Connecting the Dots in Product Design at KAYAK

Connecting
the Dots.
Strategies for effective
Problem Definition

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UXDX | Connecting the Dots • Alkistis Mavroeidi
Director of Product Design at KAYAK
Alkistis Mavroeidi

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In 2004, a bunch of business, travel
and tech guys got together and said
“travel planning online sucks.
Let’s make it better.”
A bit about

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20 years later we’re still innovating to
solve problems for travelers.
Innovating in the
Travel Space

How might we…
Retain Speed and Flexibility?

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Problem
Definition
Design
Solution
Build
Solution
Launch &
Analyze
Iterate
Product Development
Process
🎉

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■ Struggling to distill your project into a concise
and compelling narrative
■ Spending excessive time in discovery mode
Signals that mean you might be struggling with Problem Definition
■ Difficulty prioritizing tasks from a long list
of identified opportunities

How to
Connect the Dots
in Problem Definition
Best practices drawn from real KAYAK examples

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also known as the 80 20 rule
Roughly 80% of the effects come
from 20% of the causes.
In simpler terms, it means that a
small portion of your efforts often
leads to the majority of your results.
The Pareto Principle
20% 80%

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strategies to help Product Designers see the big picture
a critical lever for maintaining speed & quality
Connecting the Dots is…

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Research Data Communications
Problem Definition
Three areas of focus.

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I gathered all these very
thorough data.
What does it mean for
our project?
I have no idea….
KAYAK Case 1

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Is your Research
scope too wide?
Ask yourself:
Are you gathering data
instead of insights?

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1.
Always write down your goals
and hypotheses.
2.
Reduce volume of participants
for qual research

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3.
Process horizontally and
vertically.
4.
Avoid distractions and unrelated
insights

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Discipline in Research is important in order to
ensure you are being efficient and getting impact
for you work.
Research Learning

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How can we measure quality accurately?
KAYAK Case 2
Number of ux issues reported?
Number of ux issues resolved?
Heuristic Audits?
…?

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Are you trying to find the
one perfect metric?
Ask yourself:
Are you “torturing data” to
tell you a story?
* Ronald Coase

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1.
Continuously ask what
problem you are solving and
what the gap is.
2.
Identify your indicators, not your
one perfect metric.

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Remember:
When a metric becomes a goal, it stops being a
good metric. *
* Goodhart’s Law
Data Learning

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I don’t understand why we are working on
this project. It seems like the wrong
direction.
I shared my 40 page brief two
months ago. Why didn’t you share
that feedback then?
KAYAK Case 3

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Are you hindering
communications?
Ask yourself:
Are you getting lost
in the details?

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1.
Cater for your audience
upward, laterally, and downward.
2.
Protect the unique perspective
of each stakeholder.
…
….
…
….

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3.
Keep the big picture in
sight when it comes to
prioritization.

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Empowering Communications is your strongest
tool for sense checking your project’s direction.
Communications Learning
When you enable feedback, you create quality
checks for your product.

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strategies to help Product Designers see the big picture
a critical lever for maintaining speed & quality
Connecting the Dots is…
Problem
Definition
Design Solution Build Solution Launch & Analyze Iterate

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Communications
Empower Communications
to keep sight of the big
picture.
Data
Focus on the Outcome not
the Metric.
Research
Practice Discipline in
Research.
Problem Definition

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■ Always check that your problem is well defined.
■ Scope your Research wisely.
■ Identify the right Gap and the Data Indicators.
■ Communicate concisely and effectively.
How can you apply this:

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Thank you.
Stay in touch

Connecting the Dots in Product Design at KAYAK

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