At work, regardless of level or function, we constantly face choices–when to launch a new product, whether to invest, or how to communicate effectively? But how do we know we’ve made the right decision?
It’s easy to say ‘let’s try it’ but how to figure it out–so we can double-down on what’s working and improve what’s not?
Let me give you two examples:
1. Shall we launch this product?
At a global consumer product company, engineering was excited about a new innovation to incorporate ultrasonic in a styling iron. However, what would it do and how would the market respond? Historically, stylists didn’t like “steam” function because it took time to heat-up and would drip if it’s not fully heated. Ultrasonic is a cool mist; no waiting or drips, but a vaper looks similar.
What will you do?
I asked engineering to build a few prototypes. I gave one to an experienced stylist to test in her salon and the others to a 3rd party lab to compare with regular straighteners, specially the shininess, the smoothness, and manageability of the hair which stylists and clients care about. A few days later, the stylist excitingly called me that she loved how the hair felt and looked after the treatment. Moreover, the lab result blew us away, it showed double-digit difference in all three metrics. We got the professional endorsement and the performance data, what we need next is the green light from the senior management to continue the project. Before submiting a business case, I asked the stylist to do a live demo to the SVP and engineering. When the hair came out straight, shiny, and smooth in just one pass, everyone’s eye lighted up, we got a ‘go ahead’ quickly.
2. Which design is better?
At a global tech and service company, we were redesigning the community member’s work journey with fewer steps, less clicks, and cleaner user interfaces. One of the changes was the work detail screen. Each section was foldable and engineering, product, and UX teams debated which design to set as default: compact “all-folded” (let user to expand) or detailed “fully open” (let user to fold).
What will you choose?
I teamed up with the UX designer; we segmented the community, sampled a small but diverse group of users, and reached out to them requesting a user research interview. We paired up in interviews: one walked the user through the design and asked questions and the other took notes and supported as needed. To our surprise, users overwhelmingly preferred the “fully open” version. They want to read the details and prefer choosing if/which section to fold; they don’t mind a busier screen and scrolling down. We summarized and presented the full research result to cross-functional teams: engineering, community management, and operation, to help everyone understand why and how user feel and behave and proceeded with designs that better serve them.
‘Figure it out’ lesson: to make effective experiments
- Define the goal: Why do we want this? What do we hope to learn?
- Engage the right people: Who will use it, be impacted, or help make it happen?
- Plan, learn, and improve: How will we proceed, measure success, and adjust?
With a clear goal, the right team, and a thoughtful plan, experiments become a system for testing, learning, and improving together.
What have you learned from this article?
How will you apply that in the next choice?
Part of the Make a Positive Difference series — Thinking Differently, Acting Purposefully.