Product is a metrics-driven career. Not only do you have to show results, but you also have to dive into funnels, charts, and other data sources to back up any ideas you have.
This process has always been counter to how I think. I’ve always been an instinct-driven person. If I sense a problem, I work through it until I understand it inside and out from the customer’s perspective. This process of understanding includes manual testing, competitive analysis, and a bit of guest/customer feedback to fill in the blanks with insights. The last bit of feedback is necessary for validating the instinct that initially kicked off the process.
In many ways, I work backward. For my flow, I usually save the funnel and chart analysis for last. Here’s why: if I know there’s a problem, then I know what to look for so I can methodically connect the dots. This process helps frame the problem for my stakeholders, designers, devs, and fellow product managers.
This preference doesn’t mean that I avoid funnel charts. On the contrary, I love looking at funnel steps and developing hypotheses for why there are drop-offs. My problem with funnels is that they are a linear construction of what the PM or business believes the flow is. Some may call this the “happy path.” I call it bullshit. Rarely will a customer follow the happy path. Journeys are not linear. To overcome this, I combine breaking down the journey with smaller funnels.
For example: As a guest, I want to purchase a burger with an offer.
I’d break this down into three funnels:
- Viewing and adding the burger to the cart
- Adding the offer to their cart
- Cart through Payment to Confirmation
(Assuming the offer is not a pre-requisite for adding the burger to the cart)
I’d analyze each funnel and then develop a holistic view of the customer journey by stitching all the data together. This is a lot more work in some ways, but I find it gives you greater detail and helps you analyze multiple journeys in one shot, as most journeys overlap.
So this was a very high-level view of how I break down a user journey. There isn’t a right or wrong way, so do what’s natural and always have someone double-check your work. You don’t want to report incorrect numbers!