Follow Me On Instagram
“ Perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy, it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things. ”
Design involves creating something; strategy is the game plan used before something is created. I help companies do both. If you are looking for a safe pair of hands to augment your team at any stage, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.
At its core, UX strategy takes a "big picture" approach towards developing and improving user experiences and involves three key considerations.
Any UX endeavour must first align validated user needs together with the business priorities to realise its full potential. Sure, you'll still be looking to provide your audience with an engaging user experience, but incorporating UX strategy ensures that digital products and services also account for business imperatives such as value creation, customer acquisition, revenue growth, and sustainability.
UX strategy requires expertise and leadership in various domains such as business strategy, business model creation, UX research/design, product marketing, and software development approaches. The goal here is to think about new ways to create value for customers, not just produce a laundry list of new features. This type of thinking goes beyond established design patterns and UX best practices and encourages all involved to think creatively and experimentally about value creation.
The discovery phase at the start of any digital project is a critical period. Decisions made at this juncture will ultimately shape the end product and significantly impact whether the outcome is judged as a success. During this phase, stakeholders are expected to examine the requisite user and business goals of an application or website design, and build consensus around them. This requires not only a validated, first-hand understanding of your customer needs acquired through empirical research, but a collaborative environment that supports the free exchange of ideas throughout the project. Sounds easy, right?
The reality is that taking into account the multiple perspectives of expected end-users, designers, developers, executives and other business stakeholders, and arriving at a shared vision is no simple task. It requires strengths in facilitation, a keen ability to identify and promote the unique contributions of individuals, a firm grasp of the internal and external business drivers, and the ability to effectively manage and motivate a diverse range of personality types towards a common goal.
Without a shared UX vision, a misalignment of purpose becomes more likely, introducing a lack of clarity and discord into the process. The net effect of this can be quite damaging to the remainder of the development effort and result in a poorly performing product and undesirable or unwanted experience for users. Entrepreneurs, executives, and product owners have long understood that there is nothing more disconcerting than people working on projects that lack a sufficient understanding as to why. A UX strategist helps to ensure that "why" is communicated from the start and that each team member realises the importance of their work in creating user experiences that align validated user needs with real business value.
UX strategy often goes beyond just one digital experience, it can span different digital products, services and platforms. For companies interested in ensuring a consistent quality experience across digital properties, UX strategy is a requirement - not a luxury. UX strategy makes possible a seamless ecosystem of digital properties that are unified through compelling UX design that places customers, their desires and behaviours, at the center of it all.
With increasing frequency, organisations are turning to experienced UX professionals to ensure that software and website development initiatives occur in an iterative, collaborative manner and are anchored in empirical research. I work as a strategic UX resource that serves executive, creative and technical team members to help them craft and translate their shared vision into unique, innovative products and services that people truly want to use.
Over the years, I've had a great deal of opportunity to apply my talents in a broad number of contexts. I've worked with nimble startups, to some of the largest enterprises in the world. Each of these experiences has improved my facility and understanding of how best to serve my clients and partners.
If you are looking to craft your vision a for a product that ensures your business priorities are supported by an engaging UX, I'd like to hear from you.