As a member of Team Paradise, our journey through the Purpose Hackathon 2023 was an exhilarating experience that provided valuable insights into product management and problem-solving. Over the course of four days, we engaged in a rigorous process of problem exploration, ideation, and solution-building, with a focus on making sustainable assortment more attractive to customers.
Our journey began with problem exploration, where we delved into the challenges of finding a sustainable assortment. We identified a lack of sustainability knowledge hindering the creative process and recognized the need to look at the problem from different angles. This led us to focus on customers and how to make sustainable products more appealing to them.
During the ideation phase, we generated numerous ideas and narrowed down to the final idea, exploring two angles: rewarding sustainability and recommending similar but sustainable products. We also conducted a “5 Why’s” exercise, which led us to the problem statement: “How might we make a sustainable assortment feel like a good deal?” This process highlighted the importance of understanding customer behavior and preferences, as well as the need for bold and creative approaches to address the challenges.
As we built the solution, we encountered several “aha” moments, such as the realization that customers simply want to feel that their purchase was a good deal, with quality often being a more significant criterion than price. We also learned the importance of validating assumptions with users, as evidenced by the testing of our solution with actual bol.com users and receiving valuable feedback.
Our journey culminated in the creation of a service that was showcased on the bol.com stg environment. However, we also faced challenges, such as the need to make the “big picture” clear and ensure that the section showcasing sustainable products was more visible and engaging for customers.
Throughout this journey, we gained a deeper understanding of the product management process, from problem exploration and ideation to solution-building and user validation. We realized the significance of creativity, boldness, and user feedback in developing solutions that resonate with customers.
In conclusion, our participation in the Purpose Hackathon 2023 was a transformative experience that provided valuable lessons in product management, innovation, and customer-centric design. We look forward to applying these insights to future endeavors and continuing our journey of creating impactful and sustainable solutions for customers.