This document discusses three tools for stakeholder and user engagement: stakeholder mapping, user personas, and user discovery interviews. It describes stakeholder mapping as identifying stakeholders' names, influence, roles, and management levels. User personas involve creating representative users with names, demographics, motivations, and needs. User discovery interviews are presented as a way to systematically validate assumptions about users by conducting interviews without pitching and capturing insights. The document encourages basing tools like personas on real people and evidence rather than assumptions alone.

1. STAKEHOLDERS, USERS & DISCOVERY
Te Kōanga 2015
Sam Rye - Lifehack
@samrye_enspiral

2. Today we’re talking:
1. Who are our stakeholders, and how do we identify &
keep track of them all?
1. Who are our key users, and how do we get to know
them better?
1. What do we need to be aware of when we get out of
our ivory tower and speak to people?

3. Stakeholders

4. Stakeholders
Typically a project or business will rely on some key
people and groups of people to function.
No people, no project.

5. Stakeholders
However your time is scarce, and you have much to do
to get your project off the ground.
Who do you spend your time and energy on?
Why? And How?

6. Tool #1:
Stakeholder Mapping

7. Stakeholder Mapping
Essential Aspects:
● Name &/or Organisation
● Influence
● Role
Optional
● Management Level

8. Stakeholder Mapping

9. Stakeholder Mapping
Let’s do it!
10 mins

10. Stakeholder Mapping
● Name &/or
Organisation
● Influence
● Role
● Management Level:
○ Green = Manage
Closely
○ Orange = Keep
Satisfied
○ Yellow = Keep
Informed
○ Blue = Minimal

11. Stakeholder Mapping
Bonus Level Up!
Why not try an interactive mapping tool like MetaMaps or Kumu?

12. Users

13. Users
Build it and they will not come.
We live in a busy world, you need to know who your
users are, what motivates them, where they hang out,
and what they are trying to achieve.
No users, no project.

14. Tool #2:
User Personas

15. User Personas
Essential Aspects:
This is a specific person, not a “segment”. They are representative of
behaviour, motivations and how they may engage, not of their
demographics necessarily.
● Name & Visual Sketch / Photo
● Demographics
● Motivations
● Needs / Jobs
Can be used in all aspects of project decision making. Be User-centered.

16. User Personas
Let’s do it!
10 mins

17. User Personas
Demographics:
● Age
● Background
● Work
● Education
● Income
● Geography
● etc
Behaviour:
● What do they read?
● Where & how do they socialise?
● Do they use other competing/
complementary services?
● Are they aware of the problem
you’ve identified?
● If so, how acutely do they feel it?
Needs / Jobs:
● What do they want to feel?
● What are they trying to achieve?
● What really drives them?
● Are their needs interconnected
with other people?
Susie

18. User Personas
You have just built your persona on assumptions.
You may need multiple personas.
They’re better if you base them on real people.
Time for some cognitive dissonance!

19. User Personas
More details:
http://grasshopperherder.com/customer-personas-
for-customer-development/

20. Tool #3:
User and/or
Customer Discovery

21. Essential Aspects:
Everything is an assumption until you have evidence. Assumptions are
risky.
Your job is to systematically (in)validate what you think you know.
One of the best tools for this part of the process is customer discovery
interviews and observation.
User Discovery

22. User Discovery

23. User Discovery
Your mission for the week:
Write your script.
Interview 3 people.
Capture insights.
Don’t pitch :)

24. User Discovery
Recap:
1. What’s the hardest part about [problem context] ?
2. Can you tell me about the last time that happened?
3. Why was that hard?
4. What, if anything, have you done to solve that
problem?
5. What don’t you love about the solutions you’ve tried?

25. Welcome to rigorous innovation

26. Thanks!
twitter: @samrye_enspiral
don’t email me, but holler on twitter
if I can help
more resources: lifehackhq.co