Ways to Listen, Ways to Act: Impactful UX Strategy

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Future of Web Design, London May 2013 Stephanie Troeth Ways to Listen, Ways to Act: @sniffles #fowd Impactful UX Strategy

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I own more books than clothes.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/orinrobertjohn/221900474/

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/orinrobertjohn/221900474/ Humans > Rubik’s Cubes

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Revealing Story #1 http://www.flickr.com/photos/59195512@N00/145289605/

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How is it that we do all the “right” things... ...but still end up with something mediocre?

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open-ended close-ended “listening labs” “contextual enquiry” interviews usability testing remote testing tools surveys focus groups card sorting heuristic evaluation A/B testing We have many ways to listen...

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hi-fidelity low-fidelity realistic prototypes sketches graphic mockups paper prototype detailed wireframes functional prototype hi-level wireframes dynamic static storyboard functional specifications content inventory flow diagrams We have a lot of design tools...

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We have lots of discussions on how to use them.

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So why are we failing? Leadership? Process! Management? Communication Those designers... Those developers... n00bs! They call us a “channel”!

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I think there is one part that we don’t usually do well: Setting ourselves up.

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Revealing Story #2 http://www.flickr.com/photos/flyingsaab/8446287189/

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Example research finding: “We found that undergraduate students didn’t want to read our prospectus on mobile devices.”

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http://www.balldesignconsultancy.com/case-studies/adding-value-to-higher-education/

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http://www.lboro.ac.uk/designandprint/design/featured-work/prospectuses/

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Typical prospectus content ✤ Organisational philosophy / why choose us ✤ Information to help students integrate ✤ Employment prospects ✤ Alumni ✤ List of degrees ✤ Application+entry requirements ✤ Tours and open days ✤ Location(s)/Contact info ✤ ...

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Greater context data (UK) Internet use over a mobile phone: rate of growth fastest in 16-24 yo, increasing from 44% to 71% in 2011.* Smartphone ownership (as of Jan 2011) Male < 35 @ 48% Female < 35 @ 40% Source: http://www.newmediatrendwatch.com/markets-by-country/18-uk/154-mobile-devices patterns don’t match?

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Was it because the question applies to the prospectus in its current format? (usually paper or PDF) Was it because students don’t find the content relevant? What happens if the content is available in a more mobile-friendly format? What if we used videos to convey similar information instead of pages of text?

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wrong answer wrong question

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misleading answers badly formed question mediocre design solution irrelevant? inaccurate?

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“Spherical chickens in a vacuum” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=majaPLfQMzk Big Bang Theory: The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization (Season 1, Ep. 9)

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Could it be as simple as asking the right questions up front?

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The shape of your question. & nuance

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Public transport scenario (London)

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Transport for London (www.tfl.gov.uk)

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Transport for London (www.tfl.gov.uk)

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Transport for London (www.tfl.gov.uk)

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National Rail (www.nationalrail.co.uk)

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National Rail (www.nationalrail.co.uk)

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National Rail (www.nationalrail.co.uk)

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National Rail (www.nationalrail.co.uk)

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Transport for London (www.tfl.gov.uk)

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Are these “usability” issues or a greater experience issue? How wide a net do we cast when looking for a solution?

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forecast.io

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forecast.io

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umbrellatoday.com

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The problem we need to address should match up with our goals.

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Transport for London (www.tfl.gov.uk)

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Typical question: How can we improve our metrics in the journey planner app? naive

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Better: A business question for the TFL What can we do to get people to use public transport more often?

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Business question: What can we do to get people to use public transport more often? ✤ Why are people not using public transport as often as they can? ✤ Do they run into obstacles? ✤ Do they perceive it to be less convenient than driving? ✤ ... extrapolate

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The scientific method of enquiry: 1) create your hypothesis based on educated guess 2) express your hypothesis & assumptions clearly 3) look to prove or disprove your hypothesis

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Business question: What can we do to get people to use public transport more often? High-level research question: Are people using public transport as often as they can? Hypothesis: people can use public transport more often than they do now.

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Business question: What can we do to get people to use public transport more often? High-level research question: What obstacles are people facing in trying to use public transport? Assumption: people use public transport less because they run into obstacles. Hypothesis: If we remove obstacles, they will use public transport more.

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A game of questions? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS9WSec4RXQ Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead!

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Rules of the game: ✤ No statements ✤ No repetition ✤ No synonyms ✤ No rhetoric ✤ No non-sequiturs

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Hypothesis: If we remove obstacles, they will use public transport more. Can we test this? Can we measure it?

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High-level research question: What obstacles are people facing in trying to use public transport? Derived research question: How do people prefer to plan their journeys? Why? Assumption: planning a journey is an obstacle. Hypothesis: If people can plan journeys well, they will use public transport more.

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Hypothesis: If people can plan journeys well, they will use public transport more. Can we test this? Can we measure it?

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Research question: How do people prefer to plan their journeys? Why? Design question: How can we better help people plan their journey? The design question needs to be actionable Hat tip: Kelly Goto

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Which question should we be asking?

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How do we make a choice?

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The strategy as a starting point.

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“[Businesses] think they know what their product and service is, they think that it’s all about execution. ‘If I execute better than the next guy, I’m going to win.’ But the problem is that execution without the direction of a strategy, without the choices of the strategy, is all over the place. You might win occasionally but you’re probably not going to win consistently, reliably or sustainably.” http://www.businessinsider.com/ag-lafley-roger-martin-playing-to-win-2013-2 A.G. Lafley says:

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Three levels of loops UI feature product UX strategy research design

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Choose your research scope, define your design parameters.

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“To embrace experimentation you just need to stop talking about design in a Socratic way [...] and start formalising hypotheses and tests.” Leisa Reichelt says: http://www.disambiguity.com/experimentation-beats-expertise/

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“[...] The experimental mindset is an egalitarian approach to design. It allows that anyone can suggest a design solutions and, rather than argue endlessly about whether it is better or worse than other approaches, you design a test. Find out how to find out which design works best.” Leisa Reichelt says: http://www.disambiguity.com/experimentation-beats-expertise/

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Isn’t this supposed to be creative? Wait a sec.

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Typical (healthy) creative process divergence convergence Ideas

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Typical (healthy) creative process design ideas inspiration & research problem framing prototyping divergence convergence

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research design hypotheses findings implementation ideas (or prototype)

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Accept that “findings” are just what we know at this point in time given what we’ve decided to focus on. The conscious researcher:

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Accept that what we create is limited by our knowledge. The conscious designer:

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Research findings are possible universes.

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Designs are also possible universes.

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A research and prototype process can reveal important customer behaviour that can impact all areas of your business.

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Revealing Story #3 http://www.flickr.com/photos/torley/3656437810/

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User Experience Strategy provides a way to handle the constant shift of the meeting point between research and design. research design hypotheses findings implementation ideas (or prototype)

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Your research nurtures a creative model.

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Your design proves something. (or disproves)

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Your creative process is an continual experiment.

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Thank you! Many thanks to: Olivier Thereaux & David Rollert Stephanie Troeth @sniffles http://stephanietroeth.com/