kick ass kickoff's to focus research
Post on 21-Apr-2017
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Kick Ass Kick-offs
with Jacinta McMahon,Head of UX Design,Bourne Digital
Pieces of Paper Clients
Extra
New projectWoohoo, a new client or
project to dig into
Wrapping your head around what to do
❏ Have you read the proposal?❏ Have you seen the initial client brief?❏ What is the scope of this project?❏ What are the planned deliverables?
Oh, and when do we get started?
Doing your homework for the kick-off meetingResearchKnow who’s coming.
Know who needs to come. Liaise with key client point of contact.
Review the client brief/proposal.
Know the scope of this piece of work.
Hypothesise a problem statement.
AgendaCraft or review the Agenda.
Include questions in the agenda to trigger thought.
Know where you can add value with questions or direction.
AttendeesInvite the right people!
Have the decision makers in the room.
Include cross- functional members of your team.
Share the agenda in advance.
Sample Research activities from the proposal
Desktop Research
Heuristic Evaluations
Documentation Review
Competitive Analysis
Testing
Current-state usability evaluation
Cognitive Walk-through
Workshops
Stakeholders
Customers
Employees
Contextual Research
Interviewing
Diary Studies
Ethnographic observation
Content
Audit
Strategy
Journey Mapping
Stakeholders
Customers
Employees
Information Architecture
Best Practice
Card Sorting
Tree Testing
Red routes analysis
Deliverables
Personas
Customer Journey Maps
Test Report
New Site Map
How on earth do we get all that done?
We have four weeks in the Discovery phase of our project… how do we learn as much as possible to deliver value to our client?
How on earth do we get all that done?
Setting clear objectives for the project
A flexible research plan based on real project objectives
Pragmatic application of our research methods
How do we set clear objectives for the project?
A great Kick-off meeting, of course ;)
A meeting is a gathering of two or more people convened for the purpose of achieving a common goal through
interaction.
Management 3.0, “Better Meetings”
A good Kick-off Agenda
PeopleAgain, make sure you get you get the right people in the room.
Having a meeting without the key decision makers is a mistake that can lead to wasted time and effort.
SuccessWhat does success look like for this project?
Gather participant’s definition of success.
Probe to clarify what these really mean. Really understand why.
Understand the key results or outcomes that we want to see as a result of the project.
ActionsGather a list of action items.
What needs to be actioned and by whom
DependenciesInformation sought
Timings
What information, documentation, access is needed to initiate discovery?
Other Kick-off tips
Active ListeningDon’t be afraid to probe and clarify Why on participant’s success metrics.
Listen, without discounting when they are out of scope. Probe to bring the goal back to earth.
Repeat back to the participant; rephrase or paraphrase to get very clear on the intent.
Rationalise some success factors (asking why)
Summarising and AgreementKnow the scope & express the limits.
Summarise realistic Goals - this takes some thinking, yes.
Be honest.
State where a goal might not have clear metrics i.e. where a goals is for increased conversion vs where a goal is for awards and recognition differ.
Timelines should follow after the meeting. Don’t rush to agree to timings.
You should ensure that attendees remember to be there, remember what
happened and remember what their tasks and responsibilities are.
Management 3.0, “Better Meetings”
After the meeting
Don’t forget to share your action points and meeting minutes with all those involved.
Time to get started devising your new research plan. You will be guided by your project objectives!
Effective meetings don’t happen by accident, they happen by design.
Catherine Mattiske, Making Meetings Work, 2010
Don’t forget
Be flexible with your approach. Not all methods will bring value to the project and support you with achieving your client’s goals for the project.
Be forgiving with the application of your research methods. Sometimes we need to bend them to fit within our project constraints. That’s okay!
Thanks!Any questions?
You can find me at:@jacintamcmahon on Twitter
Connect with me on Linkedin: jacintamcmahon
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