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