10 Key Takeaways From IxDF’s Course on UX Management: Strategy and Tactics
The Interaction Design Foundation sent me this postcard when I joined the community. I took this photo at Indiana University in Luddy Hall where I study Human-Computer Interaction and design. The background features a work of sentient art called “Amatria”, designed by the architect Philip Beesley.
During my winter break, I completed a certified course through the Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF) called UX Management: Strategy and Tactics. I want to share 10 of my favorite insights which I believe are valuable for anyone in a professional UX or management role.
I would like to thank the course instructor, Frank Spillers, for organizing and teaching these useful lessons!
1. Build a minimal usable, not viable, product.
Here’s a question: should you design something to be developed later or design something that is right the first time?
Planning out a minimal viable product (MVP) can often become too focused on what makes something viable. The problem with a pure MVP approach is that it can lead to decisions which interfere with the user experience. For business or technical reasons, pieces of a user interface are taken out so they can be developed later. A lot of times, those pieces never get put back in as the business moves on to other features. A UX director needs to draw the line so that whatever is put out is complete. Decisions should be made in conjunction with business, technical, and UX opportunities. Viability comes from maximizing UX which means the product is something that is usable or desirable. Using agile UX to nimbly and quickly get things right the first time can mitigate risk upfront.
2. Fund and empower UX efforts.
This might seem obvious, but the reality is about 40% of UX teams are funding their own research. UX is not just a part of visual design; it is a critical focus of a business like accessibility or SEO. The key indicator of quality software development is how much contact a team is has with their customers. UX needs its own budget in order to successfully research users. A return on investment study suggests a minimum of 12-15% of the development budget should be allocated for UX per project (source).
3. Understand how to leverage personas.
The biggest sin a product manager can make is to lose sight of who the product is for. Personas can keep designers focused on the important aspects of their target users. Complex data is challenging to understand or explain; however, we are wired to remember things about people. That’s why personas are used to synthesize data because we can appreciate the struggles, challenges, and pain points when it comes from a real person’s story instead of a data set.
Personas provide the most value when they are used to describe the behavior of a user as opposed to the demographic representation of a market segment. Assigning role-based names like “Sharon Supermom” or “Tinkering Tim” gives a memorable impression of what the user does.
Remember, personas should generate ideas and participate in design. People will resonate with and remember tangible deliverables more than written reports. Using 3D cutouts, comic book stories, sorting cards, or museum-style photo walls are some creative ways of bringing a persona’s story to life.
4. Merge CX and UX at the reflective level.
Marketers and designers often operate in the same wheelhouse but focus on different experience. Marketers are concerned about the customer experience (CX). They want to know what the opinion is of customers - the people who buy a product or service. Designers are concerned about the user experience (UX). They want to know what the behavior is of users - the people who use a product or service. The thing that CX and UX share is that they are both left with reflection. Reflection is one of three different but interconnected levels of the emotional system. Don Norman identified three levels of emotional design which make up a product experience:
Visceral Level - the gut reaction to or initial impression of a product (customer experience).
Behavioral Level - what can be done with the product (user experience).
Reflective Level - intention to return or adopt a product (user and customer experience).
User adoption is built on trust and reflection. Reflection before, during, and after use is the key indicator of an intention to return or re-use a product or service. It’s so important to understand the totality of the customer and user experience because together they determine if someone uninstalls an app or returns to a website. Mapping CX and UX jointly as a user journey can be valuable in uniting both perspectives. Over time, meeting and exceeding user expectations allows us to earn their loyalty to shape new functionality, products, and brands.
5. Ask the 5% question.
In software, about 5% of features are used 95% of the time*. User probabilities, not engineering or marketing possibilities, should be at the heart of software development. What’s possible is not as important as what’s probable. UX can uncover what people are actually doing by finding out which 5% of features should be focused on. It’s important to ask the 5% question: “What’s the probability the user will do this or need this?”
*"Special Report: UX Business Impacts and ROI,” Strategic Data Systems, 20096. Know your “enemy.”
Competitor stories and behaviors are the number 1 motivator for change in an organization. The best way to get a company to embrace UX efforts is to tell the competition’s story. Regardless of the industry, showing that a competitor’s user interface is better can quickly mobilize a company to fund UX and take it seriously. A lot of businesses are realizing that good design strategy is a necessity if they are to stay ahead in the market.
7. Boost UX return on investment (ROI).
Forrester Research* recommends the following techniques to increase UX ROI:
Model critical scenarios based on field research. This can capture the probability of what the user will likely do and is helpful in shaping user stories.
Identify barriers to the user’s success. This could include web analytics, user testing, A/B testing, etc.
Determine the business impact of potential changes. Cost-benefits analysis is a great tool to make a compelling business case (which isn’t used enough).
Create measurable business goals by targeting specific aspects of a design. For instance, setting A/B test targets or improving newsletter sign-ups are ways of expressing business goals.
*Forrester 2001, Get ROI from Design8. Track down and befriend hidden ROI whisperers.
Another critical way to make the case for UX is to earn the trust of ROI evangelists. There’s a TV show called “The Dog Whisperer” about a dog behavior expert, Cesar Millan, who knows how to talk to and befriend dogs. In many organizations, there are “ROI whisperers”, or influential people who are trusted with business decisions. They could be salespeople, customer support, CFO, CEO, or even a legal person. Whoever it is, getting the support of an ROI whisperer can help UX professionals ground qualitative research with the return on investment. This is an effective way of getting buy-in for UX initiatives, and over time an organization will become more comfortable with UX.
9. Monitor, measure, and optimize data!
UX is a whole-brain approach. Creativity and data need to be balanced at all times. Data-driven UX is an obligation for any UX team that wants to provide value to an organization. It’s the “show me the money” question. The data-driven UX mantra is: monitor, measure, and optimize! This means that analytics are constantly monitored to make optimal UX decisions. There are several tools on the market to support this like A/B testing, Google Optimize, multivariate testing, and analytics.
10. Change the rules, change the culture.
Fostering a culture of UX is the holy grail. This is where innovation thrives. Culture is defined by rules, and by changing the rules culture will be reflected in that change. Here are 10 ways to change the rules:
Marry agile processes to UX and nurture this relationship over time.
Transform development and product processes to be UX driven.
Place UX in a position of influence on the organization chart.
Track UX performance.
Understand UX totally and support it (don’t micro-manage it).
Change how business decisions are made.
Hire smart, influential UX people.
Demand ROI and cost-benefits modeling from UX.
Perform field studies early on in a product lifecycle.
Treat user testing as a daily activity for teams.
While these 10 important lessons are helpful, there is still more that I learned from the rest of the course.
If you’re interested in taking a course with the Interaction Design Foundation, visit https://www.interaction-design.org/.
