Timing: 2023

Scale: 5 workshops in 2 weeks with 30+ stakeholders

The Problem

Product delivery plan changing mid-development

The UX team had been collaborating closely with Product Managers and Engineers on developing Product C, initially intended for release within Console A. Design specifications and product requirements were already established, with development underway for several months.

However, a strategic shift was communicated by our leadership team; to maximize market exposure and reach a broader customer base, Product C will now be integrated into Console P. This transition involves relocating Product C and its dependent components in Console A to the existing Console P environment.

Lack of single source of truth

However, the Console P team lacked a clear understanding of Product C's intended functions, workflows, and its dependencies on Console A. Similarly, the teams responsible for Console A and Product C were not familiar with the inner workings of Console P. Consequently, it remains unclear to all stakeholders what specific integrations and modifications are necessary to facilitate these changes effectively.

As different teams collaborated on the log-in flow, the UX team frequently received requests for detailed information about Product C, including its intended users and workflows, as well as similar details for Console P from various teams. Although it was assumed that UX held all the necessary information, our involvement was primarily due to our role in facilitating communication across teams. Unfortunately, we did not possess a complete overview of the information the teams were asking for.

The Approach

Identifying key questions

Drawing from the data gathered from stakeholders across various teams, I developed a high-level list of key areas that require alignment to establish a unified understanding of the log-in experience for Product C:

1. Customer Pathways: What are the possible paths customers might take to start using Product C?

2. Prerequisites: What requirements must customers meet to navigate these pathways successfully?

3. Impact on Non-Users: How will the integration of Product C affect the existing user experience on Console A for those who do not switch to the new product?

4. Required Changes for Integration: Assuming there is agreement on the workflow, what modifications to the existing consoles, business processes, and identity and access management systems are necessary to support this integration?

Conducting alignment workshops

To ensure alignment on the login experience for Product C, I organized workflow alignment workshops, bringing together key stakeholders and subject matter experts (SMEs) from each team. Recognizing their time constraints, I meticulously prepared for these sessions by documenting preliminary assumptions and creating flowcharts to depict the current understanding of the login process. This preparation allowed participants to swiftly grasp the context and contribute effectively by pointing out inaccuracies in the initial assumptions and flow diagrams.

During each workshop, I diligently documented consensus decisions and workflow modifications in real-time, enabling all participants to immediately see updates and raise concerns about any perceived inaccuracies. As the moderator, I needed to keep the 30+ stakeholders on track and not get distracted by details that should be worked through by a smaller team offline. Following each session, I distributed detailed notes outlining the key agreements, unresolved issues, forthcoming action items for team members, and focal points for the subsequent workshop. This approach ensured that even stakeholders who could not attend were kept informed and could provide feedback if necessary.

I facilitated 5 workshops involving approximately 30 stakeholders from multiple teams. With each session, alignment improved regarding how console integrations should be executed, which customer paths needed prioritization, the necessary reconciliations for identity and access management across teams, and the envisioned workflow from log-in to accessing Product C.

The Impact

Unified efforts with a single source of truth

Within a span of 2 weeks, a previously fragmented and disjointed process was transformed into a cohesive and unified effort across various teams. This shift was driven by a collective alignment around a clearly defined workflow that served as our single source of truth. The UX team was then able to build designs and provide content to help guide the customer through this process. Concurrently, the other product teams crafted requirements for the necessary integrations and modifications to enable the workflow.

I continued to update and maintain this workflow even as the Project Management team stepped in to spearhead further decisions and alignment on the requirements. This documented flow proved to be a vital reference not only through the initial release of Product C but also as a foundation for ongoing enhancements in subsequent releases.