Hello, Lively friends :)
I'd like to provide an overview of my high-level process for comprehending customer goals, using Volkswagen's connected services as an example.
Setting goals
Every design project commences with grasping the customer's needs and aligning them with the business goals and objectives. Collaborating with the wider UX research team, I developed journey maps to ensure all stakeholders understood the comprehensive stages that customers undergo. Additionally, journey maps enable us to pinpoint moments of joy and frustration throughout these phases, enhancing our understanding of the user experience.
To establish the right value proposition, it is crucial not only to understand our target customers but also to empathize with them. To communicate customer needs in a relatable format for all stakeholders, I employ personas.
Personas offer an archetypal representation of a customer. They serve as model users, helping us comprehend the goals, motivations, and behaviors of those who will interact with the interface. Personas reflect behavior patterns, enabling us to grasp the user's daily flow and the interface's role within it.
Persona One:
Daniel Clark, a 35-year-old married father of two, resides in a quiet suburb near Washington D.C. He works at the Pentagon, focusing on manpower issues within the Marine Corps. Daniel is well-liked and has established numerous connections throughout his years with the Marines. He frequently engages with others in-person and via phone. Daniel takes pride in supporting all humans and treats everyone with kindness. He values his American identity and the opportunity to help the Marines address significant issues.
Web Experience:
Before seeking information from his contacts, Daniel habitually searches the internet. He typically spends around 2 hours daily on the internet, both at work and home. His family shares a computer in their living room, which his children use for gaming and his wife for bill payments and shopping. Due to the vast amount of information Daniel relies on, he cannot afford to waste time sifting through extensive content. He requires concise and easily digestible information.
Needs:
Brief descriptions: Daniel prefers to quickly scan headlines and topic areas to identify key information. If he finds a match, he seeks further details to ensure accuracy.
Clear, factual information
Concrete examples
Emotional Needs:
Reassurance: Daniel values information from reputable sources, as his reputation depends on the accuracy of the data he shares.
Ease-of-use: As a busy individual, Daniel requires a time-saving, efficient resource.
Knowledge: To make informed decisions on various manpower issues, Daniel needs comprehensive information.
Proven reliability: Daniel seeks proven or tested information to avoid wasting time on previously addressed issues.
Site/App Goals:
Locate sufficient information or a contact to facilitate decision-making and progress.
Offline Goal:
Expand Daniel's knowledge and uphold his reputation as a problem solver.
Understanding Customer Needs:
Design thinking necessitates a deep comprehension of users' genuine needs and the ability to empathize with those needs. Employing a human-centric approach enables us to connect with our users' true requirements, while setting aside our personal assumptions and inherent biases. This empathetic perspective helps us create solutions tailored to the users' real-world challenges and desires.
Quantity: Cast a wide net to explore the scope
By considering a broad range of perspectives and ideas, we can gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities at hand.
Quality: Focus on nuances and details
Delving into subtle nuances and details ensures that we don't overlook important aspects that could significantly impact the design solution.
Patterns: Recognize patterns and develop categories
Identifying recurring patterns and establishing categories helps in structuring information, making it easier to analyze and derive insights.
Archetypes: Create archetypes for team and stakeholder alignment
Formulating archetypes allows team members and stakeholders to share a common understanding of user profiles, ensuring that everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals.
Qualitative research efforts enable us to delve into the nuanced aspects of people's intrinsic behaviors, offering valuable insights into their circumstances, motivations, and desired outcomes. This in-depth understanding allows us to create more tailored and effective solutions that resonate with the users' real-world experiences and needs.
Grasping the Customer's Journey:
After gaining a clearer understanding of our target users, it is essential to pinpoint the actions they undertake to achieve their goals and objectives. Journey maps serve as an excellent tool to visualize the processes people navigate, allowing us to comprehend both the moments of joy and frustration they experience throughout their journey. This understanding helps us create more user-centric solutions that enhance overall satisfaction and success.
It is vital to comprehend the scenarios your application aims to address and all the intricate data pieces that will be captured and utilized throughout those situations.
At the project's onset, I developed a visual representation to facilitate a holistic understanding of all data elements for the team members. Armed with this knowledge, we could then relate these elements back to the journey maps and personas, establishing key guiding principles around vehicle ownership, management, and general use to inform our design decisions.
Validating Core User Needs Against New Feature Iterations:
It is crucial to confirm that the defined principles can accommodate the app's evolution by assessing core user needs in the context of new feature iterations. This validation process ensures that the design principles remain robust and adaptable, effectively addressing users' requirements as the application continues to grow and develop.
Data models:
Data models serve as a valuable tool for facilitating communication and collaboration among designers, application programmers, and end users. A well-crafted data model can enhance the understanding of the organization for which the database design is being developed. In essence, data models function as an effective communication tool.
For instance, at the beginning of a project's definition phase, we create a representative data model to outline the potential content pieces that may be required within the interface. This preliminary step helps streamline the design process and ensure that all necessary elements are considered and incorporated effectively.
Flowcharts:
One of the main advantages of flowcharts is their ability to bridge the vocabulary gap that arises between diverse groups working together, such as accountants and programmers. Each group employs specific jargon, and a flowchart enables both parties to visualize a process from their respective perspectives.
For instance, the flowchart below illustrates initial thoughts regarding the process of receiving a notification and navigating through the app to find participating service providers. It also serves as an example of preliminary considerations surrounding repair maintenance and the ongoing management required while using the app. This visual representation helps ensure clear communication and understanding among all team members, regardless of their backgrounds or expertise.
Sketching:
The user interface design process starts with an idea that needs translation into a user-friendly form. Sketching enables you to visualize screen-to-screen interactions, making your concept tangible and clear in the context of the user interface.
One of the most significant benefits of sketching is its ability to facilitate rapid expression of ideas and encourage collaboration in crafting the user experience. By employing this visual communication method, team members can efficiently share their thoughts and work together to refine the design for optimal usability and user satisfaction.
Below, the sketch on the left illustrates the base-level notification, while the one on the right depicts the possible actions that could appear when the notification is pressed. These actions include: Learn More, Talk to a Technician, and Remind Me Later. The latter could offer various options or simply state "Remind me Tomorrow." This feature allows customers to dismiss the message temporarily and regain control over when they receive the reminder.
To explore different scenarios and potential interaction areas, we created quick sketches to represent the various screens needed for navigating through the app:
Existing Notifications Screen: This is a reference example of how customers might access a specific vehicle alert through this screen, rather than relying on the notification directly.
Vehicle Alert Detail Screen: This screen provides alert details and descriptions to inform customers about the alert's importance and possible remedies.
Service Provider Locator Screen: This example utilizes a map control, allowing customers to scroll around the map or enter specific search criteria. The app is assumed to use the customer's proximity to initiate the map view.
Service Provider Details Screen: This screen displays details about the selected service provider, including their name, contact information, offered services, and the option to designate them as a preferred provider for future use.
Scheduling Screen: Featuring a calendar control, customers can choose their desired date and time slot. Unavailable dates/times appear grayed out, with information pulled directly from the service provider.
Scheduling Confirmation Screen: After booking a reservation, customers are taken to this confirmation screen, which displays details about the drop-off date and time. It also provides the option to set a reminder on their mobile device and change the schedule if needed.
"My Repairs" Management Screen: This main navigational area within the app provides access to active and completed repairs and can be accessed through the main menu.
Active Repair Screen: Here, customers can view service provider details and the status of their ongoing repair.
Completed Repair Screen: This screen displays details about the completed repair, any associated charges, and a mechanism to pay for the services rendered directly (assuming the app has built-in payment capabilities for the service provider).
These sketches facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the app's flow and functionality, ensuring a user-friendly experience.
A wireframe is a visual representation of a website or application that highlights:
Structure
Basic page layout
Navigational structure
Major components, such as web forms, sliders, and advertising banners
Wireframes focus on the layout and structure rather than the final design elements, ensuring that the foundation is well established. They help concentrate the project and enable the creation of an effective website or app, taking into account all previous research.
Below is an example of "polished" wireframes that illustrate various screens and states needed for the project. These wireframes provide a clear understanding of the layout, structure, and functionality, setting the stage for further design and development.
Designing a product that is visually appealing, user-friendly, and offers delightful experiences for customers is essential, but creating a comprehensive product strategy that maximizes the potential for reaching and engaging customers is equally important. This strategy should not only focus on delivering the defined value proposition but also encourage customers to advocate for the product and influence others to use it. By developing a holistic approach that encompasses design, user experience, and strategic planning, the product can achieve its full potential and foster customer loyalty and growth.
Understanding stages of use:
It is crucial to consider the entire customer journey and the various touchpoints that impact their relationship with your product and the organization as a whole. By mapping insights about target users and their journeys against the stages of use, we can identify potential breakpoints and opportunities for improvement.
Introduction Stage: The introduction stage is when users first learn about your product and assess whether its value proposition aligns with their needs.
Growth Stage: The growth stage is when prospective customers become actual customers. This critical period requires a seamless onboarding experience to ensure their continued engagement.
Maturity Stage: The maturity stage occurs when existing customers continue to derive value from your product. To maintain their engagement, you must consistently focus on meeting their evolving needs.
Decline Stage: The decline stage transpires when customers no longer perceive direct value from your product. To rekindle their interest and prevent losing them, it's essential to find ways to reinvigorate the relationship.
Keeping track of all the intricate aspects that contribute to a complete user experience can be challenging. However, mapping out customer journeys and aligning the business on the stages of use provides valuable insight into potential issues and growth opportunities.
Mapping your service offering:
A product offering encompasses more than just a single feature. Typically, the final solution includes access to a range of interconnected features and services. To determine the extent of your service offering, it is essential to prioritize features based on the overall business value you aim to deliver.
Categorizing features into proactive and reactive groups is an effective way to align team members on the focal points of your product or service and identify potential pitfalls. By doing so, you can better understand which aspects of your offering actively drive customer engagement and satisfaction, and which components serve to address issues or concerns that may arise during the customer journey.
Proactive features are those that actively create value, enhance the user experience, and contribute to customer retention and growth. These features should be prioritized, as they directly impact the success of your product or service.
Reactive features, on the other hand, are those that respond to customer needs, solve problems, or mitigate concerns. While these features might not directly contribute to growth, they play a crucial role in maintaining customer satisfaction and ensuring the overall product or service remains competitive in the market.
By mapping and categorizing your service offering, you can establish a clearer understanding of where to invest resources and how to prioritize features for development and improvement, ultimately resulting in a more successful and well-rounded product or service.
Prototype:
A prototype is an interactive and dynamic representation of a digital product. It allows users to navigate, manipulate, and adjust all elements within the site. The primary purpose of building an interactive prototype is to evaluate and address usability issues effectively. By testing the user experience in real-time, potential problems can be identified and resolved, as well as uncovering areas for improvement or additional content requirements.
Prototypes enable designers and clients to be confident that the user experience aligns with their expectations and objectives. By working with a prototype, it becomes clear what content belongs on each page and how content should be interlinked, minimizing surprises and setting the groundwork for the visual design phase.
Moreover, prototypes are invaluable assets for developers. They provide a clear visual guide of the site's structure and functionality, reducing uncertainty and streamlining the development process.
Below is an example of a prototype created using the InVision app, showcasing the interactive nature of the design and enabling stakeholders to experience the site as intended.
Visual presentation
The final design is visually engaging and easy to understand. With just a quick glance, users can access information and make decisions about their next steps. I am a strong advocate for goal-oriented design, focusing on delivering the information users need efficiently and ensuring that everything displayed is relevant and valuable. This approach prioritizes user satisfaction and enhances their overall experience with the product.
Designing for Use
When designing with user needs in mind, it's crucial to identify the intrinsic requirements they have. Balancing "use" with external factors such as cultural characteristics, environmental context, time constraints, mode of use, and inherent biases is also essential. By considering these elements, you can create a more inclusive and effective user experience that caters to a diverse range of individuals and situations.
In Conclusion
Adopting a multifaceted approach to research early and consistently ensures that our solutions are grounded in insightful and empathetic understanding of user needs.
As demonstrated by Volkswagen, their app-based service model received over 35,000 clicks to schedule services, while the online site only had 5,000. This indicates a growing preference for app-based services, resulting in a revenue increase of over $300,000.
To optimize individual tactics, it is crucial to maintain a balanced application of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative analysis, such as surveys and questionnaires, provides valuable insights into the extent of the problem space and captures data on customer preferences and behaviors.
Complementing quantitative methods, qualitative exploratory techniques such as interviews and ethnographic studies reveal the underlying reasons and contexts for customer actions, offering insights into their lifestyles, usage patterns, and requirements.
As eloquently stated by Jef Raskin, "An interface is humane if it is responsive to human needs and considerate of human frailties." By embracing both quantitative and qualitative research methods, we can create solutions that are truly considerate of the people we serve.