This was a presentation I put together for the rapid fire idea breakouts at the Mage X conference in Austin, TX. This conference was put together for Adobe Magento eCommerce experts to attend and learn from their peers.

1. LOVE YOUR DESIGN PROBLEMS, NOT YOUR SOLUTIONS.
SEPTEMBER 12TH-13TH, 2019

2. I’m David J. Neff
Head of Consulting at Clearhead
A Studio inside Accenture
18 years Digital Strategy
/eCommerce Experience
Find me at @daveiam
david.j.neff@Accenture.com

3. We don’t talk
about Design
enough.
data analytics
technology engineering
marketing
design

4. OptimizationDesign
Inspiration
Emotion
Brand
Statistics
Facts
Users
Design
Optimization

5. 1. What is good design?
2. Is conversion optimization good design?
3. How do I find my design problems today?

6. What is
good design?

7. As little much
design as
possible.
As little
design as
possible.

8. Form Function
Good design is as little design as possible.
What is
good design?

9. Evidence-based
Design

10. Today evidence-based design is
defined by Wikipedia as:
Evidence-based Design
"Evidence-based design is a process for the conscientious, explicit,
and judicious use of current best evidence from research and practice
in making critical decisions, together with an informed client, about the
design of each individual and unique project".

11. Principles of
Evidence-based Design
Good design solves problems1
4 Good design is an experiment
5 Good design is iterative
3 Good design is measurable
Good design is research6
Good design is curious9
Good design is confident10
Good design listens7
Good design enables user control8
2 Good design does no harm

12. Two core principles
have survived
Good design solves problems1
4 Good design is an experiment
5 Good design is iterative
3 Good design is measurable
Good design is research6
Good design is curious9
Good design is confident10
Good design listens7
Good design enables user control8
2 Good design does no harm

13. Problem
Solution
Mapping
A unifying framework for optimizing user experience
around a common set of goals, problems, and solution
hypotheses — researched and validated with data.
problems
goals
product roadmap
design
hypotheses experiments outcomes

14. Copyright © 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved.
why do we start
with objectives, goals and
problems?
You can’t solve a problem until you know what it
is and how it affects accomplishing your goals.
To focus our limited resources on the biggest,
real problems affection our goals.
Business doesn’t improve by simply completing
projects. Business improves by solving actual
problems .

15. 15
first...a quick example.
that usually helps
PSM Primer + Workshop | The Experiment 2018

16. 1
6
PSM Primer + Workshop | The Experiment 2018
goals problems hypotheses experiments outcomes
Problem
I drink too much coffee in the
morning which causes me to
crash by mid-afternoon.
Goal
I want to avoid my mid-day
caffeine crash.
Hypothesis
By doubling down with more
coffee switching to decaf
coffee I’ll avoid the afternoon
crash and have more energy.
Goal
I want to have more
sustained energy throughout
my day.
Within 4 weeks
- reduce coffees by 2 per day
- no weekend naps needed
Root
Problem
Since I moved, I’m no longer
exercising after work.
Which is negatively
impacting my sleep
schedule.
Hypothesis
If I join the nearby YMCA +
start going after work...I’ll go
to bed sooner.
And feel more energetic
throughout the day.
A typical approach to problem solving...

17. 1
7
Finding the root cause: I drink too much coffee in the morning
and often crash by mid-day.
PSM Primer + Workshop | The Experiment 2018
goals problems hypotheses experiments outcomes
I drink too much
coffee because I don’t
feel rested when it's
time to wake up in the
morning. #toddler
why did this happen?
root cause?
NO
root cause? root cause? root cause?
why did this happen?
I don’t feel rested
because I stay up late
binge-watching
#youtube.
NO
why did this happen?
I binge-watch youtube
because I have
trouble falling asleep
before midnight.
NO
why did this happen?
I have trouble falling
asleep since I
stopped exercising
after work. #stress
#busy-mind
root cause?
NO
why did this happen?
YES
I stopped exercising
after work because I
moved too far away
from the gym I liked.
YES

18. 1
8
PSM Primer + Workshop | The Experiment 2018
goals problems hypotheses experiments outcomes
Root
Problem
Since I moved, I’m no longer
exercising after work.
Which is negatively
impacting my sleep
schedule.
Hypothesis
If I join the nearby YMCA +
start going after work...I’ll go
to bed sooner.
And feel more energetic
throughout the day.
A problem well put is half solved.

19. Vitamix
The Blender Recommender

21. ProblemGoal Hypothesis
Problem
Our Product filters and facets
are not well designed.
Goal
Make it easier for our
customers to shop online.
Hypothesis
We should redesign our
Product filters and facets.
Goal
Increase new customer order
conversion by 20% in the next
twelve months.
Problem
Our new customers require
more guidance than our filters
and facets for selecting the
right blender for them.
Hypothesis
I believe we should design a
guided recommendation flow
based on factors like price,
size, color and recipe to make
it easier for new customers to
match a blender to their needs.

23. +5%
lift in product detail page views
+5%
lift in add-to-carts
+13%
lift in “Find a Retailer” usage
+3.5%
lift in overall site order conversion
rates for all site visitors
+47%
lift in order conversion rates for
Blender Recommender users
against those who demonstrated
household shopping intent

24. Conversion
Optimization is a
constrained
concept.
Experience Optimization creates
value by solving Problems MOST
Worth Solving.
Design and
Experimentation
are not
assimilated in
organization or
process.
Evidence-based design unifies
both in thinking and practice..
Leverage data as
needed not just as
available
Experience Optimization creates
value by solving Problems MOST
Worth Solving.
Find the balance
between serving
the business & the
individual
Experience Design is the beach
for relevance and conversation.
Start with
experiences that
are rooted in real,
validated
problems
Evidence-based design unifies
both in thinking and practice.

25. Don’t start here Start here
Buy new tech
//
Build a data layer or lake
//
Golden view of a customer
//
Segmentation or Clustering
//
Dynamic 1:1 experiences
The experience
//
The relevancy problem
//
The user’s control
//
The conversation
//
The logic

26. For more of this
accenture.com/handbook