Product Strategyfor UXers

Presented by Kevin Vigneault at NOVA UX onJuly 16, 2014

Hello, my name is

Kevin Vigneault

@hellokv

Tonight I’m going to talk about

Product Strategy

More specifically...

Digital Consumer Products

• Currently a UX Designer

• Formerly a Project Manager

• 7+ years at Viget

• Degrees in HCI, Economics & Finance

About Me

I am NOT a product strategist.

• Product Managers?

• Executives?

• Marketing?

• Business Services?

Who guidesproduct strategy?

1. User-centered perspective

2. Research & testing skills

3. Familiarity with design & build

The UX Advantage

Product strategy should be driven primarily by user experience, not business

objectives or technical capabilities.

• What is product strategy?

• What is GOOD product strategy?

• What should you build?

• How much should you charge?

I will try to answer...

What is product strategy?

DesignBusinessStrategy

Product

What is a product?

An entity that when consumed provides value to

an organization.

An entity that when consumed provides value to

an organization.

Augmented

Actual

What is strategy?

A vision for your desired outcome and a plan for how to

achieve it.

Planning is NOT strategy.

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”

Mike Tyson

Vision

Strategy

Plan

What is goodproduct strategy?

Deciding what NOT to do.

“Fear and discomfortare an essentialpart of strategy.”

Roger L. MartinHarvard Business Review Magazine

• Keeping up with competition

• Wasting development resources

• Appeasing everyone

• Missing out on that critical thing

What are we afraid of?

1. Simple & Clear

2. User-centered

3. Bold & Aggressive

4. Long-term

5. Imperfect & Agile

Good strategies are...

What should you build?

“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system

that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works.”

John GallGeneral Systemantics

Simple is NOT inherently superior to complex.

The Tyranny of Small Decisions

A series of small, individually rational decisions that cumulatively result in an

undesirable outcome.

The House of Quality

1. Generate ideas

2. Design & build some of them

3. Never launch

Level 0

1. Generate ideas

2. Design & build everything

3. Launch & see

Level 1

1. Generate ideas

2. Prioritize

3. Design & build by priority

4. Launch incrementally, test & evaluate

Level 2

1. Generate ideas

2. Group logically & prioritize

3. Design & build in groups by priority

4. Launch incrementally, test & evaluate

Level 3

Well that didn’t answer the question...

How much shouldyou charge?

Whatever price generates the most revenue over a defined period of time.

Quantity

Pric

e

1. Collect emails

2. Set a high base price

3. Email 1/3 the base price, 1/3 a 25% discount, & 1/3 a 50% discount

4. Track conversions per cohort

How to Test Price

Quantity

Pric

e

Quantity

Pric

e

• Derive a demand curve from sample prices

• Learn your customers’ sensitivity to price

The point...

• Decoy Products

• Odd Pricing

• Price Anchoring

Other Pricing Topics

Predictably Irrationalby Dan Ariely

In summary...

1. Product strategy is important

2. UX professionals are uniquely qualified to lead the charge

3. Think boldly & play to win

Key Takeaways

All done, thanks.