Episode 29: Dear Melissa - Answering Questions About Complex Product Problems
In this episode of Product Thinking, Melissa answers subscribers’ questions about compliance, dealing with physical and digital goods simultaneously, and what good UX looks like when solving really complicated processes.
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Q: I started working in product compliance at a company that offers an alternative credit product. It's been challenging for me because product teams do not see the value in my role and do not want to engage in the build-out or with issues that come up as it takes away from them shipping new features. We're a heavily regulated space, but they don't seem to care. And it's making me want to search for a new job. My previous company valued product compliance and saw me as an asset to the team, not a hindrance. How can I help the product managers see the value of my role help? [00:55]
A: Product people can see compliance as their arch-nemesis, but it doesn’t need to be that way. Heavily regulated industries are always going to be different than those that aren’t, and some people, like Georgie Smallwood who I interviewed in our second episode can find creativity in the restrictions. You can experiment when it comes to compliance. You have to ask yourself: “What is the real legal requirement, and what do I need to do to figure out?” Then you can be creative in how you come up with ways to meet the obligation. If you’re the compliance person, be the cool compliance person who isn’t putting up stop signs but is going to help design experiments and present ideas to make sure the legal boxes are ticked, and the customers are protected while bringing awesome products to market. That’s gold – every product manager should want a compliance person like that. [01:20]
Q: I worked for a retailer that has offline and online shops, and we're trying to move towards being more product-driven. I've read a lot and listened to your answers about organizing product teams to be focused on specific value, streams and jobs to be done, and to keep them as autonomous as possible. But how should this work for companies that are not entirely digital? Our product team needs to work very closely with teams like retail, marketing, and creative when it comes to new features. So, we struggle with setting up teams that can ideate and execute entirely on their own. [05:40]
A: E-commerce is what we call tech enabled rather than pure tech – your product is a physical good rather than software, and the technology helps you do it in a competitive way. I worked with a bank in Canada that had retail locations serviced by staff that engaged directly with the customers. THEY were the real users of the software. Identify who the different users of the software truly are and organize your work around those personas. You also need to think about things like retail, marketing, and creative as cross-functional teams, and look out for bottlenecks that can slow things down. Different organizations’ structures and workflows in different departments can be a challenge, so make sure to have a point or lead person for each one – bring them into the fold and focus on the internal or external users. [06:10]
Q: I think it’s the trend that many people equate good UX to simplicity. Simple wizard-like workflow might be okay for a phone app or web page in the B to C world, but I work on a product that is helping users to tackle complex 3D engineering tasks, construction of huge infrastructures, simulations of physical phenomenon, building of airplanes etc. These tasks can't be simple by definition and require a lot of flexibility and functionality. In my experience, blind simplification of the workflow often leads to a UX quality decrease. It's a challenge to get UX designers onboard with this very niche user workflow. What is the best way to approach this challenge, and what UX principles would work best in a complex product environment? [09:15]
A: UX is more than simplicity, it's about meeting the user in their workflow and being intuitive. I'd actually say good UX is not simple. It's intuitive and needs to be intuitive to your users so that they have this seamless experience using your product. You understand how your users think and act, and you want them to have more power and ability with your product than without it. That means the best solution won’t always be the simplest one – it will be the most intuitive for your users. [10:00]
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