UX Strategy - An inside look at our practice

This talk was given on the UXDX Hamburg Meetup on 11. September 2024.

My transition from a large corporation to an early-stage startup and then to a mid-sized scale-up has reshaped my view on UX strategy. I'll share how we at refurbed approach strategy, execute on investments, and maintain focus while pushing for growth. I hope my experiences inspire you to refine your own strategic approach for lasting success.

Transcript

1. Jan Kiekeben • Design Lead • September 2024 • UXDX Meetup Hamburg An inside look at our practice UX STRATEGY
2. 2 ! I’m Jan Sharing my perspective on strategy 
 after 6 month on a new role @ refurbed.
3. 3 I worked at a… traditional medium-sized company tech company in a highly competitive market established publicly traded corporation early stage Start-Up (Seed) later stage Scale-Up (Series C)
4. 4 Strategies are quite different 
 in varying mature companies My personal observations
5. 5 Corporation • Big process with lots of stakeholders • Strategies on multiple levels • Established structures with 
 a need for direction Meta Problem Sustain business 
 and develop
6. 6 Early Stage Start-Up • No process - founding strategy • The product is the company • Small team, almost no structure; 
 A bit chaotic but fun! Meta Problem Product Market Fit
7. 7 Scale-Up / Mid Size • A strategy process is shaped • Company and product strategies are formalized and explicit • Structures are in place; 
 Now become more efficient! Meta Problem Satisfy the ambitions (e.g. growth)
8. Strategy 8 Company Strategy, Product Strategy, UX Strategy, …
9. 9 Vision & Mission Operations Strategy Strategy Context
10. 10 How will it look like 
 if we succeed? Where to play & 
 what matters? How to get there? Strategy Context
11. 11 Common issues with strategy • too vague • ambiguous on different levels • unvalidated • inflexible or constantly changing
12. 12 Good strategy is complex but become clear when customer needs, markets, and user journeys are understood.
13. 13 Elements of Strategy Idea Capabilities Value Proposition Market
14. 13 Elements of Strategy Idea Capabilities Value Proposition Market Product Field
15. 14 Strategy Context @ refurbed Culture Process Organisation The enablers and drivers of our strategies
16. Organisation 15
17. 16 User Centered Product Organisation Aquisition Discovery Product Purchase Service eCommerce Journey Two-sided Marketplace Customers buying Merchants selling
18. 17 User Centered Product Organisation Squad Squad Squad Squad Squad eCommerce Journey Two-sided Marketplace Tribe: Customer Experience Tribe: Merchant Experience
19. 18 Product Designer Product Manager Engineers SQUAD User Centered Product Organisation
20. 19 Design Leaders Product Leaders Engineering Leaders LEADERSHIP User Centered Product Organisation
21. 20 Special organizational elements Strategy Department Discovering big opportunities 
 in collaboration Bringing together 
 all strategic perspectives Standing Working Groups Expanded cross-functional Expert Teams e.g. Customer Happiness, Retention, …
22. Culture 21
23. 22 Culture Investments • Cultural fit in the recruitment process • Building on collaboration and community • Putting company principles into action • Shaping a product culture
24. 23 A glimpse into refurbed’s company principles ENTERPRENEURSHIP GROWTH PROBLEM SOLVING COMMUNITY
25. 24 A glimpse into refurbed’s company principles PROBLEM SOLVING • Solve a problem for the customer • Move to insights fast
26. 25 A glimpse into refurbed’s company principles • Documentation, interpretation and individual advice • Monthly conversations in 1:1s • Part of 360° feedback & performance evaluation • Part of personal development plans
27. 26 Product culture • No separation between Product & UX • Easy access to data & users • Outcome thinking 
 (setting, reporting, discussing) • Continuous Product Discovery Viability Usability Desirability Feasibility
28. Process 27
29. 28 Processes that enable strategies Experimentation Prioritization OKRs
30. 29 Processes that enable strategies • Focussed and pragmatic OKR process • Company OKRs & Team OKRs • Evidence guide strategic decisions OKRs
31. 31 Processes that enable strategies • RICE framework • MoSCoW framework • Evidence guide tactical decisions Prioritization
32. 31 Processes that enable strategies • RICE framework • MoSCoW framework • Evidence guide tactical decisions Prioritization
33. 31 Processes that enable strategies • RICE framework • MoSCoW framework • Evidence guide tactical decisions Prioritization
34. 33 Processes that enable strategies • Start small & iterate • Make measuring impact easy • Combine expertise with data Experimentation
35. 34 • Product Discovery is a multi department effort. • Not only PMs and UX do discovery. • Bringing up an initiative is coming with basic discovery efforts • Mitigate Risk • Gather Confidence • Demonstrate Impact Product Discovery & Strategy
36. Let’s wrap all this up 35
37. 36 Strategy can’t exist in isolation — it’s tied to vision and operations.
38. 37 Good tactics can save even the worst strategy. Bad tactics will destroy even the best strategy. – US General George S. Patton
39. 38 " Thank you Let’s have a conversation and share experiences