How can you share user research insights with stakeholders who are unfamiliar with the process?

Sharing user research insights with stakeholders is like distilling a complex novel into a gripping short story. Begin with the essence: key findings that resonate like a novel's themes. Use visuals like charts or user journey maps as illustrations, making data digestible. Highlight compelling user quotes as character dialogue to add depth. Simplify technical terms; your aim is to inform, not overwhelm. For example, replace "50% of users exhibited difficulty in navigation" with "Half our users couldn't easily find what they needed, which feels like being lost in a new city." This approach turns raw data into a story that stakeholders can relate to and act on.

When sharing user research with unfamiliar stakeholders, think about your Target Audience Members (TAM). Simplify insights into relatable stories, avoid jargon, and connect findings to their specific roles or goals. Making it relevant to them ensures a smoother understanding and application of the research.

This is quite important as I have found that user research typically has a deck prepared that has a significant portion on approach taken. You may lose your audience if you don’t provide high level details and then provide the appendix as additional reading or go into the details if/when there are questions. The research objective, sample size and summary of questions posed are very useful to stakeholders that are new to the process. Customer verbatims presented as a sentiment (use one of the many AI tools available for this) is also useful as an executive summary.

As a Product Manager research is done to improve/impact a particular product metric. But try to present how the results of the user research relate to the KPIs of different stakeholders. Expand on what the ripple effects will be on the metrics across teams. For e.g If User research shows that, 60% customers found the price of the product steep - It impacts NPS of the product - It impacts the top of the reorder/rebuy funnel - It signals need for price optimization in operations, shipping,marketing etc. - It increases the CAC

Avoid using jargon or technical terms related to user research. Use plain language and explain any necessary concepts or terms to ensure stakeholders understand the information. Start by explaining the purpose and goals of the user research. Describe the methods and techniques used to gather insights, including interviews, surveys, observations, or usability testing. Help stakeholders understand how the research was conducted.

Product management not only includes understanding the function but also has a lot of soft skills involved in it. Clear and effective communication is one of them. One method which I personally follow is a real life narrative to tell my story. Come up with a fake customer name and highlight the actual problem and then a future scenario of how your proposed solution will look like. It's very easy to relate to real life examples so use as much narrative style as possible. Narrative memos are also a good way to start and understand how to write a proposal or informational memo.

1) Build credibility by citing unfiltered customer viewpoints and quoting customers in their own words. 2) Knit customer viewpoints with the user journey, i.e., convey what customers went through while navigating through specific sections of the user journey. 3) Try to articulate what wasn't explicitly said by customers, but was implicit in their sentiments towards the product interaction. 4) Quantify customer research to highlight the ubiquity of specific customer viewpoints and put them as 'key takeaways from the research'.

In my experience, using user personas has proven highly effective in engaging audiences and encouraging empathy for my audience during user research presentations. By describing a persona's struggles and the insights from research, I am able to link the data to real-life experience. Occasionally, even incorporating an AI generated image can further personalize the persona and enhance emotional connection.

One of the effective ways to communicate about the findings of a user research process to people who are unfamiliar with it is to talk about the ‘so what’ of the data. Ideally, the data is telling a cohesive story. Just narrate that story first and carry all the supporting stats in the appendix. Bring that up only if asked. Even if the data is not completely conclusive, as a product manager, you must choose between one of the available options or to create more data. In this scenario also it is better to narrate a fully formed story, maybe with an asterisk. Sometimes too much granularity can be counterproductive.

Narrate a story. Eg: Explain finance team about some insights related to refund timelines dissatisfaction of customers in small town. 1. Introduce the Character: Here, the customer is from the small town. Provide a brief background, like typical shopping behavior & why the refund timeline is significant to them. 2. Highlight relevant part of customer's journey from purchase to refund 3. Share specific insights. Eg. how long refunds take, how this timeline compares to customer expectations, etc 4. Discuss the emotional aspect of the customers' experience using anecdotes 5. Highlight the Business Impact: For the finance team, focus on aspects like customer loyalty, repeat business, and potential financial loss due to dissatisfied customers.

A user persona infographics can be created which includes key demographic details, behaviours and pain points. Plus it’s good to have charts or graphs to illustrate and help visualise quantifiable data, like user satisfaction score or task completion rate. These visuals can provide a quick interactive overview of user research insights, for stakeholders.

Visuals like charts, pics, even pictures of user personas, bring your findings to life, your audience engaged and willing to know more. I learnt it from my experience than nothing works best than a presentation with visuals. Before doing presentations, I used to write really long and descriptive docs. But guess what? Very few people had time to review it and leave their feedback.

In my experience, presenting a comprehensive opportunity map can be highly impactful. By visually mapping the user needs and pain points (problem space) alongside the proposed solutions and features (solution space), these charts reveal discrepancies where certain segments are underserved or overlooked.

As a product manager, strategically employ visuals like graphs, photos, and prototypes to enhance user research communication. Graphs convey data trends, photos and quotes humanize findings, while prototypes provide tangible previews. Ensure consistent design elements for clarity, avoiding information overload. This visual approach fosters alignment and efficient cross-functional communication.

Visuals have always been core to a great presentation. The key is to use visuals that are clear, attractive, and relevant to the story you're telling. You don't want to bombard the audience with a series of confusing charts or unnecessary videos. Every visual needs to have a purpose, whether it's providing additional information or guiding an emotional response.

Encourage them to ask questions and share their interpretations or concerns. For example, after presenting findings on a new product feature's usability, ask stakeholders for their thoughts on how these insights might impact product strategy or customer satisfaction. This interactive approach not only clarifies any misunderstandings but also fosters a collaborative environment. Stakeholder feedback can provide new perspectives and help in refining the research findings, making them more actionable and relevant to business goals.

Schedule a short meeting with your stakeholders, have your presentation and visuals ready and leave some time for questions and feedback. Having your stakeholders in one place and giving them the opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas works great when you need to find the best solution for a user struggle.

One really effective way to invite feedback is to prompt the audience with "How might we..." questions. So let's say there's an insight that users are frustrated about how much time they waste doing X. You can prompt people with, "How might we enable users to do X in 1/10th the time?" Have people write their ideas on post-its (physical or virtual in a tool like Miro) and then share them one-by-one. Tell each person to come up with 5+ ideas in 1-2 minutes, underlining that this is a time for expansive ideation. People should not worry about whether the idea is "good" or "feasible"... just write it down! Then cluster similar ideas to identify key concepts worth digging into in the future.

Effective communication is a two-way street. When sharing user research insights, actively seek feedback from stakeholders. Invite questions, opinions, and ideas to validate insights and uncover blind spots. Embrace constructive criticism, explaining your rationale. This fosters trust, collaboration, and a user-centric culture. In product management, feedback isn't just valuable; it's essential for refining strategies and ensuring the product aligns with user needs. Emphasize openness, encouraging a continuous loop of input and refinement for optimal outcomes.

Inviting feedback in user research is a critical step in product management. It not only validates the research but also uncovers blind spots that might have been overlooked. This two-way communication fosters a collaborative environment, encouraging stakeholders to contribute their ideas and perspectives. This process also builds trust and rapport, which is essential for a user-centric culture. Furthermore, being open to constructive criticism and ready to explain your rationale and evidence shows transparency and credibility in your research.

Follow-up communication of user research insights with stakeholders unfamiliar with the process is important to ensure that the information is assimilated and translates into meaningful actions. After presenting the findings, scheduling follow-up sessions allows addressing additional questions and providing clarifications on the presented data. This process facilitates a deeper understanding for stakeholders, enabling them to digest the information more effectively and ensuring there are no knowledge gaps. A proactive approach to follow-up demonstrates ongoing commitment to transparency and collaboration, building a solid foundation for future interactions and informed decision-making.

User research insights are invaluable, and as a product manager, it's crucial to foster ongoing engagement with stakeholders. Regular follow-ups ensure they are informed about progress and impact. Use accessible tools like wikis, blogs, or dashboards to document insights for easy reference. Keep content updated to reflect evolving user needs. This proactive approach promotes a collaborative environment and helps align product strategies with user expectations, fostering continuous improvement.

I've found creating a "living document" that evolves with ongoing projects to be highly effective. At MilkCare, we used shared online dashboards to update insights in real-time, fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptation. This approach not only keeps stakeholders informed but also encourages ongoing collaboration and feedback. Remember, communication is a continuous process, not a one-time event!

Algo interesante a considerar es la identificación de los distintos tipos de “personas”: El que compra El que influye El que usa El que paga Cada uno juega un rol importante en la definición del producto y su modelo de negocio

Post-presentation, actively follow up with stakeholders about your user research. Keep them informed on the research's progress and impact. Document and archive insights accessibly for future reference using wikis, blogs, newsletters, dashboards, or repositories. These tools facilitate easy sharing and revisiting of insights. Periodically update your insights to reflect changes in user needs and contexts. This ongoing communication ensures your research remains relevant and front-of-mind, fostering a continuous learning and improvement culture in your organization.

When dealing with stakeholders it's always important to tailor the message to your audience. Understand the challenges, their goals and primary motivations for getting insights on user research. This informs how you will communicate your insights to said stakeholders.

In the dynamic landscape of Product Management, I've found that staying attuned to industry trends and emerging user behaviors is not just a suggestion but a necessity. Integrating these broader considerations into my insights ensures that stakeholders are not just informed about the present but are also primed for the future.

Another valuable thing is to have actual recordings of the conversations and to directly quote the transcripts of your discussions. This means that when you present your findings to stakeholders they have the ability to look back at the entire context of the conversation if they need further buy-in.

The initial point about identifying the relevant stakeholders is crucial, especially considering the regularity of these stakeholder meetings. To enhance the effectiveness of these sessions, it's advisable to share relevant notes or slides beforehand, facilitating a more informed and productive discussion. Additionally, consider distributing research insights across two or three sessions if needed. This approach allows for a comprehensive exploration of the topic and provides opportunities to address any clarifications, suggestions, or feedback that may arise in subsequent sessions.

Don't just present data; explain its meaning and impact. Highlight how the insights align with their objectives and answer their key questions.