| I learned to be at ease with tons of unknowns and taking bets

What happens when a product manager’s blueprint turns into a guessing game? I’m peeling back the curtain on how embracing the unknown is more than a necessity — it’s our secret weapon.

A few months ago, I got a case where the leadership wanted a GenAI feature built but never gave me a clear directive on what that feature should be and what the user problem needed to be solved. I used to believe that there was only one right answer, such as a single correct problem to solve or one right solution to a problem. So, even though user studies were available, I still wanted to conduct one myself to further narrow down the user problems and find the perfect one to solve. Feeling afraid that I could make bad decisions hindered my ability to make decisions. With the deadline approaching, I panicked and was forced to execute the other team’s ideas. Eventually, after realizing that we didn’t focus on pressing customer pain points, we had to scratch everything and reduce the scope. I was frustrated. I could have prevented this mistake if I had the courage to make decisions earlier.

Initially, I sought a single correct answer and hesitated to commit to decisions. However, experience has taught me that there are often multiple viable solutions and that missteps are part of the learning curve. I learned to proactively act on limited information and that building products is an iterative process — I don’t have to get to the destination in one go. Making progress toward the next milestone is more important than spending too much time figuring out the perfect path.

| Autonomy doesn’t come with the role, I have to earn it

They say a product manager is the CEO of their product, but I’ll tell you why that’s not the whole story.

When I joined the company, I expected to have autonomy in designing the product roadmap. But, in reality, leadership mandates and company strategy dictate the product roadmap and areas to focus on. I was mostly told what features to focus on next. I was pulled in different directions and felt discouraged.

Additionally, simply having data and valid user stories doesn’t guarantee a strong business case. Often, influence plays a key role as it takes a village to ship a product. I’ve seen features get deprioritized due to misalignment across teams despite months of preparation. It takes time to earn trust and identify business outcomes that relevant stakeholders want to achieve, things they care about the most, and their biggest customers. I’ve also noticed that those who successfully persuaded the leadership to invest resources in their features are good at showing stakeholders how they could benefit from this decision and making stakeholders believe that this idea comes from themselves.

Building industry, market, and product knowledge takes time, as does earning trust. However, I realized that giving people space to talk shortens the process as important details are often shared in casual conversations. Initiating conversations with individuals across various business units to understand their challenges helps me tailor my presentation to address actual business problems and speak to their pain points. Also, when I allow customers to lead conversations in user research, I can focus on clarifying problems and identifying customer sentiment, rather than just collecting data points to prove my hypotheses. At the end of the day, only when stakeholders have trust in me and when I’m able to show them how my work is relevant to their goals, I can build a strong case for my features and get buy-ins.

I’m taking my own time on this journey while enjoying the process of drawing the map that charts my course and uncovers what it truly means to be a product manager in my own way.

1. 不要害怕失敗或出糗，大部分的人只關注自己
2. 對新機會保持開放的心胸，不要急著拒絕沒嘗試過的事
3. 對人挑剔些，但不要馬上下結論

| 不要害怕失敗或出糗，大部分的人只關注自己

出國前，常因為聚光燈效應（spotlight effect）或社會的眼光讓我放棄嘗試一直想做、但相對沒把握的機會，總覺得身旁的人會拿著放大鏡檢視我的失敗，而我也不喜歡在眾人面前出糗。出國後，在不熟悉的環境中，每一步都是踏出舒適圈的新嘗試，這兩年經歷的挫折及失敗遠超過過去十幾年生活中崩潰的總和，才發現除了自己，其他人根本不會記得自己失敗或出糗的瞬間。

記得有一次在課堂上舉手問了一個蠢問題，在敘述完問題的當下我就已經知道答案，那一刻我直接臉脹紅、想挖洞鑽進去，直到下課前我都渾身不自在。下課後，我立刻跟同一堂課的朋友分享我的心情，殊不知他們根本沒留意這件事。也曾經在面試過程中講過爛笑話，面試官連嘴角都沒抽動，正式上班後還去問當時的面試官記不記得這件事，他壓根也不記得。我逐漸了解到大家只把焦點放在自己身上，根本沒有心思關注其他人。用力回想，還記得同事最近一次報告時吃螺絲的瞬間嗎？

於是，我開始更勇敢地嘗試自己想做的事，不要讓自己後悔，如參加跳舞表演、在台上唱歌、參與錄製podcast分享自己的經驗、主動搭訕坐隔壁的同學。當然不是每次嘗試的結果都是理想的，但即使失敗也會學習到如何調整策略，為下一次的嘗試做好準備。記住，聚光燈沒有那麼常打在自己身上。

| 對新機會保持開放的心胸，不要急著拒絕沒嘗試過的事

對自己的未來規劃一直都有明確的輪廓，喜歡選擇已知或嘗試過的道路，總是找藉口拒絕新機會。在職涯規劃上，來念書前就設定自己畢業後要擔任科技軟體業、面對消費者（2C）的產品經理。當時認為2B的產品技術性較高、較少機會參與使用者訪談，而2C的產品基本上一般大眾都會使用，比較貼近生活、有較高的彈性、相對容易找到使用者參與訪談。在交友上，我也一直意識地拒絕使用交友軟體，聽聞許多朋友們不好的體驗，而且自己也比較喜歡線下交流。但，出國後因為有限的選擇（如只找到2B產品的實習、到新城市想交朋友），必須嘗試讓自己不舒服的事，卻得到許多意外的美好收穫。

在2B資安軟體產品公司實習時，發現自己使用到2B產品的機會比想像中高、產品也比想像中更貼近日常生活；以為沒有機會進行使用者訪談，但短短12周的實習也參與10+場的訪談；以為自己無法應付技術性較高的產品，但在實習結束後也能侃侃而談該產品的設計架構、技術限制、使用者的痛點及故事。

因為實習到新城市（芝加哥）生活，加上公司也沒硬性規定必須每天進公司，我幾乎只能對著螢幕講話，少了許多與真人互動的機會。但我是非常需要與真人互動的，而且很喜歡與朋友分享生活中大小事，於是開始使用交友軟體認識新朋友。我意外找到聊得來、興趣相投的朋友，即使在實習結束後離開芝加哥、回到校園生活，我們還是經常見面或是通電話，在高壓的二年級生活也因為這位朋友的陪伴及鼓勵，讓我有勇氣繼續朝著目標前進。

這兩次經驗讓我走向之前想像不到的道路，不但對於自己未來的職涯有更多的選擇，也了解到在陌生的新城市交朋友沒想像中的困難。當發現自己無意識拒絕新機會時，要提醒自己保持開放的心胸。

| 對人挑剔些，但不要馬上下結論

我不喜歡衝突，也在意朋友的感受。回覆比較敏感的朋友的訊息前，我都會先詢問其他人的意見，盡量不要讓人感受到不舒服，但這麼做消磨我許多精力。出國後，因為對於環境的不熟悉、第一次跟來自許多不同國家的人相處，我更在意朋友的感受，總是小心翼翼回覆訊息及與朋友互動。可能是看到我常把朋友的情緒放在自己之前，一位好友不斷提醒我自私一點、人們沒有我想像中那麼脆弱。也曾因為想要融入新的生活圈，勉強自己與相處起來不舒服的人交際，後來發現自己並不快樂。於是，我開始只與相處起來舒服的人互動，意識到生活圈其實沒有變小，只要真誠待人，總是會遇到欣賞自己的人；人與人之間的相處是雙向的，經常性的單向付出是不會長久的。世界上千千百百種人，不必要求自己與所有人都相處融洽，不需要融入不適合的生活圈。

我也容易因為對某個人的第一印象不好，而迴避與他相處或當朋友。或許是出國後，一路走來跌跌撞撞，經歷許多挫折，意識到不是每天都是美好的一天、心情美麗的一天，了解到要多給他人一次機會，再下結論；剛剛表現很不討喜的同學，可能剛被喜歡的公司拒絕、辦活動不順利或身體不適，而我剛好遇到他一整年心情最差的一天。單憑這一次的相處就評判一個人是很不公平的，況且我也會希望他人能給我第二次機會。我也有與第一次見面印象不好的人們成為好友，因為在第二、三次的相處後，才能了解一個人真實的樣子。

如果你跟我一樣想要養成好習慣或戒除壞習慣，卻容易中途放棄、沒能堅持到最後享受成果，不妨藉由以下5個步驟建立有利於自己保持新習慣的環境。第1～4步驟將告訴你該如何踏出第一步，第5步驟則可以協助你持續執行該習慣：

1. 認同新身分
2. 切割任務成小目標
3. 建立小目標與誘惑的連結
4. 建立特定獨立作業空間
5. 建立視覺化習慣的追蹤

| 認同新身分

決定要建立新習慣前，我們要先認同自己的「新身分」。 身分認同能幫助我們在在天人交戰時抵擋誘惑、堅持建立新習慣。讓我們思考兩句話：「我是早起的人。」及「我不是早起的人，但我會努力早起。」，前者相信自己是晨醒的人，後者相信自己不是晨醒的人；當有機會賴床時，前者因為認同自己是晨醒的人，而行為會與思想一致，所以不會賴床，後者因為認同自己不是晨醒的人，所以認為賴床也無妨。

✏️如何找到新身分
我們可以透過觀察Role Model的行為，思考他做了什麼事情而成就他現在的樣子。以我自己為例，我的Role Model是比爾蓋茲，比爾蓋茲每年都會有兩次的Think Weeks讓自己不受外界干擾地沉浸在書籍中，所以我的新身分就是「我是喜歡看書的人」。

| 切割任務成小目標

大部分的人都聽過，把年度目標切分成數個小目標，達成年度目標的機率比較高，這個理論也可以應用在習慣的養成上。以我自己為例，我的任務是每月讀兩本書，於是設定自己每日的小目標是睡前閱讀一個小時。
但設定與執行是兩回事。大家都曾計畫過行事曆，逐筆寫下每日應完成的事項，但一週過去真正完成的事情少之又少。針對這種情況，我們可以透過建立「故意的提醒」，強迫自己看到提醒並實際執行小目標。如我每天早上出門前會把睡前要閱讀的書籍刻意放在床頭櫃，當我看到書籍就會記得要執行自己設定的小目標。

✏️如何讓自己更容易地適應新習慣
我們可以在既有的習慣流程上，輕微地增加或刪除習慣。我每天晚上的流程是洗澡、換睡衣、刷牙、滑手機、睡覺。我想達成讓自己不要吃宵夜並閱讀書籍的習慣，所以將流程改成洗澡、刷牙、換睡衣、看書、滑手機、睡覺 ，然而我在執行新流程的第二天就忘記洗澡後要先刷牙還是先換睡衣，因為要同時改變習慣順序及新增執行目標並不是件容易的事。
但我可以透過先把看書加入新流程，順序修改為洗澡、換睡衣、刷牙、看書、滑手機、睡覺，並將新習慣執行的先後順序具體寫下，如我會在刷牙後看一個小時的書，提醒自己何時要執行。

| 建立小目標與獎賞的連結

把小目標及提醒機制設定完成後，可以藉由建立小目標與獎賞的連結，提高執行新習慣的機會。以我自己為例，只要每晚完成閱讀一小時的小目標後，我可以把下次想買的書籍加入購物車，而當我把手上的書籍閱畢後，可以購入購物車內任一本書籍作為獎賞。須注意，設定的獎賞要與自我認同的新身分一致，否則會原地踏步。 假設我想減重、想成為會拒絕糖分的人，設定只要連續拒絕五次手搖飲料的誘惑，就可以吃一塊蛋糕。但這個獎勵機制只是延後取得糖分的需求，所以還是停留在原點，我還是一個不會拒絕糖分的人。我只要把獎賞改成，把想購入的小一號衣服加入購物車，就可以繼續朝減重的目標前進。

| 建立特定獨立作業空間

我們踏入健身房時常會有一種「好，我要來運動了！」的感覺，便開始無腦的把一組一組訓練完成；抑或是踏入圖書館時，有一種「讀書時間到了！」的感覺，而且會不自覺地降低音量。我們會有以上的感覺是因為，當身體長時間在同一個空間內重複某項行為後，身體會習慣知道該從事什麼事情，所以當再次進入這個熟悉的空間時，我們便會不由自主的迅速進入該行為模式。

因此，我們可以把身邊的環境改造成有利於我們習慣養成的空間，讓我們抵達該空間時可以馬上進入狀況。以我自己為例，我想把房間作為讀書空間，進入房間時會無意識主動去讀書，而不是滑手機或看美劇。因此我把書籍放在房間、把手機放在客廳、把電腦設定不能使用社群軟體（Google Chrome Extensions — Strict Workflow）。第一週時我很想在房間滑手機卻又找不到手機，自己又懶得走出客廳只好放棄。第二週後，我開始發現進入房間後不會有想滑手機的衝動，也很適應手機不在手邊，變得更能專心看書。

| 建立視覺化習慣追蹤機制

人類體內約有一千一百萬個感覺受器，而視覺受器就佔了一千萬個，我們的視覺很容易影響我們下一步的動作。因此，我們可以創造「顯而易見的進步感」讓我們有動力繼續維持該習慣。例如，我每完成一小時的睡前閱讀，就可以把想買的書籍加入購物車，而透過購物車數字的增加，我可以看到自己的進步。又或者是，只要當天完成一小時的睡前閱讀，我會把當日的行事曆塗上綠色，連續完成一週後，為了維持行事曆上不間斷的綠色紀錄，我會繼續保持讀書的習慣。

有些人可能會說：「我維持每週固定運動的習慣並記錄體重，卻發現自己的體重沒有下降，導致越記錄越不想運動。」但這不是代表你運動卻沒有進步，只是效果與你預期不同。你期望體重降低但身體的反應是線條更明顯，但因為你太關注體重機上的數字而忽略其他變化。很多人在這個時候就會放棄運動，但這同時也放棄一周後體重降低的成果。但只要選擇對你有利的記錄方式，如準備A、B兩個玻璃罐，A是塞滿迴紋針的玻璃罐，B是空的玻璃罐，只要完成一次運動，就把A內的一個迴紋針放到B，讓自己有立即的滿足感，就能繼續保持運動，並在一週後享受成功的果實。

《原子習慣》作者James Clear說，習慣是經由讓自己執行某項行為的機率變高且持續重複執行而養成。以上的5個步驟就是要讓我們開始著手執行，並保持持續重複執行的欲望。在培養新習慣時，第1個步驟—認同新身分—對我來說是最有幫助的，因為他能提醒我保持該習慣的目的、讓我知道為何而做。

如果你和我一樣是擁有3–5年工作經驗的職場新手，想在職場證明自己的能力、想拒絕不適當的幫忙、想建立人脈，或想勇敢地做決定，以下書中提到的4個概念特別受用：

1. 對任何人都必須保有同理心
2. 確認自己當前最重要（最想發展）的面向並建立界線
3. 勇敢踏出舒適圈建立不同領域的人脈
4. 堅定地表達個人意見

| 對任何人都必須保有同理心

同理心指的是發自內心、真實且和善的關心他人。我認為同理心在職場是絕對的利器， 因為我們都希望被自己喜歡的方式對待。當你願意花時間去了解你的同事、客戶及老闆，在任何談判上（如：要資源、推動專案或建立高效率團隊），會因為這層更深的關係（非僅是同事關係）而變得容易許多。我曾同時遇過富有同理心的主管（Jessica）及未有同理心的主管（Sandy），與她們共事是截然不同的感受。在我遇到挫折的時候，Jessica會鼓勵我、主動分享個人經驗，並告訴我怎麼做可以更好；Sandy則僅關心工作進度，與專案無關的事一概不提。她們兩位的工作方式看起來沒什麼問題，在沒有突發狀況時，專案都能準時完成。但工作上就是會有突發狀況（如：A客戶臨時增加要求、B客戶時程要提前），這時候Jessica因為與同事們建立類朋友的關係，同事們都願意出手幫忙，甚至是主動提供資源。反之，Sandy顯得孤立無援。

專案結束後，我們無可避免地需要給同事反饋，同理心也可以幫助我們以對方更容易接受的方式提供建議，如1:10原則（以正面的訊息平衡負面的反饋，確保讚美比批評多）或跳脫當事人身分以第三者角度討論「事件本身」而非針對個人。

✏️如何在職場上建立和善的關係
午休時間別埋首於工作，主動找同事吃飯、聊聊彼此工作外的生活，真誠地關心他人。將同事分享過的小故事放在心上，如果是好故事，在剛好看到符合他需求的事物（如：社群活動、專題演講），主動分享；如果是壞故事，持續追蹤他的心情，並適時提供協助。

| 確認自己當前最重要（最想發展）的面向並建立界線

每個人一天就是只有24小時，光處理工作上的事情時間就不夠用了，常又會收到同事或朋友的求救信號或邀約，如果自己個性是很難向其他人說「不」，會讓自己忙得像無頭蒼蠅，卻搞砸每件事 — 因此建立界線是重要的。書中分享以四宮格的方式建立界線（目標是過濾對自己來說不重要的事），在每一宮格內寫下目前最重要的四大領域，並在每一個領域內列下至多3項與該領域相關的重要事項。完成這四宮格後，在面臨對難以拒絕的要求時，也有理直氣壯的理由強迫自己說「不」。

以下分享自己的四宮格讓讀者更容易理解：

以「我」面向為例，我期待自己繼續維持一周兩次（每周二及周六晚上）的運動習慣，當朋友的聚會邀約與運動時間牴觸時，我會選擇運動。又或者以「興趣」面向為例，我期待自己能繼續培養產品管理的領域知識，當主管提出兩項加班事項（產品點子發想及資訊系統查核）時，我能選擇自己有能力且可以專注投入的產品點子發想，並明確表達無法對資訊系統查核花太多心思。

✏️如何委婉地拒絕
作者提供拒絕不適當工作要求時的委婉說法，如「我很想要確保自己有把時間花在對的事情上，但我發現我花太多時間在做○○○，而這些事情並不會為公司增添價值。」，讀者們下次遇到類似狀況時，不妨試試看。

✏️拒絕時的sweet spot
在表示拒絕的當下，提供一個目前自己可以負荷的小幫忙。舉例來說，如果朋友邀請你參加一個你時間無法配合出席的活動，在拒絕出席時，可以向朋友提出願意在社群媒體上分享此活動的offer。

| 勇敢踏出舒適圈建立不同領域的人脈

剛開始工作時（工作前1–2年），我的日常生活場景只有公司和家，下班後我就直奔回家看劇、放空休息，工作外接觸的陌生人大概只有我家管理員。直到有一天，一位熱衷於社群活動的同事邀請我參加Girls In Tech Taiwan 40 Under 40的活動，開啟這段美好的旅程。當天我接觸到不同產業及領域的女性，她們每個人都散發著自信，從容自在地在台上分享自己的經驗，我希望自己可以像她們一樣擁有閃閃發亮的眼神。

每個社群都有自己的主題（特色），參加活動時，我很喜歡觀察參與者，因為可以從人們的談吐及講話方式推敲出該產業工作者的個性。與不同產業背景的人交流，可以幫助探索自己的興趣，了解不同產業的發展，或為未來鋪路（想轉換產業時會發現人脈真的很重要阿…）；與同產業背景的人交流，可以了解該領域目前最新的情況、未來的發展，甚至是職涯的規劃。在工作上想破頭都無法解決的問題，很有可能在一次的聚會中獲得解決辦法！

✏️如何在活動上與他人開啟對話
最有效的方法是獨自（因為跟朋友一起，常只顧著跟朋友聊天）參加活動，找到自己想建立連結的人主動開啟對話，內容可以是對方最近參加活動的心得、對方如何知道這個活動等，也可以從彼此的共同點開啟對話，如「我們是同一所大學畢業的耶！你當時有參加羽球社嗎？」。

| 堅定地表達個人意見

在不熟悉的環境裡，即使內心並不同意對方的觀點，我還是會表現出同意的樣子，因為我不喜歡衝突、更不喜歡變成關注的焦點。久而久之，這樣的表現會讓主管、同事或客戶認為沒主見、沒想法、無趣，甚至會覺得很好欺負。當有重要專案要執行時，很容易成為那位被遺忘的人，因而更沒有機會表現自己的能力。在小組談話中，我發現自己的聲音常被忽略，有時候要講三次以上其他人才會注意到，部分可歸因於我營造出「隨和、沒想法」的形象。在客戶會議中，我也曾被客戶以輕視的眼神提問，而且完全不在意我的回覆。

直到一次與新加坡所同事合作提供客戶流程改善建議，這個專案中只有我是台灣所代表（也就是說，如果我不出聲也沒有其他人可以代為表示意見），與客戶溝通的過程不太順利，客戶認為我們提出的建議不符合其需求也非必要。眼看新加坡所同事已經快招架不住，我只好把自己的想法說出來，沒想到客戶竟然認為有道理、也有建設性，甚至在結案會議中還跟新加坡所協理提到這件事。從這次事件後，我了解到反駁其他人的觀點不一定會導致衝突，只要用尊重對方的方式表達就能避免衝突。

✏️如何訓練自己發表個人意見
當作者的主管發現作者經常沒意見、一味贊同他人的觀點時，要求作者在每次會議結束時擔任總結會議內容的人，藉此訓練作者發言。而我是要求自己在會議上一定要發言一次，漸漸的我能更自在地發表個人意見。

這本書雖然是從女性的角度撰寫、預期讀者也是女性，但我真心覺得書中提出的部分問題也是男性在職場上會遇到的，相信男性閱讀後也會有很大的收穫。

4個《柔韌》教會我在職場生存的事 was originally published in 青鳥誌 | 陪你學習成長每一天 on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Brief Introduction

The objective of this project is to conduct a user experience case study on Aftee. Aftee is a payment App owned by Net Protections, a leading FinTech company in Japan. The company expended its market from Japan to Taiwan last year.

The personal goal for this project is to:

• Learn and practice how to conduct usability testing, learn from users’ insights, identify pain points through user journal map, and design wireframes.
• Complete my first user experience case study from designing interview questions, conducting user interviews to offer some improvement opportunities.

About Aftee

Aftee gives online and offline shopper a new shopping experience as it allows users to enjoy the products without paying immediately. Besides, users are able to keep their personal information secret. During a transaction, the user just needs to enter authentication codes through cell phone and he/she is free to go.

Some online stores will record customer’s credit card number and I have detected some unauthorized credit card charges. As a result, I refrain from checking out via credit cards. After conducting several user experience tests last week, I discovered that there are few opportunities for improvement.

The Design Process

Inspiration

• User research

Ideation

• Persona
• User Journey Map
• Design Opportunities
• Key Issues & Recommended Solutions

Implementation

• Medium blog post

User research

As a group, our team started out by conducting user interviews with 20 potential users to find out their pain points and what they think of the current app. The interview questions were focus on the in-app registering and payment process. I also asked users to complete a few tasks to find out the reason why they use the product, what do they use it for, and what their pain points are.

When conducting usability test, I hide my personal perspectives. Users are asked to verbalize their thoughts. Some follow-up questions such as “why” , “how do you think of this function” , “tell me more about that”, and if-then statements were asked to get users to elaborate on their true feelings.

Key Findings

1. Users are required to set an 8-digits code in the process of creating a new account. The system accepts code that contains both numbers and alphabet. However, users are not well informed about the rule, and only after several failures, they could figure it out.
2. 40% of the interviewed users would like to set up Touch ID to speed up the log-in process.
3. 75% of the interviewed users decide not to link Aftee account to their Facebook account because of trust issues.
4. Most users find the information displayed in “order details” unclear as the terms are confusing. For example, if they want to sort the bills by payment due date, they cannot find the exact term to filter.
5. Nearly all interviewed users would spend more when they were told that they still have $1,000 to use than that they have spent $1,000.

Persona

User Journey Map

Design Opportunities

Based on the user journey map and key findings above, I identified some design opportunities. I then used a 2×2 prioritization matrix to prioritize these opportunities based on their importance to users as well as to Aftee.

In the end, I picked the top 3 issues that matter the most to both parties. That is, to enhance app features, browsing experience and in-app experience.

Key Issues & Recommended Solutions

In this section, I provided one solution for each of the issues above.

Issue 1: User is used to paying the bill after checking the order details, but he is not allowed to do it in the same page.

It is inconvenient for me to constantly switch pages just to pay my bills. — User 1

This is the top pain point among all the users I tested with. When users browse “order details” page and select the “order receipt”, they are able to check the details, such as item name and quantity. However, there is no such a “conduct payment” button in the same page for users to make payment.

Issue 2: User expects to know the spending power to use, but accidentally gets the wrong result.

I thought the in-app credit left is not enough for me to buy this item but actually I can afford it. — User 2

It is common to use a pie chart to visualize the budget and spending; however, users tested are concerned with the “spending power to use” rather than “actual spending”. After analyzing, I summarized the problems displayed in current UI as below:

• As the diagram is colored in red, it wrongly emphasizes on “actual spending”.
• Users accidentally take the section colored in blue as total spending power, while it actually means spending power left.

Issue 3: User expects to select payment method instantly, while accidentally picking the non-desired method.

I would like to make payments through FamilyMart, a convenience store, but I don’t know which category I should pick to get there. — User 3

In Taiwan, online shoppers usually have three options to make payments. There are “pay via credit card”, “pay via money transfer”, or “pay via convenience store”. The app includes last two of them; however, it didn’t sort these payments into understandable categories. I briefly analyzed as below:

The name of each category should be mutually exclusive rather than compatible. While in this example, the term “convenience store” and “FamilyMart” are not mutually exclusive as FamilyMart is one type of convenience stores. As a result, when users enter this page, he has to try both categories to find the ideal payment method.

Reflection

From this case study, I’ve learned not to let presumptions affect interviews and product designs. In observing each user’s action, I reacted correspondingly to guide users and ask the right questions. I also find user journey map and tasks-to-be-done useful in identifying pain points.

Besides, even though you interviewed a group of users with same gender, demography, and interest, you’ll still get different insights from each user. It is this unexpected surprise that makes the whole study fun and meaningful.

Usability testing a Japanese payment app — a UX case study was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

For example, imagine yourself as one of the product managers in your company aiming to maximize revenue. It is obvious that you will target at high-income level audience and differentiate your product from others in the already competitive market. So, you spend a lot of money and resource on researches and marketing. Meanwhile, your colleague, Zoey, plays a different strategy. She plans to target at lower-income level audience and perfectly meet their needs. Accordingly, Zoey finds the most durable product from existing market and uses no special marketing method. Six month later, Zoey easily increases the revenue but you struggle to maintain pre-level revenue. To your surprise, customers in lower-income level actually have the spare money to spend on personal computer. And, because they have limited resource, they like to buy things from word of mouth and are loyal to the brand.

So let’s take a step back. What makes you decide to target at high-income level audience in first place? A distorted world view about people in lower-income level.

Most of our knowledge is learnt when we are in school and is outdated. As we grow up, we have to update our worldview accordingly. With a fact-based world view, we can understand the world better. We can make better decisions. We can spend our money and time wisely. Also, knowing that fact is not like stone but like clay makes us a more open-minded person accepting new ideas.

Besides the rules of thumb in the book- Factfulness to help us build a fact-based worldview, I would like to share some useful and insightful tips that enable us to see things from different perspective and analyze the situation precisely.

Tip one: Things can be both bad and better. The world is not either good or bad. We may encounter terrible things but still feel that things are getting better everyday. For instance, there are people still living below the poverty threshold but the number of them is decreasing year to year. It is bad that they have to walk in their barefoot. Isn’t it improving when less people are suffering? Absolutely yes.

Tip two: Numbers mean nothing when you don’t compare/divide them. You often see this kind of horrifying headline on newsletter: Over 1 Billion People Had No Access to Electricity in 2014. Then you are like “Oh my god! That’s a huge number. I have to do something about it.” But the truth is only 15 percent of the world population in 2014 do not have access to electricity.

Tip three: If you really want to fix the problem, find what actually causes it rather than find the person who is responsible for it. When thing does not happen as we expected, we tend to point the finger at others. Once we find the person/group to blame, we stop learning from the consequence and are not able to prevent the problem from happening again. For example, blaming the driver of a car accident will not stop future accidents. Understanding the attribute, we can fix the problem once and for all.

Constructing a fact-based worldview is not asking us to give up anything we have built. The main point is that we have to update the information from time to time.

So, start to upgrade your worldview with the solid facts as following:
．The world is getting better.
．Proportion of girls in primary school is 90 percent.
．Most people who earn more than $32/day will be non-westerners.

I would like to share a hilarious story of Uber’s founder — Travis Kalanick — as a starter of this feast.

Kalanick was on his way to visit rival Sequoia Capital before a scheduled meeting with Benchmark’s partnership. As they waited for Kalanick to arrive, investors from Benchmark looked at the Uber app and saw a single Uber car in front of Sequoia’s office a mile away. Because Uber did not yet operate down in Silicon Valley, they guessed this oddly idle car was Kalanick’s ride. Then they summoned the car with Uber app, and when Kalanick was out of his meeting, it was gone. Kalanick arrived sweating and late.

You will also find a lot real stories — no matter happy or sad, when reading this book. For example, the triumph of defeating a rival and the hardtime of fund-raising. Those stories brought you back to the scenes, just as you are standing right beside the founders and making vital decisions. I have learned some valuable lessons as follows from these emotional stories. So, here come the main courses. (hurray!)

• Lesson one: As an entrepreneur, you have to be fearless, determined and aggressive. Most importantly, you also have to be soft rather than combative when you do something unacceptable to the public (even you have a reasonable standpoint). The market is forgetful and tolerant to the flaws. Calm down and respond, “We are working on it, good feedback.”
• Lesson two: Cultivate your own powerful army — user base. In that case, when traditional advocacy failed, you will able to mobilize your users and direct their passion toward elected politicians. They will defend the product’s right to exist. (aka Travis’s law)
• Lesson three: Make your company small to avoid regulator’s radar or too big to fall. When you are trying to change the status quo, you will inevitably confront a lot oppositions because the crowd is not familiar with your product. So, keep it small enough or big enough.
• Lesson four: Make solid strategy, be prepared and go ahead to strike out your competitors. When Airbnb faced their adversary in Europe — Wimdu (well-organized and more employees back then), it acted fast and built a local operation to cultivate an intimate community among its users. Find your strength and differentiate it from your rivals.

I believe that these lessons are applicable to not just entrepreneurs but everyone, our daily life. When facing adversity, I often cheer myself up with the founders’ passion, determination, persistence. No matter how hard the situation is, they treat it as a nutrient rather than an obstacle. After reading this book, you will definitely be inspired and have courage to pursue your dream. At last, I want to share a quote from Kalanick as the dessert.

I’m better than I was. I’m more awesome. Now I am not afraid anymore, I can just have fun and go and kill it.

Sandberg deeply depicts the journey of her recovery, genuinely expresses her feelings, and kindly offers solutions to deal with adversity. As she well-said,

After undergoing a hardship, people have new knowledge to offer those who go through similar experiences. It is unique source of meaning because it does not just give our lives purpose — it gives our suffering purpose.

In our lives, we would encounter many difficulties — being passed over for a promotion, breaking up with someone, losing close relatives. We can see difficulties as nutrients, making our lives meaningful and growing strength to offer help.

I lost my grandfather few years ago. It was heartbreaking to hear that my grandfather passed away from the doctor with calm voice. Because I was busy studying for my college entrance exam, I didn’t spend a lot of time keeping my grandfather company. I felt guilty. The whole world has changed. Sadness filled in every single corner of my home. And this situation has continued for months.

After reading Option B, I knew that writing down “small-wins” (successful moments) in everyday would help to relieve the pain as it helps us focusing on the things we’ve done well. And, I learned that “death ends a life but it does not end a relationship”.

I would recommend not only those facing difficulties in life but also their friends to read Option B. The book gives a lot useful advice with bittersweet stories. I felt especially connected to chapter two — kicking the elephant out of the room. One of my close friends often hides her feelings and even hurts herself when she undergoes adversity. She had broke-up with her boyfriend a month ago. Usually, I would avoid bring up the sad topic. However, I decided to take the advice from this book — giving her a button to press — by start asking, “How are you today?” with a genuine smile on face. Also, I acknowledged the pain by saying, “I understand your suffering, and I will be here if you want to talk.” rather than by saying, “I know you will get better. I just know it.” And, it turned out well. My friend starts sharing her feelings with me and I know that we will get through this together.

At last, I want to share this quote as below from the book. Everything happens with a reason. When we confront adversity, we can look to the bright side, build resilience and change for good.

Not only do we learn more from failure than success, we learn more from bigger failures because we scrutinize them more closely.