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10 posts

toss

The era when everyone does research (opens in new tab)

In an era where AI moderators and non-researchers handle the bulk of data collection, the role of the UX researcher has shifted from a technical specialist to a strategic guide. The core value of the researcher now lies in "UX Leadership"—the ability to frame problems, align team perspectives, and define the fundamental identity of a product. By bridging the gap between business goals and user needs, researchers ensure that products solve real problems rather than just chasing metrics or technical feasibility. ### Setting the Framework in the Idea Phase When starting a new project, a researcher’s primary task is to establish the "boundaries of the puzzle" by shifting the team’s focus from business impact to user value. * **Case - AI Signal:** For a service that interprets stock market events using AI, the team initially focused on business metrics like retention and news consumption. * **Avoiding "Metric Traps":** A researcher intervenes to prevent fatigue-inducing UX (e.g., excessive notifications to boost CTR) by defining the "North Star" as the specific problem the user is trying to solve. * **The Checklist:** Once the user problem and value are defined, they serve as a persistent checklist for every design iteration and action item. ### Aligning Team Direction for Product Improvements When a product already exists but needs improvement, different team members often have scattered, subjective opinions on what to fix. The researcher structures these thoughts into a cohesive direction. * **Case - Stock Market Calendar:** While the team suggested UI changes like "it doesn't look like a calendar," the researcher refocused the effort on the user's ultimate goal: making better investment decisions. * **Defining Success Criteria:** The team agreed on a "Good Usage" standard based on three stages: Awareness (recognizing issues) → Understanding (why it matters) → Preparation (adjusting investment plans). * **Identifying Obstacles:** By identifying specific friction points—such as the lack of information hierarchy or the difficulty of interpreting complex indicators—the researcher moves the project from "simple UI cleanup" to "essential tool development." ### Redefining Product Identity During Stagnation When a product's growth stalls, the issue often isn't a specific UI bug but a fundamental mismatch between the product's identity and its environment. * **Case - Toss Securities PC:** Despite being functional, the PC version struggled because it initially tried to copy the "mobile simplicity" of the app. * **Contextual Analysis:** Research revealed that while mobile users value speed and portability, PC users require an environment for deep analysis, multi-window comparisons, and deliberate decision-making. * **Consensus through Synthesis:** The researcher integrates data, user interviews, and market trends into workshops to help the team decide where the product should "live" in the market. This process creates team-wide alignment on a new strategic direction rather than just fixing features. The modern UX researcher must move beyond "crafting the tool" (interviewing and data gathering) and toward "UX Leadership." True expertise involves maintaining a broad view of the industry and product ecosystem, structuring team discussions to reach a consensus, and ensuring that every product decision is rooted in a clear understanding of the user's context and goals.

product-strategyaiuxdata-analysis+3
kakao

Were We Solving the Real Problem (opens in new tab)

The POPM (Product Owner/Product Manager) training course at Kakao focuses on restructuring existing professional knowledge into a cohesive framework for solving real-world business problems. Rather than simply delivering new information, the program emphasizes aligning strategy with execution, transforming "strategy" from a vague concept into a practical set of decision-making criteria. The ultimate goal is to move teams away from a "release-only" mindset toward a cycle of continuous hypothesis verification and learning. ### Strategic Thinking and Metric Modeling * **Strategic Decision Criteria**: Strategy is redefined as the standard for team judgment, utilizing frameworks like MECE, MVP, and priority-setting models to align daily tasks with long-term goals. * **Metrics as Problem-Solving Language**: Key indicators such as Funnel, Retention, Cohort, and LTV are treated not just as data points, but as a language used to define and reveal underlying product issues. * **Context-Based Design**: UX design is approached through "context-based logic" rather than intuition, encouraging teams to ask which specific design fits the current user journey. ### Systematic Experimentation and A/B Testing * **The MASS Framework**: Experiments are designed and evaluated based on being Measurable, Attributable, Sensitive, and having a Short-term cycle. * **Failure Analysis Routines**: The curriculum emphasizes the importance of establishing a routine for interpreting failed experiments, ensuring that every test contributes to the team's institutional knowledge. * **Incremental Testing**: Encourages a culture of "starting small," giving teams the confidence to run experiments without requiring massive resource allocation. ### Building Repeatable Execution Loops * **Metric-Based Retrospectives**: Teams transition from simply finishing a release to a structured loop of "Problem Definition → Hypothesis → Metric → Verification → Retrospective." * **Formalizing Problem Definitions**: Using templates to 명문화 (formally document) the problem, expected behavior, and success metrics ensures that the entire team—not just the PO—understands the "why" behind every task. * **Operational Rhythms**: Teams are adopting fixed weekly or bi-weekly cycles for sharing insights and adjusting priorities, turning data-driven execution into a natural habit. The most critical takeaway for product teams is to constantly ask: "Is the work we are doing right now actually a solution to a defined problem, or are we just busy releasing features?" Success lies in moving beyond the sense of accomplishment from a launch and establishing a repeatable rhythm that validates whether those efforts truly move the needle.

product-strategyux-designproduct-managementdata-analysis+3