UXPA 2023: Making UX a Business Outcome: A Framework

Making UX Design a
Business Outcome:
A Framework
Wesley “Chewy” Chiu
Product Manager, VMware Tanzu Labs
20 June 2023

2
Disclaimer
- I’m not a UX professional myself
- I work with them every day
- I cannot succeed or live without them
- I’m a staunch advocate for the UX discipline

4
Formerly
VMWare Tanzu Labs
Your personal trainer to catalyze
your digital transformation
through software

5
Before we get started…
Goals
+ Share my experiences & lessons learned advocating for the design practice in my past
organizations
+ Leave you better equipped to advocate for UX design as a business non-negotiable in
your organization
Assumptions
● You already believe that Good Design is Good Business
Anti-Goals
- Give you a one-size-ﬁts-all, cheat code simple magical solution

6
A Successful Team is a Balanced Team
Engineering
Can we build this?
Design
Does this solve a real
problem for users
Product
Product
Management
Will this help the
business?
Search “Balanced Team Janice Fraser” on YouTube to learn more

7
Customer
Research
Marketing
Security
Legal
Support
Center
Content
Writer
Quality
Assurance
Risk
Operations
Governance
/ Security
Architecture
Delivery
Manager
Engineering
Can we build this?
Design
problem for users
Product
Product
Management
Will this help the
business?
Your team composition may vary

8
Design
problem for users
Product
Product
Management
Will this help the
business?
Can we build this?
Engineering

9
Engineering
Can we build this?
Product
Product
Management
Will this help the
business?
Design
problem for users

10
Engineering
Can we build this?
Design
problem for users
Product
Product
Management
Will this help the
business?

11
Engineering
Can we build this?
Design
problem for users 👻
Product
Management
Will this help the
business?

12
Engineering
Can we build this?
Design
problem for users 👻
Product
Management
Will this help the
business?

13
Engineering
Can we build this?
Design
problem for users
Product
Product
Management
Will this help the
business?

14
1T USD spent each year globally
on software development.

15
150B USD lost because of abandoned projects.

16
A Trillion Dollar Problem
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/11/03/the-top-reasons-startups-fail-infographic/?sh=772f5bf94b0d

17
Initiatives

18
Initiatives

19
Initiatives

20
Initiatives

21
Initiatives

22
A balanced team
practicing good Product
Design could have
avoided these pitfalls!
Initiatives

23
“Design-Driven businesses
have outperformed the S&P
by a whopping 228% over the
past 10 years. The bottom
line, good design = good
business”
– Joanna Ngai, Interaction
Designer at Google
Source: https://uxdesign.cc/three-lessons-for-design-driven-success-df5cd1486ad6

24
If you are happy with a product,
system, or service, you complete
transactions, recommend it to your
friends, and keep coming back.
If you value and enjoy an
experience, you want to do it again.
ROI of Product Design

25

26

27

28

29

30

31
Then why does this still happen?

32
I can choose what color
the button should be
myself.
The Reasons Vary…
We got the requirements we
needed already. Is there really a
need for further research?
Our product is simple
enough.
We gotta build fast, we
need more Engineers first!
Our product doesn’t
interact with humans
Our product isn’t
consumer-facing
We’ll just get something
out there quickly, then we’ll
focus on the nice-to-haves
We have a limited budget
and runway to get off the
ground!
I was a user, so I already
know how the solution
should look
We know the market fit
already
This person wants this
feature now, so we’re
building it

33
Development
Can we build this?
Design
problem for users
Product
Product
Management
Will this help the
business?
So how do we get to this?

34
Think Outcomes, not Outputs

35
An “Output” is a thing the team does.
An “Outcome” is a change in human
behavior that drives business results.

36
An “Output” is a thing the team does.
An “Outcome” is a change in human
behavior that drives business results.

37
Product Design Outputs
- Usability Tests
- Prototypes
- User Interviews
- On-Site Visits
- Cross-discipline participation in activities
- Designs being made
- Design critiques

38
“No matter what
[they] say
the problem is,
it is always a
people problem.”
– Kent Beck
Product Design Outputs
- Usability Tests
- Prototypes
- User Interviews
- On-Site Visits
- Cross-discipline participation in activities
- Designs being made
- Design critiques

39
Not like this…
“I must get them to do XYZ
things…”
Outcomes, not Outputs

40
Not like this…
things…”
Output Mindset

41
Not like this…
things…”
Output Mindset

42
Not like this…
things…”
Like this!
“I must get them to consciously
and intentionally care about
Product Design…”
Output Mindset

43
Not like this…
things…”
Like this!
Output Mindset
Outcome Mindset

44
Not like this…
things…”
Like this!
Output Mindset
Outcome Mindset

45
Getting UX Design buy-in
is an outcome…
…not an output

46
To get to your Point B, you must
ﬁrst know your Point A.

51
- Product Team cares about product design
- Stakeholder doesn’t…
Team A

52
- Product Team also cares about product design
- Stakeholder also doesn’t…
Team B

55
Know your current reality…
…before pursuing your end goal

57
Use outcomes to prioritize
your eﬀorts and energy
…with an outcome roadmap

58
An outcome roadmap breaks down,
prioritizes, and measures how well
we’re driving customers to use a
product.

59
An outcome roadmap breaks down,
prioritizes, and measures how well
we’re driving coworkers to treat
Product Design as an equal in a
balanced team.

Example Industries, Inc.
Joining a relatively
young team

young team
Motivated
teammates

young team
Motivated
teammates
Low awareness
around Design
principles

young team
Dwindling funds
Motivated
teammates
Low awareness
around Design
principles

young team
Dwindling funds
Team pressured to
build fast!
Motivated
teammates
Low awareness
around Design
principles

young team
Dwindling funds
Many leap of faith
assumptions
Team pressured to
build fast!
Motivated
teammates
Low awareness
around Design
principles

young team
Dwindling funds
Many leap of faith
assumptions
Team pressured to
build fast!
Nothing in
production yet…
Motivated
teammates
Low awareness
around Design
principles

young team
Dwindling funds
Many leap of faith
assumptions
Team pressured to
build fast!
Nothing in
production yet…
You were hired as
an experiment
Motivated
teammates
Low awareness
around Design
principles

69
Now Next Future
⛳
Desired
Outcome
⚠
Key Risks &
Challenges
📊
Success
Metrics
💢
Team
Problems
Search “Tanzu Developer Center Outcome-Oriented Roadmap” for more examples.

70
● The change in human behavior I want to achieve
● Think about the WHY
⛳ Desired Outcome

71
● The change in human behavior I want to achieve
● Think about the WHY
“Teammates actively validate assumptions before
making decisions”
⛳ Desired Outcome

72
● What could hold you back, slow you down, or cause failure
● Think about how to mitigate them along the way
⚠ Key Risks & Challenges

73
● What could hold you back, slow you down, or cause failure
● Think about how to mitigate them along the way
“Leadership believes in the
if we build it, they will come theory”
“PMs think they already know the market ﬁt”
“Devs are itching to start building code b/c of
a long requirements gathering phase”
⚠ Key Risks & Challenges

74
● Objectively measure if we’re actually reaching our outcome.
● Think about if what we’re doing is actually working
📊 Success Metrics

75
● Objectively measure if we’re actually reaching our outcome.
● Think about if what we’re doing is actually working
“Team gains & shares valuable insights
from regular user research activities”
“Team has a shared understanding of UX principles
and its added value”
“50% increase in feature stories in backlog
validated by user research”
📊 Success Metrics

76
💢 Team Problems
● Everyday, human problems that people involved experience
● Think about understanding & empathizing with your teammates’
environment and pains
● Find opportunities to provide positive impact, thus driving buy-in

77
● Everyday, human problems that people involved experience
● Think about understanding & empathizing with your teammates’
environment and pains
● Find opportunities to provide positive impact, thus driving buy-in
“PMs don’t have certainty in who their target user group is”
“Engineers aren’t sure what user workﬂows look like
and cannot decide how to best architect the product”
💢 Team Problems

78
Now
⛳
Desired
Outcome
Teammates actively validate assumptions before making decisions
⚠
Key Risks &
Challenges
Leadership believes in the “if we build it, they will come” theory
PMs think they already know the market ﬁt
Devs are itching to start building code b/c of a long requirements gathering
phase
📊
Success
Metrics
- Team gains & shares valuable insights from regular user research activities
- Team has a shared understanding of UX design principles & its added value
- 50% increase in feature stories in backlog validated by user research
💢
Team
Problems
- PMs don’t have certainty in who their target user group is
- Engineers aren’t sure what user workﬂows look like and cannot decide how
to best architect the product

79
Now Next Future
⛳
Desired
Outcome
⚠
Key Risks &
Challenges
📊
Success
Metrics
💢
Team
Problems

80
Now Next Future
⛳
Desired
Outcome
⚠
Key Risks &
Challenges
📊
Success
Metrics
💢
Team
Problems

Low awareness
around Design
principles
young team
Dwindling funds
Many leap of faith
assumptions
Team pressured to
build fast!
Nothing in
production yet…
You were hired as
an experiment
Motivated
teammates

Dwindling funds
Low awareness
around Design
principles
young team
Many leap of faith
assumptions
Team pressured to
build fast!
Nothing in
production yet…
You were hired as
an experiment
Motivated
teammates

Many
leap of faith
assumptions
Dwindling funds
Low awareness
around Design
principles
young team
Team pressured to
build fast!
Nothing in
production yet…
You were hired as
an experiment
Motivated
teammates

85
What do we prioritize next?

Team pressured
to build fast!
Many
leap of faith
assumptions
Dwindling funds
Low awareness
around Design
principles
young team
Nothing in
production yet…
You were hired as
an experiment
Motivated
teammates

Team pressured to
build fast!
Many
leap of faith
assumptions
Dwindling funds
Low awareness
around Design
principles
young team
Nothing in
production yet…
You were hired as
an experiment
Motivated
teammates

Nothing in
production yet…
Many
leap of faith
assumptions
Dwindling funds
Low awareness
around Design
principles
young team
You were hired as
an experiment
Motivated
teammates
Team pressured to
build fast!

89
Use outcomes to
break down and prioritize
the journey

90
It’ll be a long journey ahead…

91
Treat getting UX buy-in as
a desired outcome…
…not an output

92
Know your current reality…
…before pursuing your end goal

93
Use outcomes to
break down and prioritize
the journey

94
Engineering
Can we build this?
Design
problem for users
Product
Product
Management
Will this help the
business?

95
THANK YOU!
…/in/choochiutrain/
@_choochiutrain_

UXPA 2023: Making UX a Business Outcome: A Framework

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to UXPA 2023: Making UX a Business Outcome: A Framework

Similar to UXPA 2023: Making UX a Business Outcome: A Framework (20)

More from UXPA International

More from UXPA International (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

UXPA 2023: Making UX a Business Outcome: A Framework