strategic user experience management

Strategic User Experience Management Janice Anne Rohn Vice President, User Experience Wynyard Group

#UXPA2016 www.uxpa2016.org Conference Survey: www.uxpa2016.org/survey

Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/session/survey/356 Slides from Janice Rohn and Arnie Lund

•  Introduction and Background •  UX Management Framework •  Motivation •  Goals •  Value Proposition •  Elevator Pitch •  Persuasion and Storytelling •  Vision Statement •  Mission •  Leadership Qualities •  Summary

Agenda


Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/session/survey/356

•  Combination of lectures and exercises •  Feel free to ask questions throughout •  If time does not allow for all questions, may be time at

the end of sections and the tutorial

Format



4

Janice’s Background



•  Early pioneer in the field •  Founding Board member and past President of UXPA •  Founded UXPA Outreach program •  Presented at most CHI conferences for over 20 years

•  Management and Usability Co-Chairs at 5 conferences •  Founded and led UX departments at 8 companies

•  Over 23 years of UX management experience •  Over 10 years at VP level

•  Hired hundreds of UX professionals •  Built over 15 usability labs and design rooms •  Products have received awards and high ratings from users,

press, and analysts •  Numerous publications, presentations, lectures, keynote

speeches

Janice’s Background



•  Decades of personal experience •  One of my specialties in the field is UX Management

research and teaching •  Co-chaired Management Community at CHI Conference

for 4 years •  Led many Management panels and SIGs •  Led multiple full-day workshops of experienced

executives in the field to discuss the most important management topics

•  UX management publications •  Executive Program at Stanford Graduate School of

Business

UX Management Background



•  This course is a combination of a course that Arnie Lund has created, plus some of my course

•  I teach a full-day course on Leading Highly Effective UX Teams for Nielsen/Norman group, which is quite different and complementary to this course •  Course is based on hundreds of years of experience

cumulatively over the past 35 years, with an emphasis on the last 5 years

•  Providing a UX Management Framework •  Best practices

•  Certain elements are true regardless of the organization •  Some are more contextual

•  Think about your situation and what will work best

UX Management Framework



•  Course for aspiring, first-time, and experienced leaders •  Will cover topics of interest to all

•  Tutorial applies to new and existing organizations •  Advantageous to employ strategies and tactics sooner

rather than later •  Sometimes more obvious to employ when manager or

group is new •  Even if the UX group is not new, still need to employ

these and update on a regular basis—never too late!

Management Journey



•  Management experience •  None •  Less than 5 years •  5 or more years •  Executives at the Director level or above

•  Function •  UX •  Product •  Engineering

•  UX Team •  Just starting •  Existing

•  Less than 15 •  15 or more

Your Experience



Motivation



•  UX is more widely recognized as a necessary function •  Some top challenges

•  Managing creative individuals while still creating a consistent user experience across features and products

•  Field has matured greatly, but is still not seen as critical as functions such as Engineering

•  Skirmishes of responsibilities and ownership can occur with Product, Marketing, and Engineering

•  Some new trends, such as Agile, have impacted UX teams’ ability to deliver great solutions

Why do you want to lead UX?



•  Ask yourself: •  Why do you want to manage a UX team? •  What is driving you?

•  Valid reasons •  Broaden your influence •  Mentor others •  Personal growth

•  Question if: •  Only path for career growth •  Should be a parallel individual contributor path to

support career growth for non-managers

Motivation



•  Can be very rewarding, and can also be very challenging, so important to understand your motivation

•  Ensure you have an internal driver that steers you through the challenges

•  Core value system of what you will and won’t do •  Will keep information confidential when necessary,

even though the information may benefit team members

•  Won’t spend the vast majority of time jockeying for position or control

•  Won’t prioritize personal benefit to the detriment of others

•  Need to have a strong moral compass

Motivation



Goals and Questions



5

Have a POV

Find Big Ideas Be Passionate



5

Keep your eye on the goal



Focus on Goals



Value Proposition

Business Goals

User Requirements

User Experience in Business



What is your value proposition?

The value proposition is a description of how the benefits of what you are offering outweigh competitive alternatives.



ROI Save Costs (e.g., support) Increase Revenue

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Represent Customers Deliver Brand Create Excitement and Emotion Grow Design Thinking Drive Innovation (patents, product concepts) Quality Vision more…

Value Proposition Factors



Value Proposition Example Process



Value Proposition Exercise

•  Each table introduce yourselves •  Discuss management challenges •  Pick one person for whom you’ll create a value

proposition for their organization •  Think about how their value proposition would compare

to yours



What is your elevator pitch?

An elevator pitch (or elevator speech or statement) is a short summary used to quickly and simply define your team and its value proposition.



5

Tell Stories

Keep it Simple and Concrete Stir Emotions

Be Credible



Elevator Pitch Exercise •  Within your table, pick a team to coach. •  Explore context and corporate/organizational strategic

goals. •  Brainstorm elevator pitches about the heart of the special

value their team brings to to the company or organization. (The answer to “What do you do?”)’



5

Cultivate Champions

Find Them Win Them

Support Them Celebrate Them



Storytelling



Persuasion and Storytelling

•  Successful leaders provide •  Vision •  Plan for how to achieve vision •  Ability to influence and persuade

•  As important as the vision and the plan is the ability to influence and persuade people

•  Stories + Data is the strongest influencer •  Jennifer Aaker at Stanford Graduate School of

Business •  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL-PAzrpqUQ

29 #UXPA2016 www.uxpa2016.org Conference Survey: www.uxpa2016.org/survey


What is your vision?

The purpose of your vision statement is to give shape to the future you are creating, and to provide the organization with a sense of what could be. It is rallying call to energize the team, not a prophecy.



The best way to predict the future is to create it. – Peter Drucker



Creating Them Purpose

Goal is to energize and engage, and to provide identity. Hints

Short and crisp (one or two sentences, at most a paragraph or two). Should capture something unique about what you want to do. It should be aspirational, an ideal, a destination for the journey. It should answer the question “Where are we heading?” It often completes “We want to…” or “We want to be…” It needs to be plausibly attainable. It should pass a “red faced test.” When you can, build it collaboratively.

Collect phrases. Organize through affinity. Iterate to closure.

Revisit it periodically as a team. #UXPA2016

www.uxpa2016.org Conference Survey: www.uxpa2016.org/survey Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/session/survey/356

Examples Disneyland: Create a place for people to find happiness and knowledge.

Ford: Produce a car that everyone can afford.

Girl Scouts: Help a girl reach her highest potential.

Cirque du Soleil: Invoke the Imagination; Provoke the Senses; Evoke the Emotions.

Zappos: The online service leader.

Microsoft (original): A personal computer in every home running Microsoft software.

AT&T (original): One policy, one system, and universal service.



Vision Statement Exercise

•  Within your table, choose the same or a different team

•  Create a vision statement for that team

•  Prepare to present to the class, along with your rationale



What is your mission?

The mission is the organization’s reason for existence, and the vision is what it wants to be.



A mission statement is a statement of purpose. It speaks to how you will accomplish your vision.

It speaks to how you are different. It should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. It provides the context of your strategy.



Creating Them Purpose

Goal is to energize and engage, and to provide identity. Hints

Short, precise, easily understood Who, what, how and why Not a vision Elements

What makes you unique What you do For who How

Use for shaping strategy and prioritizing work Revisit periodically to provide context for plans



Mission Statement Examples The Coca-Cola Company exists to benefit and refresh everyone it touches. The basic proposition of our business is simple, solid, and timeless. When we bring refreshment, value, joy and fun to our stakeholders, then we successfully nurture and protect our brands, particularly Coca-Cola. That is the key to fulfilling our ultimate obligation to provide consistently attractive returns to the owners of our business.

The Jeremiah Program, a broad-based collaborative community initiative, assists low-income mothers and their children to help themselves complete their education and achieve economic self-sufficiency through empowerment skills, access to affordable housing, child development services, health care, support services and meaningful employment. The Jeremiah Program mothers and children develop positive self-esteem and clarify their values on which to build a successful life.



The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance. The ICRC also endeavors to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles.

At IBM, we strive to lead in the invention, development and manufacture of the industry’s most advanced information technologies, including computer systems, software, storage systems and microelectronics. We translate these advanced technologies into value for our customers through our professional solutions, services and consulting businesses worldwide.

Examples



Mission Statement Exercise



What is your strategy?

A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a vision as you execute your mission.



Inte

rnal

Helpful Harmful

Ext

erna

l

Opportunities

Strengths Weaknesses

Threats

SWOT Analysis



Strategy Example

DESIGN FOUNDATION

USER MODELING VISION EXPERIENCE

DELIVERY

46



Strategy Exercise

A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a vision as you execute your mission.

Identify one or two strategic initiatives that are consistent with the mission, and will advance the mission.



5

Change the DNA

Transform the Assumptions Alter the Motivation

Create the Language



What is your brand?

Team Name

Influence Plan Identity



Channels

Targ

ets

of In

fluen

ce

Influence Plan



5

Make Wow

Create Compelling Design

Engage Empathy Stimulate Insight Cause a Parade



Top Leadership Skills

What skills do you think are the most important for being an effective leader?



•  Honesty •  Trust your team •  Being ”in the know” •  Ethical

•  Delegate •  Prepare to be surprised •  Multiple minds are better than one

•  Clear communication •  Particularly important when managing globally with

different native languages •  Many people are better with written communication

•  Good to follow up with written to ensure everyone is on the same page




• Confidence •  Provide stability and direction •  Avoid communicating all of your concerns •  Shield the group when possible •  Have faith in your abilities •  Particularly important with more junior members of

the team • Commitment

•  Lead by example •  Lead with passion and energy




•  Positive Attitude •  Optimistic realist or a realistic optimist •  Can-do attitude while being realistic

•  Creativity •  Think about the realm of possibilities to address challenges •  Involve your team in generating solutions

•  Intuition •  Learn to trust your instincts based on your experience

•  Inspire •  Make it clear how everyone’s work impacts the company

and its customers •  Provide a vision for everyone’s contributions




•  Customized Approach •  Everyone has different levels of experience, needs, and

capabilities •  Also different cultures, languages, and educational backgrounds •  In addition to a foundation of principles by which to manage, it’s

important also to have a customized approach •  More junior members require more skills development •  More senior members require more leadership and

management development •  Vary in how they accept feedback and what types of rewards

work best




•  Honesty •  Trust your team •  Being ”in the know” •  Ethical

•  Delegate •  Prepare to be surprised •  Multiple minds are better than one

•  Clear communication •  Particularly important when managing globally with

different native languages •  Many people are better with written communication

•  Good to follow up with written to ensure everyone is on the same page




•  In thinking about these different leadership qualities, which would you like to work on? •  Honesty •  Delegation •  Clear Communication •  Confidence •  Commitment •  Positive Attitude •  Creativity •  Intuition •  Inspire •  Customized Approach

Leadership Exercise



• Keep your eye on the goals • Create a strategic framework with and for

your group • Communicate your goals and framework • Provide stability and guidance • Be a visionary leader for your group

Summary



• http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey?sessionid=72679

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