Web Strategy @ Upanz

Web Strategy

1

Provoke Solutions

2nd September 2008

Lulu Pachuau

Design meets Business

E.g.2

E.g.

Example web strategy project

• Client: IRL (Industrial Research Limited)

• Goal: Generate ideas and create a roadmap of how IRL can

use the internet to leverage its business.

• Business: science research, CRI

• What the client wanted...

3

“...from basket case to case study”

What does this mean?

?

4

?

What…5

What…

Strategy is about...

• Focus

6

Focus

FOCUS

Identifying what we need to think

7

about when designing the site.

Focus

When should you create Focus?

When you have: (not exhaustive)

• No vision statement

• Unclear or ambiguous vision statements

– E.g. Our mission is to create great experiences.

• You think you are reaching too high

• Everything as priority 1

8

• Everything as priority 1

• Lots of excuses why previous builds failed

• No success measures

• No explicit design guidance or principles

• Impractical or unachievable goals & measures

How…9

How…

Identify opportunities and problems

• Understand business, information and operational models

• Brainstorm in a workshop, Stakeholder interviews

• Outline opportunities and objectives

– Derive from business model and other relevant processes

• Identify success measures

10

• Outputs

– Vision statement

– Business objectives

Focus

With IRL...

• Workshops x 4

• About 10 people – stakeholders, champions, different teams

• 3 hrs

11

Focus

Focus – IRL

Values and Mission

Current website offering

12

Vision statement

Site objectives

What…13

What…

Strategy is about...

• Focus

• Definition

14

Focus Definition

15

Got it

Got it

Got it

Sure

?

DEFINITION

Defining what we are actually going

16

to take to market.

Focus Definition

When should you create DEFINITION?

When you have or are experiencing: (not exhaustive)

• Featur-itis and scope creep

• Stakeholders and business owners are not sure about the

purpose of the project

– E.g Why are we doing this? Do we need this feature? What is the ROI?

• Unclear vision statement

17

• No project definition or charter

• No objectives

• Different interpretations and expectations by different team

members and sponsors

• Too many “what-if’s”

How…18

How…

Definition is where you...

• Start getting a clearer picture of what you want to do

• Convert goals into tangible artefacts – the “what” of your

website vision

• Outline your requirements

• Brainstorm in a workshop

– Generate ideas, Participatory design sessions

19

• Outcome

– Input into high-level requirements

Focus Definition

With IRL...

• Workshops x 4

• About 10 people – stakeholders, champions, different teams

• 3 hrs

• Postcard from the future, homepage concepts

• Background reading – IT plans, Business Plans, Comms Plans

20

Focus Definition

Definition – IRL

Themes & suggestions

Concepts

21

Requirements

What…22

What…

Strategy is about...

• Focus

• Definition

• Customer Value

23

Focus DefinitionCustomer

value

Customer

value

When should you define the Customer Value?

When you have: (not exhaustive)

• Unclear vision statement

• Your website looks like the competition

• You have a large customer base

– e.g. Whole of NZ, everyone between 15 and 45

• Internal people don’t speak same way about your site

24

• Internal people don’t speak same way about your site

• Internal people don’t know what you’re working on

CUSTOMER VALUE

Defining the value proposition to

25

the end-user.

Focus DefinitionCustomer

value

Customer

value

Customer value is about

• Understanding...

Who is the target

audience?

What experiences are

compelling to them?

How is your offering

different from what’s

out there?

Baby

26

Baby

site

Illustration concepts from Adaptive Path UX Intensive

How…27

How…

With IRL...

• Define user groups

• Comparative study

28

Customer value – IRL

• Compare features and offerings

Opportunity for

IRL - Point of

Difference

29

Difference

- Add value to

customers

What…30

What…

Strategy is about...

• Focus

• Definition

• Customer Value

• Scope

31

Dusks borrowed from Adaptive Path UX Intensive Chicago – design strategy slides

Focus DefinitionCustomer

value

Customer

valueScope

SCOPE

Making trade-offs for different

32

stages of the evolution of the site.

Focus DefinitionCustomer

value

Customer

valueScope

When should you create SCOPE?

When you have: (not exhaustive)

• Unrealistic delivery expectations

• Nervous developers

• No-one is terribly excited about what you are building

• Too much paring back of features

– E.g. Just remove the header, we’ll do it later

33

– E.g. Just remove the header, we’ll do it later

• Have no specific timeframe or goal for releases

• No plan or clear list of features

• Everything is important

• Too many edge cases

Scope is about..

• What to do first

• What not to do

• Trade-off features

• Prioritisation – objectives, target users and requirements

• Also about Focus

34

• Outcome

– Strategic roadmap

Focus DefinitionCustomer

value

Customer

valueScope

How…35

How…

Scope is about...

• Priorisation – objectives

– Business importance vs. Feasility

• Also about Focus

36

Borrowed from Adaptive Path UX Intensive Chicago – design strategy slides

Scope is about...

• Trade-offs – Features

37

Web strategy project

• Prioritisation – Objectives & User groups

Goal &

Focus

Feature

38

Feature

s/Scope

Business

value

Customer

value

What?39

What?

“”

Strategy for your website provides an explicit understanding of the goals of the site and your users…

“”

40

”the site and your users…

Adaptive Path ”

Web strategy – basics

• What does the business want out of the site? – Site Objectives

• What do our users want out of it? – User needs

Web strategy

41

Web strategy

Site objectives User needs

Web strategy – basics

• 3 Principles

– Will people want/like it? – Desirability

– Can we build it? – Capability

– Can we sustain it? – Viability

42

Viability Capability

Desirability

Website/ Product/

Service

Develop a vision

Outline site objectives

Identify success measures

Prioritise objectives

Build a roadmap

43

measures

Identify & understand target users

Do a comparative

analysis

Define requirements

objectives

Use these questions to frame your web strategy...

Focus DefinitionCustomer

value

Customer

valueScope

44

... as a part of your workshops

Web strategy

Site objectives User needs

Elements of web strategy

Viability Capability

Desirability

Web

45

Elements of web strategyDesirability

Focus DefinitionCustomer

valueScope

Strategy docs

46

Strategy docs

For IRL – Strategy documents

Detailed strategy

document

Presentation

(concepts,

roadmap, strategy)

Insights

(research findings)

47

Tools?48

Tools?

Digital camera

49

Background reading

50

Skills?51

Skills?

52

Thank you ☺

53

Thank you ☺

lulu@provoke.co.nz

Inspired by & adapted from Adaptive Path UX Intensive (Chicago)

http://adaptivepath.com

http://adaptivepath.com/events/2008/oct/strategy.php