Main Takeaways: -Be hard on yourself when assessing the opportunity cost of the initiative. A simple rule of thumb for impact: mid-term strategic alignment > UX debt > technical debt. -Keep the redesign as lean as possible but make sure you bring a few new features on top of it. Create incentives. -Own the strategy to mitigate change aversion. Good alignment between Product, Marketing, Support, and others is critical for a smooth roll-out.

1. www.productschool.com
When and How to Launch a Big Redesign
by Typeform Product Lead

2. CERTIFICATES
Your Product Management Certificate Path
Product Leadership
Certificate™
Full Stack Product
Management Certificate™
Product Management
Certificate™

3. Corporate
Training
Level up your team’s Product
Management skills

4. Free Product Management Resources
BOOKS
EVENTS
JOB PORTAL
COMMUNITIES
bit.ly/product_resources
COURSES

5. When and how
to launch a big
redesign
Laura Rueda

6. My name is Laura
and I build products
at Typeform
Before that, I was pretty much doing the same for both the public
sector and private companies.
Yes, I worked at CERN, but I didn’t create any black holes 󰤈
MSc. Computer Engineering (UAM), MSc. Sociology (UOC) and MBA
(ESADE). I would be a full-time study the rest of my life, if I could.

8. Let’s talk about product
redesigns. Oof.

9. Sometimes, the
need for a change
is obvious
“I tried to install 17 toolbars in Internet Explorer, but
it looks it only allows 16 to be displayed. [...] Weird.
https://patrickspokemonpalace.wordpress.com/

10. https://www.versionmuseum.com/
Others, maybe
not so much?
“The new Facebook design sucks.”
— every Facebook user, for the last 10 years

11. Should I redesign my
product? No*
.
*
~95% of cases

12. But, but, but...
The interface looks dated.
We haven’t updated in a long while.
Competitors copied us.
We have new designers.
Seriously, they have awesome ideas.
It will surely improve our metrics!
...awesome.
Go incremental.

13. Seriously.
A redesign is tricky. VERY tricky.
And it is expensive. EXTREMELY expensive.
Take a minute to answer two questions:
What is the opportunity cost of the initiative?
What is the risk of not doing it (now)?

14. Rule of thumb 👍
of good reasons for a redesign
Business
strategy
Design
debt
Technical
debt
> >

15. Business strategy
Design is a blocker for new product(s).
Our product doesn’t align with our brand positioning.
Looks started to influence more than capabilities.
Looking outdated is affecting sales, conversion or retention.
Essentially, our business cannot grow

16. Design debt
Incremental changes don’t generate any impact.
Discoverability of new features is severely impacted.
Years of growth generated a non-cohesive architecture.
Benchmarking seriously behind competitors.
Essentially, our design won’t let us grow

17. Technical debt
Dangerously outdated technology.
Impossible to reach new platforms or channels.
Delivery lead time is very high.
Your product is slooooooow.
Essentially, our technology won’t let us grow

18. Laura, I noticed a pattern.
Yes, it’s growth. Yes, it
sounds self-centered.

19. If you ticked multiple boxes, it is time
to go for a redesign.
How? 🧠 > 🎨.

20. Build your business case, get buy-in.
Define your no harm metrics first.
Establish your goals, stick to them.
Be realistic about the design and delivery effort.
Be explicit about what is not easily measurable: principles and values.
Always go back to value, opportunity cost and risks.
Do not pile up strategic initiatives.
And bring an awesome design proposal!

21. Prepare for an exercise of
extreme ownership. There
is no other way.

22. Create your cross-functional team
Big redesigns are not only about design and development.
Make Customer Success, Marketing and + part of the team.
Influence your leadership team to establish goals for all teams.
No activity can be an afterthought.
You are the only one with full visibility.
But you cannot control everything.

23. Make things as incremental as possible
Reduce complexity creating areas of work.
Partner with your design and development team to define milestones.
Create a testing group from the very beginning.
Maintain your test group and introduce new voices at every milestone.
Fight the concept of feature parity.
There is no one bite at a time.
Prioritize fiercely.

24. Manage resistance to change, internally and externally
Create a feeling of ownership and excitement across the company.
Influence other product teams to develop only for the new version.
Build incentives for your customers, you need at least one delighter.
Show appreciation and elevate every team involved.
Appreciate feedback, request commitment.
If it matters to them, it is important.

25. Be kind to yourself
It is a team effort, but you will be the one making it happen.
Establish your own limits.
Navigate changes, everything will be different very soon.
Hand over your baby happily, if it makes sense.
Adapt, adapt, adapt.

26. Things will go wrong when
you launch. But you will
make it work.

27. Manage expectations
Scope. Time. Quality. Don’t choose.
You cannot capture every issue before launch.
Incremental roll-outs require plenty of coordination.
Don’t be afraid to put things on hold to solve problems.
Account for transition time, defend your users.
You got this :)

28. What about your redesign?
How did it go?

30. 1. Be hard on yourself when you evaluate the initiative
2. Keep it lean and iterative, collect feedback along the way
3. Create incentives and mitigate change aversion, both
internally and externally
Be kind to yourself

31. Thank you!
Let’s keep in contact!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurarueda/

32. www.productschool.com
Part-time Product Management Training Courses
and
Corporate Training