Should Notarize prioritize expanding its network of notaries to reduce wait times or focus on improving the user interface of its online platform to enhance ease of use?

Introduction

The trade-off question at hand is whether Notarize should prioritize expanding its network of notaries to reduce wait times or focus on improving the user interface of its online platform to enhance ease of use. This scenario involves balancing operational capacity with user experience improvements for an online notarization service. I'll approach this analysis by examining the current product landscape, identifying key metrics, designing experiments, and providing a data-driven recommendation.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Context: I'm thinking Notarize might be facing increased competition or user complaints about wait times. Could you share more about what's driving this trade-off consideration?

Why it matters: Helps understand the urgency and potential market pressures Expected answer: Recent user feedback or competitor moves Impact on approach: Would influence prioritization of speed vs. quality improvements

• Business Context: Based on Notarize's business model, I assume reducing wait times directly impacts revenue. How significant is the correlation between wait times and completed transactions?

Why it matters: Quantifies the potential business impact of reducing wait times Expected answer: Strong correlation, with X% increase in completions for every Y minute reduction Impact on approach: Would help weigh the ROI of expanding the notary network

• User Impact: I'm curious about our user segments. Are we seeing different behaviors or pain points between, say, individual users and business clients?

Why it matters: Identifies if the solution needs to be tailored for different user groups Expected answer: Business clients more sensitive to wait times, individuals to UI complexity Impact on approach: Might lead to a segmented strategy rather than one-size-fits-all

• Technical: Regarding the UI improvements, are we considering a complete overhaul or incremental changes? What's our current technical debt situation?

Why it matters: Assesses the scope and feasibility of UI improvements Expected answer: Incremental changes possible, some technical debt to consider Impact on approach: Would influence the timeline and resources needed for UI improvements

• Resource: Can you give me an idea of our current team capacity? Do we have more bandwidth on the engineering side for UI work or on the operations side for notary network expansion?

Why it matters: Determines the feasibility of each option given current resources Expected answer: Limited capacity on both sides, slight edge in engineering resources Impact on approach: Might lean towards the option that aligns better with current team strengths