Strategic and tactical projects within any organization often involve the resolution of business and customer perspectives: the business focuses on maximizing a target market’s profits and potential for growth; customer-centered design focuses on maximizing the value of a service to the customer. Instead of seeing the different points of view as one position trying to overwhelm or eliminate the other, we should seek to map them and find their overlap. Illustrating this intersection reveals where value is created for both the business and for the customers. In this presentation, I propose the term “alignment diagrams” to describe the class of diagrams that visualize touchpoints between a customer and a business to expose mutual value creation. Such diagrams are implicitly part of the current design practice. Examples include customer journey maps, mental model diagrams, experience maps and workflow diagrams. Thus my definition of alignment diagrams is not a new technique, but rather recognition of how various techniques can be seen in a new and constructive way. The presentation therefore focuses on the principles behind alignment diagrams that distinguish this type of document for others. I will also present concrete tools and approaches for mapping value creation based on these principles, as well as show many examples. In the end, the alignment technique supports the increasing importance of design disciplines in business success. What's more, aligning for value points to a new perspective for designers: value-centered design.

1. Locating Value with Alignment Diagrams

2. JIM KALBACH
Principal UX Strategist
USEEDS°°
Rutgers University USA
Designing Web Navigation
@jameskalbach
www.ExperiencingInformation.com
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3. USERS S
S E
Y “Damn it!“ R
S V
T
E
Value C
I
M E
BUSINESS S
“It‘s the bottom
line, stupid“
“Gotta have it“ “Content is king“

4. “Value-centered design starts a story about
an ideal interaction between an individual
and an organization and the benefits each
realizes from that interaction.”
JESS MCMULLIN. “Searching For The Center of Design,“ Boxes and Arrows

5. Alignment Diagrams
• Customer Experience Maps
• Service Blueprints
• Mental Model Diagrams
• Isometric Maps

6. Customer Experience Map
Customer
Touchpoints
Business

7. Service Blueprints
Customer
Touchpoints
Business

8. Mental Models
Customer
Touchpoints
Business

9. Isometric Maps
PAUL KAHN, “Information Architecture for the Web: Applied IA“ http://www.slideshare.net/pauldavidkahn/04-appled-ia

10. Story Interaction Individuals Organization
Experience Goals, feelings,
Customer facing
Chronological Touchpoints moments of truth,
Map roles, Service
pain points
Service Chronological
Line of
Stages, artefacts
Front-line, back-
Blueprint Interaction office
Mental Hierarchical Center Line
Tasks, intent,
Support, features
Model feelings
Isometric Spatial Overlays
Content usage, Data systems,
Map categories departments
http://experiencinginformation.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/principles-of-alignment-diagrams

13. The Business Model Canvas
Back Stage: Front Strage:
Business Customer
Processes Facing
Business Customer
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14. The Business Model Canvas
“A business model describes the
rationale of how an organization
creates, delivers, and captures value.“
- ALEXANDER OSTERWALDER
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15. Create Perceive
www.businessmodelalchemist.com/2012/01/the-customer-value-canvas-v-0-8.html
USEEDS° user centred thinking 15

16. Alignment Diagrams
describe how users
perceive value and show
organizations how to
create and deliver it.

17. Shared Value
“Companies … remain trapped in
an outdated approach to value
creation. They continue to view
value creation narrowly,
optimizing short-term financial
performance in a bubble while
missing the most important
customer needs.”
MICHAEL PORTER. “Creating Shared Value.” HBR (Jan 2011)

18. Shared Value
“Figure out what your product is
and what your value chain is.
Understand where those things
touch important social needs and
problems. If you’re in financial
services, let’s think about ‘saving’ or
‘buying a home’ -- but in a way that
actually works for the consumer.
MICHAEL PORTER. “Creating Shared Value.” HBR (Jan 2011)

19. Danke schön
© USEEDS° GmbH | Friedrichstr. 209 | 10969 Berlin
Tel.: +49 (0)30 340 6005-0
ron.hofer@useeds.de l www.useeds.de
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20. Find Out More
“Locating Value with Alignment Diagrams,“ by James
Kalbach & Paul Kahn, PJIM (2011).
“Alignment Diagrams“ by James Kalbach, Boxes and
Arrows (2011).
www.ExperiencingInformation.com
www.uxtogo.com
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