Doin Your Homework

Where to start when handed a UX project, from the lens of Goodreads Design.

Transcript

1. David Fung, UX Designer Doin' Your 
 Homework
3. Graphic 
 Designer
 2004-2008 2008-2010 2010-Present Visual 
 Designer
 UX
 Designer Graduated AICA-SF 2005 PLANET Magazine
 Education Finance Partners Celery Design 
 Hutner SF Yardbarker
 Peek
 CBS Interactive Goodreads/Amazon Expert-in-Residence, GA
5. SOME OF MY CURRENT ONGOING DESIGN CHALLENGES AT GOODREADS •Help users find their next favorite book (Our Mission). ! •Bring together authors and readers in a common space to talk 
 about books.
 •Support the Kindle devices and applications as the social experience within Kindle.
6. Where do we start?
7. ARE WE SOLVING A REAL PROBLEM •Does the project solve a real-life user need? 
 This could be have been an insight coming from user research (qualitative). ! •Does the project meet a business goal? 
 This is a top down business metric that your team is looking to grow (quantitative).
 •Does the project start from “I want to build something like this”.
 Not enough to get started, ask more questions.
8. THOSE ANSWERS ARE CRITICAL TO ANY SUCCESSFUL DESIGN PROJECT •The problem you are trying to solve ! •The reason you are trying to solve it ! •The way you will know if you’ve succeeded Want Better UX? Change the Conversation, Laura Klein https://medium.com/@lauraklein/want-better-ux-change-the-conversation-8ae3097d9bf9
11. The Dribbblisation of Design, Paul Adams http://insideintercom.io/the-dribbblisation-of-design/
12. “Design should solve problems for your business by solving problems for your user.” Want Better UX? Change the Conversation, Laura Klein https://medium.com/@lauraklein/want-better-ux-change-the-conversation-8ae3097d9bf9
14. MY TASKS COME IN A VARIETY OF WAYS In a design ticket In a design review meeting Over email Over instant messenger Verbally walk by my desk
15. IN A DESIGN TICKET •Usually well defined, stated goals, user stories, metrics. ! •Instantly trackable since it’s assigned to designer then passed along to developer.

16. DROP A TASK OFF AT MY DESK •Not well defined, usually an idea someone would like to see. ! •Not prioritized, and always something needed right away.
17. Are we solving a 
 real problem
18. We start with: 
 definition
19. DEFINITION COMES IN VARIOUS FORMS AS WELL •Product requirements document or business requirements document.
 Traditionally what you may kick off the project with. ! •User stories
 Help explain from a singular user’s point of view what problem is being solved.

20. User Stories
21. USER STORIES FRAME DESIGN PROBLEMS •User stories help determine the contexts, focus, and tasks of end users as they move through the process of achieving goals. ! •User stories encourage a conversation about users, their capabilities, and what’s important to them.
22. WHAT DOES A USER STORY LOOK LIKE? As a(n) ________________________________ (role) 
 I need a way to _________________________ (goal/desire) ! Because // but // so that I can … ! _______________________________________ (outcome, insight) College student none of my friends read as much as I do access other readers
23. WHAT DOES A USER STORY LOOK LIKE? As a(n) ________________________________ (role) 
 I need a way to _________________________ (goal/desire) ! Because // but // so that I can … ! _______________________________________ (outcome, insight) know when I get a new fan Author so that I can connect with them
25. Get some real-life feedback
26. ETHNOGRAPHIC INTERVIEWS Ethnography is a research method based on observing people in their natural environment rather than in 
 a formal research setting.
 USABILITY TESTING Tasked-based research. Done 
 on-site in front of a moderator
 or remotely via Skype. Source: Just Enough Research, By Erika Hall
27. ETHNOGRAPHIC INTERVIEWS Looking to find out about how users
 discover books. ! USABILITY TESTING Looking to find out about how 
 users find books on our site. Source: Just Enough Research, By Erika Hall
31. Let’s Sketch!
 Analog, not the visual design app
32. 6 VOLUME OF IDEAS TIME REQUIRED TO PREPARE TIME REQUIRED TO DEBRIEF VOLUME OF IDEAS TIME REQUIRED TO PREPARE TIME REQUIRED TO DEBRIEF VOLUME OF IDEAS TIME REQUIRED TO PREPARE TIME REQUIRED TO DEBRIEF VOLUME OF IDEAS TIME REQUIRED TO PREPARE TIME REQUIRED TO DEBRIEF GOOD GREAT GOOD LESS (BUT APPROPRIATE) EFFECTIVE BRAINSTORMING FOR DESIGNERS METHODS Experiment and find your team’s sweet spot. Using different brainstorming methods with your team will have an impact on the quantity of ideas that you generate, as well as how long it will take to debrief regarding what ideas were generated. Ideas that emerge from role playing may be more useful for, say, future-forward interactive projects, comparative to the other methods. BRAINSTORMING INDIVIDUALLY BRAINSTORMING IN PARALLEL BRAINSTORMING IN THE ROUND BRAINSTORMING VIA ROLE-PLAYING ©2011 DAVID SHERWIN | DKSHERWIN@MSN.COM | CHANGEORDER.TYPEPAD.COM | @CHANGEORDER | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
35. MAKE OUR JOBS EASIER •Check to see if the task matches real-life user need? 
 •Create user stories to get a better point of view on your task. Build empathy.
 •Find metrics to help support your story.
 •Always work collaboratively with your product team as early as possible

36. Book Recommendations !
37. Thanks! Keep in touch! linkedin.com/in/davidfung/ https://speakerdeck.com/davidfung/doin-your-homework/