UX Strategy on the go (2)
Create a clear plan, stay open to various solutions, and test what works best while focusing on the right problem.
I’ve compiled a set of notes from my diverse projects. These notes are intentionally concise, designed to be easily portable and serve as handy reference materials for upcoming UX design endeavors. They’re meant to be quick, on-the-go reminders to enhance future design work.
In any strategic project, it’s crucial to have a well-defined roadmap that not only highlights the present situation but also the desired future state.
- Understanding the Present: This step involves getting a clear picture of where things currently stand. It’s like taking a snapshot of the current situation (Knowing what makes your company different, Knowing how a company makes and loses money).
- Envisioning the Future: Here, you define what you want things to look like in the future. It’s about setting goals and answering the question, “Where do we want to go?” (Knowing the delta between where we are today and where we want to be).
- Planning the Journey: Once you know the present and the future, you need a roadmap that shows how to get from one to the other. This roadmap outlines the steps you’ll need to take (Choosing what to do and what not to do).
- Measuring Progress: As you move forward, you need tools to track how well you’re doing. These tools help you check if you’re getting closer to your goals and make adjustments as needed.
We have a natural tendency to quickly identify a solution and get stuck in it. 😱
Are we building the right solution? and Are we solving the right problem?
One simple way is the “opportunity tree,” which helps systematically explore possibilities, mitigate risks through experiments, and develop only the solutions with the most business potential.
Analyze every problem by breaking it down into its essential components that we are certain are accurate.
- Clarify the business objective: Start by making the overall goal clear. (For example, increase user engagement with a new feature like live chat).
- Identify potential opportunities: Next, look for all the ways to achieve that goal. Opportunities are often discovered by finding user pain points or unmet needs through methods like shadowing and interviews. (For example, users want a way to chat with customer support in real-time).
- Match opportunities with solutions: Once you’ve found these opportunities, pair them with one or more potential solutions.
- Define experiments: For each solution that seems promising, specify the experiments needed to confirm its effectiveness. You can set an objective, and if it’s reached, it validates the solution (For example, if you’re testing a live chat feature, you might consider it successful if 1000 users engage with it within 24 hours).
Appendix: Identifying good metrics (Pinterest’s design system)
Pinterest team can see how valuable it is, and so the leaders can know if it’s worth the investment.
