User Experience Strategy Workshop Techniques for Consensus

“Would you agree that…” Getting team support for design decisions that balance user needs with business goals requires persuasion. Most design decisions are fueled by confidence, and the more a design team can build confidence, the easier it is for stakeholders to feel comfortable moving forward. A technique I like to use in design reviews is highlighting a challenging design area and asking a key stakeholder for their agreement on the findings. For example: “Joe, would you agree that users struggle to understand this page?” This approach works best with supporting UX metrics. For instance, UX data may show users feeling confused, not achieving their goals, or that the design falls short of their expectations. In the chart example, many negative signals highlight a potential comprehension problem.  Qualitative participant follow-ups about the content bring more context: “I would expect to see an example I can easily relate to, not necessarily super technical. Something basic every person can understand." Here’s what this technique accomplishes: Trust in Data ↳ Not all stakeholders understand or feel confident with data, so they often rely on your decision-making. Over time, they learn to recognize data's role without feeling pressured to interpret it, gradually understanding design methods. Binary Decisions ↳ This approach makes the decision straightforward but keeps control with the design team. If the stakeholder isn’t fully engaged, the decision will likely proceed based on a simple agreement, building confidence where there might otherwise be indifference. Public Agreement ↳ Stakeholders’ verbal agreement strengthens the design team’s influence, and others notice. Public endorsement makes an impact. Don’t estimate the public proclamation of agreement. It matters. Constructive Disagreement ↳ If stakeholders disagree, it’s often beneficial—they are engaged, want to make a solid decision and bring valuable insights to the project. When the design team remains flexible, the decision's value and the design’s impact grow even further. Design requires persuasive skills, and I’ve found stakeholders value this effort when it builds momentum for their projects. #productdesign #productdiscovery #userresearch #uxresearch

Earlier this year, I facilitated a strategy session where one person’s voice dominated while quiet team members retreated into their shells. Halfway through, I paused, put everyone into small groups, and gave them roles to pick up. Here's how it works: 1️⃣ Assign Roles: Each small group had a Questioner, Connector, and Synthesizer. - Questioner: Probes deeper and asks clarifying, “why?” and “how?” questions. - Connector: Links ideas across people, points out overlaps and sparks “aha” moments. - Synthesizer: Distills discussion into concise insights and next-step recommendations. 2️⃣ Clarify Focus: Groups tackled one critical topic (e.g., “How might we streamline on-boarding?”) for 10 minutes. 3️⃣ Reconvene & Share: Each group’s Synthesizer distilled insights in 60 seconds. The result? Silent participants suddenly spoke up, ideas flowed more freely, and we landed on three actionable priorities in our timebox. Next time you sense a lull in your meeting/session/workshop, try role-based breakouts. #Facilitation #Breakouts #TeamEngagement #ActiveParticipation Sutey Coaching & Consulting --------------------------------------------- ☕ Curious to dive deeper? Let’s connect. https://lnkd.in/gGJjcffw

Consensus can often be the enemy of clarity. Here's what I mean: If you try to make everyone happy, you’ll end up with a design that pleases no one — especially not the user, the customer or the executive who signs your paycheck. I’ve seen this play out dozens of times: – 6 rounds of stakeholder feedback – 4 different directions – 1 Franken-design that no one really likes, but no one had the guts to veto. Here’s the fix. Do three things upfront, publicly — with all players in the room: 1) Clarify who the decision-maker is. 2) Define the intended outcome, what the design needs to accomplish. 3) Set the criteria for getting there *before* you present anything. And say this up front: “Feedback is welcome, but we’ll prioritize alignment with [ the outcome ].” And you don’t do SHIT until you get agreement on that rule. You keep asking questions 1, 2 and 3 above until you get concrete answers. That’s the only way I know to stay out of the #ProductDesign blender. #UX #UXleadership #DesignReviews #StakeholderAlignment