Desired Self Image
If you could choose between two products that for all intents and purposes were equivalent, except that one made you feel smart and the other made you feel dumb, which one would you want to use? Well if we are not deliberate about designing a product experience that creates the right kind of feeling, we can inadvertently create the wrong feelings, which would result in a very undesirable product. So to get this right, we need to first identify the right feelings.
Loved vs Liked Products
What is the difference between products that are liked and those that are loved?
I believe that liked products are those that do their job well and are functionally effective. But I would argue that these are table-stakes, and all products should achieve at least this.
A loved product goes beyond just being effective, and does a great job of making users feel like the person they want to be, with bonus points for doing it in an unexpected way.
For example, as an engineer, if every time I use my CAD tool, it makes me feel smart, talented, knowledgable, indispensable and effective; it will quickly become my favorite tool, and I will want to use it all the time. I will love this product.
User Aspirations
These adjectives, like “knowledgable”, are what I refer to as a user’s Desired Self Image. I will combine these with their aspirations (what they want to be when they grow up), and will collectively refer to them as the user’s aspirations. The most important aspirations will be different for each user segment.
Note that people can have internal and/or external motivators. How do I want to feel (internal), and how do I want others to see me (external). It is possible that each is achieved by different methods within your product.
A Deliberate Approach
Creating a loved product is a deliberate effort with two major steps.
Determine the 3-5 adjectives that identify the most important ways your users want to be described. I call these aspirational requirements. The intent is to compliment your functional requirements with this aspirational ones.
Identify the product features and design the user experience that will help them feel this way
How do you determine the aspirations of your target users? Just ask. “If your boss were to describe you as _______ to others, what description would make your day, if not your month?”
Questions like this can be asked during conversations, or formal customer/user interviews. I find this question takes people by surprise, and they enjoy the opportunity to be introspective.
It’s not just the boss’s opinion that matters. Who are the different types of people that are important to your users? Peers, direct reports, customers, vendors, analysts, friends, family, students, teachers, etc.
There is no simple process to leverage these aspirations once identified. The number of domains, user segments, aspirations and solutions is just too vast. I do have a few perspectives that I will use to inspire my product ideas. They are a bit abstract, but try using as prompts in a brainstorming session as one possible use.
What tasks must users perform that are opportunities to explore?
What information do they need, or must they provide to others?
Are there other domains where people feel these specific ways? How are these feelings achieved in those domains?
What scenarios/situations in the user’s day are opportunities to achieve these feelings?
Aspirations Differ For Each Segment
As mentioned above, different user segments will prioritize different aspirations. Note that aspirations like “being admired” will be common to most every user segment. But its relative importance compared to other aspirations will be different between the segments. For some, it will be a high priority, for others, it may be more of a “would be nice”.
Here are some examples of user segments and their important aspirations:
Engineers - smart, talented, knowledgable, indispensable, effective
Designers - innovative, creative, smart, savvy, tasteful, trendy
College athlete - athletic, strong, fast, dominant, agile
Young professional - smart, full of potential, desirable (by employers), respected
Your Target Users and Customers
Who are the users you want to focus on? What are their top 3-5 actionable aspirations? Don’t know the answer… well just ask them.
What are possible product ideas that you can employ to help them achieve these feelings?
If early in the product design process, you can help your team achieve clarity and alignment on your target user’s desired self image, you can really inspire them with the possibilities. Conversations get animated, ideas start flowing, and compelling solutions eventually reveal themselves.
