vru-opportunity-hunting

VRU — Void Reclamation Unit

The VRU exists to hunt missed, overlooked, or under-scoped UX opportunities and ensure Experience Design has a seat at the table early, often, and with impact.

Mission: Go where no one is looking. Dig through the mess. Find the value others missed.

The VRU Board

The Void Reclamation Board (Opportunity Tracker) is the single source of truth for all UX opportunities being pursued.

• Spreadsheet ID: 1Y6nRhU9BnLBk0H5o_lh3DbvhMTiKESMzsT_hIWK2Cfc
• URL: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Y6nRhU9BnLBk0H5o_lh3DbvhMTiKESMzsT_hIWK2Cfc/edit

Board Column Schema

Column	Field	Notes
A	Opp ID	Format: VRU-### (auto-increment)
B	Date Found	MM/DD/YYYY
C	Client Name
D	Source	Slack, EVO, Salesforce, Insider Tip, Gong, etc.
E	Link	Salesforce URL, Slack thread, or doc link
F	Related Project / Initiative
G	Opportunity Type	New / Expansion / Follow-on
H	What Fell Into the Void	The specific UX gap or missed signal
I	UX Value	AI UX, data visualization, workflow design, etc.
J	AE / CSA	Account Executive / Customer Success contact
K	Potential Value	Small / Medium / Large
L	Priority	Low / Medium / High
M	Assigned Role
N	Owner
O	Scavenger	Person who found it
P	Hunter	Person qualifying it
Q	Interceptor	Person activating it
R	Reclaimer	Person converting it
S	Reclamation Stage	See stages below
T	Next Action	Specific next step
U	Next Action Date / Deadline	MM/DD/YYYY
V	Status Notes	Running notes
W	(separator)
X	Outcome Reason	If closed/lost
Y	Learnings	What we learned

Reclamation Stages

• 1. Scavenged — Signal found, raw opportunity logged
• 2.a Needs Hunter — Ready for qualification
• 2.b Ready for Interceptor — Qualified, needs activation
• 3. Intercepted — In conversation with Sales/Delivery
• 4. Reclaimed — UX is officially part of the engagement
• 7.a Lost / Not Pursued — Decided not to pursue
• 7.b Lost – Budget — Lost due to budget
• 7.c Lost – Client has UX — Client has own designers
• 7.d Parked – Follow Up Later — Timing isn't right yet
• 7.e Won — UX successfully added

Crew Roles

Role	Focus	Success Signal
Scavenger	Discovery — scans channels/calls, logs raw signals	"I found something interesting."
Hunter	Qualification — validates UX relevance and value	"This is worth pursuing."
Interceptor	Activation — reaches out to Sales/Delivery, positions UX	"We're in the room."
Reclaimer	Conversion — shapes scope, strengthens positioning	"UX is officially part of the engagement."
Recovery Lead (Mel)	Oversees strategy, prioritization, and evolution

Opportunity Qualification — Quick Checklist

Before qualifying or dismissing any opportunity, run through these signal categories. See references/signal-patterns.md for the full list.

Immediate red flags that signal UX need:

• "We'll figure out the UI later" or "Engineering can handle the UX"
• AI/GenAI features present
• Dashboards, portals, or internal tools in scope
• MVP not clearly defined
• No user personas, workflow diagrams, or adoption plan
• Web App Developer or PM is staffed but no designer listed

Delivery Risk Check — escalate UX if 2+ apply:

• Unclear MVP definition
• Edge cases or error states undefined
• Rework risk in later phases
• Adoption or trust issues (especially AI)
• Engineering making UX decisions by default

"Client Has UX" Validation

When you hear "they already have UX," always clarify:

• Do they have product designers or just marketing/UI designers?
• Are they defining workflows or only visuals?
• Are they designing AI interaction and trust patterns?
• Are they validating with users?
• Do they own MVP definition?

If gaps exist → UX can add value.

Positioning Language

One-liner for Sales intercept:

"This project has user-facing workflows and AI elements. Without UX, we risk unclear MVP and rework. A short UX engagement could define workflows and reduce delivery risk."

Right-size UX framing:

• Discovery sprint (2–4 weeks)
• Workflow mapping
• AI interaction design
• Prototype for clarity
• Design guardrails for engineering
• Usability/risk review

Position as: "Reduce rework + protect delivery + increase adoption"

Data Sources to Scan

When hunting for opportunities, check:

• Slack — All channels, especially: resourcing, wins, CX, delivery, sales
• EVO (Caylent platform) — Open opportunities, proposals, active projects
• Google Drive — Recent proposals, ROMs, retro docs
• Gong — Call recordings for missed UX signals
• Salesforce — Pipeline and opportunity data

For full signal patterns and the complete hunting checklist, see references/signal-patterns.md and references/hunting-checklist.md.