1. Product
Strategy
for UXers
Presented by Kevin Vigneault at NOVA UX onJuly 16, 2014

2. Hello, my name is
Kevin Vigneault
@hellokv

3. Tonight I’m going to talk about
Product Strategy

4. More specifically...
Digital Consumer
Products

5. • Currently a UX Designer
• Formerly a Project Manager
• 7+ years at Viget
• Degrees in HCI, Economics & Finance
About Me

6. I am NOT a product strategist.

7. • Product Managers?
• Executives?
• Marketing?
• Business Services?
Who guides
product strategy?

8. 1. User-centered perspective
2. Research & testing skills
3. Familiarity with design & build
The UX Advantage

9. Product strategy should be driven
primarily by user experience, not business
objectives or technical capabilities.

10. • What is product strategy?
• What is GOOD product strategy?
• What should you build?
• How much should you charge?
I will try to answer...

11. What is product
strategy?

12. Design
Business
Strategy
Product

13. What is a product?

14. An entity that when
consumed provides value to
an organization.
An entity that when
consumed provides value to
an organization.

20. Augmented
Actual

21. What is strategy?

22. A vision for your desired
outcome and a plan for how to
achieve it.

23. Planning is NOT strategy.

24. “Everyone has a plan until they
get punched in the face.”
Mike Tyson

25. Vision
Strategy
Plan

26. What is good
product strategy?

27. Deciding what NOT to do.

29. “Fear and discomfort
are an essential
part of strategy.”
Roger L. Martin
Harvard Business Review Magazine

30. • Keeping up with competition
• Wasting development resources
• Appeasing everyone
• Missing out on that critical thing
What are we afraid of?

31. 1. Simple & Clear
2. User-centered
3. Bold & Aggressive
4. Long-term
5. Imperfect & Agile
Good strategies are...

32. What should
you build?

33. “A complex system that works is invariably
found to have evolved from a simple system
that worked. A complex system designed
from scratch never works.”
John Gall
General Systemantics

35. Simple is NOT inherently
superior to complex.

36. The Tyranny of
Small Decisions
A series of small, individually rational
decisions that cumulatively result in an
undesirable outcome.

37. The House of Quality

38. 1. Generate ideas
2. Design & build some of them
3. Never launch
Level 0

39. 1. Generate ideas
2. Design & build everything
3. Launch & see
Level 1

40. 1. Generate ideas
2. Prioritize
3. Design & build by priority
4. Launch incrementally, test & evaluate
Level 2

41. 1. Generate ideas
2. Group logically & prioritize
3. Design & build in groups by priority
4. Launch incrementally, test & evaluate
Level 3

42. Well that didn’t answer
the question...

43. How much should
you charge?

44. Whatever price generates
the most revenue over a
defined period of time.

45. Quantity
Price

46. 1. Collect emails
2. Set a high base price
3. Email 1/3 the base price, 1/3 a 25%
discount, & 1/3 a 50% discount
4. Track conversions per cohort
How to Test Price

47. Quantity
Price

48. Quantity
Price

49. • Derive a demand curve from sample
prices
• Learn your customers’ sensitivity to price
The point...

50. • Decoy Products
• Odd Pricing
• Price Anchoring
Other Pricing Topics

51. Predictably Irrational
by Dan Ariely

52. In summary...

53. 1. Product strategy is important
2. UX professionals are uniquely qualified to
lead the charge
3. Think boldly & play to win
Key Takeaways

54. All done, thanks.