User Experience Strategy

User experience strategy is a broad term that is used to describe the combination of methods with the goal of improving the experience users have when interacting with a product, service, or system.
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With any kind of strategy, a high-level plan or approach is needed. It typically starts with a clear understanding of the specific goals or objectives that the product, service or system is trying to achieve. Goals are rarely 100% figured out before we engage on a project, so if they are unclear or not yet established, we help determine a new set using research, workshops, interviews and strategic frameworks.

‍Our approach to developing a user experience strategy

It starts with holistic understanding
User experience strategies are formulated based on a systematic understanding of the current situation, analysis of what the future could look like, and a delicate balancing of both user and business needs. A well-defined UX strategy aligns the design and functionality with the expectations, preferences, and behaviours of its users.

Our goal when establishing a new user experience strategy is to come away with a clear path forward. One that can be presented to stakeholders with confidence. Product roadmaps that are full of exciting features, but are not pie in the sky. Features that solve genuine user needs, have the evidence to back them up, their potential for impact quantified and their implementation effort estimated by experts. For us at Furthermore, a good user experience strategy is the most critical part of a project, playing the role of a detective, investigating the possible and ensuring we have the evidence to back it up.

‍It's backed up by research
A user experience strategy will be initially established during a ‘discovery’ phase and will continually evolve throughout the project’s lifecycle. User research helps us understand the target audience through surveys, interviews, and analytics.

We’ll use our research to gather insights into user’s needs, behaviour modes, mindsets and pain points. These will feed into personas or customer archetypes. Archetypes represent a user segment, helping the team humanise and understand the diverse needs of users.

Leaving no stone unturned, we use empathy maps, service blueprints and user journeys to map out the various touchpoints and interactions a user could potentially have with a product or service and how it may make them feel. From acquisition to consideration, exploration to task completion, repeat use to advocacy, the journey is as important to understand as the destination itself.

‍It's thoroughly tested
‍Throughout discovery we are forming our first set of high-level design hypotheses, these are assumptions based on our research to date that are developed within a framework that allows for testing and quantifying with metrics over time. A good user experience strategy is thoroughly tested in a variety of ways. In fact, we like to employ a triangulation of research methods to ensure our team is not introducing any biases of their own. Evaluating prototypes with real users to identify any usability issues and gather feedback for continuous improvement is a great start (and really fun!).

No user experience strategy will remain credible for long without clear communication of what is required to make it a reality. In depth knowledge of the data, content, systems and processes needed to deliver on the strategy is key, this often starts with information architecture and taxonomy definition. We continue to prototype and wireframe before implementation ensuring that the product or service is usable by individuals with diverse abilities and disabilities.

Drop us a line‍
Do you need help developing a user experience strategy for your product? Get in touch and let's chat about how our expert team of user experience designers and user experience strategists can help.