The document outlines the experiences and lessons learned from a UX lead specializing in game and software startups, emphasizing trade-offs and constraints in product development. It highlights a case study that illustrates the shift from planned outcomes to actual results, alongside recommendations for improving UX processes through lean methodologies. Key takeaways include the importance of early defining processes, the critical role of project management, and the necessity of investing in UX research and user testing.

1. Startup UXA story of tradeoffs and constraints

2. Random facts
+ can milk a cow by hand
+ made a pencil into a cartoon
totem pole (in calculus class)
+ can play the drums…but can’t
dance

3. Non-random facts
• 3+ years UX lead for
game & software startups
• 6+ years leading brand &
interaction design for Disney
• 1 product rebrand
• 3 console games
• 6 languages
• 40 million+ users
• > 1 million DAUs
➡

4. Today’s talk on UX
Through the lens of a startup, focusing on
tradeoffs and constraints:
+ introductory concepts
+ case study: what ‘should’ have
happened vs. what actually happened
+ some recommendations & learnings

5. Introductory
Concepts

6. MVPa product proven to solve a real problem
better than alternatives & better than expected

7. $
business
💻
software
👥
userexperience
profitableusers
how tech business works

8. business
💻
software
👥
userexperience
$
profitableusers
how tech businesses fail

9. 🚀
t
CONSTRAINTS
create tradeoffs
⏲
✓
$

10. everything is possible;
not everything is
in scope

11. Tradeoffs produce:
+ technical debt
+ design debt
+ increased risk to the business
+ a faster path to learning

14. How do you
figure this out? ➡

15. Lean UX
(at its simplest)
make
something
learn
something
…as quickly and cheaply as possible

16. 📋 👤 ✎ 🔎
Research Personas Experience
Mapping
Information
Architecture
Wireframe
Prototype
+Test
Mockup
+Test
Build Examine
+ Retest
User Experience Design Process
tools and processes move toward increasing fidelity
Abstract Concrete

17. Case
Study

18. February 2014 December 2015
21 Months / 2 major web versions / 1 ios app
…and countless cut corners

19. real world
(getting out of the hypothetical)
🌐␡

20. 1. research
📋
👤 ✎ 🔎📋

21. + recruited through
friends &
acquaintances
+ 4 phone interviews
+ 1 group interview
recorded on video
+ 1 contextual inquiry
session for one type
of user

22. 2. personas
👥
📋 👤 ✎ 🔎

23. –Johnny Appleseed
“Type a quote here.”
+ 3 personas
+ lean UX method
(summary + sketch;
demographic info;
pains; solutions)
+ co-created with key
stakeholders

24. 3. experience mapping
✎ 🔎📋 👤

25. customer
happiness
1 0 -3 2 1 0 3 1 -1 0 0 -2 2 1
pre-
application
pre-
application
pre-
application
registration
& setup
registration
& setup
registration
& setup
registration
& setup
registration
& setup
registration
& setup
registration
& setup
season prep season prep season prep hockey
season
starts
customer
touchpoints
google search
for hockey
association
sports
association
web site
application
forms
success
confirmation
email
receive
DevOne invite
create
account &
success
message
browse
content in
available
sections
sign up for
coaching
wait for
Association
response
success
confirmation
email
buy
equipment
coach training prep first
practice
first practice
customer
touchpoints
after talking
with other
parents who
have their
kids in
hockey,
decides to
take plunge
and enroll
child
looks over
website to get
a sense of
what’s
happening
with the sport
locally.
Confused by
overwhelming
amount of
information
Fills out forms
to get child
enrolled.
Stressful due
to time
pressure and
limited space.
Practice
times, team
composition
and many
other details
are uncertain
Relief when
email arrives
confirming
successful
spot for child.
happy to get a
resource with
helpful info as
part of the
expensive
program.
Hopes it’s as
good as it’s
touted to be,
not time-
wasting,
confusing.
No one likes
filling out
forms. But
glad this is
short :)
browse
through
available
content. ‘Intro
to minor
hockey,’ is
especially
relevant, with
tips for getting
equipment,
what to
expect with
other adults
etc.
signing up
online is
obvious, but a
bit time
consuming
…takes
forever to
hear back.
relief mixes
with
apprehension;
glad to be
involved at an
extra level in
child’s life, but
nervous about
the added
responsibility
of coaching
Irritated about
going to store
to spend a lot
of money on
gear that will
be too small
in a matter of
months.
Nervous
about safety.
But excited to
see child all
decked out.
Classroom
session is 4h
of wasted
time; hate
sitting still and
listening.
Happy to find
the practice
all laid out
with diagrams
and
supporting
videos.
Glad to meet
all the parents
and kids.
Overall high
stress due to
noise, chaos
and new
environment.
Glad to
remember a
bunch of
helpful tips
discovered
while
browsing
Product/
Support
DevOne is
promoted on
the
association
website; well-
resourced org
is welcomed.
can we
somehow aid
the signup
process?
well-formatted
email with
direct links to
one or two
helpful
videos/
resources
utilize as
much
Association
data as
possible to
lower the
amount of
effort required
for parents
when viewing
‘my team’, it’s
immediately
apparent if/
who is the
coach. If there
is already a
coach
assigned, a
welcome
message to
parents is on
message
board.
online form
with
standardized
questions
useful to
associations.
Email from
association
indicates they
have been
added as a
coach.
Association
assigns coach
status in
system.
Automated
email
confirms this
and suggests
content.
comprehensiv
e guide in
system
covers all
major areas
of equipment
requirements
useful
information
available for
viewing
throughout
the season
System
focuses on
first practice
of season.
Suggested
and related
content is
‘getting
started’ and
other intro
topics
System has
content to
prep for such
things as ice
and locker
room
etiquette, how
to address
parents etc.
Tactical stuff
for practice
easily
accessible
-2.25
-1.5
-0.75
0
0.75
1.5
2.25
3
Category Axis
!
"
# # # #
☺️ ☺️☺️ ☺️ ☺️!
"&
+ focused on a single persona (potential coach)
+ mapped out a single scenario: coach signs up
for the first time
+ modelled after information originating from
contextual inquiry and internal sources

26. 4. information architecture
✎ 🔎👤📋

27. Product Intro Benefit statement product description
feel good mission/
done
skip
Home page
Footer
Coaches
Become a coach
request invite
(with value add info)
log in
create account
sell message
assessment of sports
knowledge/
application form
coaching resources
kids & group
dynamics
prepping for game
day
making parents
happy
Assessing player skill
levels
Dressing room
etiquette
inspiration for
coaches
Ask an Expert
this week’s practice nextprevious
year at a glance
drill 1, drill 2, drill 3
etc.
change password
Parents/families
administrator access
Initiation
invite users
import registrations
Novice - Evans
log in
Health & sports
lifestyle
Intro to Minor
Hockey
Sportsmanship & the
love of the game
Equipment Guide
Dressing Room
Etiquette
(global features)
Search
send feedback account/ log in
update info
Who’s who on the
team (parent roles)
sports nutrition
raising athletes
group dynamics and
other people’s kids
Injuries & first aid
print
drill videos
drill diagram
share
related content
(terms, related skills,
common errors, other
links)
try this at home: off-
ice activities
Your divisionrecommended videos
search results
Atom House
Novice - Lutz
etc.
search/browse
content
video content
blog/written content
PDF/download
content
functionality
required
submit a question
global nav
validated code/link
approve/assign to
division
coach login
admin
parents login
public
multiple viewers
Your division
Legend
view other division
view other division
kids
promo membership!
lock but viewable related content
watch code of conduct video
share content
videos: shared videos have
watermarks; possibly remove
watermarks for logged in users
Featured content
(videos)
Company info
Privacy
Terms
+ year 1: visualization of relationship structures
based on research; preliminary user flows,
implying features and tech architecture
+ year 2: re-architect (almost) the whole thing
based on new research
+ discussion of flows with developer, stakeholders
Association
team
team 2
kid 2
kid 3
team 3
Coach (1)
parent (2)
kid 1
Division
coach (3)
kid 4
Association Admin
kid 7
parental relationship
Division
coach (2)
kid 5
kid 6

28. 5. wireframe + test
✎
🔎📋 👤 ✎

29. + year 1: desktop only
+ year 2: start with mobile web (responsive), then
adapt key layouts to iOS and desktop web
+ intentionally crappy-looking
(“Just the facts ma’am”)
+ internal testing for usability & clarity

30. 6. mockup + test
🔎👤 ✎📋

31. + year 1: desktop only
+ year 2: start with mobile web (responsive), then
adapt key layouts to iOS and desktop web
+ as good-looking as possible without breaking
technical feasibility
+ internal testing for usability & clarity

32. 7. build
🔎👤 ✎📋

33. + year 1: desktop first, then responsive, with limited
feature set.
+ year 2: simultaneous development of responsive
web, API for iOS app
+ full of compromise throughout
+ lightweight QA and no user testing

34. 8. retest & new research
🔎
👤 ✎ 🔎📋

35. we did a survey

36. international reach / impressive retention /
backing of major corporations + NHL alumni
etc.

37. Recommendations
& Learnings

38. Some things learned:
+ define processes early
+ talent ratio is critical to
product quality
+ getting a good project
manager is a smart
move for any company
+ have a well-thought-out
design workflow
+ UX strategy is massive,
even for a startup
+ invest more than you
think you should into
UX research
+ budget for user testing
at the beginning
+ UI copy matters. A lot.

39. Allocation of Design Resources
interviews + research
personas + mapping
diagramming
wireframing
test wireframe prototype
high fidelity mockups
high fidelity prototype test
test builds with users
0 200 400 600 800
year 1 year 2

40. 0 125 250 375 500
idealinterviews + research
personas + mapping
diagramming
wireframing
test wireframe prototype
high fidelity mockups
high fidelity prototype test
test builds with users
0 125 250 375 500
year 1 year 2
Allocation of Design Resources

41. do this
📋 👤 ✎ 🔎
Research Personas Experience
Mapping
Information
Architecture
Wireframe
Prototype
+Test
Mockup
+Test
Build Examine
+ Retest
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
when you have to be ‘lean’ with design,

42. …or this
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
📋 👤 ✎ 🔎
Research Personas Experience
Mapping
Information
Architecture
Wireframe
Prototype
+Test
Mockup
+Test
Build Examine
+ Retest

43. …or even this
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
📋 👤 ✎ 🔎
Research Personas Experience
Mapping
Information
Architecture
Wireframe
Prototype
+Test
Mockup
+Test
Build Examine
+ Retest

44. …but not this.
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
📋 👤 ✎ 🔎
Research Personas Experience
Mapping
Information
Architecture
Wireframe
Prototype
+Test
Mockup
+Test
Build Examine
+ Retest

45. If you skip UX
processes, you
won’t figure this
out soon enough
➡

46. 📋 👤 ✎ 🔎
Research Personas Experience
Mapping
Information
Architecture
Wireframe
Prototype
+Test
Mockup
+Test
Build Examine
+ Retest
Abstract Concrete
tread lightly—but don’t
skip steps

47. credit: Dan Olsen (Lean Product Playbook)
emotional
design
usable
reliable
functional
emotional
design
usable
reliable
functional
not this
this
MVP

48. ~thanks for being awesome~
📋 👤 ✎ 🔎
@_schnee_