Product awareness and training is an uphill battle for complex products - product walkthroughs, demos, knowledge centre aid to an extent but it doesn't build user confidence or trust especially where financial investment is required from the user at the outset. The stakes are pretty high and poor initial performance/financial loss could negatively impact the user - feeling incompetent with the product/domain leading to higher barriers of entry for future use.
Frugal Product Thoughts
Welcome to a frugal approach to digital products. The posts are my personal thoughts on product thinking, design thinking & miscellaneous thinking at work !!
ASX Sharemarket Game
Biomimicry & Design Thinking
Image credit : Roche, 2016 |
So how does biomimicry relate to design thinking ? Let's break down the basic elements of design thinking - Empathise, Ideate & Iterate. To empathise is to understand the users, their pain points, alternatives used etc. This in the biomimicry world is expanded to all species - understand how the species function and what their challenges are. A biomimicry ideate would then be to brainstorm how the species' over come their challenges, extract learnings from those and map how we could apply them to solve similar problems.
It's not just physical products that have benefited from this, but even advance computing algorithms too. Here are some fascinating complex systems/alogrithms which were designed from biomimicry:
- Data driven behavioural model derived from bacteria
- Search engine optimization inspired by Arboreal Ant trails
- Machine learning inspired by insects' nervous system
Nature will teach us many lessons if we take the time to visit her classroom.
— Donald L. Hicks
Library visit - a multi sensory experience
First principles thinking
Often we are given problem statements with constraints and we get boxed into it. So the solutions are also sought within these boundaries i.e. we inherently can't think 'outside the box'. Although the following is more than a decade old, it's a great example of how not putting blinders on can expand the solution horizon.
In 2009, a batch at Stanford was divided into 14 groups - each group was given $ 5 in an envelope ✉️and tasked to generate maximum ROI. They had a few days to plan but once they opened the envelope and took the money, they had 2 hours. Each group was then to present the findings in 3 minutes the following Monday.
π² One group built a stand and offered to fill air pressure in cycles for the uni students (pay for convenience). Since they charged $ 1, the expected returns were also low.
π Another group made reservations at sought after restaurants and then sold these reservations to those waiting in long queues with a low chance of getting one on the spot. Many paid for upto $ 20 for such timely reservations (pay for scarcity). The team raked up a decent profit.
πΈHowever the winning team exhibited business acumen like no other group, generating record profit without spending a dime of the $ 5 given to them - they didn't open the envelope ! They clawed back to fundamentals of 'how can we maximise value' without getting constrained by the $ 5 or the 2 hours. While the other teams focused on the physical realm around them, this team thought of the most opportune moment to catch everyone's attention - the Monday presentation and sold ad space on their slide to a student recruiting firm for a whooping $ 600.
This is one of the finest examples of first principles thinking and also reflects on how valuable every inch of digital real estate is. The above was in 2009 at a micro level, imagine the potential of Adtech in 2022. Advertising in general gets a bad notion since it gets aggressive and intrusive but done with the right control measures, is the most effective medium for business reach and growth.
Framing - how words can change $ perceptions
Similarly use of negative words frames a non favourable impression - something the credit card companies have been trying to lobby for a while without success. So is credit card fee a surcharge or is paying by cash a discount ? The fact that it's called a surcharge implies the base value is lower and we are being charged additionally for the card processing. If however payment by cash is called a discount then the base value changes. The surcharge frame is penalty based and hurts the image of credit cards.
Also this difference of projections between fine and fee is what changes our perceptions drastically. A fine is a penalty for what is considered to be wrong (socially in most cases ) and comes with a guilt associated to it. A fee on the other hand is a monetary charge for getting away with something or getting access to additional benefits that is not the norm. So a $ 100 fine for speeding indicates that speeding wasn't the right act and hence has been penalised. But if that is converted to a $ 100 fee for speeding, it changes the context althogether. Now, people would be more open to speeding and would do it more often as they just consider it as a monetary transaction. Such frames do hold a delicate balance between social and monetary norms.
"What counts isn't the frame, it's what you put in it." - Otto Preminger
Voter biases to watch out
π€ ππ¨π§ππ’π«π¦πππ’π¨π§ ππ’ππ¬: This is such a common one and applies to a wide range of decisions we make. We seek information that validates our views. It mutually impacts the bandwagon effect - we get surrounded by like minded people and in the process create an echo chamber.
π πππ₯π¨ ππππππ: We form connections between unrelated attributes especially based on looks. Ever wondered why politicians use family photos while campaigning ? Being a good parent has nothing to do with political leadership.
"ππ’πΊ πΊπ°πΆπ³ π€π©π°πͺπ€π¦π΄ π³π¦π§ππ¦π€π΅ πΊπ°πΆπ³ π©π°π±π¦π΄, π―π°π΅ πΊπ°πΆπ³ π§π¦π’π³π΄." ~ ππ¦ππ΄π°π― ππ’π―π₯π¦ππ’
Wordle Hurdles
Wordle has taken the world by storm with it's simple game play, great UX and an addictive mechanism (without any lock ins). Over the past few days with NYT taking over, the words have gotten harder and there is quite a lot of backlash.
Big data vs Small data
Two recent experiences reaffirmed the same :
π€ At a recent product talk, the presenter talked about how Google's flu program failed when a simple heuristic approach worked wonders
Google Flu Trends (GFT) which used big data analytics and a black-box algorithm tried for years to predict flu outbreaks without any success (was wrong for 100 out of 108 weeks) and the program was finally terminated in 2015. However a surprisingly simple recency heuristic forecasted the flu outbreaks more accurately - based on psychological theory of how people deal with rapidly changing situations.
π Read a book on Small Data by a renowned branding consultant who has transformed major brands like Lego, Lowes etc using ethnography and understanding the entire ecosystem the users interact with.
A combination of both would be a powerful toolkit to have.
Product Thinking - Kidpreneur edition
The Smithsonian Spark!lab kits are great.
Humor in products and services
Humor is a great leverage for both products and services - it breaks the monotony, boredom; relaxes the audience making them more receptive to the product/service.
However humor needs to have the right balance, overdo it or use it at the wrong time and it can cause an irrepairable damage. One of the most pathetic uses of dark humor has been by Specsavers lately when Dr. Kerry Chant's glasses broke while delivering a public message - the marketing team had no sense of respect for the NSW Chief Health Officer or the pademic we are in.
But there are so many products and services out there who are leveraging humor so well, here's some of my favourites:
[Call on hold] Waiting for the call to be transferred to an agent could be time consuming. Plus the fact that a customer is on hold means a risk of losing the customer if aid is not provided in the right amount of time. And what better way that humor to keep the customer engaged ? I recently moved houses and needed the Aussie Broadband agent to check the account set up details for me. While I was on hold, I was delighted to hear one liner jokes rather than the monotonous wait message! Aussie Broadband is definately raising the bar in terms of exceptional customer service.
[Release notes] Release notes are boring and nobody reads them but its one of those mandatory stuff to provide. However Slack has put an amazing twist to them with their witty and different approach to writing the release notes - on dull and boring days, I literally read all of them for some smiles :)
[Error 404] Who thought error especially the notorious 404 error page can be a great way to showcase some wit and branding. Here's Pixar's 404 page using one of their iconic characters from Inside Out (hats off to the creative genius behind it) :
Top 3 impressive products
The benefit of the working in the startup world or contracting is that you get a wide exposure to products and can easily get hands on experience before it gets mainstream. Also you start looking at products differently - track the feature progress, release notes and make mental notes of key UX aspects (good, bad,ugly) to draw inspiration from in your work domain.
Here's my list of the top 3 really good tools/products I would happy advocate :
I have loved Loom since my first interaction and with quite a lot of changes made in terms of features and pricing too lately, it seems to be a very promising option - especially the video in video capture and ability to add time markers is a great aid to capture session notes. Have used Loom for recording customer interviews, explaining concepts or even to share thoughts in a very easy way.How much time do we spend in adjusting sections and layouts for presentations (be it Google slides or ppts) only to realise we now have more content to accomodate and rework ? The hours might add up to light years! Which is why Beautiful.ai has been a breeze of change for the better - layouts that adjust effortlessly and templates to create glossy presentations in literally minutes.I am not looking back to Powerpoint ppts / Mac Keynotes / Google Slides anytime soon.
Wise (formerly TrasnferWise)
Even though Wise is not a start up but a scale up now, it's still a mention worthy product. I have been a loyal user since two+ years now and have loved every interaction with it. It has got brownie points from get go - the ease of creating an account in a matter of minutes, the simplicity of transfers and of late the ability to hold multi curreny accounts accompanied by a sleek UI makes it a real winner. Bye bye big4 banks, hello neobanks !
I also had Miro and Otter.ai as close contenders - gaining quite a lot of traction and on my radar.
Slack, Canva, Trello are no doubt great products but they have been around for a while now and well on their path of becoming soonicorns.
Talking about soonicorns and minicorns, the Australian startup space is shaping up really well : Take a look ... Aussie, Aussie , Aussie oi oi oi !
Survey Statistics - it's all a numbers game
The double edged sword of surveys : if done right, they provide a wealth of information to take a data informed decision but come with the downside of going down a rabbit hole if not executed correctly.
If you are looking for quantitative research, relying on a collective inputs of mass to arrive at informed decisions, look no further. The benefits of surveys far outweigh the drawbacks (which can be easily averted following a systematic and unbiased approach).
There are a lot of aspects of surveys which need to be considered at design stage - from inherent biases to overcome to type of questions to consider. Survey tools have evolved drastically and provide a plethora of question formats to select. So what's the best type of question to select ?
- Objective : What hypothesis is the question trying to validate ? Every question has to have a motive on why it's being asked. If there isn't any direct linkage to objectives, it's probably not worth asking the question (a compact survey has more chances of completion)
- Analysis : The question format depends on how the answers are going to be analysed. Are the answers going to be used in correlation analysis ? Or are they aiding in structured text analysis ?
- Spectrum : For polarity related questions it is always suggested to provide bipolar ordinal scale with equally spaced response options.
- Contrary to what the survey tools display, median is a better gauge for ordinal data than mean
- Of course mode is the only way to measure nominal data
- Correlation analysis between questions (scatter graphs for visuals) yields valuable insights on interdependences in the data set
- Last but not the least, almost types of research data aids in identifying clusters which then translates to segmentation
Voice of the Customer
So how do we determine the VoC ?
Holistically there are two approaches - Qualitative and Quantitative
Quantitative is relatively easier - metrics and numbers speak for themselves.
Qualitative analysis is challenging but interesting at the same time. It relies on our ability to elicit and interpret the data to then frame and cluster it.
Right from field study to focus groups to surveys there are various approaches which are non obtrusive and each suitable for a different desired outcome.
Having created surveys on numerous projects, here's some key information on the same. Surveys provide great metrics as well as key quantitative insights we are looking for however the genre plays a vital role. With constant mobile distractions and a fast paced life, surveys need persuasion from the word go. In one of the surveys sent, we experimented with an alluring subject line ( in the email invite ) and the response went up 80 %. Then there needs to be enough of a motivation ( in majority of cases a financial benefit ) to complete the survey. The survey itself needs to be short and sweet, after all who has the time to tell us their entire life story. So a survey has to have one or two distinct objectives and about 10 questions ( the less the better ) around the same. Then comes the format of the questions - do we keep it open ended or multiple choice, your guess is as good as mine. Open ended questions do gather lot of valuable information but need to be used sparsely so as not to scare the user away, they don't have anything to lose if the survey is abandoned.
Here's an apt but hilarious way to illustrate how important it is to frame the question right. At times the question is so long and complicated or ambiguous that even the options don't make sense. But survey insights do provide a lot of critical mass data which enables to take data driven decisions.
However surveys as with all other forms of customer research have the risk of being proven false. This is because the customers are quirky, they say one thing and often end up doing another. That's the gap being stated intent and actual behaviour. Hence constant experimentation and refinement is the key, this has to be an ongoing activity to always be on the top of our game and enable value add from this activity.
Roles & Responsibilities
Product complexity
So to summarize, product complexity is very much required for the product to be of value however the challenge lies in shielding the complexity from the users ( end users as well as back end users ).