Project Brief: The Opportunity Analysis Report

Module: 3: Designing the Future: From Insight to AI-Powered Products Lesson: 2: The Digital Microscope: Uncovering Opportunity in User Behavior

1. Objective

Your objective is to act as a product analyst and strategist. You will move beyond simply identifying "problems" in a user experience to pinpointing and articulating the most significant opportunities for innovation, growth, and improvement. This project will test your ability to synthesize qualitative user behavior data and present it to stakeholders as a compelling, evidence-based set of strategic recommendations.

2. The Mission

Imagine you are a product manager at a mid-sized e-commerce company. The company has recently implemented a session recording tool (like HotJar or PostHog) on its website. The head of product has given you access to a curated set of recent session recordings from users who failed to complete a purchase.

Your mission is to analyze these recordings, identify the core patterns of user friction, and present a report to the leadership team that outlines the three most significant opportunities to improve the user experience and increase the conversion rate.

3. The Dataset

For this project, you will be provided with a curated set of five anonymized session recordings. These recordings will show real users navigating the e-commerce site, adding items to their cart, and attempting to check out.

(Note: For the purpose of this course, these will be sample videos, typically short and focused on specific friction points. In a real-world scenario, this would be a direct feed from a tool like HotJar.)

4. Your Task

Your task is to immerse yourself in the user's experience. You will watch the provided session recordings and perform a friction analysis to identify the key pain points.

Your workflow should be:

Observe: Watch each of the five session recordings at least twice. First, just watch to get a feel for the user's journey. Second, watch again and take detailed notes on any signs of friction, confusion, or frustration.
Identify Patterns: Look for common themes across the different recordings. Are multiple users getting stuck in the same place? Are they exhibiting the same confused behaviors (e.g., clicking on non-clickable elements, moving the mouse in circles)?
Frame the Job-to-be-Done: For the key friction points, ask yourself: "What was the user trying to do here? What was their underlying goal or 'job'?"
Synthesize Opportunities: Group your findings into distinct opportunity areas. An opportunity is not just a problem; it is a recommendation for improvement. For example, a problem is "Users are dropping off on the shipping page." An opportunity is "We can simplify the shipping form to reduce cognitive load and increase conversion."
Prioritize: From your list of opportunities, select the three that you believe will have the most significant positive impact on the user experience and the business.
Report: Compile your findings into a professional-grade analysis report.

5. Key Requirements

Your Opportunity Analysis Report must include:

Executive Summary: A brief overview of your methodology and a clear statement of the three key opportunities you have identified.
Key Friction Points Observed:
- A bulleted list of the main usability problems and friction points you observed across the session recordings.
- For each point, include a brief description and note how many of the five users encountered it.
The Three Core Opportunities:
- This is the heart of your report. For each of your three prioritized opportunities, you must provide:
  - Opportunity Title: A clear, action-oriented title (e.g., "Streamline the Guest Checkout Process").
  - The Evidence: A short summary of the user behavior from the recordings that supports this opportunity. What did you see that led you to this conclusion?
  - The Underlying "Job-to-be-Done": A clear statement of the user's goal that is currently being frustrated.
  - Your Recommendation: A specific, actionable recommendation for how to address the opportunity.
Strategic Impact: A concluding paragraph that summarizes the potential business impact of addressing these opportunities (e.g., increased conversion rate, higher customer satisfaction, reduced support tickets).

6. Format and Deliverable

Format: A single, well-structured Markdown document.
Length: Approximately 800-1000 words.
Deliverable: A .md file named Opportunity_Analysis_Report.md.

8. Tips for Success

Empathy is Key: Watch the recordings with an empathetic eye. Try to understand the user's goals and frustrations from their perspective.
Look for Patterns, Not Just Incidents: A single user struggling might be an anomaly. Multiple users struggling in the same way is a pattern that points to a systemic issue.
Frame Opportunities Positively: Instead of just listing problems, reframe them as opportunities for improvement or innovation.
Be Actionable: Your recommendations should be specific enough that a product team could immediately understand what needs to be done.

7. Evaluation Criteria

Your report will be evaluated on the following criteria:

Analytical Skill (50%):
- How well did you move from simple observation of user behavior to insightful pattern recognition?
- Is your analysis of the user behavior deep, empathetic, and does it identify the root causes of friction?
- Do you effectively synthesize findings from multiple recordings?
Strategic Framing (40%):
- Is your framing of the opportunities clear, compelling, and does it go beyond merely stating a problem?
- Are your recommendations specific, actionable, and logically derived from your analysis?
- Do you effectively use the Jobs-to-be-Done framework to articulate the underlying user needs?
Communication (10%):
- Is the report well-organized, professional in tone, and easy for a stakeholder to understand and act upon?
- Is the language concise, impactful, and free of unnecessary jargon?