Alan Miles
Product Manager & Leader
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Good problems

Problems, opportunities, pains, gains, jobs—call them what you want. There is no shortage of things that good people can work on. Where to start?

Again, not with solutions. First, discover and understand users’ needs. Don’t assume—observe. Or as Richard Branson put it, “Solving problems means listening.”

Let’s take a look at two examples. One where there is an existing solution to improve and another where there isn’t.

At The Iconic, I conducted a usability and analytics audit that uncovered 36 opportunities for improvement.

Combining qualitative and quantitative research, provided a wide perspective. The research involved observing new and existing customers across a range of scenarios and tasks in moderated and unmoderated sessions, listening to customer service enquiries, to interviewing internal stakeholders, visiting the warehouse, running surveys and poking around in Google Analytics.

Synthesising the research revealed what worked well and what could be improved.

Themes grouped opportunities prioritised by pain and frequency.

I was promoted to Head of Experience Design and Website Product Owner. The opportunities informed my team’s roadmap. The team achieved a 19.3% increase in conversion rate year on year.

But what about when there isn’t an existing solution to improve?

At Westpac, I led a team that mapped the customer journey of homeowners and investors, and identified a new solution, Wonder.

The mapping involved gathering a wide range of existing research, identifying customer jobs, gains and pains, and documenting value proposition canvases and lifecycles for multiple customer segments.

Prioritising learnings by bang for buck uncovered a new business model, launched within a quarter.

I was awarded as a ‘Digital Genius’ at the Westpac Digital H.O.F.F Awards for “someone who came up with a fantastic or alternative idea and thought outside of the box”.

Good problems prioritised to follow a good process.

Although operating in different areas of the business, Alan and I were able to work closely together to bridge the gap between client feedback and product development. Alan was always attentive and keen to understand the voice of our customers. The products he designed were purposeful, elegant yet simple again, with the voice of customer top of mind. When designing new products and or functionality Alan would always be available to provide context, training and support not only to his team but those in other parts of the business. Following the launch of product releases, Alan’s full support continued. Despite living in opposite hemispheres, I never struggled to communicate with Alan. He was flexible, available and always professional.”