I was recently tasked with creating an Action Plan on how UX can best support a product that needed a lot of TLC. While I had done planning activities like this in the past, this was the first time I had a formal remit to do so from management.
Creating a UX Action Plan is not that different from doing an Action Plan for, say, an engineering or a marketing team – The main difference being the tasks and focus areas need to reflect user-centered-design principles and activities.
A good Action Plan has to have three things:
• An understanding of the different needs of the team and the project
• Defined Focus Areas for value-added activities
• Clear commitments as to what activities will happen when
You can look at an action plan two-ways: Goal-based or Activity-based.
Goal based Action Plans are based on a shared agreement on the key objectives you want to achieve. Start with the goal, and then define an activity list that aligns with and supports that goal… And any activity that does not directly support this goal should be questioned. This works well in a top-down organization. Get agreement/buy-in from management on the goals, and then you can have your team build out and refine a task-list to support it. This works well with legacy waterfall teams, especially with management used to “command and control” processes.
Activity-based Action Plans focuses on what has to happen to support the product or project. It is more focused on the doing than the “planning”, and in my opinion and experience this approach aligns better with Agile software development. What are the tactical “must do” steps that support the team?
Whatever the approach, a key principle of building an effective Action Plan is leveraging a UX best practice: Research. To understand the different needs of the team and project, interview the stakeholders and talk to your colleagues. Find out what is working and what is not, and then spend some time analyzing the interview notes to define the tasks that should be part of the Action Plan. Double-down on what is working, course-correct what is not, and stop doing things that do not adding value.
(This last part can be particularly humbling – it was for me. Swallow your pride and accept the feedback. Feedback is a gift. Nobody’s perfect.)
Once you have this feedback and understand the needs, define the focus areas where UX can make the most impact. For some projects, it is research. For others, it is detailed documentation or interactive click-throughs. Make sure that the activities add value and support the team as best as possible – as well as support any inputs the designers need to do their work.
There’s an old military quote that “No plan survives contact with the enemy,” and that’s certainly true in software development. Only the “enemy” in my experience is changing business priorities and remote teams. You cannot control this, all you can do is adjust. Keep doing the core UX Action Plan activities that you have defined, even if the work because “throw-away” due to changing priorities. The opposite can also occur – a project that may not have been a priority becomes a BIG one overnight. Keeping your focus and not skipping tasks in the Action Plan prevents a potential uncomfortable conversation from taking place.
When it comes to format, there’s multiple Action Plan template out there, but the format is only important in that it has to communicate what the plan is and what people will be doing. A narrative list of bullets grouped by focus areas is fine, but if you want a more structured plan, consider the following content areas:
• Action/Focus Area
• Goal
• Tasks
• Person(s) Responsible
• Measure of Success
• Timeline
Finally, a #UX Action Plan needs to be focused not just on design activities, but also on collaboration and communication. If there are any daily stand-ups or sprints, make sure you attend them. Share updates and overcommunicate to development teams to make sure they are aware of what you are doing, even if it is design work that is three sprints ahead. Product development is a team sport, and make sure you take the extended team along with you on the design journey.