Playback Preparation

Overview

Create clear, concise presentations for leadership that communicate findings and enable good decisions.

When to Use

•At the end of each design phase
•Before major resource commitments
•When needing strategic direction or approval
•At key decision points

How to Apply

1. Know Your Audience (LT)

Remember what leadership cares about:

•Pat (Product): Strategy, market fit, competitive advantage
•Casey (Operations): Feasibility, resources, risks, timeline
•Morgan (User Advocate): Customer impact, quality, brand

2. Structure the Playback

Essential sections:

markdown

# Playback: [Phase] - [Project Name]

## Context (2 minutes)
- Where we are in the process
- What we've done since last playback
- What decision we need today

## Key Findings (5 minutes)
- Top 3-5 insights/results
- Supporting evidence (not overwhelming detail)
- Surprises or changed understanding

## Recommendations (3 minutes)
- What we recommend doing next
- Why this is the right direction
- What resources/timeline needed

## Decision Needed (2 minutes)
- Specific ask
- Options if applicable
- What happens next based on decision

3. Show, Don't Just Tell

•Use visuals (empathy maps, journey maps, prototypes)
•Include direct quotes from users
•Show data, not just interpretations
•Demonstrate prototypes if relevant

4. Be Clear About Confidence

For each finding or recommendation:

•What's our confidence level?
•What evidence supports this?
•What assumptions remain?
•What would increase confidence?

5. Frame Decisions Clearly

Good: "We recommend prototyping Idea B because it addresses the #1 user pain point (offline access) with high feasibility. We need 2 weeks and 1 designer. Alternative is Idea A (more features, but 6 weeks)."

Bad: "We have three interesting ideas. What do you think?"

6. Anticipate Questions

Prepare for:

•"How many users did you talk to?"
•"What would this cost to implement?"
•"How confident are you?"
•"What are the risks?"
•"What alternatives did you consider?"

7. Document Everything

Save playback in playbacks/ and capture:

•What was presented
•Questions asked
•Decisions made
•Next steps and timeline

Playback by Phase

Empathize Playback

Present: User research findings, validated/invalidated assumptions, stakeholder needs Ask: "Should we proceed to Define phase?" LT evaluates: Research depth, strategic fit, confidence level

Define Playback

Present: Synthesized insights, problem framing, opportunity areas Ask: "Is this the right problem to solve?" LT evaluates: Problem value, definition clarity, alignment

Ideate Playback

Present: Range of ideas, impact/feasibility grades, recommendation Ask: "Which ideas should we prototype?" LT evaluates: Strategic value, feasibility, resource needs

Prototype Playback

Present: What we built, fidelity, iteration plan Ask: "Approve iteration plan?" LT evaluates: Learning value, investment level, timeline

Iterate Playback

Present: User feedback, validated/invalidated findings, path forward Ask: "Proceed to implementation / more iterations / pivot?" LT evaluates: Evidence strength, business case, user enthusiasm

Tips

•Keep it concise (10-15 minutes)
•Lead with the most important information
•Use leadership's language (business value, not design jargon)
•Show user voice (quotes, videos)
•Be honest about gaps and risks
•Make a clear recommendation
•Document decisions immediately after