Many product teams focus on the largest group of users, but what if the key to your product's growth lies in the hands of the “lizard users,” the small segment of users who go against the grain and interact with your system in unexpected ways? It's a truth that many successful products stumble upon success by what feels like serendipity — but it doesn't have to be random.

In this episode, software delivery expert Gojko Adzic explains how to systematically observe how people are misusing or abusing a product to figure out underserved use cases and unexpected value. He shares the four steps of "Lizard Optimization" and how this technique led to a 100x growth for his own product, Narakeet, a text-to-speech video maker.

About the guest: Gojko Adzic is a partner at Neuri Consulting LLP. He is an internationally recognized software delivery consultant and author of several books, including "Lizard Optimization: Unlock Product Growth by Engaging Long-Tail Users." Gojko is known for advancing Agile and testing practices in some of the world's largest companies.

You can find Gojko’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Lizard-Optimization-Product-Engaging-Long-Tail/dp/0993088171

Gojko also referenced the following material in this episode:

- The PayPal origin story is from Founders at Work: https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Work-Stories-Startups-Early-ebook/dp/B009IXMK4O

- Success/failure rates are from Trustworthy Online Controlled Experiments: https://www.amazon.com/Trustworthy-Online-Controlled-Experiments-Practical/dp/1108724264

- The reference for Amazon execs spending time in customer servicing is from Working Backwards: https://www.amazon.com/Working-Backwards-PB/dp/1529033845

- Connecting the loop at Eventbrite/Rachael Neumann video: https://vimeo.com/337949688

- HBR/Amy Gallo reference on retention metrics: https://hbr.org/2014/10/the-value-of-keeping-the-right-customers

Hosted by David Carty

Produced by David Carty, Samsu Sallah and Joe Stella

Graphic design by Karley Searles

To contact the producers, please email us at podcasts@applause.com.