Presented at Mobile UXCamp DC 2015

1. Beyond User Experience –
Designing Strategy & Services
Jasper Liu
Lead UX Architect, ICF International
Mobile UXCamp DC 2015

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Google decided to dismantle Google+.
Why did it fail?

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• It offers a lot of features.
• The circles look pretty cool.
• There are not many heuristic violations.

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What caused the failure of Google+ is
§ Not UX design

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What caused the failure of Google+ is
§ Not UX design
§ But the lack of an effective strategy, outlining how it
provides unique services for users' unmet needs.

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If a product does not provide valuable
services to solve people’s problems, does it
matter how usable and beautiful it is?

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There are millions of usable and beautiful
products. Customers won’t care about one
unless it helps their life.

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As is often the case, UX professionals get
involved in a project after a new product
initiative has been determined by a client or
in-house management.

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Have you ever designed something that you know
is doomed to failure?

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Have you ever designed something that you know
is doomed to failure?
For example:
• A great feature that users never need.
• An appealing website that does not have content users are looking for.
• A native mobile app that users only need to use once a year.
• An e-Library with nothing more than what can be found in Google.

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“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to
victory.”
This quotation is commonly
attributed to Sun Tzu, but
does not appear in his book.

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OK, a strategy is important.
But what exactly is a “strategy” and how to create
a good one?

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A strategy is not goals, though you need to define
your goals first.

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Strategy is
• A method or plan chosen to bring about a desired
future.
• It depicts how to move things from where they are to
where they want to be.

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Understanding the
current state is as
important as defining
the goals.
A strategy outlines
the directions to
connect the two.

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Analyzing the current state involves more work
than defining goals. You need to find out:
1. Who do you plan to serve?
2. What problems do you want to help them to solve?
3. How do they currently solve these problems?
4. How will your solution be different and better than the
existing ones?

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Back to the example of Google+
• It does not provide a unique service that differentiates
this product from its competitors.
• It is much easier to recognize the unique characteristics
of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

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Source: http://www.melissaleiter.com/how-to-choose-social-media-platforms/

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Is there such thing as UX Strategy?

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UX strategy is part of product strategy. It
is not its own thing. Calling it out as such
further isolates designers from their
colleagues in “the business” and does
nothing to actually drive the value of a
holistic user experience into the org’s
mainstream conversations. Instead,
designers should work to inform a product
strategy conversation that considers not
only the UX but the business’ and
product’s success factors as well.
Jeff Gothelf: No
Source: http://www.jeffgothelf.com/blog/there-is-no-such-thing-as-ux-strategy/#sthash.ozSgqWOi.2cFBKjAI.dpbs

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If we extend the audience that we design for from
users to customers, then CX people’s
involvement in strategic planning goes from
products (e.g. web, app) to services.

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• Shipping is not a product, but a service.
• In-store services are not products.
• But they could be key value propositions of a
business (e.g. Amazon Prime, Disney).

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What drives customers to a business is its service,
not UX/UI design.

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Actually, the best UI is invisible. It facilitates users
to get things done through it in a natural way, with
minimal conscious thought on the UI itself.

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Before we start designing the channel through
which customers receive the services, the first
step is to design the service itself.

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Designing a portfolio of services is to design the
entire business strategy and offerings.

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Tools to Design Strategy and Services
Customer Journey Map (source)

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Tools to Design Strategy and Services
Service Blueprint (source)

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How can UX/CX people get involved in strategic
discussions with senior leadership?
• Do UX tactics well first
• Build trust and relationship
• Go from thought leadership to business leadership
• Understand business priorities
• Prove with data
• Use empathy not only for users but also for stakeholders
• Be patient and persevere
• What else?

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Thank you!
Jasper Liu
Lead User Experience Architect
ICF International
www.icfi.com
Jasper.liu@icfi.com
www.linkedin.com/in/jasperlz
www.pinterest.com/jasper1084