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THE FIELD GUIDE TO UX STRATEGY

BY ROBERT HOEKMAN JR
Book Report by Grace Phang
Completed for HF725, Bentley University

I'M HAROLD THE HIPPO. 

 

WELCOME!

SELECTED QUOTES

BEST OF THE BOOK

HOVER OVER THE SQUARES

Taking Charge of a UX Strategy Kickoff

"Design kickoffs are for far more than laying out a project.  They're for putting yourself into a leadership position"

Digging Into the Discovery Phase

"Figure out who to talk to, what they know, how to make the most of each resource, and how to turn it all into a sound strategy"

Defining the UX Strategy:  Why, How, and What's Next

"You can't design a person's reaction to a product.  You can only influence."

Validating the UX Strategy

"Launch it.  If it doesn't work, revise it.  Don't get married to one idea."

Designing UX for Momentum

"Good designers aren't slaves to tools or process.  They adapt depending on constraints."

Informing UX Strategy with Data

"Data demonstrates truth.  It provides evidence for your design decisions."

best of book

PRIORITY #1 

SHOW YOU ARE A LEADER

  • Eliminate doubt- show the stakeholders that the product is in capable hands

  • Your role is to make recommendations, not take orders

  • Communicate your process

  • Open discussions and get agreement before idea refinement

PRIORITY #2

ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

  1. What and why are you doing something?

  2. Where are you now?

  3. Where have you been?

  4. Where do you want to be?

  5. Who's with me?

*Questions Google can't answer

THE KICKOFF

Kickoff

Primary Stakeholders

People in charge of the product: CEO, CTO, or product manager.

Talking Points:

Data and revenue

Secondary Stakeholders

Important team members:  development, marketing, and visual designers.  May also be investors and executives.

Talking points: 

High level goals and questions that align to the person's area of interest.

Current Users

Active and relevant users who care about the product.

User Interview Tips:

  • Recruit about 3-5

  • Build rapport early in interview

  • Probe feelings, preferences, and behaviors

  • Ask follow up questions

  • Keep their contact info

Beta Testers

Testing a relatively functioning prototype:  Often less invested and more frustrated than developed product users.

User Interview Tips:

  • Be empathetic

  • Listen to their feelings, preferences, goals, and pains

  • Stress their importance to improving the product

Subject Matter Experts

Experts in a specific field who may provide opinions and facts that the stakeholders do not know.

Tips:

  • Ask questions, listen, and restate info to ensure  you've understood them

  • Avoid going down a rabbit hole based on what the information they provide

DISCOVER THE WELL OF KNOWLEDGE

Other Tips:

1.  Read reviews of competing products

2.  People don't always do as they say, so use data to find the truth

Next, talk to people.  Find out what they know, and maximize every resource to create a sound strategy.

Well of Knowledge

ABOUT THIS BOOK REPORT

This book report was proudly created for HF725,  User Experience Leadership and Management, taught by Nancy Dickenson. 

 

Thank you Nancy!

It's been a while since I used Wix, but I was excited to learn about many new features, accessible to those from a non-coding background.  I'm a UX researcher and don't have a typical design background, so I enjoyed exploring different features e.g. hover changes, customized animations, and parallax.

UX STRATEGY DOCUMENT COMPONENTS

VISION

CIRCUMSTANCES OF USE

Clearly state what you want the product to be

Who, what, when, where, and why will the product be used?

DESIGN CRITERIA

Start out with the design criteria specific to the product, then elaborate

SUCCESS METRICS

Focus on metrics that are as specific as possible and aligned to business goals

VISION: A better way for hippos to stay warm

 

CIRCUMSTANCES OF USE: Hippos are cold in outdoor zoo enclosures during the winter...

 

DESIGN CRITERIA:

-Keeps hippos in temperature range of 60-110 degrees F....

-Withstands outdoor weather

 

METRICS:

-Reduce percentage of hippo illness by 10% in the first year

-Increase hippo birth rate by 5% in the first year

IMPORTANT HIPPO UX STRATEGY DOCUMENT

BY HAROLD THE HIPPO

FIRST DRAFT DONE?   PRESENT IT, GET FEEDBACK, AND MODIFY ACCORDINGLY. 

Strategy document

VALIDATION

​When you have a solid draft that is representative of the research you've collected

THE RIGHT TIME

CONSIDER FIDELITY

Wireframes and prototypes are great!

People may be hesitant to criticize higher fidelity designs.

BACK TO USERS

Return to users you've previously interviewed, with your past notes, strategy document, and the changes you've made.  You need them to believe in you.

Get input.  Get reactions.

Take notes.

CONSULT SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS

"Run your strategy through one of the strongest resources you have"

This will leave SMEs feeling respected and involved

LAUNCH IT!

If your product is live and running, consider A/B tests and tracking usage patterns and data.

Real, live users are the best validation possible.

If it doesn't work, revise.

 

Validation

DESIGN FOR MOMENTUM

COLLABORATE

THE CORE

Post documentation and frequently review with stakeholders

Focus on the most essential task flows and leave the details to the team

ITERATE

Post a version, discuss it and revise it.  REPEAT

BRING IN VISUAL DESIGNERS

Only after prototype validation and findings agreement

DESIGN QUICKLY

Wireframes, sketches, prototypes

Designing core experience
ABOUT report
data

ABOUT THIS BOOK REPORT

This book report was proudly created for HF725,  User Experience Leadership and Management, taught by Nancy Dickenson. 

I enjoyed working through the book and prioritizing important information based on my experience at Bentley and at work at Liberty Mutual.  I'm a UX researcher and don't have a typical design background, so showcasing this information in an accessible and interesting way was a great learning experience.  

I also loved personalizing the website with a bit of animal flair. I'm also happy to celebrate Steve Irwin (Steve Irwin day is November 15), since he was a personal hero of mine.  

I hope you enjoyed reading this!

 

-Grace Phang

DATA INFORMS STRATEGY

Focus on the percentage changes for core metrics.  

Run A/B tests over all-or-nothing updates when possible, to validate design decisions. 

Not all negative metrics indicate failure.  Allow at least a a few days for the data to stabilize and verify decisions against your user research.

Triangulate metrics to inform design decisions.

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