Case for Clarity of Purpose: Revolutionized Oracles approach to product development by guiding teams to prioritize user problems over features.
Opportunity
I identified an opportunity to shift the product development culture across Oracle from feature-based solutions to user-centered problem-solving. After advocating for a formalized process, the SVP of design entrusted me with the task of defining and implementing a 2-part framework that would empower all Oracle teams to approach their projects with greater clarity and purpose.
Impact
The "Case for Clarity of Purpose" has become common language at Oracle, with every project presentation now beginning with a clear definition of the user problem. After our live presentation with over 1,000 attendees in October 2020, the recording received over 550 views within the next 2 months. We hosted working sessions and office hours, supporting teams across Oracle in adopting these methods. Product managers began thinking in terms of user benefits rather than just feature requirements, leading to increased demand for design support and resources.
The training was clear, compelling, and grounded in research. I walked away from it with something concrete not just inspiration"
Approach
The real challenge was developing a framework that “felt like” Oracle, was simple to teach, and easy to apply. Ensuring the content resonated with the audience was crucial for adoption. We focused on making our delivery both engaging and informative, ultimately presenting to over 1,000 designers, product managers, and engineers at Oracle Design Week.
Part 1
Teams were already thinking about the user and the situation but framed their work around the feature and never considered the users motivation. We created a simple user goal framework that brought awareness and intentionality to teams.
User Goals: A solution agnostic statement that defines what a user is trying to achieve.
Part 2
We created a template to help designers think through questions they should be asking at the start of their project to support UI decisions. This approach was adopted by the components team to inform new Redwood patterns. Product managers also used this to inform what analytics and data the software needed to track.
Shape of Data: A data informed way of making UI decisions.
