UX for Business

VDP Cheat Sheet

Value Creation

Understand the essential steps that create value and make those work first:

1. Identify your problem(s). If you don’t know what problem you’re solving or how you will create value for the user, don’t go further. Use the diagnostic process to observe the real world you are working in to identify a valuable real-world problem that really, truly exists among real users—not just something you would like to be better.

2. Map out the business model. These are the steps required to turn the inputs of the business (money, people, ingredients, information, technologies, etc.) into the outputs of the business (baked goods, subscribed users, articles, new vehicles, or whatever you are trying to make). Keep in mind that you might be solving a problem that is not well understood yet, so experiment or do research to figure out what the best business model looks like. It can be a challenge, but also pretty fun. And you might even innovate something new!

3. Think about the money. After you have a rough idea of how you will create value for the user, give some thought to how you might get paid for that value. Ads? Subscription fees? Premium features? An ecosystem of apps? Somehow, you need to solve the business needs. If you’re making a social or viral thing, maybe you can decide later, but it’s still good to consider it now.

4. Solve backwards. Your business model/user experience journey map (step 2) should include at least one, maybe several, key paths to creating ...