How to measure and present design input so that the business understands

Explained with Game of Thrones.

property of HBO

In Westeros, George R. R. Martin’s fantasy kingdom, dragons are very much real. These impressive flying lizards are the ultimate weapons of war. But they’re also magical, almost extraterrestrial. In Westeros, it’s a true miracle to see a dragon.

Measurable design input is, just like the dragons, borderline mythical.

Why measure design input?

In my experience, answering the question “What have you been doing…” correctly is the most crucial skill for those who interact with business.

Now, if you’re in a situation where people don’t ask you this question and:

• You’re allowed to create whatever you want without explaining it to business owners or
• Your work always impacts the product exactly the way the business expects

— please accept my condolences. Because it only means your luck hasn’t run out yet. One day, you will find yourself in a situation where you have assumed the solution will work, and it won’t.

Let’s imagine the day you fail

For example, your company or client wants:

• to make the registration flow “easier” (feel free to change this to “more intuitive,” “friendlier,” or another adjective that doesn’t mean much) →
• → so that more people complete the registration process
• → so that the sign-up metric is increased
• → so that there are more unique users.

As always, you do your magic: insert pictures of how to scan the documents needed for registration, cut the unnecessary text or write more explanations, and add visual steps to the registration flow so that user knows exactly where they are (1, 2, 3, etc.). And… it fails. It fails!

1. The solution worsens the sign-up metric or doesn’t affect it significantly enough to justify the resources spent;
2. The solution is tested by the business, and the business says it’s not actually “easier,” no, on the contrary, it now “looks more difficult”?