A Competitive Analysis is a great way UX teams can benchmark, generate ideas, learn about users, and stretch their thinking about design and UX strategy. A UX-centric competitive analysis is very different than what you’ll find outlined in any business book. This presentation outlines an approach for conducting competitive analysis even if your company or product “has no competitors”. This session will show you what a competitive analysis is, why it’s useful, when to do one, how to do it, and what the deliverable should include. You’ll also learn how a competitive analysis can help reinvigorate your organization’s focus on UX.

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Lyle Kantrovich
@Lkantrov
June 24, 2015
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS:
Strategic UX Spy Games

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The UX of Wrenches
Consider the UX of a wrench.
What would usability testing find?
Heuristic evaluation?
Contextual Inquiry?
Focus groups?
Surveys?

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The UX of Wrenches
Consider re-designing a wrench.
What would you change?

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The Wrench Competition
Consider analyzing the competition of your wrench.
• Combination wrenches
• Torque wrenches
• Impact wrenches
• Strap wrenches
• Pliers
• Vise grips
• Nut drivers

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The UX of Wrenches
Consider re-designing a wrench. What would you change?
• Materials
• Size
• Range of use
• Adjustability
• Precision
• Comfort
• Ergonomics
• Speed
• Strength
• Durability
• Cleanability
• Rust resistance
• Visual appeal
• Leverage
Competitive Analysis quickly deepens our
understanding of a problem space and the
range of design options.

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NO OTHER UX METHOD
DELIVERS MORE VARIED
DESIGN IDEAS FASTER
UX Competitive Analysis expands our thinking.

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Scenario: Health Insurance
“Find a Doctor” = Top task / feature for web users
Usability Test Results  Design by Committee  Complicated UI
Request: “Make it better.”

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835 Health Insurers in the U.S.

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Why start from scratch?

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Comparison of design details: search filters

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Task / Screen Flow Comparison
Site A: The Massive Search Form Approach
Site B: Fast Results with Filters

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UX Competitive Analysis Approach – Find a Doctor
• Review other design approaches in “the wild”
• Look for patterns
– Flows
– Form patterns
– Result patterns
• Feature comparisons (e.g., “accepting new patients”)
• Discuss patterns within team & decide on options to explore
• Mock up prototypes of alternatives
• Decide on options to usability test
• Test & refine
• Launch new design
Final design was unique from,
but inspired by “best of breed”

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UX COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
TURNS COMPETITORS’
DESIGNS INTO PROTOTYPES
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

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UX Innovation comes from ideas
• Competitors = easy source of ideas
– Shift team’s effort from generating ideas to evaluating ideas
– CA can super-charge your ideas – leapfrog & hybrid
– Find good fixes to easier problems faster…focus on harder problems
that need novel solutions
• Understand user expectations
– Mental models
– Labels / terminology
– Inform research plans
Design innovation comes from design ideas.

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Usability testing: more than just watching users use your design
Both involve skill and technique
UX Competitive Analysis:
More than just “checking out
the competition”

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Competitive Analysis is…
The comparison of other offerings in the
marketplace as a source of ideas and insights.
UX Competitive Analysis can provide input to…
• Strategy
• Product roadmaps
• Research
• Content strategy
• Technology
• Metrics
• Design
• Information architecture
• Branding
• Pricing
• Positioning
• Messaging

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How to do a UX competitive analysis
1. Decide on scope of comparison
2. Identify competitors / comparators
3. Research & Review
4. Report Key Insights

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• Niche feature only
(e.g. Search, Live Chat)
• Product or service
(e.g. Online Invoicing application)
• “Enterprise” experience / solutions
1. Decide on scope of
comparison

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1. Scope of Comparison
• Based on a specific organization or team’s need
• Strategic
– Should we build our own or integrate with existing solutions?
– Should we improve our core offering or add new supporting products?
– Are new start-up offerings a threat to our market share?
• Tactical
– How could we improve feature X to reduce customer confusion and
support calls?
– What are new ways for presenting product information in responsive
designs on small screens?
• UX Competitive Analysis needs to be focused to get value –
like any other UX method

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• Limit to 3-6
• More breadth = Less depth
• Get stakeholder input & approval
2. Identify competitors &
comparators

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2. Identify competitors & comparators
• Direct competitors are working with similar users & challenges
• No competitors or “fastest tortoise”
– What products set user expectations?
– What companies / products do you
aspire to be more like?
– What companies are working on
similar issues in another context?
• Avoid the Google / Amazon / Apple pitfall (GAAP)
• Get stakeholder input if you want them to value your output
• Market maturity impacts comparator options
– Industry maturity
– UX maturity in industry

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• Competitor UX Overview
• Site / App Organization & Navigation
• Content / Functionality
• Branding & Design
3. Research & review

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3. Research & review: profile = design context
Comparator Profile: Goldman Sachs
Headquarters New York, NY
Site URL http://www.goldmansachs.com
# of Employees 32,400
Sector / Industry
Financial Services
Investment Banking
Currency, Commodity & Futures Trading
Fixed-Income Trading
Notes
#68 in Fortune 500
#103 in FT Global 500
Focus: Thought Leadership

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3. Research & review: branding & visual design
Colors:
• White
• Blue
• Black
• Gray
Photos:
• Many photos
• Often feature people
• Experts
Notes:
• “Boxy”
• Lots of gradients
• Strong font usage
• Confusing secondary
navigation within
sections
• Inconsistent link colors

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3. Research & review: Content & Information Architecture
Goldman Sachs Site IA:
4 Main Sections:
• Who We Are
• What We Do
• Our Thinking
• Citizenship
Additional Sections / Features
• Careers
• Investor Relations
• Media Relations
• Worldwide
• Lots of videos
• Search
Focus: Thought Leadership
Impacted: Visual Design, Content Strategy, IA, Content Style Guide

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3. Research & review
Site A: The Massive Search Form Approach
Site B: Fast Results with Filters

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3. Research & review
Matrices: great for high-level comparisons
Corporate site comparison within an industry – focus on content / features
Timing: Strategy development, pre-redesign

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3. Research & review
Matrices: great for high-level comparisons
Corporate on-site search feature comparison

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3. Research & review
• Combine UX methods with Competitive Analysis
– Comparative Usability Testing
– Comparative Expert Reviews
– Surveys
– Task Analysis
– Journey Mapping
• Data Sources
– Online reviews
– Product history (e.g. Wayback Machine)
– Annual reports
– Hoovers.com
– Sales & Marketing materials
– Patent applications
– Press releases

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• Deliverables communicate value
• Keep it relevant
• Sometimes there is no “eureka!”
4. Report key insights

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‘Isn’t it a shame that with
the tremendous amount of
work you have done you
haven’t been able to get any
results?’
- Walter S. Mallory

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‘Results! Why, man,
I have gotten a lot of results!
I know several thousand
things that won’t work.’
- Thomas Edison

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4. Reporting insights: Structure
• If few, highly related comparisons…
– Presentation with “profile” of each competitor
– Demographics (size, location, etc.)
– Screenshots
– Opportunities & threats
– Recent changes / developments
• If aspirational comparisons…
– Look for UX themes, values, opportunities
• If feature or low-level design specific comparisons…
– Identify design patterns to test or implement
– Source is less important than the idea

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4. Reporting insights: Patterns
Multi-National Enterprise Approaches to Globalization/Localization
Globalized Model
Users select a language
to view content.
All company products
are accessible through
one site.
Used by companies with
global business but no
global location presence
(e.g. online retailers)
Localized Model
Users select a country
before viewing content.
Content is tailored for
local markets; products are
accessed via local sites.
Used by companies with
key regional market
differences or marketing
needs (e.g. trend-based or
youth retailers).
Hybrid Model
Users select a language to
view global content and a
country to visit local sites
and content.
Content that applies to all
businesses lives at global
level (e.g. About Us).
Used by companies with
both global and regional
products or marketing
needs.

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4. Reporting Insights
• Avoid Scorecards
– Insights = ideas, not numbers
– Scorecard numbers punish or reward
– Focus on generating discussion about design, not validating or
disproving existing thinking
– Even market leaders can improve – find the opportunities
• Be a UX leader
– Competitor hiring UX talent?
– Competitor following your company’s lead?
– Start-up hammering on your product’s weaknesses?

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A few words of caution
• Respect patents and copyrights
– You want inspiration, not infringement
– Ignoring competition doesn’t prevent infringement – be informed
• Be prepared to deal with egos
– Not Invented Here Syndrome
– Gold Star Seekers
– Good ideas can come from bad products/companies

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Unique Value of Competitive Analysis to UX
• Different focus than testing & expert reviews
– More generative than evaluative
• When new to an industry/product, a great way to learn a lot
quickly
– Industry
– Jargon
– Positioning of many companies / products
– Users / customers

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Competitive Analysis: Another Great Tool for UXers
Consider your next re-design opportunity.
Questions?

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Twitter: @Lkantrov
Email: Lyle@Kantrovich.com
LinkedIn: Lyle Kantrovich
thank you