strategy patois [webvisions 2010]

Sailing the Cʼs of Change | December 2008 | p. 1"

Strategy Patois Language & tools to connect design and business value

Kate Rutter, Experience Designer [email protected] @katerutter

Webvisions 2010 #wv2010 #strategypatois

Strategy Patois | May 2010 | 2

I’m a designer and strategist. Designing delightful experiences makes me tick. Making things visual and visible makes my heart sing.

Over the past few years I’ve been highly motivated to get better at connecting design with business success.

Adaptive Path is a User Experience strategy and design consultancy. Our mission is to help companies make products and services that deliver great experiences that improve people’s lives.

Adaptive Path

Hi, I’m Kate.

e journey


what he expected

what we said!

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

the end result

blah blah blah blah blah blah

blah blah blah blah

is was me on the outside.


(is was me on the inside.)


I literally didn’t have the words.


what he expected

what we said!



blah blah blah blah

We had different languages ~ words ~ delivery style ~ perception of key points

Trying to answer the same questions }

e meeting was frustrating. e credibility of the design team suffered. We knew we had to do better.


1 } Understand the language difference and align the dialects

2 } Use strategy tools to connect design work with business impact

3 } Develop short, concise answers to key questions


3 Learnings from the journey

Patois: A regional dialect, especially one without a literary tradition. Nonstandard speech.


http://www.wordnik.com/words/patois"

1 } align the dialects

Strategy Patois: A business dialect comprised of specialized and often quantitative terms, optimized to communicate the financial performance of a company.



buzzword: A word or phrase connected with a specialized field or group that usually sounds important or technical and is used primarily to impress laypersons.



http://www.wordnik.com/words/buzzword"


~ Erin McKean, American Lexicographer CEO of Wordnik and former Principal Editor of e New Oxford American Dictionary, second edition

“! “!I think when people make up words, they are trying to be more expressive, not less.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erin_McKean"



business innovation

shareholder value

bottom-line impact

cost leadership

market segmentation

cost-benefit analysis

total quality management

return on investment

design thinking

revenue model

value proposition

competitive analysis

benchmarking

cost management


user experience!

user engagement!

human-centered design!

design thinking!

experience strategy!

qualitative research!

touchpoints !

empathy experiences!

look & feel!

interactions!

user journey!

key user flows!

participatory design!

usability!



simple meaning!

specialized design

approach!

specialized business

term!

Strategy Patois } e Suits



this... means this...

Value proposition Why people buy our stuff.

This initiative has a high ROI and a compelling value proposition. Based on our current revenue model, this should have a positive bottom-line impact this fiscal year.

Revenue Model How we make money. Bottom-line impact Will this help our overall profits? ROI When is this going to pay off and

by how much?

is product is going to pay off a lot, and there are clear reasons why people will buy it. Based on how

we make money, this should increase our profits this year.

simple meaning!

Strategy Patois } Product Management




Market segmentation Who are our customers and why?

We’ve done a cost-benefit analysis for this launch, and based on our current market segmentation, our competitive analysis indicates that we should move forward aggressively.

Competitive analysis What is everybody else doing? Cost/benefit analysis Will we be better off if we do this?

Based on our current customers, we believe we’ll be better

off if we do this. is product is different from what everybody else is

doing, so we want to move fast.

simple meaning!

Strategy Patois } Operations




Benchmarking How are we doing compared to the other guys?

We’re focusing our 2010 benchmarking goals on cost management and TQM.

Cost management analysis What costs us money and where can we save? Total Quality Management (TQM)

Making sure our stuff doesn’t suck.

In 2010, we want to do better than the other guys by

spending less money while also making sure our products

don’t suck.

simple meaning!


Listen and ask for definition ~ listen for patois terms ~ ask for clarification ~ identify the simple meaning

Trying to answer the same questions }

Address the real questions with design solutions that align with business performance.

what we can do 1 } align the dialects

3 Learnings from the journey 1 } Understand the language difference and align the dialects




design

technology users

business

engineering!

strategy!2 } use strategy tools


Signs you need a strategy...


is redesign will fix everything.

What’s the expected ROI on this design?

We need to create a product/service platform

or multi-channel experience. NOW.

Everyone agrees on what the design must accomplish, but everyone has a different idea of how.

Everyone agrees something has to be done about the design, but no one is sure what.

2 } use strategy tools

What is a design strategy? A plan of action to produce commercially successful offerings that reflect the constraints of business, technology and user needs.


What questions does an effective strategy answer? } 1. Where can design be most effective?

2. What kind of experiences do potential features deliver?

3. How will success be valued and measured? 4. How will the product evolve in the future?


Ishikawa diagram Prioritization chart }



Where can design be most effective?

What kind of experiences do potential features deliver?

How will success be valued and measured?

How will the product evolve in the future?

Photos are selected which are impossible for editors to process

Stock photo failure!

Ishikawa diagram : A diagram of a problem broken down into it's principal root causes


Unsure how Date image taken is unknown

Country unknown

Owner unwilling

Owner unknown

Too much effort

Form too hard to complete

Can’t iden?fy person/model

Can’t contact person

Model unwilling to sign

Lost original

Taken at a low resolu?on seCng

Can’t complete image details

Can’t get a model release

Can’t get property release

There is no higher resolu?on

SEARCH

TUTORIAL

USABILITY


Prioritization chart: A forced-ranking activity that determines which problems to solve first.


Severity

Value

problem #1

problem #3

Owner is unknown"

Form is difficult to complete"People unsure

how to get property release"

Reduce photos taken

a low resolution"

Consider

Focus

Neglect

Your design must address these

Unwise use of ?me to address these

Your design should accommodate these


Prioritization chart: A forced-ranking activity that determines which problems to solve first.


The design will address these issues:

Form is difficult to complete"

People unsure how to get property release"

And accommodate these:

Owner is unknown"

Reduce photos taken

a low resolution"

And this is what we’re not going to address:

problem #1"

problem #3"

Project Design Priorities

1. Ensure that photos selected for editors are possible to process.








Storyboards (with a twist) }

Storyboards: A comic-style illustration that tells the story of people interacting with the product or service.



Storyboards: A comic-style illustration that tells the story of people interacting with the product or service.


Brainstorming


Refined version







Conversion model }

Travel organizer"

Conversion model: A visualization that displays data metrics for each step in a multi-step process.


Register" Log in"Enter trip

details"Confirm trip

details"Access

details on trip"

70% 29% 38% 20%

154 users access their trip details for every

10,000 that register

.7 .29 .38

x .2 .0154

10,000 x .0154

154


7,000" 2,000" 760" 150"10,000!

Travel organizer"



Register" Log in"Enter trip

details"Confirm trip

details"Access

details on trip"

70% 29% 38% 20%



.7 .29 .38

x .2 .0154

10,000 x .0154

154


7,000" 2,000" 760" 150"10,000!

Travel organizer"





.7 .29

x .38 .0771

10,000 x .077

770


7,000" 2,000" 760"

70% 29% 38%

10,000!

Forward trip details" Log in"

Confirm trip details"

Access details on trip"

Automa?cally create account and send email

Offer more ways for user to access trip

data







Product evolution map }

Product evolution map: Describes the evolutional stages of a product, including features and revenue model.


Free accounts Premium accounts

revenu

e

Gamma

A platform for sharing, organizing, and exploration yourself through photos

Interes?ngness Organizer Geo-‐tagging Order prints Blog integra?on Mobile connec?vity

Prin?ng Adver?sing

Beta

Online photo management and sharing application

Upload Store View Tag Share Contacts

features

stage

Photo site product evolution"


Delta

A brand for visual expression and exploration

Events Travel groups Local

Partnerships Licensing fees


Practice our strategy chops ~ find the right tool for the job ~ host participatory sessions with biz folks ~ capture and reinforce decisions

Increase confidence in design choices }

Decisions informed by thoughtful, intentional choices. But we need to make the time to focus on the impact, not just the interface.

what we can do 2 } use strategy tools


~ T. S. Eliot

“! “!If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.

3 } have concise answers

Designers = storytellers


Get direct. } 1. Know what will be asked 2. Practice brevity


We need to think punchlines, not stories.


what he expected

what we said!


the end result


blah blah blah blah



Find a biz buddy

can I run this by you

first?!Sure. I’d be happy to give a listen.

what is she going to

ask?!

She’ll ask: when you can get it

done, and how much money will it save.

how long do I have?! She listens

for about 2 minutes

max.



Some helpful tips  Don’t bury the lead.  Focus on what it is and why it matters.  Introduce the how it works only if asked.



Be a good translator ~ answer questions in short form with just the facts ~ consider what biz folks are hearing

Build 2-way credibility & mutual respect }

what we can do 3 } have concise answers

Be collaboration partners ~ facilitate design strategy conversations ~ embrace participation

Build empathy & understanding }




4 } Keep your passion and sense of self in a culture that with a different value system.


4 3 Learnings from the journey

e reallyreally big picture Products & services that delight, that inspire and that improve the lives of the people who use them.


4 } Keep your passion


~ Jane McGonigal game designer and Director of Game Research & Development at the Institute for the Future

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_McGonigal"

4 keys to happiness:  Have satisfying work to do

 e chance to be good at something

 Connections with people we truly like

 e opportunity to be a part of something bigger



~ Scott Berkun Author and very, very smart guy

“! “!You can always choose what you do next.

http://www.scotberkun.com"


e journey

reference: Building Design Strategy: omas Lockwood and omas Walton, ed., \(2008)

Corporate Strategy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Porter

Ishikawa Diagrams: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishikawa_diagram

Elevator Pitch: Geoffrey A. Moore, Crossing the Chasm (2002)

Sticky Ideas: Chip and Dan Heath, Made to Stick (2007)

Illustrating Concepts: Dan Roam, Back of the Napkin (2008)

Adaptive Path, Subject to Change (2008)

Corporate Philosophy: Yvon Chouinard, Let My People Go Surfing (2006)

blogs: Design inking, Tim Brown (IDEO) http://designthinking.ideo.com/

Metacool: Diego Rodriguez (IDEO) http://metacool.typepad.com/metacool/

A Designer’s Guide to Strategy, Brandon Schauer (Adaptive Path) www.brandonschauer.com/blog

Customer Experience Matters, Bruce Temkin (Forrester) http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/

e Berkun Blog, Scott Berkun (indie) http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/

McKinsey: What Matters, Misc. (McKinsey) http://whatmatters.mckinseydigital.com/

Good Experience, Mark Hurst (indie) http://goodexperience.com/

Putting People First, Experientia http://www.experientia.com/blog

Suggested Reading


San Francisco : June 27-30 Toronto : October 26-29 www.adaptivepath.com/events twitter: #uxintensive 15% off with code FOKR

San Francisco : August 24-27 www.uxweek.com twitter: #uxweek 15% off with code FOKR

Shout-out to Henning Fischer and Brandon Schauer for the strategy tools slides, and to all the Adaptive Path folks who shared their project work.

More UX goodness


thanks! e slides will be

on slideshare in the next day or so...

Kate Rutter, Experience Designer [email protected] www.adaptivepath.com twitter : @katerutter @adaptivepath


Primary typeface is Adobe Garamond Pro. Business dialect typeface is Lucida Console Design dialect typeface is Bradley Hand ITC!

Inner voice typeface is Handwriting - Dakota!

Image credits:

Title slide: Public Domain Image of World Map from Page 3 of the book, Spokesman-Review Handy Atlas of the World, "Published Expressly For e Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash. 1911", Copyright 1910 C.S. Hammond &Co., New York Journey image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32920110@N07/3484895197/sizes/l/ Madonna: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28668451@N00/77567133/ Rosetta stone: http://www.aucegypt.edu/academics/dept/hist/PublishingImages/Rosetta%20Stone.jpeg Myths of innovation cover : http://fyi.oreilly.com/9780596527051_lrg.jpg * Other images credited on slides Illustrations

Storyboard illustrations by Brandon Schauer Hand sketches by Kate Rutter.


colophon

strategy patois [webvisions 2010]

Design

end result blah blah

management strategy

mckean strategy patois

dialectsstrategy patois

strategy patois language

key questionsstrategy

user experience strategy

use strategy tools