Upselling UX: Moving from Pixels to Strategy

Jim Laing – @jhlaingMidwestUX 2012

2Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

About Me

• I’m pretty new here – I started in UX and design less than 5 years ago• Most of my experience

has been in-house• I remember what its like

not to know about UX’s role in strategy

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About Me

• I’m pretty new here – I started in UX and design less than 5 years ago• Most of my experience

has been in-house• I remember what its like

not to understand UX’s role in strategy

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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About Me

• I’m pretty new here – I started in UX and design less than 5 years ago• Most of my experience

has been in-house• I remember what its like

not to understand UX’s role in strategy

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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A Few Scenarios

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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A Few Scenarios

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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A Few Scenarios

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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What is Strategy?

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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Strategy is …

•Strategy is relative•Strategy is about planning•Strategy is about decision making•Strategy is about increasing effectiveness

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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Strategy is …

•Strategy is relative•Strategy is about planning•Strategy is about decision making•Strategy is about increasing effectiveness

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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Strategy is …

•Strategy is relative•Strategy is about planning•Strategy is about decision making•Strategy is about increasing effectiveness

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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Strategy is …

•Strategy is relative•Strategy is about planning•Strategy is about decision making•Strategy is about increasing effectiveness

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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Focus: Product Strategy

LessStrategic

MoreStrategic

OrganizationalMission

Current businessstrategy

Productstrategy

Content ortechnologystrategy

Interfacedesignstrategy

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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Strategy and Design

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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Design, like strategy, is relative

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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Design is about planning

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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Design is about decision making

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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Design is about increasing effectiveness

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

19Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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Two Types of Design

Concrete design: what most people think of when they think about design. What a thing looks like and how it operates.

Abstract design: What a thing is. What problem is it solving? Where and why will people use it?

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

The Nine Pillars – Jesse James Garrett – www.jjg.net/ia/files/pillars.pdf

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Concrete design and usability are the thin end of the wedge

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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Upselling UX

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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How the Upsell Works:

•What it looks like: 3 phases•How you do it: 2 things you need to build

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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What It Looks Like – 3 phases

Understand the product strategy

Critique the strategy

Help shape the strategy

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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What It Looks Like – 3 phases

Understand the product strategy

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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What It Looks Like – 3 phases

Understand the product strategy

Critique the strategy

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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What It Looks Like – 3 phases

Understand the product strategy

Critique the strategy

Help shape the strategy

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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How the Upsell Works:

•What it looks like: 3 phases•How you do it: 2 things you need to build

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

29Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

How – Build a Chain of Whys

Understand Critique Shape

Ask why constantly

What parts of the chain seem like weak links? Where is the user not considered?

Do user research and suggest new chains

30Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

How – Build a Chain of Whys

Understand Critique Shape

Ask why constantly

What parts of the chain seem like weak links? Where is the user not considered?

Do user research and suggest new chains

31Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

Ask why constantly

What parts of the chain seem like weak links? Where is the user not considered?

Do exploratory user research and suggest new chains

How – Build a Chain of Whys

Understand Critique Shape

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How

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

Understand Critique Shape

The other thing you need to build is …trust

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How

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

Understand Critique Shape

The other thing you need to build is …trust

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How – Build Trust

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

Get (more) engaged with strategy

Demonstrate(more) valueand build (more) trust

Understand Critique Shape

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How – Build Trust

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

Understand Critique Shape

•Don’t be an expert•Empathize with your stakeholders

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In Summary

•Strategy and design are the same thing – you already have the tools you need•Without being engaged in strategy, you can’t create great experiences•Concrete design and usability testing are the thin end of the wedge•Engagement with strategy moves from understanding to critiquing to helping shape•Along the way, build a chain of whys and constantly build trust

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing

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Thanks!

Jim Laing – Upselling UX – @jhlaing