Assumption to be Tested, a potential solution (product) with an assumed value that a customer would be willing to pay for (value proposition).
Through market research, customer and/or subject matter expert (SME) interviews, a single proposed solution was to be identified and validated worthy of becoming a minimum viable product (MVP).
From Stage One's Problems to Solve, the features that our product might offer were categorized into 6 key themes containing a total of 38 ideas.
Getting start-ups off on the right path by identifying key jurisdictions, collecting business model facts, and assessing the regulatory environment.
5 ideas addressing pain points
Monitor changes in regulations as governments around the world work towards producing unified FinTech standards.
5 ideas addressing pain points
Support startups as they gain knowledge of the complex regulatory space, pointing them to resources appropriate to their compliance journey status.
8 ideas addressing pain points
Bootstrap the compliance process with a business model assessment, expert advice and tailored checklists / tasks, simplifying the compliance process.
6 ideas addressing pain points
Support startups as they gain knowledge of the complex regulatory space, connecting requirements with potential risks specific to their level of compliance.
5 ideas addressing pain points
Provide an easy to understand compliance management system as a source of truth for a FinTech’s current state of compliance and potential risks.
9 ideas addressing pain points
Observation
"Prioritization of upcoming laws based on region and company's business model
AI models to build a company's compliance status, based on risks, penalties, and past laws, etc."
Worth mentioning - early on my ideation session contributions tended towards describing a solution. Generally described as "too solution-ey", my suggestions were often too specific to a particular solution. They jumped to a predetermined solution and didn't allow for the research process to reveal an answer. Later, I learned this required balance in knowing the difference between talking the way and walking it.
Through ideation sessions and/or interviews, the product themes and ideas were reviewed to determine the minimally-required features and functions the product should offer.
Validate each step within the user journey.
Sequence all steps taken by a user.
Assign specific pain levels for each step and user persona.
Review and validate business model assessment key indicators.
Identify differences between `company location` and `jurisdiction`.
Determine possible edge cases and/or blindspots within the process.
Identify key metrics for user confidence.
Determine a balance between informative and non intrusive notifications.
Confirm update tags/categories are targeted with clear call-to-actions.
RE: Finding the correct expert to advise on the specifics of a business model
In hindsight, I probably would have saved a lot of money and time if I had just gone to an expert to guide me in the right direction. It might have been expensive at the time, but it would have saved six months of learning. If there's a way to educate the consumer on that it would be helpful.
FinTech Founder
RE: keeping up-to-date on the complex regulatory and compliance space
Folks get overwhelmed by the level of detail. If it was able to present the requirements in a way that was understandable, not to lawyers and compliance people business folks and founders.
Compliance Officer
The product themes and ideas, having been used to create the Lo-Fi prototypes and interview materials, validated the user journey, defined the site structure and identified our target customers.
Research focused on the following 3 product concepts and their features, with a total of 11 functions.
Turn-key compliance for common FinTech business models.
4 functions addressing pain points
Regulation monitoring and ongoing risk assessment.
3 functions addressing pain points
Supporting FinTech StartUps as they begin the compliance process.
4 functions addressing pain points
The key product features and associated functions were incorporated into presentation materials for the next set of SME interviews.
Filter/sort methods for assessing and prioritizing compliance requirements.
Facilitate team collaboration and knowledge sharing within the complexities of the compliance process.
Common touch-points, hand-offs and communication methods for implementing an effective regulatory strategy.
"Halt!"
Hi-Fi Prototypes and interviews were left only partially completed and the remaining deliverables were not completed due to the stop determination by Leadership.
After one of our 'touch point' meetings, Leadership made the decision to “halt” the project. Oftentimes these calls are made outside of the regular team meetings and without any explanation as to the reasoning. This was a common occurrence. Many potential projects never even made it to Stage Two. During my time at Vertex, only 2 projects ever made it past Stage Two. This is the gate in the stage-gate innovation process.