Rozina Koskela IXD

There is a lot of talk about the necessity of User Research, in the beginning of the life cycle of a product or service. I have read a lot about how some think its a waste of time as it doesn't always align with ones Business Strategy, and anyway ẃe know what our users want, right´. Well!.. for those that think ´they´ know best, we all know thats a load of bollocks. Yes there is this need for companies to try and shorten their product cycles and adjust to the agile way of working, and get to market as quickly as possible. However, we also know that we need to try and understand the real value that the product or service has to offer the customer as well as the internal business. As a result of having to meet the streamlined business requirements, companies are forgetting about the inherent value for the customer. What a customer wants is for the product they are investing in, to solve their problem. That off course means, to provide an effective solution. We know all this though.. tell me something new!

However, I think that our move towards the digital age with streamlined products and services and VR, AR, MR, means we need to rethink Branding, Marketing, Recruiting, Design, CX, etc. However, it also means that we need to rethink the use of our research methodologies. To think that research is a waste of time, now just means that we are moving further and further away from understanding the intrinsic value that it provides to our customers. Instead we need to master these techniques, today, and enhance them, and align them to digital capabilities, VR and AR. In doing this we will be able to design for human centred products.

The rise in VR for instance, can easily mean that some companies will jump on the bandwagon, and incorporate it, for the sheer fact that VR is hip and cool. Ẃe need to be seen as a creative company, that embraces the latest technological advancements´, some might say. However, there is a risk with this, where VR becomes the product, without complimenting the original product. This then means that the experience will potentially move away from meeting the users needs. VR can be used in many good ways, and bring you closer to your customer. One way in doing this is by allowing VR to get closer to your customers through letting them experience a product in its environment. Maybe this means that the whole research paradigm is redefined. However, for us to be able to really engage and seamlessly move forward with this change, we need to be closer to the phases of ´UX Research´ now. This means all research. The research carried out in the beginning, with sketching out persons, scenarios and drawing out user journey maps and the user testing, during and after the development of the product.

I was reading a post about how Stephen King,( in an interview with the Public Radio Book Show back in Oct 1989), said that adults have forgotten what it was like to be a child. They have forgotten that life was once exotic and strange. They have forgotten that a child doesn't think in straight lines or with perfect knowledge. Their way of thinking is more in a dream state. So in a way kids live the way adults dream. 

This outlook by Stephen King, made me question, our sense of notion when it comes to User-Centred Design.  We talk about ´empathy in design´ (when trying to gain a deeper understanding into our customers) , and how we need to move to a more ´holistic approach´ to thinking, which involves the social aspect of taking the environment into account. However, what does empathy in design really mean? how can we create this empathy, and program ourselves to become empathetic? is it just an approach to ´Design Thinking´ or do we need to delve into our personalities, that breed this approach to Design Thinking? If empathy is to be key to the future of your products success, how do we ensure that we maintain this throughout the lifecycle of the product? 

There is all the usual stuff surrounded around UX that we shouldn't try and make decisions for our Users and we should try and see the problem for what it is, etc etc. When running User Centred workshops, we need to try and define clear objectives, involve the user from the beginning, know your research methodology, etc etc and ensure we are prioritising their needs.  

This is all well and good, however, I think in doing this, the articulations around creating this empathy driven environment, need to come from the formulation of an environment which fosters loyalty, innocence, intrigue, curiosity and simplicity. Above all an environment that fosters IMAGINATION. 

https://medium.com/@jaf_designer/why-product-thinking-is-the-next-big-thing-in-ux-design-ee7de959f3fe#.9n17xo5k5

Ash Maurya is the man behind the development of the lean canvas. I think his work, including book titled Ŕunning Lean´, is a great read. 

He talks about how we need to ĺove the problem and not the solution´-  he starts by trying to paint the picture of the launch of a product and the response from a lot of customers and the effect of this. Who do you listen to? what is valuable and what isn't? He relates this to feature requests and says that even if you end up listening to the most valuable customers, you might still end up building things that they don't use. He then goes on to try and understand his customerś feature requests, by uncovering the root of the problem that triggered the request in the first place. Where were they? What were they trying to do? and Why? 

So the way the Lean Canvas is different from the original Business Canvas is that it forces you to think holistically about your business. Ash says that the customer lives in the core of your business and plays a strong influential role than any other component of the canvas, and this can therefore be further extended to include the ethos of ´loving the customer and not your solution´, which was detailed but a consultancy called Spark 23. 

1. Problems are derived from your Customers. 2. Solutions must satisfy your Customers. 3. Your UVP must appeal to your Customers. 4. You reach your Customers through your Channels. 5. Your revenue streams align with how your Customers want to pay for your Solution. 6. Many of your Key Metrics should measure Customer behaviours. (Spark 23)

We need to develop a deeper relationship with our customer and ask the ´5 Whyś to really understand what they are thinking, and this iterative questioning will then have the effect of creating an iterative Design Methodology and through this we will better target our Userś needs. 

In gaining the right fit when it comes to the Problem/Solution fit and the Product/Market fit, Ash talks about how we need to understand the iteration cycle as two stages. The first is about understanding the problem and defining a solution. It is after this that you iterate towards a Product/Market fit by testing whether you have built something that people want to use. This is done in two stages; first qualitative (at the micro scale) and then quantitative (at the macro scale). 

We can take this further and also mention that these requirements need to fit the Product Roadmap and maintain the principles of User Experience;

Useful: Your content should be original and fulfill a need Usable: Site must be easy to use Desirable: Image, identity, brand, and other design elements are used to evoke emotion and appreciation Findable: Content needs to be navigable and locatable onsite and offsite Accessible: Content needs to be accessible to people with disabilities Credible: Users must trust and believe what you tell them

It is through meeting these principles that we will be able to gain that deeper understanding of our users and also help answer the ´Whys´. 

Furthermore in having gained an understanding of our users through loving the customer not the solution, and answering the ẃhys´ behind what a user does, through maintaining the UX principles, we are able to work with an iterative build, measure, learn loop. (See figure below)

These principles together, contribute to the Product Roadmap and help to understand where we might need to make improvements, conduct interviews, surveys, focus group discussions. 

Furthermore, if we were to try and target our users, and the deliverables that might be required to help target solutions, we could derive something similar to the diagram below. It is from understanding the needs of the different user groups, that we can then deliver on tailored solutions. 

Another perspective on this is the Product Thinking diagram. In having established the User first, we are able to outline our Strategy (a problem/solution fit with the aid of a Roadmap) and then determine output and measure success. 

For companies to be able to strategise and maximise value, creating mental models of Design Strategy is the one process in which Design Strategy can be aligned with Human Behaviour.  One of the best ways in creating the perfect product or service is through uncovering user´s reasons in making specific decisions. The landscape of User Research is huge. When researching we need to look into Attitudinal vś Behavioural research methods, Qualitative vś Quantitative methods and the Context of Use.  So therefore if we can try and create mental models and at the same time align the results of User Behaviour to Strategy, we can answer a lot of research questions and determine methodologies that should be used. In turn we are able to become closer to our customer, faster and determine ´user needs´ in an effective manner. 

In Summary:

1. Do the field research. Talk to the user group. Visit them in their environment.  2. Classify them into broad user types. For instance "Trend setters", "Early adopters", "Novice" etc. The fact is, this helps prevent looking at users based on their work profiles (CEO, Sales, Marketing etc.) and helps look at them from their attitude and attributes.  3. Cover a great deal of information in the persona document: (Background, Everyday life, Relationship with others, Needs, Attitude and Key Values) 

Ask yourself the questions:

Do the Personas represent the broad set of characteristics of the users?

Has this been checked in the research phase of the project? 

Do the Personas help to determine needs and pain points? 

Detailed analysis of personas: