Main Purpose of Demo session
- Let stakeholders see the user experience of the product
- Show progress of development
- Get feedback on product direction
- Give project status update (on track, remind about timeline, etc)
- Celebrate success
Do’s
- Present and talk through the demo clearly (mental preparation of the demo sequence is the key here).
- Remember that some stakeholders may not even know the basic context of the product so explain a lot of context as well.
- Talk from user point of view
- Talk what you are clicking. Other’s can’t see your fingers
- Don’t interact with app too fast. When you click a button, say you will click it first, if you scroll do it slowly, etc.
- Invite wider stakeholder group to the session, including leaders on client side that may not normally be part of the process.
- This is to align everyone to same level and important for strategic alignment for the product.
- Work with the client product team to present demo together
- For example they can lead with project context and we follow with status update and demo
- This makes them look good as well
- Go through feedback from previous demo to show we listen
- Slides to summarize project and align everyone on high level
- Summarize what will be demoed and what will not
- Screencast the demo to the TV/Projector
- Record the demo session (if possible) using zoom
- Go through pre-defined demo sequence,
- Timebox the session to 30min.
- Have a backup plan for device and network
- Keep dev team on standby and do last tests 1 hour before demo
- Do a training demo at least one day before internally.
- Lock down the version number after this.
- Try to also talk through it as if you talked to client side. This is important to help presenter explain things clearly.
- This is to find technical problems as well as train the presenter to have smooth demo. Connect to Zoom / TV to test the demo setup as well.
- Keep team focused on moving the project forward, mention next features and next release.
- Send invitation with clear agenda and Zoom link.
- Give the praise to the team after successful demo.
- Aim to have 2-4 demo sessions during a typical project.
Don’ts
- Avoid any changes to codebase or backend system at last moment
- Do not explain bugs / problems too much, just be straightforward and explain it’s part of the process to have some at this point.
- Do not encourage brainstorming in the session, just listen to feedback, take notes and follow up afterwards.
- Do not use dummy data:
- All of the data shown should be as realistic as possible.
- Do not use mock integrations:
- All demoed features should be fully integrated if possible.
- Do not talk too much about technical details
Resources
- Screencast for Android: Use Vysor
- Buy a license if you don’t have one and get it refunded. Don’t use free version! (it has too low bitrate for smooth experience and ads)
- Screencast for iOS: Use Quicktime
- Slides: TODO: Example demo deck template
- Remote sharing: Zoom: Allow remote people to join and record the session