We, product and UX team have spent the past few months designing the customer research and interviewing users to gather feedback of the current customer portal and the new design. It took a lot longer than expected to set up the calls though most of sales/ Ops teams welcomed the idea to engage customers.
Looking back, is it worth it? 4 months to interview users at 11 companies might seem small yet it’s much more beyond that.
Besides learning from customers, we have…
- Built the relationship across functional teams and with customers: We’ve engaged with sales/ Ops of 31 accounts, some accounts were deferred interviews for different usage/ focus areas, others, even No for the interview now due to different circumstance, team either recommended other candidates or we’ve cultivated a relationship that we can reach back later. Moreover, every customer we’ve talked to, appreciated the reach-out and welcomed further engagement.
- Developed or strengthened product/ UX team skills and knowledge: Each of us, with different background, has done and learned something different from the usual work. Take me for example, I’ve learned a complete new system, engaged with different types of users (customers vs. community partners), and applied what I’ve learned from the UX research and design program in real-world. I also supported team to build “confidence” that it’s not “hard” to try new things and it’s “easy” to talk with users to get feedback.
- Put Agile principles (continuous iteration, continuous development) into action: We paired up with different people and de-briefed after each interview to learn from each other and each interaction. We adjusted/ enhanced the process and added new element, e.g. design prototype for customer feedback, along the way.
- Created a repeatable process and artifacts that can be shared across teams: Through the process, we not only identified (& building) the next phases of customer research but also created methodologies and materials that could be shared with other teams. The goal is to design/ build products that add values to users while making teams successful.
The customer research/ interview has taken longer than expected yet it’s worth the time and efforts from the relationship building and team growth & learning perspectives. It also demonstrated that anything is possible; new approach is not only not scary but also fun! I’m proud and grateful to have the opportunity to orchestrate, execute, and learn with teams.