I’m an advocate for discussing value rather than focusing on the technology that underpins it, so I’m always happy when our initial conversations with customers and prospects start with their motivation for using our solutions.

To be specific, we start with the user story, which is a simple description of your requirements and follows this format: As a …… I want to …… so that I ……

The first thing to do is define your user. At this point it can be helpful to give the person a name and list out their characteristics and behaviours. Example: As a facilities manager

Next, we think about what the user wants to achieve from the project. Example: As a facilities manager, I want to be alerted to potential instances of Legionnaires bacterium

Now imagine you are the user and describe the benefit that this project will deliver. Example: As a facilities manager, I want to be alerted for potential instances of Legionnaires bacterium, so that I keep my assets compliant and protect the wellbeing of my tenants.

Once the user story has been created, our recommendation is a workshop to focus on the outcomes we want to accomplish, and the barriers that currently prevent this from occurring. Importantly, the barriers should include people and processes, not just data and technology. If at this point there are multiple user stories, it can be helpful to group them into manageable projects and then prioritise those that would yield the greatest results.

Only when the user stories, desired outcomes and barriers have been identified, do we begin to work on potential solutions.

In summary, people are experts in their own lives, so are best placed to tell you what’s important to them, it’s just that they may need help to do this. If you take the time to understand what value means to the user and can demonstrate how new technologies or products can substantially improve their quality of living, they are far more likely to be adopted successfully.

Jon Petch - Sales Director at IoT Solutions Group