there is no such thing as ux strategy

THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS UX STRATEGY

JEFF GOTHELF / @JBOOGIE / JEFF@GOTHELF.CO

GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE

EVERYONE WANTS A SEAT AT THE TABLE

ENGINEERING

FINANCE

ENGINEERING

FINANCE

MARKETING

ENGINEERING

FINANCE

MARKETING

PRODUCT

ENGINEERING

FINANCE

MARKETING

PRODUCTTHE BOSS

ENGINEERING

FINANCE

MARKETING

PRODUCT

WHERE DOES UX SIT?

THE BOSS

DIFFERENTIATION IS THE PATH TO THE TABLE

OR IS IT?

ENTER UX STRATEGY

STRATEGY IS ESSENTIALLY AN INTENT RATHER THAN A PLAN.

Steven Bungay, Art of Action (2011)

A STRATEGY IS A SET OF HYPOTHESES ABOUT CAUSE AND EFFECT.

Robert Kaplan & David Norton (1996)

BUT WHAT IS UX STRATEGY?

THE RAPIDLY GROWING RANKS OF UX STRATEGISTS USE DATA FROM CUSTOMER AND MARKET RESEARCH, UX RESEARCH, ANALYTICS, MARKET AND SALES DATA, COMPETITIVE ASSESSMENTS, AND MANY OTHER SOURCES TO PRODUCE A GAME PLAN, OR NORTH STAR, FOR THEIR UX, CX, PRODUCT, OR SERVICE DESIGN EFFORTS.

Paul Bryan (http://uxstrat.com/blog/what-is-ux-strategy/)

UX STRATEGY IS NOT A NORTH STAR.

Jaime Levy, Author “UX Strategy”

IT’S THE VISION OF A SOLUTION THAT NEEDS TO BE VALIDATED WITH REAL POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS TO PROVE THAT IT’S DESIRED IN THE MARKETPLACE. ALTHOUGH UX DESIGN ENCOMPASSES NUMEROUS DETAILS SUCH AS VISUAL DESIGN, CONTENT MESSAGING, AND HOW EASY IT IS FOR A USER TO ACCOMPLISH A TASK, UX STRATEGY IS THE “BIG PICTURE.” IT IS THE HIGH-LEVEL PLAN TO ACHIEVE ONE OR MORE BUSINESS GOALS UNDER CONDITIONS OF UNCERTAINTY

Jaime Levy, Author “UX Strategy”

UX STRATEGY IS A LONG-TERM PLAN TO ALIGN EVERY CUSTOMER TOUCHPOINT WITH YOUR VISION FOR USER EXPERIENCE.

Tim Loo, Strategy Director, Foolproof UK

THE CHALLENGES OF DEFINING UX STRATEGY ARE REFLECTED IN THE CHALLENGES OF EXECUTING IT

TO BUILD COLLABORATIVE TEAMS WE EMPHASIZE SKILLS NOT ROLES THEREFORE WE MUST EMPHASIZE COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY, NOT DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC STRATEGY

AN EXPERIENCE STRATEGY IS THAT COLLECTION OF ACTIVITIES THAT AN ORGANIZATION CHOOSES TO UNDERTAKE TO DELIVER A SERIES OF (POSITIVE, EXCEPTIONAL) INTERACTIONS WHICH, WHEN TAKEN TOGETHER, CONSTITUTE AN (PRODUCT OR SERVICE) OFFERING THAT IS SUPERIOR IN SOME MEANINGFUL, HARD-TO-REPLICATE WAY; THAT IS UNIQUE, DISTINCT & DISTINGUISHABLE FROM THAT AVAILABLE FROM A COMPETITOR.

Steve Baty, Founder, Meld Studios (2009)

THE STRATEGY YOU DEVELOP FOR YOUR PRODUCT OUGHT NOT EVOLVE IN ISOLATION. EVEN THOUGH THE VALUE OF USER EXPERIENCE IS CLEAR, YOUR OVER-ARCHING REASONS FOR PROVIDING SOMETHING SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WITH EQUAL WEIGHT.

Indi Young, Author Mental Models (2008)

USER EXPERIENCE STRATEGY IMPLIES THAT IT’S SET APART FROM, SAY THE BUSINESS STRATEGY, OR THE MARKETING STRATEGY, OR EVEN THE PRODUCT STRATEGY AND IT SHOULDN’T BE. STRATEGY COMES FROM THIS COLLECTIVE VISION OF THE BUSINESS AND ITS CUSTOMERS.

Holly North, UX Designer @ Medianorth as quoted in “UX Strategy”

YOU CAN LOOK AT DESIGN IN STRATEGIC WAYS BUT I DON'T THINK THE OUTPUTS OF THAT DESERVE THEIR OWN LABEL. THEY FEED INTO PRODUCT STRATEGY, MARKETING STRATEGY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE STRATEGY.

Cennydd Bowles, Designer (2014)

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A STAND-ALONE UX STRATEGY.

IN FACT, IT CAN BE DETRIMENTAL:

IN FACT, IT CAN BE DETRIMENTAL:‣ INCREASES OVERHEAD & PROCESS BLOAT

IN FACT, IT CAN BE DETRIMENTAL:‣ INCREASES OVERHEAD & PROCESS BLOAT‣ REDUCES COLLABORATION

IN FACT, IT CAN BE DETRIMENTAL:‣ INCREASES OVERHEAD & PROCESS BLOAT‣ REDUCES COLLABORATION‣ INCREASES TERRITORIALITY

IN FACT, IT CAN BE DETRIMENTAL:‣ INCREASES OVERHEAD & PROCESS BLOAT‣ REDUCES COLLABORATION‣ INCREASES TERRITORIALITY‣ CREATES HURT FEELINGS

ENTER PRODUCT STRATEGY

PRODUCT STRATEGY ASKS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS▸ Who are you building the product for?

▸ What problem are you solving for these people?

▸ How will you solve it?

▸ How will you attract initial users?

▸ How will you retain users?

▸ How will you make money?

▸ Who are you competing against?

▸ How is your product different/better than the competition?

▸ How will your product look? Behave?

THE REAL PROBLEM: A LACK OF ORGANIZATIONAL VALUE FOR UX DESIGN

UNITE THE CLANSINSTEAD OF DIVIDING EFFORTS…

THE HOLY TRINITYWORK TO BUILD SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF…

Source: http://www.inovis.cc/

FOCUS ON THIS

EXAMPLE: WE BELIEVE A DEVICE-AGNOSTIC REAL ESTATE COMPARISON SERVICE THAT DELIVERS GEO-TARGETED PRODUCT LISTINGS WILL INCREASE CUSTOMER RETENTION, SALES AND DRIVE NEW USER ACQUISITION.

A HYPOTHESIS STATEMENT

BUSINESS STRATEGY

PRODUCT/ENGINEERING STRATEGY

UX STRATEGY

SUCCESS CRITERIA/BUSINESS GOALS

PRODUCT STRATEGY:SEAMLESS USER EXPERIENCE

REDUCED COST OF LABOR

REDUCED COST OF LABORUBIQUITOUS PRESENCE

CROSS-CHANNEL DATA COLLECTION

CROSS-CHANNEL DATA COLLECTIONDEEP CONSUMER INSIGHTS

WORKING TOGETHER AS A COLLABORATIVE TEAM TO STRENGTHEN OUR PRODUCT STRATEGY HYPOTHESES MEANS WE'RE ALWAYS OPTIMIZING THE WEAKEST PARTS OF THAT STRATEGY.

SOMETIMES THAT'S UX AND OTHER TIMES IT'S NOT.

AT THE END OF THE DAY THIS IS A LOVE STORY…

…A BRINGING TOGETHER OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT AND UX (AND ENGINEERING).

THANK YOU!JEFF GOTHELF / @JBOOGIE / JEFF@GOTHELF.CO

NEW BOOK SOON: SENSINGBOOK.COM

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