Role:
Lead Curriculum Designer
Team:
3 additional Instructors
Methods used:
Curriculum Design, Secondary Research, Brainstorming, RICE Prioritization, Interviews
The Challenge
The Enterprise User Experience (EUX) team at The Home Depot was comprised of over 100 associates, of varying levels of skill and experience. OrangeMethod (the learning organization which I was a part of) had previously worked with EUX leadership to identify the biggest need their associates had, and was now tasked with designing and developing educational solutions to meet this need.
The Approach
I was responsible for leading the team of 3 other UX instructors to develop learning solutions to meet this need.
Existing research
First we all reviewed the existing research that our team had conducted. Of the problem statements that had been identified and prioritized with EUX leadership, the top one was around the need for UX associates to better get buy-in for their solution ideas from business partners. High performing UX designers were identified, and focus groups/collaborative workshops had been conducted with them. The analysis of the research revealed 8 themes of what contributed to the success of these individuals.
On reviewing the research, and uncovering that the problem area was more nuanced than stated by leadership, we collaboratively revised the problem statement. This new problem statement and Criteria for Success guided the rest of the work.
Problem Statement: Enterprise UX associates have a need to grow skills in constructing, supporting, and presenting their solution ideas so that business partners understand the value and endorse those ideas.
Criteria for Success: Knowing your audience Building trust though partnership Building trust through business acumen Breaking big ideas into smaller achievements Building empathy through leveraging research Validating/supporting solution with research data Leveraging understanding of business value Collaborating with Product Managers
Structured Brainstorming
Our team then went into a structured brainstorming period where we identified possible learning solutions to address the problem statement. Traditionally OrangeMethod had focused on providing lecture and activity based workshops, but the brainstormed ideas ran the gamut in terms of type of interaction, individual vs. group, self-paced vs. live, quick-hit vs. long-term, etc. Fourteen potential learning solutions were identified.
For each identified learning solution, we fleshed out additional details to clearer define what they might look like, and later assist in our assessment of viability. This included learning objectives, how it would address the problem statement, success criteria addressed, benefits, limitations, current gaps in information, and existing resources.
Prioritization
I employed the RICE method and led the team in prioritization sessions around the 4 factors of Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort. I provided direction, with relevant examples, for how to score each learning solution on Reach (# of associates who would take advantage), Impact (how much it solves the problem), Confidence (how certain we are of Reach and Impact rating, based on our experience or other factors) and Effort (how long it would take to implement).
Each instructor provided individual scores, which were then averaged. We looked at the solutions with the top 6 RICE scores, as well as the solutions with the top 2 RIC scores (not considering effort, as we were positioned to potentially explore long-term solutions), and also evaluated which solutions worked well together. This discussion informed the final top 6 solutions for our program.
Informal Interviews
Each instructor conducted informal interviews with individual contributors from the EUX team. The focus of these interviews was to validate the problem statement, present the 6 proposed learning solutions, and gather initial feedback on each, including whether or not they would adopt it, how useful they found it to be, and why.
(This was an initial touchpoint, with the intent being to further involve users in more structured research as the solutions were developed).
The Outcome
Instead of a list of workshops, my team and I developed a year-long comprehensive learning program. We created the placemat seen above, which we presented to our internal leadership and then EUX team leadership. It was extremely well received by both, who socialized it through their own leadership structures.
We included a proposed rollout plan that best positioned the solutions to be most effective, while providing continuous opportunities for EUX team members throughout the year. We also proposed how EUX leadership could best partner and support the program for maximum effectiveness.