Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Robert Sens

Does this scenario sound familiar?

You have been tasked with the design of a digital product and have just completed your initial research and discovery phase. You executed a thorough audit and heuristic analysis of existing products, analyzed the market and competitors within the space, interviewed key stakeholders to determine business goals and technology constraints, and observed potential and existing users to better understand their pain points and needs.

Now it is time to build something. More specifically, it is time to begin the process of identifying the key features that will bring the product to life.

Then you analyzed all of your findings to identify a target market and audience, prioritize a set of user personas, developed a vision statement, extracted key findings, and crafted a set of design principles that will help frame the optimal path forward…now it is time to build something. More specifically, it is time to begin the process of identifying the key features that will bring the product to life — delighting your users and in turn, gracefully exceeding the goals and key metrics expected by your client.

How can you effectively facilitate the feature ideation process n collaboration with a team of designers, engineers, and company leadership? Making sure you are accounting for functional requirements, while simultaneously pushing your team’s thinking beyond the obvious — toward feature ideas that have the potential to deliver an experience that not only generate user delight, but also produces gratification and a desire to use your product over and over again.

What will be discussed in this article?

In this article we will discuss a framework for facilitating digital product feature ideation and team alignment as well as an exercise that can be implemented to put the framework to work within your organization.

The 3-tier Feature Ideation Framework

The 3-tier Feature Ideation Framework is designed to help you and your team convert research into tactical product features and conceptual functionality. Loosely based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it segments potential features and functionality into three distinct categories, depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.

Maslow stated “people are motivated to achieve certain needs and that some needs take precedence over others”. Additionally, he references that “Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy…Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by a failure to meet lower level needs”.

When a user interacts with a product the same concepts apply to their need for features and functionality. A user may be intrigued by a product’s innovative process to complete a task they re used to completing in a different way. However, if that same product does not enable them to complete the core, base level functionality that they become accustomed to using in a similar product, they are far less likely to recognize the value of these new, more innovative features and functionality.

What will this framework help me do?

By first honing in on a set of core features, then pushing your thinking in new and novel directions, the 3-tier Feature Ideation Framework is designed to help you ideate a set of features and functionality across multiple levels — from functional requirements, to delightful enhancements, and then even further to potentially gratifying innovations.

Tier 1: Functional Requirements

Functional Requirements consist of the base-level features and functionality required for a product of feature to be both usable and desirable for the target user base.

Examples can include core functionality such as searching, filtering or sorting. However, more advanced functionality and features that user’s closely identify with the tasks your product is facilitating should also be included in this category.

Provocation for ideation:

What is the base-level functionality required for this product or feature to be usable for [target user group or persona]?

What are the tools that a user absolutely cannot live without when [target user or persona] is completing [task or process]?

Sources of ideas and inspiration:

Audit of your existing product
Competitive/comparative analysis
User interviews & observation

Tier 2: Delightful Enhancements

Delightful Enhancements are improvements, expansions, or evolutions of base-level features and functionality that can enhance the overall user experience by improving the experience, usability, reducing the cognitive load, or minimizing effort for a user.

Examples can include incremental improvements to core functionality such as making it easier to search by adding voice commands, contextual suggestions, or autocompletion. Additionally, more complex improvements can also fall into this category. For example, this could include improving and simplifying the flow around a multi-step task or rethinking your approach to a process such as user onboarding or checkout.

Provocation for ideation:

Within the base level functionality, what are some opportunities to expand or evolve our current offering?

Knowing [research finding or insight], what can we do to improve or add additional value to our [product, feature, or experience]?

Sources of ideas and inspiration:

Subject matter expert/stakeholder interviews
Competitive/comparative analysis
User interviews & observation
Internal team ideation (How Might We questions and other tactics an be used as provocations for idea generation — see below)

Tier 3: Gratifying Innovations

Gratifying Innovations are new and intelligent approaches, product features, or functionality that provide users with the means to complete a task in a new or novel way. These ideas have the potential to drastically improve the functionality, simplicity, and feeling of an experience — going beyond just delivering delight to the point at which gratification for your product or service is generated.

What is gratification in this context? In the article On Delightful Products & Going for Gratitude, Not Simply Delight, Zak Slayback describes it perfectly: “When somebody feels gratitude for a service, they feel like that service not only fulfilled it’s purpose or obligation, but that they also went above and beyond expectations”.

When ideating within this category, leverage your findings from user interviews, observation, product feedback, and market research as provocations to disrupt established team viewpoints, analyze existing functionality, challenge established modes of thinking, and direct ideation from unconventional vantage points.

However, encourage your team to not be afraid to surface both radically different and surprisingly simple ideas. Gratifying Innovations can fall into either category and is not limited to a completely new concept.

In his book The Power of Little Ideas, author David Robertson rejects the notion that “something is an innovation only if it is disruptive” as well as the common misconception that an idea has to be “truly new to the world and change our behavior in fundamental ways” to be an innovation. Instead he opts for a broader approach that describes innovation as “a new match between a solution and a need that creates value”.

Gratifying Innovations can be radically different ways of doing things or surprisingly simple ideas that connect the dots in a new, better way.

Provocation for ideation:

Knowing [research insight, user need or pain point], what is a new way to approach the delivery of [product, content, or service]?

Using our existing infrastructure, how might we address [an unmet user need or pain point]?

If we were [another company, ex. Microsoft, Apple, etc…], how might we address a [user problem or pain point]?

Sources of ideas and inspiration:

All of your research insights & key findings
User interviews & observation
Internal team ideation (How Might We questions and other tactics an be used as provocations for idea generation — see below)

Using the 3-tier Feature Ideation Framework as an exercise

Whether you are an army of one or a team of twenty, the 3-tier Ideation Framework can be used as an exercise to significantly bolster the output of your ideation process and push your thinking in new directions.

First decide who, then when

Decide show should be involved in the process, then chalk out a dedicated block of time when you can all be in the same room together, focused exclusively on the ideation process. Don’t be afraid to bring in executives and key stakeholders from different parts of your organization — a mix of diverse and potentially opposing viewpoints will contribute to the range of potential ideas that can be imagined.

Find a dedicated space

Locate and secure a dedicated conference room or external space to conduct the exercise. Ideally, this environment is a change of pace from the daily grind and pulls the team away from any routines that support and maintain established patterns of thinking and behavior.

Surface the research and evidence

The key insights and findings from your research are the fuel for the ideation process. They should be leveraged as provocations to challenge established ways of thinking and insight new ideas within you, and amongst the members of your team.

Clearly display them as large as possible for maximum impact — ideally in the dedicated conference or war room where the ideation exercise will take place. Mounting research and findings on large gator boards or covering an entire wall works especially well to democratize access to information and help tell the story of what you discovered in a way that is more approachable and digestible than a presentation or report document.

Immersing your team in research insights and findings will immediately stimulate them to start thinking differently, challenge their assumptions, and break out of established patterns of thinking and behavior.

Ideate individually, then share out and discuss as a group

Similar to a Design Studio Methodology, a multi-round process of Ideation,Presentation, Critique, Iteration should be followed. Team members should be given the opportunity to ideate and sketch ideas individually, then immediately prompted to share out/pitch their ideas to the greater group for discussion and critique.

This process should be repeated at least two times per tier at which point participants should be “encouraged to take the feedback from critique, as well as concepts presented by others, and engage in another round of sketching to remix and reinterpret concepts to arrive at a more solid argument”.

This process allows for a more collaborative ideation process and fosters an environment devoid of singular thinking — where team members with different skillsets, across multiple levels of seniority can pitch their ideas and have them considered and evaluated in a more inclusive and neutral space.

Be mindful of a participants time but do not rush it

Like all teams, your team is incredibly busy and no one wants another meeting on their calendar. Despite this, make sure you secure enough time to conduct a fruitful exercise where participants can be immersed and engaged in the process. For a team of 4–6, I would earmark about 6 hours of time for the exercise — this will provide ample time for team share outs, discussion and much appreciated snack, email, and bathroom breaks.

If a team member insists that they can only give you an hour of their time, consider other ways to get them involved in the exercise that do not disrupt the greater group. Another approach is to leverage internal advocates to help them understand how their insight can bring unique value and perspective to the exercise.

These and similar techniques often go a long way in convincing busy stakeholders to dedicate more of their time to the process.

Sample schedule & timeline

A sample schedule and suggested activities is outlined below. The schedule should be adjusted based on the size of your team, the quantity of research you need to review, and the amount of time you want to dedicate to ideation and group discussion within each tier.

Research Read Out + Discussion

Read out: 15–30 minutes
Discussion: 15–30 minutes

Ideation: Tier 1

Round 1 / Ideation: 10 minutes / Share out: 10 minutes
Round 2 / Ideation: 10 minutes / Share out: 10 minutes
Wrap-up / Critique & voting: 5 minutes
15 minute break

Ideation: Tier 2

Round 1 / Ideation: 10 minutes / Share out: 20 minutes
Round 2 / Ideation: 10 minutes / Share out: 20 minutes
Wrap-up / Critique & voting: 15 minutes
15 minute break

Ideation: Tier 3

Round 1 / Ideation: 10 minutes / Share out: 20 minutes
Round 2 / Ideation: 10 minutes / Share out: 20 minutes
Wrap-up / Critique & voting: 15 minutes
15 minute break

Review, Final Critique, & Next Steps:

Review & final critique / 30–45 minutes
Next steps / 15 minutes

Using ‘How Might We’ provocations to challenge assumptions and disrupt established viewpoints

It is all coming together — you have created the environment and set the tone for a great ideation session. The right people are lined up, calendar invites have been sent, you have secured a dedicated space to conduct your exercise, and you are armed with an arsenal of research that has the potential to stimulate new ideas and thinking.

So now the ideas will just start flowing, right?

It depends! Some teams might feel comfortable with the process right off the bat and ideas will begin to flow organically. However, it is always good to be prepared to prime the pump as necessary. A set of HMW (‘How Might We’) Questions are a great asset to have in your back pocket. They can be utilized as provocations and thought starters when the group is light on ideas, holding back, or beginning to think in a singular fashion.

Sample questions:

Knowing [research finding or insight], how might we improve or add additional value to our [product, feature, or experience]?
If we did not have any technical or monetary constraints, how might we address a [user problem or pain point]?
Using our existing infrastructure, how might we address [an unmet user need or pain point]?
If we were [another company, ex. Microsoft, Apple, etc…], how might we address a [user problem or pain point]?

Conclusion

The 3-tier Feature Ideation Framework is designed to help you and your team convert research into tactical product features and conceptual functionality.

It can be utilized to effectively facilitate the feature ideation process and identify the required minimum functionality, while also pushing your team’s thinking beyond the obvious — toward feature ideas with the potential to deliver an experience that generates user delight and gratification, while gracefully exceeding the business goals and engagement metrics expected by your client.

Thank you for reading! I hope this framework got you thinking and inspires you to challenge your team to think differently. All thoughts and opinions are welcome — let’s chat!

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About the author:
Robert Sens is a senior interaction designer at frog and a freelance digital product designer & art director. He works somewhere near the intersection of design, technology, and strategy — crafting intelligent experiences for humans.

A tiered approach to digital product feature ideation was originally published in Prototyping: From UX to Front End on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A tiered approach to digital product feature ideation

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