes. etc

G) Ability to publicly shre trips with others to use as a template

12) FEATURE ROLLOUT

A/B test with opt in

Specific geographies such as Hawaii, Los Angeles, etc

13) SUCCESS METRICS (Daily, weekly, monthly and trends WoW, MoM, etc)

A) No of times feature used vs competition

B) Total time spent on the feature

C) Total number of trip completed

D) Abandon rate

E) Repeat usage on 2nd, 3rd and nth trip

F) Number of new users using the feature ( trend)

H) Number of times trip is saved and publicly shared

14) NORTH STAR METRIC

Our goal is to acquire new customers. My north star metric for this phase would be total number of new users who have successfully completed a trip they created on vacation.