Where to look for value? After Value Match Canvas workshop at ING Bank

Where to look for value? Well, it is quite a subject lately, and we are on it; investigating to nail it down properly.

Last weeks were quite adventurous. First, we were conducting a vivid discussion evening, called “Do you speak value?” at Useful Knowledge meet-up. Then, just a couple of days later, we led an exciting workshop at ING Bank in Katowice. Members of ING Bank InnovationLab and their colleagues from different innovation accelerators in Warsaw were introduced to our thoughts and author tools. During 6 hours of team activities, they were learning about Value Match approach, and psychological perspective towards research on values. 

Our Value Match Canvas (here you can have a glance at its first release) is quite handy when it comes to gather and analyze insights from two levels - product design and brand communication. However, before we can think about holistic match between abstract brand communication and real product features that serves users goals, we need to establish solid foundations for such a match. For that, we try to make some order in the usage of the term “value” in business, research and product design. By adding a new perspective “on value”, we establish a set of guidelines that can help gathering data and coin insights into requirements. Today, we would like to share with you few thoughts from our talks and Value Match Canvas workshop. 

Do you speak value?

Depending on the context and our role in project we mean different things when we say “value” (I know it’s a big simplification, but for the sake of argument let’s stick with that exaggeration). It can get really messy in dynamic project environment, when two different meanings clash and it stay unnoticed and unresolved. 

Below 2 popular concepts from companies’ lives and product design cycles: 

• Business Value - an informal term that includes all forms of value that determine the health and well-being of the firm in the long run. (read more)

In other words, with defined business values we can measure how our business is doing. Business values are like set of “tools” that helps in decision-making, by describing and assessing the companies’, key stakeholders’, users’, customers’, product’s, organisation etc. well-being in the market context. It could be very useful, but without proper methodology and communication, it also opens a possibility for conveniently unclear objectives and unrealistic decisions. 

• Value proposition -  refers to the value a company promises to deliver to customers should they choose to buy their product. (read more)

It’s a promise, that our product will answers identified customer’s needs; addresses his/her pains and gains. Value proposition comes as a result of the problem-solving process, when product meets real needs - user needs that comes contextually in certain usage circumstances. Accordingly to many service design canvas (most known - Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas), value proposition equals a contextual solution that met user needs in the right moment. 

To those concepts we add other two, that we find very useful and link directly to proposed approach: 

• (Value) Requirement - anything stakeholder requires. (see more)

This very short definition from Evolutionary Value Delivery EVO approach by Tom Gilb, is an essence that covers up deep and thorough analysis. Thanks to Tom’s methodology we can methodically define and measure business value. Tom teaches us that we can quantify every value. We define, add scales, deliver and measure value delivered by our design. It’s extremely useful knowledge and kind of an ultimate goal in business analysis process - the most precise requirement ever! 

But first… we need to identify stakeholders value, and that’s where psychology comes in handy. 

• Human Values - desirable, trans-situational goals, varying in importance, that serve as guiding principles in people’s lives. 

This psychological view is important for at least two reasons, at this phase of our reflection: 

1. Definition brings emphasis on values, that stand beyond user needs (so loudly studied in UX research). User’s values being superior to needs, impact user’s decisions in a way that can strongly disrupt more superficial conclusions coming from simple “value proposition” analysis (you will find more in our previous post).
2. Basic Human Value theory by Shalom Schwartz, gives us a proven, universal system of well defined human values. It is said that this theory is ”The value concept able to unify the apparently diverse interests of all the sciences concerned with human behavior.” [Rokeach, 1973]

And... that’s exactly our case. With Value Match approach, supported with Schwartz theory, we encourage to research and identify human values. They are our base for future requirements and stand for clear understanding and possibility for match between what we want to deliver, and what is actually valued by users. 

Values required… 

I will share with you two examples from our presentation at ING Bank workshop. It shows what areas we want to cover with human value research and how it could relate to system requirements. 

Let’s start with such notation: 

Intuitiveness:

Type: Quality Requirement

Stakeholders: Product Marketing, end users, trainers

Ambition Level: To make the intuitive and immediate application of our product clearly superior to all competitive products at all times.

Scale: average seconds needed for defined [Users] to Correctly Complete defined [Tasks] defined [Help]

Goal [Deadline = 1st Release, Users = Novice, Tasks = Most Complex, Help = {No Training, No Written References} ] 10 seconds ± 5 seconds <- Product Marketing Manager.

Correctly Complete: defined as: the result would not ever need to be corrected as an error or as sub-optimal. 

What is it?  Well, it’s an extremely well formulated value requirement - example taken from “User Stories. A sceptical view”, by Tom and Kai Gilb (see also: full text in english, and my translation to Polish). This example serves as a good practice of clearly documented requirement to keep a high quality team communication within the process of product design. 

What does it say? After reading it, we know that what we need to do is plan a design strategy so that new users, without any experience, will achieve their tasks in a few seconds, without an external support. Thanks to detailed decomposition of the idea of “Intuitiveness” and a chosen scale, we will be able to measure if our solution is suitable. 

Now, we have measures to see if our assumptive value proposition (e.g. novice user can handle defined complex tasks without errors that otherwise would cause him a lot of stress) is acceptable. So far, it is pretty straightforward, but we know absolutely nothing about the user, other stakeholders and the context of use - we discuss value in terms of business objectives. It is an approach that will eventually help to build better, more fit solutions, but before we reach such a level of detailed requirement, we need an input from research, analysis or good business intuition. 

Let’s look back into the project exploration stage for… (surprise surprise!) human value! Let’s look for values using this simple fictitious scenario:  

***

It’s been John’s first day at the new company. None of his earlier educational experiences and academic exams had prepared him for such a high level of stress. 

Sitting at his desk, he wondered if there is anybody polite enough to introduce him to his new tasks. So far, any colleague from the office space approached him, minding their own business. “Busy, busy bees…” John thought, and reached for his smartphone. 

There’s only one unanswered message on the screen. SMS from his mom:

“We are very proud of you. Good luck Johnny! XOXO”

John had cursed quietly and looked at his PC with opened documentation. Files, commands, and sheets full of numbers where looking at him, as well as his manager sitting on the other side of the room. He chose the first file and felt like screaming. 

***

This rather humorous narrative is an example describing a possible situation that led us in the process of  “Intuitiveness” value requirement clarification. It is full of clues, where we can search for human values, that we can diagnose before we chose to define them in business language and find scales to measure. 

So, where to look for values? 

Primarily, it is important to remember - human values are not only embedded in humans. In our approach we consider various mediums of human values (product, technology, culture, context, organisation etc.). In this complex and abstract universe values can collide, match, clash between each other. Our work is to find the best fit of values in our project. 

In the example above we can identify at first glance sources of values to research: 

• There’s John - obviously, our novice user. Young, full of life and full of... values waiting to be studied. From the narrative we see that even though he’s not feeling secure at his first day at work he’s ambitious (or proud, or shy) enough to try to work alone, without help. Perhaps, it is Self Direction that drives his actions? 

• John’s mom - she represents the whole spectrum of his social and cultural circle of impact. Those values can support or contradict his values. She seems supportive, but it could be that she is very demanding of his career. Perhaps, Tom’s generation in under huge impact of overprotective parents who value Achievement and Tradition? And what about his peers? What do they do? 

• A new company - context of use, but moreover an environment that directly impacts and wants to profit from John’s daily work. Organisation has its own values that employees seem to follow, by being busy, or... pretending to be busy? Is it that company values Achievement and Power and people want to feel Secure? 

• The system - what about the application, a product that John’s trying to use right now on his PC? What values does it deliver? John’s “feeling like screaming”, so we can assume that features are not particularly supportive to John’s Self Control value. 

We can dig so much further, but already this simple simulation presents, how we look for value and can deduct what way should we take. As possible designers of this solution, we now see that company’s environment is demanding “productive” behaviours. Time for personal tutoring seams there like a waste. To address newcomers (potentially pressured by ambitious family background) in contradictory companies’ atmosphere led by achievement and lack of security, we would need to prepare system so intuitive that users’ can easily get on board alone and quickly reach first achievements. It will give them quick gratification, sense of control and empowerment, while the company have lower rotation rate. 

“Uncut Diamond” 

If we take a step back and see those examples as a path, there is a logical connection, between what we value, and what value system can be delivering. Human values are like rough diamonds waiting to be sand in the process of requirements’ specification. 

Why it is worth to start and look for uncut diamonds of human values?

• Basic Human Values system is consistent and proven scientifically, which makes it a strong foundations for project terminology, clarifying the communication within the project team.
• We can spot them with already existing research tools (e.g. psychological questionnaires) and well known ethnographic methods. 
• They can be identified within all crucial areas of product design and brand communication, thus we can verify if  - stakeholders, users, product, technology, social trends etc. - values in our project match… or we have a potential problem with unsuited value delivery. 

Next time we will share more on “how to look for value” - research methods and tools to bring human value on a project's table. In the meantime try to spot diamonds of human values for yourself, and please share with us your thoughts and experience.