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11 QUESTIONS TO START A
UX PROJECT

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO MAKE UX WORK FROM

THE FIRST MEETING

Mariano A. Goren

Second Edition
Copyright © 2016
marianogoren.com

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CONTENTS

Contents 3

About The Author 5

Legal Notes 7

Introduction 9

Why are we sending this? 10

The Questionnaire 12

Questionnaire breakdown 14

1. What is the problem or need you are aiming to solve for your
clients with your product or service? 15

2. What are the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to have in

mind? How does 'success' look in this project? 16

3. What is the benchmark? What are top-of-the-line products we

can look into to inspire our work? 17

4. Who are the final users of the product or service we are set to
create together? 18

5. Who is the responsible for the project result? This is the

person Who will be taking risks and making decisions (like in
The Highlander movie, “there can only be one”). 19

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 6. Is there any technological limitation we need to have in mind
when thinking of this project implementation? 20

7. In which stage of the project are we? How long has been this
project around? 21

8. When will this project be finished? 22

9. Is there any roadmap for the project? (Tip: A Gantt Chart will
do it.) 23

10. Is there any particular deliverable you are looking for? 24

11. What is the budget for this project? 25

Use this question as a wildcard 26

The rationale to defend your point 26

How to continue from here 28

Special Bonus 29

What to do when projects are not so clear 30

Final words 31

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hi! Mariano here.

I have 8+ years of experience in the
digital business industry where I've
developed well-rounded capabilities in
business, psychology, and technology.
As a UX Strategist Consultant, I've
worked for a wide range of clients, ranging
from SMEs to Fortune 500 companies
including:
Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Santander Río, Kantar Media,
RR Donnelley, LAN, Tenaris, and Ternium, to name few.
I was Academic Coordinator for ITBA (Technological Institute of
Buenos Aires) and University of Palermo, both international-grade
educational institutions.
I've founded Solutionants, LaEscuela.tk and co-founded IxDA Buenos
Aires and Movimiento de Diseño Inclusivo.
Implementing this 11 Question Protocol made a big difference for me
and my professional career as a UX consultant. I had become a slave
only getting paid what I could “get”, instead of getting paid what
I’m actually worth.
I’ve created this book in the hope you can do the same for yourself =).

If you have comments or feedback, feel free to contact me:

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Twitter. marianogoren
Email: contacto@marianogoren.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianogoren/en

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LEGAL NOTES

11 Questions to Start A UX Project

A step-by-step guide to make UX work from the first meeting

Second edition

Copyright (C) 2016 by Mariano Alejandro Goren.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever

without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical reviews and articles in their entirety.

This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright
Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any

means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system without express written permission
from the author / publisher.

For information, send an email to contact@marianogoren.com or visit

marianogoren.com

v2.12

Cover Art: Guillermo Ceballos // memoceballos.com

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This book is a spin-off of “Become a Senior UX Designer Course.” As a reader of
this book, you can get the full value with an important discount! Visit
www.marianogoren.com/uxcourse

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INTRODUCTION

The idea behind this little book is to introduce a leaner way to start
any UX related project, reducing the hassle that usually comes with
it.
Let's say you received this prospect’s e-mail and he is interested in
"doing some usability" for his web page.
This is where you use the questionnaire provided here.
In a nutshell, this protocol allows you to quickly and almost
effortlessly, get into the groove of the client.
I found it can be sent through email and/or as a guide to the first
interview with a prospect with the same positive results.
In my experience, it triggers useful conversations inside the client’s
team, allows you to empathize with them and, ultimately,
determine your own goals for the project.

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WHY ARE WE SENDING THIS?
The questionnaire has several objectives:

- To help you understand their problem and how you can help to
solve it. The idea is to gain insights on these three points of
perspective:
• Where the project comes from

• Where it is now

• What are the expectations about our intervention.

- To put them to work. As soon as they receive this, you'll see if they
are playing ball. A client who answers your emails once a week is
NOT a nice one to have.

- To avoid wasting time on both parts. If they don’t have what it

takes or bring an over-complicated problem, this helps you assess the
situation before closing the deal.

- To get the prospect invested. As Robert Cialdini’s Law of

Reciprocity has proven, people are more likely to buy once they have
already tried the service.

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- To show your value as a UX professional. After all, this is free
consultancy, which allows them to think and understand their business
from a different perspective.

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THE QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What is the problem or need you are aiming to solve for your
clients with your product or service?

2. What are the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to have in mind?

How does 'success' look in this project?

3. What is the benchmark? What are top-of-the-line products we can

look into to inspire our work?

4. Who are the final users of the product or service we are set to create
together?

5. Who is the responsible for the project result? This is the person
who will be taking risks and making decisions (like in The Highlander
movie, “there can only be one”).

6. Is there any technological limitation we need to have in mind when

thinking of this project implementation?

7. In which stage of the project are we? How long has been this
project around?

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8. When will the project be finished?

9. Is there any roadmap for the project? (Tip: A Gantt Chart will do it.)

10. Is there any particular deliverable you are looking for?

11. What is the budget for this project?

Go to www.marianogoren.com/uxtools to download the copy/paste friendly

version.

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QUESTIONNAIRE BREAKDOWN
Without further ado, let's start with the questionnaire breakdown.

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1. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM OR NEED YOU ARE
AIMING TO SOLVE FOR YOUR CLIENTS WITH YOUR
PRODUCT OR SERVICE?

While this question may seem simple, it's really amazing to see how
often stakeholders don’t have a clear vision about what they’re
asking and even have conflicting views on what the project should
achieve.
The idea is to understand their personal perspective and if they have a
clear business model.
I understand User Experience as the discipline that allows
individuals to create bridges between business goals and people’s
needs.
If the project doesn’t have a concrete business objective, it is really
necessary to put that on the table and start the project there.
When this happens, I usually offer some basic consultancy in which
we work on the Business Model Canvas (for established businesses)
or the Value Proposition Canvas (for start-ups).

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2. WHAT ARE THE KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
(KPIS) TO HAVE IN MIND? HOW DOES 'SUCCESS'
LOOK IN THIS PROJECT?

These questions bring to the table what our client is hoping will
happen when we’ve finished the project.
It is important to know this usually triggers a series of discussions
which may delay the start of the project itself.
A Key Performance Indicator (or KPI) is the variable to follow - a
measure with which we can understand if the project is a success or
not.
For example, if we work to increase the effectiveness of web sales,
the percentage increase in clicks to the “add to the cart” button can
be a clear indicator of success.
If there are previous records of these indicators, it will be important
to get them in order to easily compare if they improve with our work.
And in any case, we can always run controlled trials (A/B or
multivariate testing) for an effective, real-time comparison.

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3. WHAT IS THE BENCHMARK? WHAT ARE TOP-OF-
THE-LINE PRODUCTS WE CAN LOOK INTO TO INSPIRE
OUR WORK?

Sun Tzu wrote in "The Art of War" that the key to understanding
ourselves and the opponent is in a dance. Both are needed to make
the system work.
So, by understanding the opponent we understand where we are
standing.
This is also important for success in a UX strategy. This question
tries to get the client’s accumulated market knowledge transferred
to us.
This information often does not have much value and may even
deviate from the objective.
But it helps to:
• Have a quick insight into the prospect’s world.
• Understand what other services or products they are looking at.
• Clarify their expectations on the project result.

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4. WHO ARE THE FINAL USERS OF THE PRODUCT OR
SERVICE WE ARE SET TO CREATE TOGETHER?

This question is absolutely essential and usually contains a maze we

will travel in the first part of the project - to get in-depth
understanding of the user of the product/service we will be serving
and what goals he wants to achieve.
You’ve probably had this response from an entrepreneur who has
fallen in love with his idea: “This product is for everyone.”
That’s a sign your client should be first trained in UX-related concepts,
especially on the research phase and the persona-creation process.
This response will also give us an idea of the type of users we will
need to get to conduct interviews and/or concept testing.

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5. WHO IS THE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROJECT
RESULT? THIS IS THE PERSON WHO WILL BE TAKING
RISKS AND MAKING DECISIONS (LIKE IN THE
HIGHLANDER MOVIE, “THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE”).

Plain and simple - you should ask who is the person responsible for
this project.
This question is important because many times the client will try to
avoid naming names at all costs.
Fundamentally, because doing so implies everyone's opinion will not
have the same weight in the project.
Other reasons include the additional work and the responsibility that
comes from having the last word to approve our ideas and actions.

I believe this role is so important that I’d not start a project without
a named responsible person.

Why? Because this role acts as a central communication channel

for all levels of the project:
• Strategic level: This will be the person to call to obtain guidelines
and definitions rapidly.
• Tactical level: This person should help us to obtain resources of
any kind.
• Operational level: This person will be the client’s presence in tests
with users and other similar events.

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6. IS THERE ANY TECHNOLOGICAL LIMITATION WE
NEED TO HAVE IN MIND WHEN THINKING OF THIS
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION?

Technological limits are one of the most important constraints we can

identify short-term.
Usually, this question also unveils useful data on how our client's
team is organized and what are their own constraints.
I believe UX adds value always, but there are certain cases in which
we get our hands and feet tied up.
This happens a lot in the banking and finance industries.
In these cases, we usually get called by the marketing department
which doesn’t have enough information about the technological and
legal constraints.
We need to know more about these to understand whether we can do
our job well.
After this question you’ll get a more accurate vision of what is really
possible versus what the client is asking for.

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7. IN WHICH STAGE OF THE PROJECT ARE WE? HOW
LONG HAS BEEN THIS PROJECT AROUND?

This question allows us to put ourselves within the timeline of our

client, and often, will help us to understand the mood of the team.
The mood of the people is often different in a project that is in a five-
year stagnation versus a startup preparing to become a public
company.
Here’s where you’ll see the narrative they have about the project:
what they think about it, what were their goals.

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8. WHEN WILL THIS PROJECT BE FINISHED?

This is the moment we see if there is enough time to give the client
what he is expecting as a result of our work.
The most important tip here - let the client know ASAP if deadlines
are too tight.
Never let the problems go unnoticed. This is one of the most
common ways projects backfire.
If you have a boss, the best way to proceed is to talk to him first and
work together to get a more realistic proposal.

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9. IS THERE ANY ROADMAP FOR THE PROJECT? (TIP:
A GANTT CHART WILL DO IT.)

Here, we get a glimpse of:

• How teams are deployed,
• Their milestones,
• Dependence links,
• and Parallel objectives.

The most important point regarding roadmaps is they show us how

clear the prospect’s strategy is.
The warning lights will turn on if we encounter ourselves depending
on other teams’ deadlines in waterfall style.
The same applies for objectives overlapping.
Both situations will have a similar result – they will mess with the
project’s success.
The recommendation is to talk to the involved people to create a
common understanding before moving forward.

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10. IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR DELIVERABLE YOU
ARE LOOKING FOR?

This question helps us to be aware of the type of deliverables the

client wants from us.
It is very important to put this on paper (or in an e-mail at least), to
clarify the objectives and avoid uncomfortable situations.
Knowing this before starting the project gives us a big advantage at
the tactical level, because we can optimize time and resources to
deliver.
And also, this allows us to adjust the budget that we’ll need to
comply with the objectives.

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11. WHAT IS THE BUDGET FOR THIS PROJECT?

In my experience, this question will reduce by 90 percent wasting

time in a pitch that will ultimately fail.
Usually, when the prospect answers the aforementioned questions, he
becomes more aware of the depth of the project.
This should change the initial ask (which was "usability" in our
example) for a more complex —but also a more realistic one.
And when he reaches this question, he'll be confronted with the final
reality check.

This simple question may be hard to answer for some clients,

especially for those who have no real money to invest in UX...
Let's face it - lots of people are interested in what we do, but they
don't think about how much they will have to pay for what they want.
Don’t take me wrong, this is totally okay. Some people can afford us,
others not.
Maybe we can make them a free UX check or plan to work together in
the future. That’s up to you.
But if we just hope for them to have the cash, we are choosing to
spend time and effort creating a proposal that will not work.

And as Tim Ferriss says:

“Time is a non-renewable resource...”

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USE THIS QUESTION AS A WILDCARD

A personal note here - there are times when I decide not to send this
question with the rest of the questionnaire.
In those cases, I start by sending the first 10 questions and when they
have answered them, I send this one.
This strategy served me well when I was trying to get them invested
first. They have already completed ten questions, so they’re be more
willing to answer this one to keep the process moving forward.

THE RATIONALE TO DEFEND YOUR POINT

This last question has an important fundamental behind it.

It is crucial that you explain this to the client, in order to make a
statement about your place and your role as a consultant.

As User Experience Designers, we have a really really big arsenal of

tools to deliver a solution for a problem.
We can tackle projects from a lean perspective or we can unload the
"big guns" and hire a research team, conduct a market survey, and
other beautiful toys.
So, we need to tailor the solution to the budget and the time
available.

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The question about time should have been addressed by previous
questions, so this is the only thing we are lacking.

I suggest to use this moment to generate trust with the client. You can
state “you work with any kind of budget” (this is optional) but you
need some boundaries to create the proposal.
If they get picky in answering, ask them VERY politely why are they
not being upfront with you.
In my experience, if the client refuses to answer the questionnaire
there is something wrong with him or the project.
Pay attention to the excuses he utilizes and evaluate the situation.
Assess these areas:
• His willingness to work with you,
• If he has the funds to utilize your services,
• and If this project is worth your time.

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HOW TO CONTINUE FROM HERE

I’ve been using Google Docs to create the questionnaire and share
it with the prospect/client.
This allows me to use the commenting system to go back and forth,
making it a lot more flexible than e-mail.

A great advantage is that the document serves to backup the

contract you’ll sign next.
I suggest including it as the reference material in which the project
proposal has been based on.

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SPECIAL BONUS

If you’re interested in taking your career to the next level, I’d be

happy to help.
That’s why I’d like to give you a Scolarship to my course “Become a
Senior User Experience (UX) Design Strategist”
www.marianogoren.com/uxcourse

Follow the link and get a 30-day, non-questions-asked fully

refundable trial of the course, at a special price:
www.marianogoren.com/uxcourse

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WHAT TO DO WHEN PROJECTS ARE NOT SO
CLEAR

When I detect that prospects are not in a position of paying for the
result they are looking for their project, I usually offer them a low-
cost "Basic UX Strategic Consultancy."
The offer is centered in working on their business goals,
understanding their end-users, and exploring the market.

I must say that implementing this was a game changer for me, because
it allowed me to be paid for doing a good research phase.
When I make this proposal, I offer to discount the cost of this first
consultancy if the project makes it to the next phase.
This gives an extra incentive for them to accept.

The other interesting result for this “little” project is the opportunity
to develop a relationship with their team.
This is important for us because it’s a well-known fact that people
prefer to work with people they already know.

If you’re curious about how a Basic Consultancy result looks, check

the work I’ve done for Zemic.

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FINAL WORDS

I’d like to finish the book with a word of advice. As with everything
here, this is my personal perspective. You don’t have to take it as
absolute truth.

The most important thing I’ve learned in my career as a UX

consultant can be put into this simple phrase:

Don’t accept any client for the sole need of cash.

Toxic people are bad for business and for health.

Don’t take me wrong - I always expect the best from people. I
approach everyone without prejudice and recommend you do the
same.

This questionnaire aims to open the guard of prospects for you to be

able to see more of them.

I understand the hard part comes with the need of money. I’ve been
there too...

The bottom-line is - If you don’t leave empty space, the project you
want (and deserve) will not have a place to flourish.

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I hope this knowledge helps you to thrive in your UX career!

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Can I Ask A Favor?

If you enjoyed this book, found it useful or otherwise then I’d really
appreciate it if you would post an honest review on Amazon.
Go to review section on Amazon.com

I do read all the reviews personally so I can continue writing what

people want to read.
If you’d like to leave a review, then please visit the link below:
Leave a review on Amazon.com

Thanks for your support!

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