UX Series: Finding POBO

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction. - John F Kennedy

CONTINUED FROM STEP ONE: LEARN TO UNLEARN

Following on from the previous article in the series, we established the importance of unlearning. This ability proved helpful as per my real example, in using the past knowledge to set solid data from which to grow new ideas out from. In this article we look at the next step in my thinking process. Finding P.O.B.O.

STEP TWO: FINDING POBO

So you have some solid actionable data, a user journey that makes sense to strangers, and an idea of 'WHY' you do what you do. This is where I start thinking about implementing POBO. In its simplest form, it seeks out the purpose of the 'why', quantifies the purpose, looks at the behaviours that drive the purpose and gathers the outcomes that align with that purpose. Let's start with the P.

PURPOSE:

This is the cognitive part of the process and is usually done by a UX strategist. It's very important to break through system-one thinking and hence you MUST take time to think about the purpose. Not 5 mins, or 20 mins, I mean a solid hour minimum. Investing this time will ensure you give the purpose the most effective and supportive UX option. It may not be the final solution but it will set you up for progress.

As per the example I shared in my step one Unlearn article, our sitemap was based from a single content page, where the main conversion would occur, and other pages like Home and Contact built out. Finding a POBO, now looks at each page individually and assigns a purpose to it. If the site has five critical user path pages, then you invest five hours to discovering the purpose of each and documenting it.

This validation at a per page scope, with an overview of the other pages, ensures that when you build the pages, connect them and share with stakeholders, there is a single purpose driving its existence. Sub purposes and new opportunities will evolve over time, but at a core level there should be one main driver linked to the user intent you wish to achieve.

Example: The content page main purpose is to convert. The home page main purpose is to aggregate content pages etc.

Once you have that in place, then you move over to the O.

OBJECTIVE:

With the cognitive part done, you can move to the the metric based side of the process. This can also be seen as the business side of the POBO process. This can be a thumb-suck to begin with, or if you have past data, work from that. Objective looks at the process from a user flow lens and connects the purpose of the start page to an end page over a set time. The objective essentially sets a number to measure the connection and gives a quantifiable variable to the purpose.

Example: If the content page is the start page with a purpose to convert and the end page is lead capture form with a purpose to gather details, then the objective is to deliver 10% more traffic from the start to the end over a set time.

It's important to note that this objective number can shift and be adjusted. Setting a number and holding yourself accountable to it, means you reduce the chances to flex and grow, which is important to getting a result that drives progress.

Now we look at the B. The creative part.

BEHAVIOUR:

This is where we get our creative on. The UX/UI team can play a big role here. At this point we should have a group of pages with individual purposes, an objective number and the user flow strategy. The behaviour looks at the creative layout of the page and the elements that assist in the purpose. A button, a banner, a piece of copy, anything that gets or assists a person from the start page to the end page.

Behaviour is what will drive the design iterations and link up to outcomes which aim close the gap from start to end. The most important thing to consider here is that even though there may be many behaviours that a user can interact with to achieve the purpose, when we iterate to get a measurable outcome we must look at ONE single behaviour to iterate. Tackling too many at once through A/B tests or focus group wireframes means you lose focus and what changes actually produced meaningful outcomes.

The behaviour part is the longest part of the POBO process due to the iterations required. This is why wireframes and paper prototypes are so important before you get all digital. It's good to set an iteration limit and document the results.

These results lead us to the final O.

OUTCOMES:

It all boils down to this. The data. Finding a result through behavioural tweaks that achieve the objective and validate the purpose. This knowledge will assist the final build of the project and give all stakeholders a clear paper trail from the why to the outcome.

Along the way new ideas and opportunities will shine out, especially if you started with an unlearned perspective. It's important to document these, but not let them creep into the initial project. Excellence over perfection is key to delivering a solid start, not an end.

From the outcomes, the whole team will be in a better place to understand the impact UX offers and what to do next in the design pipeline. This is the game we play, moving the ball forward slowly is better than not moving it at all. Taking the time to ask the right questions, at the right time sets yourself, the team and most importantly the end user up with a great experience.

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This series is part of my userjourney musings. If you like what you read, like it, share it or comment below. I really appreciate the feedback.

Side note. POBO or Purpose, Objective, Behaviour and Outcome was born from discussions with a close UX colleague on how best to inform stakeholders of the possibilities and opportunities our UX initiatives could create. He has since re-modelled it further to create a personal framework for digital product design. Worth a read if you like this article.