Essential Work Sample Exercises for Hiring Top Customer Experience Architects

Customer Experience Architects serve as the bridge between customer needs and business objectives, transforming insights into exceptional experiences that drive loyalty and growth. In today's competitive landscape, where customer expectations continuously evolve, these professionals must possess a unique blend of analytical thinking, creative problem-solving, empathy, and strategic vision. Their ability to orchestrate seamless experiences across multiple touchpoints can significantly impact customer satisfaction, retention, and ultimately, your company's bottom line.

Traditional interviews often fail to reveal a candidate's true capabilities in this multifaceted role. While resumes highlight past achievements and behavioral questions provide some insight into working style, neither adequately demonstrates how candidates approach the complex challenges of customer experience design. This is where well-crafted work samples become invaluable.

Work samples for Customer Experience Architect candidates should simulate real-world scenarios they'll encounter on the job. These exercises reveal how candidates research customer needs, identify pain points, design innovative solutions, and measure success. By observing candidates in action, you gain deeper insights into their methodologies, thought processes, and ability to balance customer desires with business constraints.

The following four work sample exercises are designed to evaluate the essential competencies of a Customer Experience Architect: journey mapping expertise, problem-solving abilities, cross-functional collaboration skills, and data-driven decision making. Each exercise includes detailed instructions for both the interviewer and candidate, creating a standardized evaluation process that allows for fair comparison while providing candidates an authentic preview of the role.

Activity #1: Customer Journey Mapping Analysis

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to analyze customer interactions across multiple touchpoints, identify emotional highs and lows, and recognize opportunities for experience enhancement. Journey mapping is a fundamental skill for Customer Experience Architects, requiring both analytical rigor and empathetic understanding of customer perspectives.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a simplified customer scenario for your product or service. If you don't want to use your actual product, create a generic scenario for a similar industry.
• Provide basic information about the customer persona (demographics, goals, pain points) and a brief description of their objective when interacting with your company.
• Include 5-7 key touchpoints in the customer journey (e.g., website visit, product research, purchase decision, onboarding, support interaction).
• Create a simple template for the journey map with columns for touchpoints, customer actions, thoughts, emotions, and improvement opportunities.
• Allocate 45-60 minutes for this exercise.
• Have a whiteboard, large paper, or digital collaboration tool available.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the customer persona and scenario provided.
• Using the template, map out the customer's journey across all touchpoints.
• For each touchpoint, document:
• What actions the customer takes
• What the customer might be thinking
• How the customer might be feeling (positive, neutral, negative)
• Potential pain points or friction in the experience
• Identify 2-3 critical moments that significantly impact customer satisfaction.
• Propose 3-5 specific improvements to enhance the overall journey.
• Be prepared to present your journey map and explain your reasoning in 10 minutes.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, the interviewer should provide feedback on one strength (e.g., "I appreciated how you identified the emotional low point during the onboarding process") and one area for improvement (e.g., "I'd like to see more consideration of how digital and physical touchpoints integrate").
• Give the candidate 10 minutes to refine one section of their journey map based on the feedback.
• Observe how receptive they are to feedback and how effectively they incorporate it into their revised approach.

Activity #2: Experience Pain Point Resolution

This exercise assesses a candidate's ability to analyze customer feedback data, prioritize issues, and develop innovative solutions to experience problems. It demonstrates their problem-solving approach and creativity in addressing customer pain points.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a dataset of 10-15 pieces of customer feedback from various channels (support tickets, reviews, survey responses, social media comments).
• Include a mix of positive and negative feedback touching on different aspects of the customer experience.
• If possible, provide actual anonymized feedback. If not, create realistic examples based on common industry challenges.
• Include basic customer satisfaction metrics (e.g., NPS score, CSAT, customer effort score).
• Prepare a simple template for organizing findings and recommendations.
• Allocate 45-60 minutes for this exercise.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the customer feedback dataset provided.
• Identify and categorize the top 3-4 pain points emerging from the feedback.
• Prioritize these issues based on:
• Frequency of mention
• Severity of impact on customer satisfaction
• Alignment with provided customer metrics
• Potential business impact
• For each prioritized pain point:
• Describe the root cause (what you believe is happening)
• Propose a specific solution to address it
• Explain how your solution would improve the customer experience
• Outline how you would measure the success of your intervention
• Prepare a brief presentation (5-10 minutes) of your analysis and recommendations.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide feedback on one strength (e.g., "Your root cause analysis was particularly insightful") and one area for improvement (e.g., "Consider how implementation complexity might affect your prioritization").
• Ask the candidate to refine one of their proposed solutions based on your feedback.
• Evaluate their ability to adapt their thinking and strengthen their recommendation.

Activity #3: Cross-Functional CX Initiative Simulation

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to collaborate with stakeholders from different departments, navigate competing priorities, and build consensus around customer experience initiatives. It reveals their communication skills and strategic thinking in a collaborative context.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare role descriptions for 2-3 company stakeholders (e.g., Marketing Director, Product Manager, Operations Lead, Finance Director).
• For each stakeholder, outline their:
• Primary objectives and KPIs
• Perspective on customer experience
• Potential concerns or constraints
• Create a scenario requiring cross-functional collaboration to improve a specific aspect of the customer experience (e.g., streamlining the onboarding process, improving the digital-to-physical handoff).
• Assign team members to play each stakeholder role during a 30-minute simulation.
• Provide stakeholder actors with specific objections or concerns to raise.
• Allocate 15 minutes for preparation and 30 minutes for the simulation.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the customer experience initiative scenario and stakeholder profiles.
• Prepare a brief (5-minute) introduction to the initiative, highlighting:
• The customer pain point being addressed
• The proposed solution
• Expected customer and business benefits
• During the 30-minute stakeholder meeting:
• Present your initiative
• Address questions and concerns from each stakeholder
• Find ways to align the initiative with each stakeholder's objectives
• Navigate competing priorities
• Build consensus on next steps
• Your goal is to gain support for the initiative while addressing legitimate stakeholder concerns.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the simulation, stakeholder actors should provide feedback on the candidate's approach.
• The lead interviewer should highlight one strength (e.g., "You effectively addressed the Marketing Director's concern about brand consistency") and one area for improvement (e.g., "Consider preparing more specific data to address the Finance Director's ROI questions").
• Give the candidate 10 minutes to reflect and explain how they would adjust their approach based on the feedback.
• Evaluate their self-awareness and ability to adapt their communication strategy.

Activity #4: CX Metrics Framework Development

This exercise assesses a candidate's ability to develop meaningful metrics for measuring customer experience success and connecting CX initiatives to business outcomes. It demonstrates their analytical thinking and strategic approach to measurement.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a brief description of a customer experience initiative your company has implemented or is considering (e.g., new self-service portal, redesigned checkout process, improved onboarding).
• Include the business objectives behind the initiative (e.g., reduce support costs, increase conversion, improve retention).
• Provide basic information about your current measurement approach and available data sources.
• Create a simple template for organizing metrics and measurement approaches.
• Allocate 45-60 minutes for this exercise.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the CX initiative and business objectives provided.
• Develop a comprehensive measurement framework that includes:
• 3-5 key performance indicators (KPIs) that would effectively measure the success of the initiative
• A mix of customer perception metrics (e.g., satisfaction, effort) and operational metrics (e.g., time to complete, error rates)
• Clear connection between each metric and the business objectives
• Baseline measurement approach and target goals
• Recommended measurement frequency and reporting structure
• How insights would be actioned across the organization
• Create a one-page dashboard mockup showing how you would visualize these metrics for executive stakeholders.
• Prepare a brief presentation (10 minutes) explaining your measurement approach and how it connects CX improvements to business outcomes.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide feedback on one strength (e.g., "Your connection between customer effort and support costs was well-articulated") and one area for improvement (e.g., "Consider how you might incorporate qualitative insights alongside the quantitative metrics").
• Ask the candidate to refine one aspect of their measurement framework based on your feedback.
• Evaluate their ability to strengthen the business case for CX measurement and demonstrate ROI.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should we allocate for these work sample exercises?

Each exercise is designed to take 45-60 minutes for the candidate to complete, plus 15-20 minutes for presentation and feedback. We recommend scheduling no more than two exercises in a single interview day to avoid candidate fatigue and allow for proper evaluation.

Should we use our actual company data for these exercises?

While using anonymized real data provides the most authentic assessment, it's not always necessary or possible. Creating realistic fictional scenarios based on common industry challenges works well. The key is ensuring the exercise reflects the types of problems the candidate would face in the actual role.

How should we evaluate candidates across these different exercises?

Create a standardized scorecard for each exercise that aligns with the key competencies for your Customer Experience Architect role. Rate candidates on specific dimensions (e.g., analytical thinking, creativity, communication) rather than giving a single overall score. This approach provides more nuanced insights and reduces bias.

Can these exercises be conducted remotely?

Yes, all four exercises can be adapted for remote interviews using digital collaboration tools like Miro, Figma, or even shared documents. For the stakeholder simulation, video conferencing breakout rooms work well. Ensure candidates have access to the necessary tools and clear instructions before the interview.

Should we share these exercises with candidates in advance?

For complex exercises like journey mapping or metrics development, providing the scenario and basic instructions 24-48 hours in advance allows candidates to showcase their best work rather than their ability to think quickly under pressure. The stakeholder simulation, however, benefits from spontaneity and should only be outlined briefly in advance.

What if our company doesn't have a specific CX initiative to use for the metrics exercise?

You can create a hypothetical initiative based on common industry challenges or use a generic scenario like "improving the digital onboarding experience." The focus is on the candidate's approach to measurement rather than their specific knowledge of your company.

Customer Experience Architects play a pivotal role in transforming how customers interact with your brand. By implementing these work sample exercises, you'll gain deeper insights into candidates' abilities to research, design, collaborate, and measure—the core competencies needed for success in this multifaceted role. Remember that the best candidates will not only demonstrate technical proficiency but also show adaptability, strategic thinking, and a genuine passion for improving customer experiences.

Ready to elevate your hiring process beyond these work samples? Yardstick offers comprehensive tools to help you design the perfect interview process for Customer Experience Architects and other critical roles. Our AI-powered solutions can help you create customized job descriptions, generate targeted interview questions, and develop complete interview guides tailored to your specific needs. Learn more about how Yardstick can transform your approach to identifying and hiring exceptional CX talent by visiting our website at https://yardstick.team/job-description/customer-experience-architect.

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