North star design
Thinking in terms of what-ifs
Every year, I find myself working in two phases:
Execution phase - Doing things.
Consumption phase - Finding things to do.
Both are usually interrelated. A lot of execution is driven by finding inspiration, which results from the consumption phase.
If you can really execute while consuming inspiration, that is the best thing you can do for yourself. Unfortunately, I can’t always do that. One thing takes the back seat while the other drives the way I think.
This is the first time I have been executing a lot, for months now. Sometimes when you constantly execute, you run out of ideas. You crave some inspiration. You crave some freshness. Nowadays, I have been searching for answers to find this freshness.
How can we raise the bar higher?
This has been the question on my mind for a few months now. I find myself in an execution loop nowadays, which means the focus is on execution and not consuming inspiration.
Anyway, let’s find answers to lost freshness while executing.
Optimization sucks...
My love for the word optimization is like a toggle switch. Sometimes, I feel like it’s the best thing you can do, sometimes, I feel like it’s a tradeoff. It’s similar to my love for the word ‘hope’.
Execution pushes you sometimes to optimize things. Let’s say you are working on designing a flow, and you think about optimizing the experience, especially because you have no inspiration to think otherwise.
You start optimizing when you’re surrounded by constraints. Yes, constraints that are rusty and sometimes not so fresh.
I find the answer to this in the concept of north star design.
Before we understand north star design
To understand this, let’s go back to our very own product manager’s favorite - north star metric (NSM). Let me quickly pull out a good screenshot that explains it.
Whatsapp’s NSM - It's Daily Active Users (people using the app every day)
Instagram’s NSM - Time Spent on the App (how long users stay engaged)
These metrics help the companies know if they're heading in the right direction and growing successfully. A fair disclaimer is that these might not be the current NSM of WhatsApp and Instagram, they change based on the company strategy. After the amount of ads they shoot, I just wish their NSM was so simple.
Coming back to our core idea, north star design is something that you look up to as inspiration, while you are executing. Don’t worry, I am going to make this simpler and less abstract.
A simple framework to think about north star design is to “wish” about experiences while you are designing them. It should feel impossible.
While designing, if you had a magic wand, what would you do to make the outcomes 100x more interesting than it currently is?
What is north star design?
While you wish for something, you always forget the constraints. When you forget constraints, you are finally not optimizing. Sigh! Yes!
So forget all the constraints for a moment and think about the best unimaginable experiences that would make your life 100x better.
A few days back, I was working on a booking appointment flow for a pediatric product. While we slapped a basic mediocre booking flow that pulls out a calendar, asks you for 7 inputs and something that you would never WISH to use.
I asked myself - how can we raise the bar higher? I’ll map out my answers.
My ability to wish increases as I move forward with my answers.
Oh, maybe I can remove these input fields, it isn’t necessary. (optimization)
Users can type in their appointments, and we detect the text automatically. Imagine a caring mother typing “I'd like to schedule an appointment for Naisha Shah on February 31st at 5:30 PM to address rashes.”
Why type when you can say it out loud? Let’s use voice-enabled appointments. But WAIT, how is it then different from calling a receptionist?
Okay, now we start with “WHAT IFS,” my favorite “WHAT IF’S”...
What if, the app could automatically book an appointment based on how I feel?
What if, the doctor could directly call me to just check in? Maybe the doctor knows how I feel today?
What if, the doctor would come to my house to pamper me all day? That’s a lot. I am kidding.
And guess what, I really love doing this. This is inspired by Brian Chesky’s 11-star design framework. Believe me, the table attached below is the best thing you will read today.
Just to sum up, north star design.
Summarizing north star design
Wish about experiences.
Negate constraints.
Think in terms of what-ifs
Think impossible
Please don’t optimize.
Thought experiment
Think about your favorite products, and wish for the best experiences possible.
I will think out loud for 10 minutes, it’s a collection of my favorite products and my north star design for them.
Whatsapp - What if it could only show me the messages that matter to me, and cut all the crap.
Instagram - If it could show me people who were just genuinely happy on my feed, and not showing off or using it as a platform for vanity.
If it could stop showing me reels about the exact insecurity that I am thinking about. Goddamn, make me feel good.
Zomato - Suggesting me the exact dish that I crave. Or directly sending it to me without notice, as a gift.
Spotify - It could automatically make notes of the podcast parts that stimulated my brain. I would pay for this. So good.
Youtube - If I could get my favorite person to shoot a YouTube course, especially for me?
Starbucks - If it could magically group people who are bound to help each other. How could Starbucks leverage serendipity? Maybe personalizing the human sitting at the next table.
Gmail - If my assistant could draft emails for me, I would just be updated.
Urban company - If someone could pack my bags and luggage just days before I travel and unpack it, place it perfectly back to its origin after I come back.
and so on...
Whenever I feel like my ideas are rusted, stale, and boring. The best medicine for this pain is to go back to what-ifs.
Say hi, and hit me up with what ifs...
Twitter - https://twitter.com/PriyanshSingara
Portfolio - https://priyanshsingara.framer.website/
fin.