Post on 31-Oct-2014
description
joanne@joannemendel.com
Joanne Mendel
jxmendel.wordpress.com
Products, services, experiences.
Representative work across industry sectors:
•health care•education •consumer electronics•consumer goods •financial services•technology + software
Joanne Mendel 2010
Health care: Services | Translating customer needs into a better HMO experience
Client objective: A prominent healthcare insurance provider wanted to optimize the membership renewal experience with Seniors by developing a deep understanding of their customer experience. The resulting insights were needed to drive marketing and communications strategies – and development of communications experiences.
A series of HMO ecosystem maps dimensionalized multiple
aspects of Senior’s experience, perceptions and interactions with
the HMO system of care. These resulted from analysis of
information gleaned from member diaries and 1:1 interviews.
A key insight was that it was more important to Seniors that the
HMO tangibly demonstrate that “they care” during their treatment
experiences throughout the year rather than at the annual
membership renewal time .
4 experience scenarios depicted the most common interactions
members have with the insurer between renewal periods. They
identified member’s pain points across multiple touch points
(also opportunity areas for the client to foster customer retention,
loyalty and trust in dependable health care)
Design principles were derived from insights into the customer
experience and led to strategies, tactics and examples for how to
strengthen retention through multiple touch points with Seniors
in ways that demonstrate the insurer cares.
1
This solution revealed that for Seniors, the decision to renew membership was predicated on key touch points with the insurer during their care experience rather than the annual membership drive. It identified design principles for the desired experience to serve as a guide for client initiatives and for the development of a communications strategy
2 3
Senior’s HMO ecosystem of care Caring Connections scenario
Joanne Mendel 2010
Education service | Identifying opportunities for supporting students in educational decision making
Client objective: A U.S. educational corporation wanted to drive greater market share to its portfolio of “ground” & online colleges and trade schools. Doing this required a better understanding of potential students and their educational needs, how & when to reach them in their decision making process and the role education played in their lives.
Recommendations were made on who to target, at what points in
their life stage, how to effectively leverage key touch points for
communication and ways to support educational decision
making.
In this multiphase project, business consulting and quantitative
phases informed and were shaped by this qualitative phase of work.
An inquiry & analysis plan developed prior to field work anticipated
what information to gather and how to cut the data .
Design frameworks were created during field research to
map people’s life events to their education and work history.
This revealed patterns in the role of education in their lives, their
motivations & identified barriers to education across life stages.
1 2
School decision criteria, tradeoffs and touch points were
identified for each step of the enrollment decision process.
4
5
This solution here provided a deep and rich understanding of how educational aspirations are threaded throughout people’s life events and work histories. This was translated into strategic recommendations for targeted communications through multiple touch points and a support system for aiding people’s educational decision making process.
The analysis that followed identified: • 4 types of life paths with corresponding educational
mindsets• 9 common levers that needed to fall into place before people
could act on their educational aspirations• A model of the enrollment decision process.
3
Joanne Mendel 2010
Technology & software sector | Research synthesis + Digital product roadmap development
Client objective: An online auction house needed to bring together disparate behavioral & attitudinal data and web analytics to understand how their product was meeting customer needs. The resulting insights needed to drive strategies for improvement.
Ideation work sessions were held with product teams who used
the principles to generate concepts that would be further explored
in the product development process.
Key product issues emerged from a synthesis of series of
disparate client studies; qualitative & quantitative studies with site
behavior tracking results and an information architecture analysis
of site experience.
A holistic view of the issues was developed from the vantage
point of different customers participating in the auction
transaction. Implications for product strategy were teased out.
1 2
Five guiding principles for a desirable customer site experience
were presented to the executive committee for funding and
resource allocation of the initiatives.
4 5
This solution provided five strategic recommendations around key dimensions of the online auction experience to the executive team. Rolled out in product team workshops, they framed next generation product ideation that was strategically aligned with company goals.
In a series of joint client work sessions, implications &
recommendations were prioritized by mapping them to key
company performance metrics and strategic initiatives.
3
Joanne Mendel 2010
Consumer electronics sector | Product design language for mobile phones
Client objective: A global mobile technology company wanted to design next generation phones for its quantitatively derived U.S. segments. Their product design team needed rich insights into mindsets and lifestyles as well as direction and inspiration to fuel design.
Similarities and differences in aesthetics and functionality were
compared across the segments to frame a system of phones
could be designed to satisfy what most segments desire while
helping the business to achieve market reach.
To learn about how customer segments see themselves they
were asked to choose three words expressing defining
characteristics of who they are and send supporting lifestyle images.
During ethnographies respondents constructed an identity
matrix of themselves by selecting images across adjacent product
categories that expressed “who I am, aspire to be” & explaining why.
1 2
In analysis segment needs and desires were mapped to
corresponding colors, materials, forms and finishes. These were
elements of a product design language for mobile phones.
3
Design principles were derived from the most prominent needs that
characterized each segment. Examples images selected by consumers
provided the product design team with input about how they interpreted
desires like “classic & simple” through a visual vocabulary.
4 5
This solution provided three to four design principles for each segment based on understanding their needs and desires. Principles included colors, materials, forms and finishes that corresponded segment needs and product attributes. A system of phones was framed for achieving maximal market reach while satisfying segment needs & desires.
Roadmap for implementation
Joanne Mendel 2010
Consumer electronics sector | Design principles + Roadmap for next generation appliances
Client objective: A global consumer electronics firm needed to understand the underlying drivers and consumer needs for three household appliances; refrigerators, ranges, and washing machines in it’s North American market.
For each experience platform, a roadmap for implementation was
developed that mapped platforms to needs, principles and solutions.
Solution implications were generated for messaging, positioning,
merchandising and POS.
A trends hierarchy resulted from a review of prior client
secondary and trend research and expert interviews. This
provided insights and a context for observing customer needs.
Through ethnographies and online community facilitation,
consumer lifestyle needs & attitudes came to light that were
based on the contextual usage of appliances in their homes.
1 2
A behavior/needs matrix aligned consumer pain points with
categories of needs (lifestyle, meal planning, cooking, food storage &
clothing care) to reveal 3 experiential platforms for differentiating
the client.
3
Design principles emerged from mapping consumer appliance
needs to trend insights. The principles were used to generate
solutions and guide the client’s global product design team.
4 5
This solution provided cultural insights and design principles to guide the global product design team and a roadmap to guide the formulation of company strategies for product development, branding, and communications in the US market..
Roadmap for implementation
Experienceplatform
Behavior / needs evaluation matrix
Joanne Mendel 2010
Consumer electronics sector | Translating regional needs & cultural aesthetics into product design languages
Client objective: A global technology company wanted to leverage the fast growing demand for desktop PCs in emerging markets, but lacked the cultural perspective and direction that would differentiate their product design in China, Japan and India.
A roadmap of design principles for expressing product
attributes within and across regions identifies regional design
principles for near, mid and long term implementation.
Cultural trends & business forces affecting design were revealed
through expert interviews and indicated how the business
opportunity landscape is changing for India, China and Japan.
Global digital ethnos revealed that regional consumer archetypes
had aspirations ranging from inner to outer directed that
impacted their choice of workstation…
1 2
Consumers associate technology characteristics they need &
desire with the way they are expressed in various form factors of a
workstation, resulting in regional design languages.
3
A visual language audit of architecture & consumer electronics
further defined similarities and differences in regional design
languages. By associating the visual languages with consumer
needs identified, design principles for a product design language
emerged.
4 5
I WORK SMARTER I AM SUCCESSFUL
INNER DIRECTED OUTER DIRECTED
I AM CAPABLE
This solution provided a high level perspective on global/cultural trends, insight into how small & medium business owners make choices and the needs that drive what they look for in a PC design. Visual cultural languages were mapped to the needs identified, resulting in design principles for a product design language in each region.
Roadmap for implementation
Joanne Mendel 2010
Consumer goods: Products | A semiotic analysis for driving product concepts, packaging & positioning
Client objective: A national beverage brand wanted to stretch the appeal of its flavored milk products from ages 3-5 to target the next age bracket upwards. Semiotics and qualitative research were combined to understand the meanings associated with cultural indicators of flavored milk habits and rituals in the general U.S. market.
New product concepts were generated by juxtaposing product
characteristics with their cultural associations. This enabled the client
to design product variations that with direct appeal for their target
audience. Positioning and messaging followed.
A semiotic assessment of the flavored milk category was conducted
in parallel with expert interviews in the category. This resulted in
hypothesis that were explored & validated in qualitative research.
A collection of media available in the public domain (ads, popular
culture, retail environments and material artifacts) were assembled
and coded into a visual database for semiotic analysis.
1 2
Cultural perceptions of flavored milk emerged to dimentionalize
the category; how product characteristics are perceived, how this
varies with age & gender, appropriate occasions and dining rituals.
3
Seeing how drink consumption behaviors have been changing
over time led to projections of emergent trends in the culture.
4 5
This solution revealed and validated cultural perceptions about the category that were previously unknown to the client. This gave the client new ways to think about target customers and their preferences. This drove brand packaging, positioning & new product concept ideation.
Coded media database
Product concept framework
Joanne Mendel 2010
Consumer goods product experience | Identifying opportunities for a new retail store experience
Client objective: A historic retail brand wanted wanted to target a new, forward thinking customer segment. They needed to inform the design of a system of 40 pilot stores to be rolled out across the US. and compare their shopping experience with that of competitors.
In-store ethnos gathered insights into dimensions of the desired
shopping experience; Overall store impressions, Navigation of
merchandise, Communication of product selection, Merchandising
and displays and Customer service.
1 2
Mapping customer’s mindset to the shopping purchase path
revealed what considerations were most important in triggering them
to shop, in the store experience and in wearing the product.
3
Opportunities for improvement were pin pointed to the store’s
floor plan. A competitive store analysis revealed how others solved
for similar problems. Concrete recommendations resulted for what
to continue, stop and start doing.
4 5
This solution revealed meaningful shopping motivations and expectations for the targeted segment. Key components of unique and compelling store shopping experiences were identified. The client’s store experience was evaluated against competitors to inform store design, merchandising and in-store marketing for new stores.
Modeling the customer mindset revealed a constant dialogue
between how they see themselves in relation to the world of fashion
around them; resulting in a cycle of discovery and self expression.
A store evaluation matrix provided a framework for systematically
evaluating the store experience against customer needs and
desires. It revealed areas the client was doing well and where
there was opportunity for improvement.
Joanne Mendel 2010
Consumer goods: Product | Opportunity identification: Identifying customer value across touch points of the fast food experience
Client objective: The market for fast food is extremely competitive which has resulted in highly refined, predictable customer experiences. An international fast food franchise sought to understand what things they could do to demonstrate the value customers were seeking at each touch point of their fast food experience in order to differentiate their offering.
A value framework identifies the things customers value about their fast food experience.
Because customers value different things at each touch point of an experience their values depend on whether they’re choosing what to eat, purchasing it or consuming it.
The customer values were translated through signifiers. Signifiers communicate and reinforce the things customers are seeking in their fast food experience. These can be demonstrated in tangible ways in the experience design.
For example: What connotes fast food ambiance for customers is signified through a décor that reflects a modern designer kitchen with homey plants, and the inviting atmosphere of a café.
Customer values also tapped into higher level benefits that have the potential to create a more meaningful customer experience and therefore, a longer lasting customer relationship with the brand.
Value formulas were established for each customer touch point to enable the client to focus resources and budget for the best customer satisfaction and ROI.
1 2 3
This solution resulted in a value formula for each customer touch point of their experience. It identified tangible means of fulfilling customer values in ways that signified to them that they were getting the things they sought throughout the experience.
Joanne Mendel 2010
Consumer goods: Brand | Tapping into Hispanic values to develop brand positioning & messaging for cars
Client objective: Hispanics have distinct cultural values in relation to cars; those values can intersect with the attributes of a car to fulfill their needs. The client sought ways of making the connection in the minds of Hispanics between their values and the car features that signify them. This would guide development of their brand messaging & positioning.
Hispanic cultural values were identified in order to explore how they might possibly correspond with attributes Hispanics look for in their cars.
Example:
• Smart/Adaptable: Adapting to change is a constant that needs to be embraced to stay smart if they are to “make it”.
Identifying car features that signify what Hispanic’s value in a car, helps ensure a car will meet their needs.
Example:
• Today’s Hispanics associate being smart and adaptable with a modern look in a car in ways that depart from the standard vocabulary of economy cars.
• Practicality, also an expression of being smart and adaptable, is expressed through compact size and being economical to run.
The client’s car brand positioning and messaging strategy were realigned to coincide with Hispanic values and to communicate car features that embodied those values.
1
This solution identifies what Hispanic values are most resonant and links them to car features Hispanics consumers associate with them. A strategy was developed for repositioning the brand to more effectively reach the Hispanic audience. A messaging and positioning architecture resulted to guide development of the brand expressions.
2 3
Joanne Mendel 2010
Consumer goods: Packaging | A semiotic analysis of packaging for chocolate
A color evaluation framework was derived from each of the color
dimensions explored during analysis. It was used to evaluate the
client’s packaging and adjust color cues to address the targeted
market.
Secondary research into the color yellow revealed conflicting
cultural meanings & associations as well as its physiological
effects.
Three color dimensions impacting people’s perceptions and
interpretations of color were explored in a study of yellow in relation
to chocolate; color vocabulary, color intensity and color footprint.
1 2
An analysis of color in chocolate packaging compared mainstream
against specialty brands. It revealed stark differences in the
dimensions of the color vocabularies and cultural interpretations.
3
Color footprint is the amount of package real estate that a color
occupies. The more it occupies, the more pronounced it appears.
These examples show a range of color footprints in chocolate
packaging.
4 5
Client objective: A semiotic analysis of the color yellow in packaging chocolate helped an national brand to stretch the appeal of its flavored milk products from ages 3-5 to target the next age bracket upwards.
This solution provided an evaluation of the client’s packaging and established the rationale for making adjustments that would communicate more clearly to the target market.
Joanne Mendel 2010
Financial services | Opportunity shaping + Concept development for online financial planning tools
Client objective: A financial services client wanted to build an online suite of tools to support investors in managing & investing their money and doing financial planning. This necessitated seeing how current client offerings fit into the constellation of tools that customers were already using and identifying unmet needs and pain points.
An ideation work session with the client resulted in concepts for
online tools that could differentiate the client’s offering. A best
practices audit informed high level concept sketches.
Segment profiles and attitudinal continuums were developed
as a result of 1:1 interviews. These provided insights to segment
attitudes and practices around their financial goals & planning.
Relational models identified what competitive resources were
being used for different tasks and revealed patterns of how tools
changed over life stages to remain in-step with changing goals.
1 2
Key themes resulted from pain points and delights people
associated with the tools they were currently using to manage, plan
and invest.
3
Design principles for the desired customer experience emerged
from triangulating segment attitudes with current needs, pain points
and their idealized tools. Principles were used in concept generation.
4 5
This solution built a solid rationale for a set of online financial management tools as a result of having deeply explored consumer attitudes and behaviors towards financial planning. The solution leveraged best practices in the competitive space to create new tools that would differentiate the client from the pack.
Ideation + concept sketches
Joanne Mendel 2010
Financial planning product | User testing a digital stock research & investing application
Client objective: A financial services client developed a premium online application for stock research to be launched under a new brand. To build equity among a broad target audience, brand positioning and messaging development needed to be informed by customer’s perceived “fit” between the product and their current investing routines.
Word clouds were developed from aggregating investor responses
to the applications top attributes, how they would characterize its
tools, UI and data quality to inform development of brand and
positioning for launch.
Consensus on project objectives for marketing, product
interface, community and training & support resulted from an
initial client work session. These informed the project approach.
10 individual interviews were conducted with stock investors to
understand their investing routines, resources & decision making,
to expose them to the application and to explore how it fit their
needs.
1 2
Investor profiles revealed themes across investor’s attitudes and
behaviors and summarized their investing strategies, resources
and information used for decision making.
3
A gap analysis between the application’s capabilities and
customer’s stock research needs resulted in identifying the
applications strengths and weaknesses in usefulness & UI.
4 5
This solution explored investor routines and decision making to help develop message points that would resonate at launch. Gaps between the product and customer needs were identified for their relevance of its overall capabilities and UI intuitiveness. A plan was outlined for training and support during the trial period and beyond.
Joanne Mendel 2010
Technology & software product | Online collaboration space for managing environmental clean up projects
Client objective: An oil & gas company wanted to increase the efficiency of project managers who coordinated with subcontractors to clean up environmental spills. Different technology systems, processes & documents were used by all of the parties involved.
User paths through the scenario prototypes in field informed the site’s
information architecture and detailed task flows that followed.
Work sessions with project managers were used to model the
end to end environmental clean up process, coordination points with
subcontractors and identified key documents they exchanged.
.
Profiles resulted from in-depth individual interviews with project
managers. These provided a job snapshot and identified the
scheduling applications & tools currently used. Activity models
described the main cycles occurring within their work process.
1 2
Field insights were analyzed in generative needs mapping; by
mapping examples of user feedback in field to corresponding needs,
feature ideas were then generated to address each need.
5 6
This solution identified an opportunity for a stand-alone collaborative workspace that would be accessible to all collaborators on a project. Understanding the cleanup process, information flows and collaboration touch points resulted in a high level site design.
A high level site conceptual model for managing contacts,
activities & documents was derived from needs identified in project
manager profiles and work processes.
3
Project manager Arizona
Scenarios were developed into concept prototypes that were field
tested with users. The design was iterated based on more in-depth
understanding of their actual practices & workarounds on the job.
4
Example > Needs > Features
Joanne Mendel 2010
Technology & software: Service | Multichannel service concept evaluation + Implementation roadmap
Client objective: A national card and gift company wanted to explore 3 concepts for evolving online strategy without cannibalizing its bricks and mortar locations. Pros and cons of each concept were evaluated and the strongest concept emerged.
User scenarios illustrated the tools, information and customer
experience at the page level of the product.
The strongest concept was identified; creating an online
environment that helps customers strengthen their relationships by
providing them with unique gift solutions comprised of products,
services and ideas.
1 2
A gap analysis between the envisioned concept and existing site resulted in a 22 month, 3 phase product roadmap. This detailed the path forward for planning, creating, and implementing migration to the future site.
54
This solution concluded in a gap analysis between their current digital product offering and the recommended concept. This resulted in a detailed, 3 phase product roadmap for achieving the desired future state.
Implications for building out the supporting information & system
architecture were explored through high level information
architecture development .
3
An Attribute Assessment Matrix provided an evaluation of the
three concepts against 12 business metrics revealing the
benefits and risks of each concept. Criteria for success were
identified.
Joanne Mendel 2010
Technology & software: Service | Digital product extension: Across customer touch points of the apt. finding & moving experience
Client objective: A bay area online apartment finding service wanted to explore and evaluate new features to evolve their offering to the next level. This needed to meet consumer needs as well as to provide additional revenue sources & potential partnerships.
Conceptual prototypes were built for testing with consumers prior to
launch of the site. The site garnered a bronze metal at the Webby
awards.
Potential features were scored in an evaluation matrix against
criteria ranging from customer needs to business drivers, how well it
incorporates site content, its ability to drive transactions and which
consumer profiles would be likely to use it.
Key features were modeled into a holistic overview of the
customer experience from apartment finding to moving in.
Contextually relevant tools provided customer support in the form
of information & service concepts. Identified new revenue streams.
1 2
Feature solutions included partnerships with moving companies to provide special deals, legal tool kits, changing over utilities & address, word of mouth about neighborhoods and near by groceries, schools and hospitals, etc.
4 5
This solution provided an extension to the existing product of finding an apartment to also include the moving in phase. It provided revenue generating service and product concepts that were grounded in identified customer needs.
Scenarios were developed to further explore and develop the page
level experience, informing the design of customer pathways
through the service.
3
Joanne Mendel 2010
1
Customer journey model: maps customer mindsets and key activities
of their experience with a product, service or environment to reveal
what things are working and opportunities for improvement.
3
Market ecosystem model: Overview of digital content creation
through customer delivery. Shows market players, their
interdependencies, competition, information & dollar flows.
2
Quantitative ecosystem model: Explains Consumer PC usage over
time in terms of revenues generated for services, hardware and mobile.
5
Habits and practices model: Maps customer motivations and
action triggers to a constellation of interrelated behaviors that impact
outcomes (benefits, aspirations or meanings achieved)
.
4
Visual modeling taxonomy | Models facilitate insight generation during analysis & synthesis + accelerate opportunity framing
Modeling overview: A taxonomy of visual models emerged from solving complex problems at the intersection of business and consumers over several years of client work. Their value went beyond a functional level of simply representing information. These models operated as a powerful tool for insight generation during analysis, synthesis.
They enabled project teams and clients to understand the problem space in non-obvious ways by synthesizing disparate sets of data to reveal hidden patterns. Models help accelerate opportunity framing, inform decision making and create consensus among multiple constituents. Below are some excerpts from the model taxonomy.
Joanne Mendel 2010
UX deliverables for digital product & service design | Information architecture example deliverables
Prototypes. Used for concept testing, UI testing. Wireframes
are also used in testing early iterations of functionality.
Feature prioritization lists. Used by UX teams and engineers to
prioritize features for the build cycle. Prioritizes features based on
user needs, business requirements and technical effort to build.
Site maps. A blueprint for a site that specifies site sections,
pages, linkages between pages, template types and the main
navigational pathways.
1 2 3
Scenarios. A high level outline of the user’s experience
through information on a site or digital device that takes place
in a context of use.
5 6
Task flows. Detail level flow diagrams of the user path through
information. These may include system responses, identify data
called and multiple navigational options at each step of the way.
4
Wireframes. Page level specifications depicting navigational
hierarchy, content, linkages. Wireframes also identify what
types of data are called from within the system. They
describe content in drop down & other menus.
Joanne Mendel 2010
User research | Example documents for conducting, analyzing and reporting research
Reporting insights. Research reports aggregate insights about
the customer experience, attitudes and behaviors to identify what
worked well and identify areas for improvement. This forms the
basis for recommendations to designers, marketing, clients, etc.
Screener. Recruiting questions are developed for evaluating
potential participants for the research as a way of ensuring
that a representative set of the target audience is included.
Discussion guide. Includes questions and activities for
conducting the research that are tied to the research objectives.
Includes how information is to captured for analysis, time frames
for each section and notes to moderators.
1 2 3
Wireframes. Provide page level specifications depicting
navigational hierarchy, content, linkages. They also
identify what types of data are called from within
the system. They describe content in drop down & other
menus.
5 6
Customer profiles. Profiles describe individual users or types
of users according to key dimensions that are relevant to the
research at hand. They are instrumental in analysis for cutting
data to compare and contrast results by segment or audience.
4
Analysis framework. Organizes user feedback
according to respondents and the topics covered in the
interview for analysis and insight generation.