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Value & Purpose Generation
Value and purpose generation is a foundational process in UX, product design, and business strategy that ensures a product or service is aligned with both user needs and business goals.By clearly articulating the value and purpose of a product, teams can guide design decisions, improve user engagement, and create a strong brand identity.
Have a clearly defined value and purpose drives innovation by providing a clear direction for teams to follow.
Components of Value Purpose Generation
Core Value
The fundamental benefits or outcomes that a product, service, or initiative delivers to its users or customers.
This can be tangible or intangible, such as increased productivity, emotional fulfillment, or efficiency.
Purpose
The driving force or mission behind a product’s existence, answering why it was created and what problem it is solving.
The purpose gives the product context and meaning beyond just functionality.
User-Centricity
The value and purpose must align with the needs, desires, and challenges of the target user.
Understanding user pain points, aspirations, and behaviors is essential to creating a product that resonates with them.
Business Alignment
The value purpose must also align with the business’s goals, objectives, and long-term strategy.
The product or service should contribute to achieving the company’s broader mission and vision.
Impact
This refers to the influence a product or service has on users, the market, or society.
The value and purpose generation process often considers the long-term positive impact, both on a micro (user-level) and macro (societal or environmental) scale.
Importance of Value Purpose Generation
Clarifies Direction
It provides a clear vision and helps align all stakeholders (product teams, designers, business leaders, marketers) on the goal and impact of the product. It ensures that everyone is working toward a common objective.
Guides Decision-Making
With a clear understanding of the product’s value and purpose, teams can make more informed design and business decisions, ensuring the product remains aligned with its core objectives and user needs.
Strengthens Brand Identity
Articulating a strong value and purpose helps in developing a distinct and authentic brand identity. It can be a competitive differentiator and can help attract loyal users who resonate with the product's mission.
Enhances User Engagement
A well-defined purpose that resonates with users’ values leads to higher engagement and satisfaction. Users are more likely to invest in a product that clearly reflects their own goals or beliefs.
Drives Innovation
Understanding the "why" behind a product encourages creativity and innovation. Teams are empowered to explore new ideas that meet user needs and create a meaningful impact.
How to Conduct Value Purpose Generation
Understand the Target Audience
Start by deeply understanding the target users or customers. What problems are they facing? What are their aspirations, pain points, and behaviors? This helps to define what value your product can offer them.
Identify Core Values and Principles
Pinpoint the key principles that define your product. What are the fundamental benefits it provides? What does it stand for, and what difference does it make for the user?
Define the Purpose
Articulate why the product exists. What gap does it fill in the market? How does it improve users’ lives or work? A well-defined purpose is more than just solving a problem—it should convey the product's broader societal, emotional, or economic impact.
Align with Business Goals
Ensure that the product’s value and purpose are aligned with the broader business strategy. Does it support the business’s mission? Does it reflect the brand’s values and vision for the future?
Develop a Value Proposition
Create a value proposition statement that succinctly communicates the product’s unique value and how it meets users' needs better than competing solutions. The value proposition is a critical output of the value purpose generation process.
Validate with Users
Test and validate the value and purpose with users through surveys, focus groups, or user interviews. Gather feedback to refine and adjust the purpose and value proposition based on user perceptions and needs.
Common Tools and Techniques for Value Purpose Generation
Personas
Develop user personas to understand the different types of users that will benefit from your product. These personas help to focus on user needs, motivations, and behaviors, ensuring the value and purpose align with their expectations.
Value Proposition Canvas
This tool helps businesses map out the value they provide to their users. It outlines customer jobs (what the user needs to do), pains (challenges or obstacles users face), and gains (the benefits users seek). It then aligns these with the product’s offerings.
Business Model Canvas
A strategic tool that helps visualize the product’s value proposition in the context of the business model. It covers key elements like customer segments, channels, revenue streams, and key activities, ensuring the product’s value and purpose are tightly integrated with the business strategy.
SWOT Analysis
Analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats can help clarify the product’s value in the market. It also allows teams to identify any gaps between the product’s purpose and the reality of market demands.
Empathy Mapping
A technique that helps teams understand user emotions, thoughts, and actions by mapping out what users say, think, feel, and do. It is especially useful for identifying user needs and aligning the product’s purpose to address those needs effectively.
Mission Statement
Articulate a mission statement that defines the broader vision and purpose of the product or service. This should be clear, concise, and inspiring, providing a foundation for all design and development work.