UX/product case study of a new feature illuminating how I work as an individual contributor

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Case Study: New Feature
Risk Register | Increasing Business Capability
Skye Sant | Lead Product Design

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New Feature: Risk Register
Individual Contributor + Informal Leader
Skye Sant

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‣At least as functional and visually pleasing as
competitors (+’modern’)
‣Accommodates workflow
‣Coherent with existing UI
Risk Register
Create a Risk module featuring a Risk Register* (paid add-on to current offering) that’s
‘modern & usable’ while being coherent with existing UI
‣ DISCOVER
‣ SME interviews +
Competitive Review
‣ DESIGN
‣ Visual + Interaction
Design
‣ Interactive Prototype
‣ Completing the Mockup
‣ Working with PO & Dev
‣ In Production
‣ EVALUATE
‣ Validate
‣ Extend + Iterate
+ COMMUNICATION & CHANGE
MANAGEMENT
PROCESS
Purpose
GOALS
* Risk Register: a tool for documenting risks (potential issues that can derail intended outcomes) and actions to manage each risk.
OVERVIEW
Legacy: Risk spreadsheets

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Sole Individual Contributor (IC)
Collaborating IC
Contribution by Others
Full autonomy & responsibility
Shared work & responsibility
Information or work provided by others
[Role] Leader
‣ Leader
Informal Influencer
Formal management responsibilities
Shared vision/strategy & guidance
Support, persuasion & Influence
CONTRIBUTION:
LEADERSHIP:
‣ User Research
‣ Visual/Interaction Design
‣ User Testing
‣ Project management/ organization
‣ Vision + Strategy
‣ Communication + Presentation
‣ PM + SMEs: background info (research)
‣ PO + devs: User Stories + Technical Discussions
OVERVIEW
A remote friendly company
I was located in the Denver global
headquarters
Risk Register

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SME (subject matter expert) Interviews + Competitive Review
Risk Register
Create a Risk Register that’s ‘modern & usable’ while being coherent with existing UI
‣ Workflow
‣ Personas + journey maps
‣ Minimum content and
functionality
‣ Relative importance of
components (priorities)
FINDINGS
Key insight: Risk - Control = Residual Risk
SME notes + sketches
Risk Register
Competitor attempts at visual interest
Goal: At least as functional as our competitors + modern (=incorporate best practices)
Interviews + content audits->
Workflow
Not pictured:
Personas
User Journey maps
Vision/ strategy decks
Meetings with Execs
DISCOVER

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Visual + Interaction Design
Risk Register
‣ Use master-detail pattern:
table + sidepanel
‣ Include ‘dashboard’
functionality on the sidepanel
DECISIONS
Create a Risk Register that’s ‘modern & usable’ while being coherent with existing UI
Goal: Coherent with existing UI + usable
Research + hallway tests ->
Table-dashboard | vertical tabs | horizontal tabs | expand/collapse panels
Parallel panels
A table is well suited to
list | filter | sort
functionality
Existing UI (table + sidepanel)
Not pictured:
Feedback from research
participants via Adobe XD
interactive prototype online
User stories
DESIGN

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Interactive Prototype
Risk Register
Create a Risk Register that’s ‘modern & usable’ while being coherent with existing UI
‣ Extendable sidepanel
‣ Prioritized functionality over
ecosystem visibility
‣ Bonus: accessable color
palette
DECISIONS
Technical opportunities + ‘Wizard of Oz’ user tests ->
Goal: Visually pleasing + modern (= white space + movement)
Not pictured:
Change management efforts
with Sales/Marketing, to bring
them up to speed
Plan for user testing
DESIGN
Sidepanel

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Completing the Mockups (1/2)
Risk Register DESIGN
Risk Register v26 2
1
Complete the sidepanel
tabs
Complete the actions
+ workflow CTA on the
sidepanel header
Complete the
actions +
workflow CTA
(when a table
item is
selected)
Complete the main
CTA + more actions +
column selector on the
table header
(unselected)

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Risk Register DESIGN
Sidepanel
2
1
Completing the Mockups (2/2)
Risk Register v26
Sidepanel: Details tab Sidepanel: Risk tab
A
A
B
B
C
D
C
D

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Working with PO + Devs (1/3): From UX
Risk Register DESIGN
Notes re: state changes
1 2 3
Adaptive/responsive dashboard design
Color palette (colorblind safe)

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Working with PO + Devs (2/3): Working with teams
Risk Register DESIGN
User Stories Process: story/feature creation
Good communication means keeping track of dev teams, roles,
and time zones
1 2 3
UX Acceptance Criteria (on each user story) to assist QA

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Working with PO + Devs (3/3): Organizational efficiency
Risk Register DESIGN
Sidepanel
UX Standards (in TargetProcess)
UX Dept kanban
(in TargetProcess)
UX Dept cadence (2 week sprints)
2 3
1

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MVP in Production
Risk Register
Create a Risk Register that’s ‘modern & usable’ while being coherent with existing UI

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Quantitative + qualitative measurements:
Qualitative:
At least as functional and
visually pleasing as
competitors
Qualitative: Most SMEs +
beta users rate as ‘cool’*
“Cool!” 88%
Quantitative:
Accommodates workflow +
coherent with existing UI
Quantitative: users can
accomplish top 3 tasks in 2
minutes or less**
* 5/6 SMEs + 4/6 Beta users said ‘This is cool!’ (or ‘clean’ or ‘neat’ or ‘slick’) when asked “So what do you think of this?’
** 88% Tasks done in <2 minutes (14/16)
Validate
Risk Register EVALUATE
Create a Risk Register that’s ‘modern & usable’ while being coherent with existing UI

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Validate
Risk Register
Create a Risk Register that’s ‘modern & usable’ while being coherent with existing UI
Goals:
OUTCOMES
Usability testing + survey ->
Designed, developed and in production; new functionality released in 4 months
This is a video of a user clicking through to a risk, changing settings, and adding a control in 30 seconds
EVALUATE
At least as functional and
visually pleasing as
competitors
Accommodates workflow
Coherent with existing UI

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Extend + Iterate
Risk Register
Create a Risk Register that’s ‘modern & usable’ while being coherent with existing UI
‣ More dashboard widgets
‣ More Settings pages
‣ Ecosystem visibility: pages for
component parts added
(controls, vulnerabilities)
‣ Connect Risks etc (clone,
relationships)
EXTEND
Workflow
Risk Settings Page: Scale tab
Risk dashboard
Existing platform + Risk Register ->
Not pictured:
Updates to Pattern Library
UX Standards
EVALUATE

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New Feature: Risk Register
Individual Contributor + Informal Leader
Q&A

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Thank you
Work with people
doing their best work,
striving toward the
user-centered goal of
creating meaningful
and useful products
for customers and
colleagues
THE DREAM:

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Q & A
Website: www.SkyeSant.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/skyesant/
Twitter: twitter.com/Skye_sant

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Appendix

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Appendix
Creating Digital Tools
UX Design (processes and questions answered)
UX Sprint Schedule
Teaching and Speaking
Table of Contents

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Creating Digital Tools
Discover
Design & Build
Evaluate
+ Extend & Iterate
Communication
Change Management
+
‣ ROLE: A trusted user-centered design lead who evangelizes and applies UX best
practices to the 3 core aspects of product design (system design, process design,
and interface design) in order to make usable, enjoyable digital products

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UX Design Process

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UX Sprint Schedule
START 2 wk dev sprint
UX processes for each sprint
n+2 ahead (2-6 weeks
ahead)
Initial comps due to the PO/
PM for sprint n+2 ahead (4
weeks ahead)
Grooming +
Story Time
Planning 2 WEEK SPRINT Demo + Retro
Assist PM/ business with
research activities n+4 sprints
ahead (6+ weeks ahead)

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Teaching and Speaking
DigitalSummit (guide, speaker) Denver UX Bookclub
Design Leaders meetup
Speaking: Creative Mornings (NYC)
Speaking: UX Meetup (Boulder) Speaking: SheSays (women’s leadership meetup)

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