January 2015 Summaries

We've learned that scaling a product team requires a set of guidelines for making decisions, clear accountability, a lightweight and transparent roadmap, and a culture of goal setting. Our process is broken down into four main areas: decision-making guidelines, clear accountability, a comprehensive roadmap, and a culture of goal setting. We prioritize face-to-face collaboration, optimize for shipping the fastest, smallest, simplest thing that will get us closer to our objective, and fight against work-around solutions using software. The outcome matters more than the plan, as plans are made with available information but become clear only through execution. Our roadmap is divided into three timeframes: solid releases, high-level project briefs, and speculative ideas. We use a set of guidelines for making decisions, including optimizing for face-to-face collaboration, fighting against work-around solutions, and prioritizing the outcome over the plan. Clear accountability is crucial, with each team member owning a specific task or responsibility. Our roadmap draws from three primary sources: our beliefs, qualitative feedback from customers, and quantitative data on performance metrics. We have a culture of goal setting, where teams set weekly goals, track progress, and hold themselves accountable. This process has changed over time, and we're constantly examining and iterating to improve how we build product.

Inside Intercom's reader survey revealed that Inside Intercom readers are a discerning bunch who turn to various publications for professional inspiration, including blogs, startup resources, design and creativity outlets, and company blogs. The survey highlighted the importance of providing thoughtful feedback to improve content and attract more relevant articles on topics such as product management, design, startups, and customer support. A range of publications were identified, from well-known blogs like Seth Godin's blog and Stratechery by Ben Thompson, to startup resources like Startup School and First Round Review, and company blogs like Wistia and InVision.

The world of visual design in software has undergone significant changes, particularly with the rise of flat design, inspired by iOS and Material Design. This style is characterized by clean simplicity, minimal ornamentation, and a focus on typography. However, some critics argue that this trend has become overly commercialized and homogeneous, leading to a lack of diversity and uniqueness in designs. The article suggests that as technology advances, new devices and interfaces may influence future design aesthetics. It also raises questions about the potential for a more aesthetically diverse software world, where different styles and trends emerge to set themselves apart. Ultimately, the author leaves the future of visual design uncertain, inviting readers to share their thoughts and suggestions.

We've made significant improvements to our inbox features, including the addition of Mentions for easier collaboration and @mentioning co-workers directly in notes. We've also enhanced the conversation list with color-coded actions to make it easier to track conversations. Furthermore, we've introduced customer profiles in email notifications to help users quickly identify who's sending them messages. Additionally, we've streamlined conversation management by allowing quick-close conversations without needing to open them first. Our mobile app has received improvements, including new features like @mentions, tagging, and swipe-to-close gestures on iOS, as well as a Conversations tab and color-coded activity notes on Android. We've also added sharable customer quotes and messages to make it easy for teams to share testimonials with external audiences.

Storyful, a social news agency, uses Intercom to segment its customer base and deliver relevant messages for efficient communications and support. The company has seen significant growth in user engagement with Newswire's active user base growing 50% in two months and core per-user engagement metrics doubling across the board. Storyful's use of segmentation, tagging, and auto-messaging in Intercom allows it to tailor its communication, ensuring timely delivery of relevant content to busy newsrooms around the world. The platform also enables effective two-way communication with users, allowing for authentic interactions that feel like conversations rather than just software. With Intercom, Storyful aims to continue setting the gold standard in social discovery and verification on the web.

Meaningful growth versus metric manipulation is a critical distinction. Metrics alone can drive decision-making, but they can also be manipulated to achieve short-term gains, leading to false positives and misleading conclusions. The "Rat Effect" illustrates how rewarding behavior can lead to undesirable outcomes when metrics are used as proxies for user behavior. To create meaningful growth, efforts should focus on removing friction, relocating it, or pointing users in the right direction. Removing friction is often more effective than tweaking metrics, and paired metrics can help mitigate adverse consequences of a single metric. Ultimately, the goal is to drive long-term value creation rather than short-term gains, requiring careful consideration of metrics and their limitations.