Design Thinking for Innovation (Assignment)

Reflection: Learning Launch

1) Challenge:

Being part of a team of Business Analysts for a technology company I often come  across challenges where I need to work on UX research and come up with changes in  our current UI to enhance the user experience. One such challenge was the introduction  of a strict format of addresses for online product that would streamline the user data  making it easier for our users to search for a particular address on the product as well  as help our backend developers in putting these addresses on product in an easier way.  The challenge given to me was to come up with a particular format that will be easier for  the front end user to understand as well as the backend developers to implement.

2) Selection:

The tool selected to cater to this challenge was ‘Learning Launch Process’. Such a tool  is handy in cases where we understand the problem statement as well as the  assumptions associated with it. The assumptions which were taken here are:  i) that our front end users provide us with the correct data most of the time  ii) the backend developers were well versed with the tool and any change in the policy  or format of the work will not affect their current productivity.  iii) the proposed change in the UI will not affect the other attributes or features of the UI.    The hypothesis which we were following here was that with a proposed introduction of a  strict address format will further increase the correctness of the user data and increase  the overall user experience related to the UI.    The proposed hypothesis along with the assumptions had a high value creation in terms  of UX and UI enhancement. It was easy to execute as only a change in UI was to be  proposed. It had high scalability in terms of the fact that if successful can be easily  scaled to other features of the UI with minimum alterations.

3) Application:

Based on the hypothesis and assumptions listed, I came up with prioritization of the key  assumptions in order to design a test for the same. The first priority assumption was:

i) that our front end users provide us with the correct data most of the time.    For this key assumption I went through the historical data present with us regarding  addresses issues for online product and could see patterns in terms of countries where  there was a house number along with the name of the nearest street to that house had  most structured data. For other countries where such a format was missing we had  specific teams for that country that were guiding us with the format of the address to be  followed. Hence, on a year on year basis the correctness of the user provided data  remained fairly accurate.    ii) the backend developers were well versed with the tool and any change in the policy  or format of the work will not affect their current productivity.    For this, I had meetings with my colleagues from the operations, policy, project  management team where we noted down concerns of each team regarding the teams  productivity, error rates, accuracy, and other key metrics. As a part of secondary  research we went through the data related to these key metrics. Brainstorming was  done to come up with ideas for refreshers to be conducted for the developers. To  conduct discussions within the teams by the respective team leads to understanding the  pain points as well as conducting surveys to get data that would provide us insights  about the effect of UI change at the backend.      iii) the proposed change in the UI will not affect the other attributes or features of the UI.    Analysing the historical data along with a prototype of the new UI was introduced within  the organisation to see and check for any changes in the functioning of other features  and if there was any change in terms of user data for the other features.

4) Insights:

Through the learning launch tool, me & my team got a lot of insights that could be  incorporated into the current UI. One such insight was not to make the address format a  fix but to give it flexibility in the UI for users to provide accurate information depending  upon their area of residence. Along with flexibility we provided users with a clear  description about each field that needs to be filled and what exactly is the data that  needs to be filled. We also introduced visual representation of the address provided by  the user on the UI so that users can accurately provide the location of the address.

Finally once, the address was user data was submitted we would send them a  confirmation mail regarding the same and once the address was verified by our  backend developers and uploaded into the product we would again send a mail to the  user giving them information regarding the same. This would create a sense of being a  part of the entire process for the user which would further enhance the UX part.

5) Approach:

Learning Launch is an excellent tool when working in a scenario where we would be  affecting multiple users of the product. It gives an holistic view of the approach and can  be incorporated in any situation that has multiple stakeholders. Multiple stakeholders  help to remove confirmation bias. The process not only helps in testing our hypothesis  correctly but also comes up with an innovative approach to any problem which is a key  for design thinking.


Design Thinking for Innovation ( Assignment ) Reflection : Learning Launch 1 ) Challenge : Being part of a team of Business Analysts for a technology company I often come across challenges where I need to work on UX research and come up with changes in our current UI to enhance the user experience . One such challenge was the introduction of a strict format of addresses for online product that would streamline the user data making it easier for our users to search for a particular address on the product as well as help our backend developers in putting these addresses on product in an easier way . The challenge given to me was to come up with a particular format that will be easier for the front end user to understand as well as the backend developers to implement . 2 ) Selection : The tool selected to cater to this challenge was ‘ Learning Launch Process ’ . Such a tool is handy in cases where we understand the problem statement as well as the assumptions associated with it . The assumptions which were taken here are : i ) that our front end users provide us with the correct data most of the time ii ) the backend developers were well versed with the tool and any change in the policy or format of the work will not affect their current productivity . iii ) the proposed change in the UI will not affect the other attributes or features of the UI . The hypothesis which we were following here was that with a proposed introduction of a strict address format will further increase the correctness of the user data and increase the overall user experience related to the UI . The proposed hypothesis along with the assumptions had a high value creation in terms of UX and UI enhancement . It was easy to execute as only a change in UI was to be proposed . It had high scalability in terms of the fact that if successful can be easily scaled to other features of the UI with minimum alterations . 3 ) Application : Based on the hypothesis and assumptions listed , I came up with prioritization of the key assumptions in order to design a test for the same . The first priority assumption was : i ) that our front end users provide us with the correct data most of the time . For this key assumption I went through the historical data present with us regarding addresses issues for online product and could see patterns in terms of countries where there was a house number along with the name of the nearest street to that house had most structured data . For other countries where such a format was missing we had specific teams for that country that were guiding us with the format of the address to be followed . Hence , on a year on year basis the correctness of the user provided data remained fairly accurate . ii ) the backend developers were well versed with the tool and any change in the policy or format of the work will not affect their current productivity . For this , I had meetings with my colleagues from the operations , policy , project management team where we noted down concerns of each team regarding the teams productivity , error rates , accuracy , and other key metrics . As a part of secondary research we went through the data related to these key metrics . Brainstorming was done to come up with ideas for refreshers to be conducted for the developers . To conduct discussions within the teams by the respective team leads to understanding the pain points as well as conducting surveys to get data that would provide us insights about the effect of UI change at the backend . iii ) the proposed change in the UI will not affect the other attributes or features of the UI . Analysing the historical data along with a prototype of the new UI was introduced within the organisation to see and check for any changes in the functioning of other features and if there was any change in terms of user data for the other features . 4 ) Insights : Through the learning launch tool , me & my team got a lot of insights that could be incorporated into the current UI . One such insight was not to make the address format a fix but to give it flexibility in the UI for users to provide accurate information depending upon their area of residence . Along with flexibility we provided users with a clear description about each field that needs to be filled and what exactly is the data that needs to be filled . We also introduced visual representation of the address provided by the user on the UI so that users can accurately provide the location of the address . Finally once , the address was user data was submitted we would send them a confirmation mail regarding the same and once the address was verified by our backend developers and uploaded into the product we would again send a mail to the user giving them information regarding the same . This would create a sense of being a part of the entire process for the user which would further enhance the UX part . 5 ) Approach : Learning Launch is an excellent tool when working in a scenario where we would be affecting multiple users of the product . It gives an holistic view of the approach and can be incorporated in any situation that has multiple stakeholders . Multiple stakeholders help to remove confirmation bias . The process not only helps in testing our hypothesis correctly but also comes up with an innovative approach to any problem which is a key for design thinking .