Tell me about a time when you sacrificed a long term value to complete a short term task.

As a lead product designer, I was working on a solution that would enable our internal users, data router, and data management team to view data across the sensing platforms, identify issues, and resolve them in the issue resolution process  where they can see and fix broken data. This will ensure customers receive accurate data continuously with minimal downtime. However, despite getting the initial umbs up during the concept phase, security and infrastructure came back and stated unexpected dependencies prevented the issue resolution phase. I could allow our users to create a report in our internal tool rather than fix the issue themselves but is that enough?

So I created a validation test to test this risky assumption that is reporting enough to drive my team towards a decision which may help us in the short term, but I wanted to ensure we aren't creating waste. My testing validation showcased it was enough as their current experience lacked any insights into the data without a severe workaround, thus it would reduce downtime. I took the data and created two key design experiences in mocks and journey maps. Our short-term solution is to provide some type of value to the users and the end goal of full feedback with the issue resolution center. I then worked with my PM and lead eng to prioritize key features and got a final buy-in with stakeholders after our presentations showcasing our short-term and long-term plans.

We were able to release and provide short-term value to our users and customers, which downtown decreased by 40% and then release the ideal solution in the next release, reducing downtime by 78%.

I learned to be adaptable and prioritize customer value, even if it means you have to have a less-than-ideal short-term. But ensure validation of risky assumptions. I also believe that at this time we are all a team and let's work together to ensure customer obsession and plan for an iterative future through alignment.