Introduction to Technology Management for an AI Startup

Hi, I'm Andrey, CTO at AI startups. I continue the series of articles about how techies can create a startup from scratch. In the previous article, we discussed the key stages of startup development from a technology perspective. Today, we'll talk about the main objects of technology strategy management. This time, we'll briefly consider the key objects of management, and in the following articles, we'll dive into the details.

Effective strategy management requires an understanding of what exactly is being managed. Let's consider the main objects of management within the Run-Change-Disrupt concept proposed by Gartner. This approach includes: RUN (support for the company's daily activities), CHANGE (management of projects to launch new products and technologies) and DISRUPT (implementation of breakthrough strategic decisions). The concept allows you to create innovative products, adapt to changes and maintain current market positions.

DISRUPT

DISRUPT products are aimed at “creating breakthrough business models” and implementing radically new ideas and innovations. Employees with this mindset are true innovators, striving for leadership and ready to break stereotypes. Startups can compete with large companies precisely in this – quickly testing breakthrough business models.

Business goals (SMART)

To achieve strategic goals within the Run-Change-Disrupt concept, it is necessary to set SMART goals. SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) ensures clarity, traceability, realism, alignment with business priorities and the presence of a deadline.

• Specific – clearly define the goal so that it is understandable and unambiguous

• Measurable – set criteria for measuring progress and success

• Achievable – set realistic and achievable goals

• Relevant – align the goal with business objectives

• Time-bound – set a deadline for achieving the goal

Example of a SMART goal: Increase revenue from new product sales by 20% over the next 6 months.

Market Analysis: Customers and Competitors

A comprehensive market analysis includes an understanding of the customer landscape and an assessment of the competitive environment. This helps identify opportunities for differentiation and strategic product positioning, as well as understanding what technologies are needed to implement the solution.

Customer Analysis:

• Customer segmentation — is the process of dividing customers into groups based on demographics, behavior, needs, and preferences. Such segmentation allows you to better understand different categories of customers and tailor a product or service to their unique needs.

• Customer needs — studying and understanding the problems that customers face. This helps to identify what exactly needs to be improved or offered to meet their needs and increase the value of the product.

• Customer Journeys — is an analysis of key points of customer interaction with a product or service. Identifying these points helps optimize the user experience, making it more convenient and effective at each stage of interaction.

Competitor Analysis:

• Identification of competitors — making a list of direct and indirect competitors, including an analysis of their products and solutions. It is also important to evaluate the technological advantages and disadvantages of each competitor to understand how they are superior to or inferior to your product.

• SWOT analysis — is a tool for assessing your own strengths and weaknesses, as well as identifying opportunities and threats in the market. Such analysis helps you plan your actions strategically and determine where there is potential for growth or risks that need to be taken into account.

• Competitive positioning — identifying the unique characteristics of your product or service that will help you stand out from the competition. This could include unique technologies, superior service quality, or special value you offer to customers.

Product design: functional and technical

Clearly defining the functional and technical requirements of a product is important to meet customer needs and expectations.

Functional design:

• Functional requirements — is a description of the key features and capabilities of a product that are necessary to achieve the project goals. For a structured approach to documenting requirements, you can use the PRD (Product Requirement Document) format. A PRD typically includes a detailed description of each feature, its priority, the expected outcome, and any technical and user requirements. This document helps ensure a common understanding of the tasks among all project participants and serves as the basis for product development.

• User Experience (UX) — is how the user interacts with a product or service. It is important that the user experience is intuitive, so that the user immediately understands the value of a particular feature and the steps to take to use it. Simplicity and clarity of interaction help the user master the product faster and get the most out of it.

• User Interface (UI) — User interface is the appearance and controls of a product. Important aspects of UI include usability and visual appeal of the interface. A well-designed UI ensures ease of user interaction with the product, making it intuitive and pleasant to perceive. A visually attractive interface not only improves the user experience, but also helps to more effectively achieve the goals set for the product.

Technical design:

• Solution Design — is the development of the solution structure, including the definition of all components and their interactions. This stage provides a holistic vision of how the various parts of the system will work together to achieve a common goal.

• System Design — includes designing the system architecture, where the hardware and software components are described in detail. At this stage, it is determined how the individual modules of the system will function and how they integrate with each other.

• Technical specification (TS) — a document that sets out in detail all the technical requirements and standards that a solution must meet. The TOR serves as a guide for developers and ensures that the final product meets the stated requirements and standards.

CHANGE

Timely response to innovations and development of new projects. Employees with a “change” mindset implement changes through experiments and hypothesis testing, work in teams and solve non-standard problems.

OKRs

OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are a powerful tool for aligning organizational efforts, increasing transparency and productivity.

• Objectives — are high-quality, inspiring and clearly formulated goals. They define the direction of movement and motivate the team to achieve significant results.

• Key Results — are specific, quantifiable indicators that demonstrate progress toward achieving goals. They serve as markers of success and help track how effectively goals are being achieved.

Example OKR for a technical team:

Objective: Improve the performance and reliability of the core platform.

• Key Result 1: Reduce system response time by 20% by optimizing code and server settings.

• Key Result 2: Achieve 99.9% uptime within the next quarter.

• Key Result 3: Reduce critical errors by 50% by implementing automated testing and monitoring.

Research

Research is a critical component of change projects because it provides the foundational knowledge needed to innovate and implement new solutions effectively. Thorough research ensures that decisions are made based on reliable information, risks are minimized, and opportunities are maximized. Research in an AI startup is essential for identifying market opportunities, developing innovative solutions, assessing technical feasibility, and minimizing risks. It provides the basis for making informed decisions, which helps the startup stay competitive and use resources efficiently.

• Defining the objectives of the study — Be clear about what exactly you want to know and why it is important for the project. Understanding your goals helps direct your research in the right direction and focus on key aspects.

• Developing a research plan — Create a detailed plan that includes research methods, resources needed, timeframes, and assignment of responsibilities. This ensures that the research is organized and effective.

• Data collection — Use a variety of methods to collect both quantitative and qualitative data that meet the stated research objectives. Reliable data is the basis for subsequent analysis.

• Data Analysis — Analyze the collected data to identify meaningful insights and patterns. These results will help you make informed design decisions.

• Results report — Prepare a report that presents the research findings clearly and in a structured manner, making them usable by stakeholders.

• Application of insights — Use the insights you receive to make strategic decisions, develop strategies, and successfully implement projects. Insights should directly impact process improvement and goal achievement.

Development

Development is the stage where ideas and research results are transformed into real products, services or processes. It includes detailed planning, design, implementation, testing and refinement. Effective development ensures that the intended change is implemented effectively and efficiently.

• Planning – At this stage, a clear roadmap is created that describes the entire development process. Planning includes defining tasks, allocating resources, setting deadlines, and assigning responsibilities. Clear planning helps avoid disruptions in the development process and ensures that all stages are completed on time and within budget.

• Design – consists of detailed development of all aspects of the future product. This stage includes the creation of architectural diagrams, development of technical specifications and definition of functional requirements. Design provides an accurate understanding of how the final product should look and function.

• Implementation – the actual creation of a product in accordance with the developed specifications. The development team brings the design ideas to life by creating software, hardware components, or other elements of the product. Effective implementation requires compliance with all design requirements and standards.

• Testing – After the product is implemented, testing is performed to check its functionality, quality, and compliance with requirements. This stage includes functional tests, stress tests, security tests, and other verification methods. Testing helps identify and eliminate errors, ensuring that the product is ready for use.

• Implementation — is the release of a product into industrial operation. At this stage, the product becomes available to end users or begins to be used in business processes. Implementation requires careful preparation, including user training and setting up infrastructure to support the product.

• Support – After the product is implemented, it is important to ensure its efficient operation and support. This includes monitoring the operation, regular updates, troubleshooting problems that arise, and providing user support. Product support ensures its long-term efficiency and user satisfaction.

RUN

RUN processes support and optimize the daily operations of an organization, ensuring smooth and efficient operation. Key performance indicators (KPIs) and service level agreements (SLAs) are used to manage these processes.

• Management processes — include strategic planning, coordination and control of resources to achieve the organization's goals. These processes cover decision making, performance monitoring and compliance management

• Business processes — the core activities and work processes that drive an organization's core operations. These include initiatives related to manufacturing, sales, marketing, customer service, and supply chain management.

• Technological processes — engineering processes focused on the design, development, and support of technology systems and solutions. This includes software development, systems architecture design, and technical innovation to support business goals

KPIs and SLAs

• Key Performance Indicators (KPI):
  KPIs are metrics that are used to evaluate the performance of various processes and their alignment with the organization’s goals. These indicators help track success in achieving strategic goals, improve processes, and make informed decisions.

  Example of KPI for a development team: Percentage of machine learning models deployed into production within the planned time.

• Service Level Agreements (SLAs):
  SLAs are formal agreements between a service provider and a customer that define the expected level of service. SLAs describe specific metrics and standards by which the level of service provided is measured, such as response time, system availability, or speed of problem resolution. SLAs serve to ensure transparency and set clear expectations between the parties.

  Example SLA (Service Level Agreement): Ensure system availability at 99.9% for a month. System availability will be measured using a monitoring tool that tracks system uptime 24/7.

Engineering

Engineering is the process of optimizing products in production to ensure their efficient and effective operation. It includes several key aspects:

1. Code optimization – Improving the structure and logic of code without changing its functionality. The goal is to increase efficiency, reduce execution time, and improve the readability and maintainability of code. This may include removing redundant code, improving algorithms, or optimizing data handling.

2. Performance Tuning – Involves tuning servers, databases, and other system components to maximize performance. This may include optimizing database queries, tuning JVM (Java Virtual Machine) settings, or improving cache usage.

3. Resource Management – Involves optimizing the use of computing power, memory, storage, and network resources. The goal is to avoid excessive resource consumption, prevent bottlenecks, and ensure stable system operation at minimal cost.

Support

Support is the provision of ongoing assistance to users and ensuring the stable operation of the system in order to improve their experience and satisfaction.

1. User Support – Providing ongoing assistance to users to resolve issues and improve their experience with the product. This includes promptly responding to requests, providing instructions and recommendations, and providing support through various communication channels (chat, phone, email).

2. System Monitoring – Continuously monitor the performance, availability, and security of a system. This helps identify and resolve issues before they affect users. Monitoring includes log analysis, automated monitoring tools, and alerts about system failures or deviations.

3. Incident Management – Establish processes for detecting, diagnosing, and resolving incidents related to system operation. This includes documenting incidents, conducting root cause analysis, restoring normal operation, and preventing recurrence. Effective incident management minimizes impact on users and maintains high service levels.

Conclusion

Gartner’s Run-Change-Disrupt framework provides a framework for managing organizational processes, enabling companies to effectively support ongoing operations (Run), manage new product and technology projects (Change), and implement breakthrough innovations (Disrupt). Setting SMART goals, analyzing the market, and defining requirements are key to developing innovations. Effective change is supported by clear OKRs, research, and development processes. Run processes supported by KPIs and SLAs ensure smooth operations, while engineering and support efforts optimize resources and ensure high user satisfaction, driving sustainable growth and competitive advantage. With this simple framework, all technical management will be under control, allowing you to focus on the key tasks in the development of a startup.