UX STRAT 2014: Brian Gillespie, "How to Avoid Losing Design Strategy to Business Strategists"

How to avoid losing design strategy to business strategists Brian Gillespie, Independent Consultant, Strategic Design Boston, MA

UX STRAT 2014 The UX Strategy Conference Boulder, Colorado, Sept. 7-9

2

3

Today’s talk

• Context

•  Strategic Design – Competitor Customer Experience Audit – Strategy Visualizations – Service Blueprint

4

Personal Context

5

Musician

Designer

Multimedia

Dotcom

MBA

Design Management

Continuum

Media Catalyst / Strawberry Frog

Isobar

Molecular

Professional Context

6

Focus on Customer

Driver of Innovation

… Design Thinking

…Strategic Design

What is Strategic Design?

8

The use of design processes to foster innovation and grow business "

Strategic design is… "

9

An integrated and holistic approach to the design of how a company does business •  through customer-facing touch-points •  driven by strategic business intelligence •  supporting diverse strategic goals.""

Strategic design is… "

Why Strategic Design?

Good design is good business Thomas Watson, IBM

Strategic Design Methods

Competitor Customer Experience Audit Strategy Visualization

Service Blueprint

COMPETITOR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AUDIT

13

Case: BrownCo/JPMorgan

Competitor Customer Experience Audit

Goal: White space

Critique the customer experience offered by leading competitors to gain insights and feed design recommendations

Parity Differentiation Satisfaction Advantage


Approach: Empathy


Customer Experience Lifecycle

Awareness

Evaluation

Decision

Delivery

Use

Support

Loyalty

Re-purchase

Cross-sell

Competitor 3

Prospective Customer

New Customer

Long-term Customer Competitor 2

Competitor 1

Customer Persona

Persona

Goals and Needs

Tasks & Heuristics

Key Competitors

Methodology

Determine* !key competitor !sites** for review!

Develop !combination !active trader !persona!

Model a !customer !experience !lifecycle!

Identify!strengths, !weaknesses, !and !opportunities!

Simulate !and rate !experience !from active !trader !mindset!

1! 2! 3! 4! 5!

• Fidelity • Ameritrade • Schwab • Scottrade • E*Trade • OptionsXpress

NOTES: *Choices were principally

based on two sources: -Industry research

(Corporate Insight, JD Powers etc)

-Internal research (June 2004)

**Only web-based, not software-based trading platforms audited

Stats •  Average annual income: $90,000 •  Average assets: $350,000 •  Average trades/yr - 120 stocks

- 72 options - 1 mutual

funds - 0 for bonds

•  % trades with margin: 73% Expectations •  Execution quality •  Overall cost •  Looks for trustworthiness, reliability, experience

Identified key online experiences throughout the customer lifecycle

•  Prospect •  Start of Day •  Research •  Trading •  Loyalty

Involved user experience design experts and subject matter experts (Product Management & Experience Design, Marketing, Trading, and Customer Experience)

Ratings and observations

Qualitative

Competitor Customer Experience Audit @ BrownCo/JPMorganInvest

Methodology






1! 2! 3! 4! 5!









funds - 0 for bonds






Qualitative


Methodology

Determine* !key competitor !sites** for review!!





1! 2! 3! 4! 5!









funds - 0 for bonds






Qualitative


Methodology






1! 2! 3! 4! 5!









funds - 0 for bonds






Qualitative


Methodology






1! 2! 3! 4! 5!









funds - 0 for bonds






Qualitative


Team

•  Audit Manager/Developer (UX)

•  Audit Driver (UX)

•  Subject Matter Expert (Biz)

•  Audit Scribe/Note-taker (UX)

•  Screen Capture (UE)


Audit Artifacts

Preparation •  Instructions/Guidelines

•  List of key competitors to audit

•  Definition of customer segments articulated as a single primary Persona or set of Personas

•  Customer Experience Lifecycle

•  Key Tasks and Task Flows

•  Task Heuristics (Best practices, best-of-breed, industry-rated)

•  Scripts


Execution •  Scores/Scorecards

•  Evaluations

•  Screen captures

•  Raw notes

Analysis •  Strengths, Weaknesses, and

Opportunities

•  Overall Opportunities – competitive white space

•  Results compilation/presentation

Preparation: Task list and flow

1. Prospect Experience!Task 1: Assess the home page experience!Task 2: Get information on pricing"Task 3: Get Information on features and functionality"Task 4: Services information"Task 5: Trust and Reputation"Task 6: Account application"Declare Opportunities"""

2. Loyalty Experience!Task 1: Understand loyalty programs"Declare Opportunities"""

""

3. Customer Trading Experience Part 1: Start of Trading Day Task 1: Log in Task 2: View account(s) summary Task 3: Select an account/view account information Task 4: Access money movement functionality Task 5: View positions Task 6: Get portfolio news Task 7:Get portfolio alerts Declare Opportunities

Part 2: General Research and Idea Generation Task 1: Access the news and research Task 2: Access research tools Declare Opportunities

Part 3: Research to support a Strategy Task 1: Conduct fundamental research Task 2: Conduct technical research Declare Opportunities

Part 4: Place a Trade Task 1: Trade a stock Task 2: Trade a mutual fund Task 3: Trade an option Task 4: Submit a trade and validate its execution Task 5: View open orders and today’s executions page(s) Declare Opportunities

"

Simulating experience, audit and score active trader tasks!

4!


Preparation: Task Heuristics Prospect Experience •  Task 1: Assess the Home

Page Experience –  Mindset: Prospect is

considering either completely switching brokers or adding a secondary broker. Often the reasons for this are •  Bad experience •  Pricing •  Website functionality doesn’t

meet AT investment strategy needs

•  Trust/Reputation

–  Action: Go to Home Page

Home Page Experience Yes No N/A

Quality Ranking/Notes

Does the Home Page speak principally to Active Traders?

q q q

Is there extensive messaging targeting the various needs of active traders?

q q q

Is the brand name prominently associated with active trading? (e.g with a tag-line, leading line of business)

q q q

Is there a clear call to action to learn about your needs?

q q q

Does the navigation support the persona/user needs?

q q q

Does the Home Page give you a clear sense of the overall contents of the site?

q q q

Do the contents appear to focus on active traders? q q q

Is Brokerage the principal line of business q q q

What other lines of business are evident? q q q

Category Score: Strengths Weaknesses Any observations about the strengths in this activity:

Any observations about the weaknesses in this activity:


Audit: Scoring Scheme

Score Card Ratings are averaged and rounded into an overall score.

•  5 – The experience meets or exceeds all the criteria for best (active trader) practices and the experience is excellent

•  4 - The experience meets or exceeds most of the criteria for best practices and the experience is generally excellent

•  3 - The experience meets most of the criteria but there are notable inadequacies throughout.

•  2 – The experience meets some of the criteria but the experience is not satisfactory.

•  1 – The experience meets little, if any, of the set criteria for best practices.


Audit: Scorecard Capture

Total Experience OptionsXpress Ameritrade

Basic E-Trade Fidelity Schwab Scottrade Prospect Experience 3.6 3.7 3.7 4 2 2.1 Trading: Start 3.7 3.4 4.5 4.6 4 1.4 Trading: General Research 4.25 3 4 5 4 3 Trading: Trade Research 3.5 4 tba 4.5 na na Trading: Place Trade 4 4 tba 4.25 4.33 1.6 Loyalty 3 3.5 4 4.5 3 2 Overall Score 3.68 3.6 4.07 4.48 3.47 2.2

Prospect Experience Options

Xpress Ameritrade E-Trade Fidelity Schwab Scottrade Home Page 3 4 3 3 3 3.5 Pricing 3.5 3 3 4 2 3 Features & Functionality 4 4 4 4 1 1 Services 3 4 4 4 1 1 Trust & Reputation 3.5 3.5 4 4 2 3 Account Application 4 4 4 4.5 3 1 General Observations 4 3.5 4 4.5 - - Category Average 3.6 3.7 3.7 4 2 2.1


Comparative scorecard for each step of the lifecycle

Cumulative and comparative scorecard for combined total lifecycle experience

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities Prospect Experience: SWO’s from Ameritrade audit """"

Area Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Home Page Good call to action

Clean, easy to navigate Has many advanced trading links

Bland 30 commission free ad jumps out Little passion for trading

Ameritrade does a good job of speaking to the active trader (price and tools) and providing a call to action.

The prospect site has its own navigation – separate from the logged in nav. If BrownCo wants to keep the private site as exclusive, Ameritrade provides a good template – but it can be implemented in a more engaging way with a focus on price and execution rather than on tools.

Differentiator for BrownCo - Communicate how the tools are integrated into the active trader experience.

Marketing is consistent throughout and with ad campaign.

Pricing Calculator is good but could be better Lots of detail Compelling The headers are strong Make me feel confident Many options for levels of service and subscription based service

(but can be confusing)

Calculator is slow/not great They offer good things but not in a good way Too many clicks The rates and fees are a link off Costs and Commission Buried in Account Details Scattered information Not close at hand Too complicated Too much to wade through

Centralized, simplified info that’s easy to find and clearly presented.

Features & Functionality

Lots of tools It’s the Ameritrade strength/position Impressive Very focused Demos of all tools

Almost overwhelming in choice, but not quite

Demonstrate how the functionality integrates with the active trader experience.

Services Our AT persona would be Apex Good deals associated with that A good overall value and feature pack for our man Excellent detail on trade execution Specific site dedicated to explaining the ins and outs Good section explaining ways to trade at Ameritrade

Provide centralized Services information that clear and easy to understand. Ameritrade has a great mini-site explaining the way trades get executed. BrownCo must learn

the lesson from Ameritrade. Do not focus on a guarantee, but focus on the nuts and bolts of the execution.

Trust & Reputation

From what I’ve read they seem trustworthy But they are not selling trust or reputation Not banking in that Relying on features and functionality Price is not a huge factor, probably because it is not super low-cost Labeling is supportive. Look and feel is square, stable. Most bank-like site.

No sense of actual people using the site or running the company.

Opportunity is for BrownCo to provide more personality. To appeal to a more rounded active trader (as opposed to someone only interested in tools).

Account Application

Clear call to apply on every screen Contextual help Can go online and check the status of an application

BrownCo can learn from Ameritrade’s approach to labeling the steps of the application.

Overall Opportunities

Lacks personality Very tiring plowing through all of the information A poor IA Middle-of-of-the-road graphic design Value prop is disjointed It’s not the Anti-Fluff I would walk away with some doubts They have great tools But maybe they’re overly focused on the tools That active trading is about tools /It’s a Toyota

Additional Notes


Key Findings: Prospect Experience Fidelity Strengths •  2 home pages: one customer facing, one

prospect facing

•  Clear, simple pricing tiers

•  Easy to print and share information •  Wide range of products and features

•  Events & newsletter for active traders •  Application process is easy, fast, immediate;

application can be saved

Weaknesses •  Doesn’t primarily speak to the active trader •  Margin rates are not easily obtained

•  Assumes that active traders will use the software-based trading platform

Opportunities •  Make the message all about active traders •  Tout BrownCo’s margin rates

•  Provide a web-based trading platform that can compete with software functionality


Right Information Right Time Right Place


Benefit: Strategic Design

Strategy Definition Prioritization Innovation

Focused Design Design Brief

Design Principles


STRATEGY VISUALIZATION

32

36

37

38

Stories

So what story does a Strategy Visualization tell?

40

Strategy Visualization @ BrownCo/JPMorganInvest

A strategy visualization is a visual and verbal story that outlines the relationship between the foundational elements of strategy and how they drive the rationale for design

Corporate Strategy

Customer Segmentation and Personification

Competitive Analysis

Strategic Drivers

Brand Strategy

Product Definition

Design Principles

Approach: Curation

Asset collection High-level structure schematic

Section by section Ensure logic of content selection from one phase to the next

The right balance of visual and verbal information


Goal: Communication

Belief in rationale for design Trust in the process

Objective decision-making Strategy socialization


Visualizing Strategy - adidas

43

44

45

SERVICE BLUEPRINT

46

Service Blueprints today

47

Service Blueprint potential

48

How to…

Perspective and Rationale

Bring new value

Show results

Show rationale

49

Thank you

Stay in touch!

[email protected]

@designbusiness

http://designingbusinessdotcom.wordpress.com/

50