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Recommendations for Action

Insights without action are like a roadmap without a destination—they look impressive but don’t get you anywhere. Your recommendations are where the magic happens, translating findings into tangible steps that improve the user experience and deliver measurable results. Let’s make them count.

What Makes a Great Recommendation?​

  • Clear: Everyone should immediately understand what needs to happen.
  • Actionable: Concrete steps your team can take—no vague ideas or ambiguous advice.
  • Prioritized: Focus on what will have the greatest impact.
  • Aligned: Connect to user needs, business goals, and feasibility.

How to Frame Your Recommendations​

  1. State the Problem Tie each recommendation directly to a finding.
    Example: "Participants struggled to locate the search bar, with a 70% failure rate."
  2. Propose a Solution Suggest a specific, realistic change.
    Example: "Move the search bar to a prominent location in the header and label it 'Search' for clarity."
  3. Highlight Impact and Effort Help stakeholders weigh the benefits and feasibility of the change.
    Example: "Impact: High. Improved discoverability could reduce frustration and increase task completion rates. Effort: Low. This is a simple layout adjustment."
  4. Include Metrics for Success Define how you’ll measure the recommendation’s effectiveness.
    Example: "Success Metric: Task success rate for finding the search bar increases to 90%."

Examples of Actionable Recommendations​

  • Finding: Users hesitated during the checkout process due to unclear button labeling.
    Recommendation: Change the “Proceed” button label to “Place Order” to match user expectations.
    Impact/Effort: High impact, low effort.
  • Finding: 40% of participants abandoned the onboarding flow halfway through.
    Recommendation: Add a progress indicator to show users how far along they are.
    Impact/Effort: Medium impact, medium effort.
  • Finding: Participants struggled to navigate the FAQ section.
    Recommendation: Reorganize FAQs into categories based on user search patterns and add a search bar.
    Impact/Effort: High impact, medium effort.

Tips for Effective Recommendations​

  • Be Concise: Skip the fluff—state the problem, the solution, and the expected impact.
  • Speak Your Audience’s Language: Use terms that resonate with your stakeholders (e.g., “reduce churn,” “boost conversions”).
  • Use Visuals: Annotated screenshots or diagrams can make recommendations more concrete.
  • Group by Priority: Clearly separate quick wins from long-term fixes.

Why This Works
Your recommendations are the bridge between research and results. They show you’re not just uncovering problems—you’re solving them. When framed with clarity, impact, and feasibility in mind, they don’t just get heard—they get implemented.

So go ahead, channel your inner strategist, and make those recommendations irresistible.