Mission-Driven Interaction Design

@CreativeNewman #ixd15
MISSION-DRIVEN
INTERACTION DESIGN
Daniel Newman
Deputy Creative Director

OUR AGENDA:
➡ DEFINING
➡ DESIGNING
➡ VERIFYING &  
REFINING

DEFINING 
“MISSION-DRIVEN”

@CreativeNewman #ixd15@CreativeNewman #ixd15
MYTH:
You need to work for a charity
to design for a mission.

TRUTH:
Designers have opportunities
to bring greater purpose to
organizations of all types.

“Facebook was not originally created
to be a company. It was built to
accomplish a social mission - to make
the world more open and connected.”
Mark Zuckerberg
@CreativeNewman #ixd15Photo by Maurizio Pesce on Flickr

MYTH:
A mission is just stodgy
corporate boilerplate.

TRUTH:
Your mission is the story that
you express in your designs.

“Stories serve to ground your work in
a real context. They… help you keep
people at the center of your work.”
Whitney Quesenbery & Kevin Brooks
Storytelling for User Experience

Your mission is the promises
that you make to your users.

“Don't be evil. We believe strongly that in
the long term, we will be better served…
by a company that does good things for
the world, even if we forgo some short
term gains.”
Larry Page & Sergey Brin
@CreativeNewman #ixd15Photo by Maurizio Pesce on Flickr

But wait…
ISN’T THIS JUST USER-
CENTERED DESIGN?

Mission-driven design is
intentional design
and is 
defined by constraint.

FOR THE DESIGNER:
Your mission provides guidance
on who, what, and how.

“The mission of NPR is to work in partnership
with Member Stations to create a more
informed public — one challenged and
invigorated by a deeper understanding and
appreciation of events, ideas and cultures…”
NPR Mission Statement

“…To accomplish our mission, we produce,
acquire, and distribute programming that meets
the highest standards of public service in
journalism and cultural expression; we represent
our members in matters of their mutual interest;
and we provide satellite interconnection for the
entire public radio system.”

FOR THE DESIGNER:
Your mission allows for greater
alignment.

FOR THE DESIGNER:
Your mission gives you
permission to think long-term.

FOR THE USERS:
Your mission gives your
community a rallying point.

FOR THE USERS:
Your mission connects strategy
to emotion.

“Airbnb started the project… by creating a
list of the emotional moments that comprise
an Airbnb stay. They built the most
important of those moments into stories…”
“How Snow White Helped Airbnb’s Mobile Mission”
Fast Company

@CreativeNewman #ixd15@CreativeNewman #ixd15@CreativeNewman #ixd15
“…The stories guide marketing,
advertising, and customer service
decisions at Airbnb as well as keep
everyone working on the same page.”

DESIGNING FOR
YOUR MISSION

A FEW EXAMPLES

“The mission of NPR is to work in partnership
with Member Stations to create a more
informed public — one challenged and
invigorated by a deeper understanding and
appreciation of events, ideas and cultures.”
NPR

one

“Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people
to list, discover, and book unique accommodations
around the world… Airbnb connects people to unique
travel experiences, at any price point, in more than
34,000 cities and 190 countries… Airbnb is the easiest
way for people to monetize their extra space and
showcase it to an audience of millions.”
AIRBNB

NIKE

“Evernote builds apps and products that are
defining the way individuals and teams work
today. As one workspace that lives across your
phone, tablet, and computer, Evernote is the place
you write free from distraction, collect
information, find what you need, and present your
ideas to the world.”
EVERNOTE

A FEW TECHNIQUES

@CreativeNewman #ixd15@CreativeNewman #ixd15Photo by Acid Pix on Flickr
AGILE

TEAM CHARTER
@CreativeNewman #ixd15Photo by hercwad on Flickr

As a team, negotiate:
Mission & Objectives.
Team Roles.
Definition of Authority.
Operations & Logistics.
More at mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_95.htm

ASSUMPTIONS
@CreativeNewman #ixd15Photo by Charles Roffey on Flickr

ITERATION & 
EXPERIMENTATION
@CreativeNewman #ixd15Photo by Steve Jurvetson on Flickr

PROTOTYPING

EMPATHETIC RESEARCH
@CreativeNewman #ixd15Photo by Eelco on Flickr

THE 5 WHYS
@CreativeNewman #ixd15Photo by Brian Lamb on Flickr

VERIFYING & REFINING
YOUR MISSION

TREAT THE MISSION
LIKE A DESIGN PROBLEM

@CreativeNewman #ixd15From danielikim.com/what-is-user-centered-design/

YOUR MISSION IS A
HYPOTHESIS

ENGAGEMENT
METRICS

“Beloved
is our business model.”
Sara Sarasohn, NPR

Time?
User sessions?
Interactions?
Conversion funnel?
Transaction value?

A KPI SHOULD BE
MISSION-INFORMED

BUILD ON YOUR MISSION
WITH DESIGN PRINCIPLES

“We believe in the people who do things – the hat jugglers, the to-do
list junkies, the masters of getting it done faster, better and more
efficiently than ever before. Whether that's balancing the household
budget, running a business or paying taxes…
As the world evolves, so do we – inventing new solutions to solve
important problems, perfecting those solutions and delighting our
customers. In short: Improving people's financial lives so profoundly
they can't imagine going back to the old way.”
INTUIT

INTUIT
More at harmony.intuit.com/design-principles/

“IBMers value:
Dedication to every client’s success
Innovation that matters – for our company and for
the world
Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships”
IBM

IBM
More at http://www.ibm.com/design/language/framework.shtml

KEY TAKEAWAY:
By identifying & understanding
our mission, we infuse our
designs with intentionality.

KEY TAKEAWAY:
An effective mission can be
easily built upon, and
permeates all design activities.

KEY TAKEAWAY:
Your mission is not
immutable—you reshape it
through the design process.

MISSION
ACCOMPLISHED

THANK YOU!
TAKE THE ONE-MINUTE SURVEY:
bit.ly/newman15
KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING:
@CreativeNewman
dnewman@npr.org

Mission-Driven Interaction Design

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