User Experience Research: Deriving Insights for Customer Development

June 1, 2022
Project 2.8
Noreen Whysel
Decision Fish LLP and Internet Safety Labs
noreen@decisionﬁsh.com
User Experience Research
Deriving Insights for Customer Development

Agenda
➔ Customer Development - Lean Startup Model
➔ Customer Validation - Lean Startup and Traditional Models
➔ User Stories, Personas and Jobs To Be Done
➔ Measuring the Customer Experience

Designing Websites since 1997
...and Internet spaces since 1991
Current:
Internet Safety Labs, Dir. Validation Research
Decision Fish, Founder
Kantara Initiative, FIRE WG, UX Expert
Past:
IA Institute, Operations Manager 2005-2014
PWC, Website Operations Manager 1997-2002
Price Waterhouse, Research Assoc. 1991-1997
Teaching:
City Tech, Adjunct Lecturer, since Fall 2019
General Assembly, UXDI Instructor, Fall 2019
NYCDA, UX Instructor, Spring and Fall 2018
About Me

Customer Development Model
➔ Turning the Business Model Canvas Into Facts
Customer Dvelopment Model

Source: Steve Blank. Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win.
Elements of Lean Startup
Part 1: Business Model Canvas
Part 2: Customer Development
Part 3: Agile Development

The Scientiﬁc Method
Source: Wikimedia Commons. File: The Scientiﬁc Method.jpg

What have others done?
Start with the Problem
Now we can test it
The Scientiﬁc Method

The Lean Startup Method
Gather Data
Has anyone even done it?
What Problem?

Source: Lean Impact. Quick and Dirty: The Minimum Viable Product Campaign.
https://leanstartup.co/the-minimum-viable-product-campaign/

Source: Lean Impact. Quick and Dirty: The Minimum Viable Product Campaign.
https://leanstartup.co/the-minimum-viable-product-campaign/
So, where does
UX ﬁt?

User Experience
➔ UX Research and Insights can also help turn the Business Model Canvas Into Facts

Source: Garrett, J.J. Elements of User Experience. Web. http://www.jjg.net/elements/pdf/elements.pdf

Double Diamond
Source: British Design Council, 2005. https://www.usableyaccesible.com/recurso_glosario.php#double_diamond_design_process_model CC4.0

Define the Problem
● What problem are we trying to solve?
● Who are we solving the problem for?
● Who are the stakeholders?
● Who can help us define the problem?
Define the problem

Define the Problem
● What problem are we trying to solve?
● Who are we solving the problem for?
● Who are the stakeholders?
● Who can help us define the problem?
Define the problem
Make a Hypothesis
Just like in Lean you may not know what
the actual problem is until you research
and test it with your customers

Rather than jumping into straight into a design, ﬁrst we ask:
How Might We…?
● How: suggests we don’t have an answer yet
● Might: recognizes that there are many different solutions
● We: Suggests that the solution lies in collaboration
Source: Interaction Design Foundation. How Might We?
https://public-media.interaction-design.org/pdf/How-Might-We.pdf
The Hypothesis: How Might We?

Hypothesis (what we think the problem is):
Teenage girls need… to eat nutritious food…
in order to thrive and grow in a healthy way.
● How Might We make healthy eating appealing to young females?
● How Might We inspire teenage girls towards healthier eating options?
● How Might We make healthy eating something, which teenage girls aspire
towards?
● How Might We make nutritious food more affordable?
Source: Interaction Design Foundation. How Might We?
https://public-media.interaction-design.org/pdf/How-Might-We.pdf
The Hypothesis: How Might We?

Why Do UX Research
To better understand
● Needs
● Desires
● Goals
● Expectations
● Motivations
● Behaviors
Of both Users and Stakeholders

● Research is needed to establish facts, reach new conclusions
● It will help you understand your target audience and their needs
● Which will help you identify the requirements of the product/project
● UX Research requires Observed User Behavior
○ UX designer must know how to Listen and Observe
○ Observation gives you insight into what a user is saying and doing
What UX Research Does

Feasibility
Can we do it?
Viability
Can we aﬀord it?
Usability
If we build it will they come?
Business Model Canvas

Feasibility Usability
Viability

Usability

Customer Validation
➔ Start with your Value Proposition
➔ How does your understanding of customer needs and desires mesh with
the Value Proposition?
➔ What questions can you ask potential customers to validate your
market?
◆ How are they Solving the Problem
◆ What are their Pain Points
➔ Get Out of the Building and Ask

Empathy Map Canvas
➔ Who are we empathizing with?
➔ What do they need to Do?
➔ What do they See?
➔ What do they Say?
➔ What do they Do?
➔ What do they Hear?
➔ What do they Think and Feel?
Download the Empathy Map at https://gamestorming.com/empathy-map/

https://medium.com/the-xplane-collection/updated-empathy-map-canvas-46df22df3c8a?source=linkShare-66afc6058381-1507754514

Empathy Map Exercise
● Each group uses Post-It notes to “Brain Dump” for every section of the Empathy
Map canvas (we will use Miro)
● Each group refine and fill out a single canvas
○ Think about your customers’ Goals
● Rapid fire group share
○ Company Rep
■ Share questions you plan to ask, openers, etc.
■ Where do you plan to look for people to talk to?
Miro Board:
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVOwa6DLM=/?share_link_id=273490649772

What Can You Learn From Your Interviews?
● Things the User Said
○ Vocabulary: How they talk about it
○ Sentiment: Words that signal frustration, joy
● Observed User Behavior
○ Nonverbal cues
■ Body language
■ Facial expression
■ Exclamations, grunts, sighs
This information paints a picture of who the user is and what they need to do.

Analyze the Data
➔ Map it: Arrange data into physical/digital format that allows for easy
scanning, moving, grouping at the elemental level
◆ Index cards or post-it notes
◆ Afﬁnity/cluster mapping, empathy mapping
➔ Establish common themes
◆ Observed and stated needs
◆ Pain points
➔ Derive insights/meaning

Themes and Obstacles: What to Look For
Common Themes: Are there thoughts, ideas or comments that keep coming up?
Pain Points: What is behind your users’ deepest frustrations? What will
motivate them to look for a solution?
Obstacles: What keeps people from ﬁnding a solution that works for them?
Cost? Access? Language?
Quotes: Was there something one of your participants said that ties their
concerns together? These help focus your team on helping real people.
“I wouldn’t be able to live without my cell phone.”
“Why can’t I just ﬁll out a form and be done?”

Insights
➔ Now that you have done the research, has anything changed?
➔ Look at your Empathy Map assumptions and note what you learned?
What insights did you gather?
➔ How should your Business Model Canvas change?
◆ Revise your Problem Statement
◆ Revise your Value Proposition
◆ Revise your Customer Segments
◆ Revise your Channels
◆ Look for new Partners and a Resources to serve this new customer
vision

Draw a Clear Picture
➔ Personas/Jobs to Be Done
➔ User scenarios and User Stories
➔ Customer Journey Map
When we know who our users are, what they are trying to do and what
they tried and failed to do before, we can address these pain points and
deliver a positive user experience.

What is a Persona?
A persona is a detailed picture of a type of product user.
It is not an average.
It represents a real person as best as your team can. Give them a name!
It allows your team to focus on a real person’s goals and pain points and
keeps the users needs in mind at all times.
You probably need more than one persona, especially for products with two
sided markets or multiple user scenarios (Microsoft Word).

Anatomy of a Persona
Name
Photo
Goals
Frustrations
Relevant skills and experience
Other contextual info
Demographic information
Quote

Personas Will Help You...
Understand the user’s needs, desires, expectations, motivations, behavior,
etc.
● Focus your design on the user, not you.
○ Your ideas, expectations, hypotheses are validated through
research
○ The persona is the outcome of this validation.
● Prioritize your decisions
● Eliminate unnecessary features
● Empathize: the user becomes concrete rather than abstract

Personas Are a Communication Tool
● Help others understand the user’s needs, desires, expectations,
motivations, behavior, etc.
○ Stakeholders
○ Developers
○ Marketers
○ Funders
● Moves teams from generalizations to speciﬁcs
● Helps prioritize design decisions
“Personas that don’t help make decisions are a waste.” —Jared Spool

A Persona is a Process
● A Process, not a Person
● Used as a document while designing
● Can evolve as you learn more about your target users
● Will inform your user scenarios and customer journey

Jobs To Be Done
JTBD is task-based. It focuses on what the user needs to do rather than on
who they are. It is a good method for exploring a new problem or feature.
When I ________________, (situation)
I want to ________________, (motivation)
So I can ________________. (expected outcome)

Jobs To Be Done - Car Sharing Service
When I go out on the weekend,
(situation)
I want to impress my friends,
(motivation)
So I can look like I made it.
(expected outcome)
UBER X UBER Black

(situation)
(motivation)
(expected outcome)
UBER X UBER Black
is a nicer car
When I go to Coney Island,
(situation)
I want save money on travel,
(motivation)
So I can spend more at Luna Park.
(expected outcome)
UBER X Take the Train

(situation)
(motivation)
(expected outcome)
UBER X UBER Black
(nicer car)
When I go to Coney Island,
(situation)
I want save money on travel,
(motivation)
So I can spend more at Luna Park.
(expected outcome)
UBER X Take the Train
(cheaper)

Personas vs JTBD
Personas
PROS:
● Looks and feels like a real person.
● Keeps real, human needs in mind.
● Can change to reflect new research.
CONS:
● Not all designs require a specific “type”
of person.
● May not reflect the changing needs of a
user as they use your product.
Jobs To Be Done
PROS:
● Recognizes that people have different
needs depending on their situation.
● Focuses on motivation. Why do they need
your product?
CONS:
● The user is reduced to a role, so they may
not seem seem real or empathetic.
● Task-based roles may not reflect the full
experience with your app.

User Scenarios/User Stories
Maria wanted to connect with her friend Alice who she heard wasn’t feeling
well and had to leave school for the day.
She tried texting, but Alice didn’t answer.
Since they are friends on Facebook and she knew her mom was also on
Facebook, she sent her mom a Friend request. When her mom accepted, she
sent her a message asking about Alice.
Her mom wrote back that she is at the hospital on an IV but alert and kind of
bored. She messaged Maria the address and visiting hours.

User Stories Provide Context
Source: Dona Lichaw, Storymapping Toolkit https://www.donnalichaw.com/toolkit

Hero’s Journey
1. Exposition: The Current State of Things. What does your customer want?
2. Inciting Problem: The Pain Points. What is is about making decisions that
is difficult or annoying?
3. Rising Action: The Search: How does the customer find your product?
4. Crisis: The Competition. What else is out there and why isn’t is sufficient?
5. Climax: The Value. What does your product do that other products don’t?
6. Resolution: The Takeaway. What does the customer think, feel or envision
after discovering your product?
7. End: The Goal. What can the customer do now that they couldn’t do
before?

User Stories - Concept Story
● Big picture
● Product positioning
What does your product
mean to your customer?

User Stories - Origin/Onboarding Story
● Product discovery
● First Use
How do your customers ﬁnd your
product?
What is their ﬁrst experience with
your product like?

User Stories - Usage Story
● Product features
● Problems solved
● Delight
What makes them come back and
keep using it?

Exercise: Building the User Story
I have been entering my purchases into Mint for a few years now and have a
pretty good feeling for my current assets and monthly budget. But I’m not
sure I am on track to retire comfortably. I searched the App Store. Mint has
tools for future planning but they fall short on understanding my values. I
saw an ad for a new product called Decision Fish. It seems to help people
create that vision for a happy future, based on what I value most. I am going
to try out Decision Fish and see it it works for me.
What is the Exposition?

I have been entering my purchases into Mint for a few years now and have
a pretty good feeling for my current assets and monthly budget. But I’m
not sure I am on track to retire comfortably. I searched the App Store. Mint
has tools for future planning but they fall short on understanding my values.
I saw an ad for a new product called Decision Fish. It seems to help people
Exposition

tools for future planning but they fall short on understanding my values I
What is the Inciting Action?

sure I am on track to retire comfortably. I searched the App Store. Mint
has tools for future planning but they fall short on understanding my values.
I saw an ad for a new product called Decision Fish. It seems to help people
Inciting Action

What is the Rising Action?

Rising Action

What is the Crisis?

to tryout Decision Fish and see it it works for me.
Crisis

What is the Climax?

create that vision for a happy future, based on what I value most. I am
going to try out Decision Fish and see it it works for me.
Climax

What is the Resolution?

to try it out and see it it works for me.
Resolution

Class Exercise: Building the User Story
What happens at The End?

THE END

What is a Customer Journey Map?
A Customer Journey Map (aka User Journey Mapping) is a visual representation that
shows an experience your customers have with your product/service.
It tells the story of a customer's experience with your brand from initial engagement
into a long-term relationship (e.g. brand awareness to purchasing to receiving
post-sale service) and is based on research with current and/or prospective users.
Journey mapping can also help visualize how customers experience a speciﬁc feature
of your product or service, and how they feel along the way.
Source: Visual Paradigm
https://www.visual-paradigm.com/solution/customer-experience/customer-journey-
mapping/

User Journeys
A User Journey outlines the
problem or need, emotion and
touchpoints as a user
completes a task.
UX101: Complete Guide to Building Data-Driven User Journeys. Web. https://www.uxbooth.com/articles/ux101-data-driven-user-journeys/

Customer Journey Map
Scope: One Persona and One Goal or Task
1. Set the Stage: Review the Persona
2. Build the Customer Back-Story:
a. Why does your customer need your product
b. How do they hear about it?
3. Map what the customer Thinks and Feels: use your Empathy Map
4. Map the Pain Points: Where does the user hit a roadblock or feel frustrated?
5. Chart a Sentiment Line: at each point is the customer happy, sad, indifferent?
6. Add Touchpoints (addition to Atlassian journey mapping play)
7. Analyze the Big Picture: What can you learn from your customer journey?
Source: Atlassian Playbook https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/plays/customer-journey-mapping

Journey Map: Review the Persona
Source: NYU Libraries

Journey Map: Build the Back Story
Source: NYU Libraries
I’m having trouble
keeping track of
my resources.
My books are so
heavy. Can’t the
library have extra
copies?
I could use help
figuring out how
to keep my
devices charged

Journey Map: Map the Feelings
All these
disconnected
sources. I’m so
CONFUSED!
Carrying heavy
books in a backpack
on a bike make me
so TIRED. Will I be
able to stay awake
to study?
It makes me
ANGRY. Is it so hard
to have these basic
things available?
I HOPE I can find
the resources I
need.

But she is
determined to find
help and get her
research done
She can’t find
basic things she
needs to study and
is feeling angry
Jessie is tired from
riding to school
with heavy books
Journey Map: Map the Pain Points
Activity Biking to Library
Beginning to
Research
Can’t find an outlet
Uses iPad app to
book a private
room
The room has
everything she
needs
Jessie can relax
now and feels more
confident because
she has everything
she needs.
Jessie uses your
tool to find a room
with outlets and a
computer with a
research guide for
all her disciplines.

But she is
determined to find
help and get her
research done
She can’t find
basic things she
needs to study and
is feeling angry
riding to school
with heavy books
Jessie can relax
now and feels more
confident because
she has everything
she needs.
Jessie uses your
tool to find a room
with outlets and a
computer with a
research guide for
Journey Map: Analyze your Map
Feeling Tired Determined Frustrated Hopeful Satisfied
Beginning to
Research
Uses iPad app to
book a private
room
The room has
everything she
needs

But she is
determined to find
help and get her
research done
She can’t find basic
things she needs to
study and is feeling
angry
riding to school with
heavy books
Jessie can relax
now and feels more
confident because
she has everything
she needs.
Jessie uses your
tool to find a room
with outlets and a
computer with a
research guide for
Feeling
Touchpoints
Feeling Tired Determined Frustrated Hopeful Satisfied
Beginning to
Research
Uses iPad app to
book a private room
The room has
everything she needs
Jessie is a P/T
graduate student
who commutes to
school on her bike.

Analyze the Opportunities
● Where are the areas of greatest confusion/frustration?
● Where is the journey falling short of expectations?
● Are there any new un-met needs that have come up for the user type?
● Are there areas in the process being needlessly complicated or
duplicated? Are there lots of emails being sent that aren’t actually
useful?
● Then, discuss areas of opportunity to improve the experience.
● Finally, prototype and test features and functions that improve the user
experience.

UX Research Methods
Behavioral: What they do
Attitudinal: What they think
Quantitative: Objective, measurable
Qualitative: Subjective, narrative
Source: NNGroup, When to Use
Which UX Research Methods
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/w
hich-ux-research-methods/

Reﬂection: What Did You Learn?
➔ How do these activities support your business?
➔ What opportunities do you see?
➔ What challenges do you see?
➔ How would you plan for the challenges?
➔ What actionable steps can you take?
Evaluate your new Customer Insights:

Steve Blank. The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0989200507
Dave Gray. Empathy Map Canvas.
https://medium.com/the-xplane-collection/updated-empathy-map-canvas-46df22df3c8
a; https://www.gamestorming.com/empathy-map
Atlassian Playbook
https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/plays/customer-journey-mapping
The Nielsen-Norman Group. https://www.nngroup.com
Interactive Design Foundation. https://www.interactivedesign.org
Keep Learning!

Thank You!
Noreen Whysel
noreen@decisionﬁsh.com
@nwhysel on Twitter
linkedin.com/in/nwhysel

User Experience Research: Deriving Insights for Customer Development

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to User Experience Research: Deriving Insights for Customer Development

Similar to User Experience Research: Deriving Insights for Customer Development (20)

More from Noreen Whysel

More from Noreen Whysel (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

User Experience Research: Deriving Insights for Customer Development