It’s so common.

At the start of every project, before any work begins, we ask our client teams to identify what it’ll mean for the project to be successful in our UX Discovery Workshops. 

And so often, someone says it: "We want it to have that WOW factor." 

After years in design, this clichéd and ambiguous phrase can still send a wave of concern through my mind. It can mean there are ambiguous, unspoken hopes that, shrouded in mystery, may be hard to satisfy. 

But on a recent call, my partner Brant redirected the conversation masterfully by asking: What does 'wow' mean to you in this situation?

This question immediately righted the ship and we got the answer we really needed: Visual impressions matter but mainly they didn’t want users to complain about the system being difficult to use. 

Truthfully, we all want to deliver experiences that wow. But to get there, we have to be specific. 

• Who is the user? 

• Why are they here? 

• What do they need? 

• What are they doing before and after this task? 

• Who do they need to impress? 

• What’s really motivating them? 

• What frustrates them? 

• Do they want to be delighted or do they just want to complete their task without incident?

So today’s advice: Use precise language to share your vision with your team. That way you can all march toward the same North Star.

Still need to define your vision? Read our blog post, UX Discovery: Figure Out Where You Really Are.