Bugfixing your mental model of your customers

Are you constantly feeling like you’re doing lots of customer research, yet you still seem to know so little? Does it seem like research results never ‘land’ properly with stakeholders, or you’re having trouble seeing eye-to-eye? Or are you worried about blind spots in your information about customers?

These issues are often caused by different people in the team unknowingly having different mental models of the same thing: your customers. Your mental model is like an invisible product you ship to yourself, informing your decisions every day. And, like all products, it often needs bugfixing and improving. In this talk, Ben Crothers shows you some techniques for using simple drawing that anyone can use to get a common mental model across the team, and to accelerate a shared clear understanding about why they’re doing what they’re doing.

Transcript

1. Bugfixing your mental model How to accelerate shared understanding of the customer in your team BEN CROTHERS Principal Design Strategist
 Atlassian @bencrothers Author
 Presto Sketching and Draw in 4! @prestosketching
2. Think of your customers TRY THIS…
3. Draw what you think of,
 when you think of 
 your customers TRY THIS…
4. WHAT WE’LL COVER The power of visuals The power of mental models The trap of mental models Drawing together, to bugfix your mental models Three easy drawing patterns to ‘see’ your customers in a new way
5. THE POWER OF VISUALS
6. AN AGILE WALL BOARD Photo: Agile Board Hacks
7. Shared method Shared language Shared understanding TEAMS WIN WHEN THEY VISUALISE
8. THE POWER OF MENTAL MODELS
9. YOU THE WORLD YOUR MENTAL MODEL OF THE WORLD WHAT IS A MENTAL MODEL?
10. ME A PLANE MY MENTAL MODEL OF A PLANE MENTAL MODEL - AN EXAMPLE
11. ENGINEER A PLANE ENGINEER’S MENTAL MODEL OF A PLANE MENTAL MODEL - AN EXAMPLE
12. COMMUNICATING AS A CONCEPTUAL MODEL THE WORLD YOUR CONCEPTUAL MODEL YOU
13. A SHARED MENTAL MODEL AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL THE WORLD YOUR CONCEPTUAL MODEL YOUR TEAM
14. DIFFERENCE EXPERIENCES, DIFFERENT MODELS REALITY BELIEF BELIEF BELIEF BELIEF
15. VERY EARLY ATLASSIAN CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF CUSTOMERS
16. IT’S A TRAP! Communicating your slice of reality in the same way all the time
17. TRAP: USING FAMILIAR LANGUAGE THAT’S UNFAMILIAR TO OTHERS DISSONANCE
18. DISSONANCE TRAP: USING FAMILIAR LANGUAGE THAT’S UNFAMILIAR TO OTHERS
19. DISSONANCE TRAP: USING FAMILIAR LANGUAGE THAT’S UNFAMILIAR TO OTHERS
20. HOW TO 
 BUGFIX YOUR MENTAL MODEL ACCURATE SHARED
21. THE POWER OF VISUALS
22. YOU CAN 
 DRAW
23. DRAWING TOGETHER CAN BUGFIX OUR MENTAL MODELS
24. Start with what’s familiar Draw real-world things Share and discuss Drawing together to bugfix our mental models
25. EARLY ATLASSIAN CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF CUSTOMERS Research insight: NPS survey responses are from product administrators, who make up 10% of our user-base. We don’t know much about the other 90%.
26. EARLY ATLASSIAN CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF CUSTOMERS Research insight: NPS survey responses are from product administrators, who make up 10% of our user-base. We don’t know much about the other 90%.
27. Drawing together to bugfix our mental models Start with what’s familiar Draw real-world things Share and discuss
28. DRAW REAL WORLD THINGS, IN A SIMPLE WAY
29. (STILL) EARLY ATLASSIAN CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF CUSTOMERS
30. Drawing together to bugfix our mental models Start with what’s familiar Draw real-world things Share and discuss
31. WHAT WE DREW WHEN WE THOUGHT OF ‘CUSTOMER’
32. 3 EASY PATTERNS TO ‘SEE’ YOUR CUSTOMERS IN A NEW WAY User map User clock User superhero booth See the relationships See through their eyes See their future
33. 1. A SIMPLE USER MAP
34. 1. A SIMPLE USER MAP
35. 1. A SIMPLE USER MAP
36. 1. A SIMPLE USER MAP
37. 1. A SIMPLE USER MAP
38. 1. A SIMPLE USER MAP
40. 2. A USER CLOCK GET READY COMMUTE CATCH UP AND PLAN MEETINGS LUNCH MEETINGS FOCUSED WORK COMMUTE DINNER 
 AND NETFLIX SLEEP
41. 2. A USER CLOCK
42. 3. A USER SUPERHERO BOOTH
43. 3. A USER SUPERHERO BOOTH
44. 3. A USER SUPERHERO BOOTH
45. 3. A USER SUPERHERO BOOTH
46. RECAP: CHANGE UP YOUR ‘FRAME’ ON CUSTOMERS User map User clock User superhero booth See the relationships See through their eyes See their future
47. WHAT WOULD A WALLBOARD OF YOUR CUSTOMERS LOOK LIKE?
48. DRAW 
 SHARE 
 DISCUSS
49. BEN CROTHERS Principal Design Strategist
 Atlassian Author
 Presto Sketching and Draw in 4! @bencrothers @prestosketching