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playback-preparation

Create clear leadership presentations that communicate findings and enable good decisions. Use at end of each phase or before major commitments.

personAuthor: jakexiaohubgithub
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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:

# 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