What Raising 3 Kids Taught
Me About Working with Users
@DerekB_WI
[email protected]
Slide 2
Slide 2 text
About Me
• Father of 3
• Volunteer at Community Justice
• Senior Engineer, TurnTo Networks
• Home Pizza Chef
Slide 3
Slide 3 text
No content
Slide 4
Slide 4 text
No content
Slide 5
Slide 5 text
Customer Generated Content
Slide 6
Slide 6 text
16yo, 7yo, 14yo
Slide 7
Slide 7 text
Introduction
Slide 8
Slide 8 text
Who are your users?
• Not us.
• Project Stakeholders
• Target Audience of Business
• Company Employees
• Clients
Slide 9
Slide 9 text
Communication Needs
• Requirements
• Usability
• Successful Product Launch
• Understand the Whys
Slide 10
Slide 10 text
I don’t like quiche!
Slide 11
Slide 11 text
Importance of
Understanding
• Oh! That’s what you meant.
• Shared Glossary
• Understandable Milestones
Slide 12
Slide 12 text
Shared Experience
• 105 Billion People Have Lived
on Earth 1
• 1.7 Billion Websites 2
• Over 1 Million Apps in App
Store 3
1 http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16870579
2 https://news.netcraft.com/archives/category/web-server-survey/
3 https://www.theverge.com/2013/10/22/4866302/apple-announces-1-million-apps-in-the-app-store
Slide 13
Slide 13 text
Everybody is Special
• We are special to our family,
friends, colleagues, etc.
• Your project is special to those
involved.
Slide 14
Slide 14 text
Setting Boundaries
Always saying yes, “fosters a sense of deficiency that can never
be fully satisfied.” 1
1 https://nyti.ms/2qruRKL
Slide 15
Slide 15 text
Setting Boundaries
• MoSCoW – Must, Should,
Could, Want
• Grooming the Backlog
• Sprint Planning/Review
• Limiting Distractions
• Users shouldn’t need to
know technology.
There are no stupid questions
• Are we there yet?
• Are we there yet?
• Are we there yet?
• Are we there yet?
• Are we there yet?
• Are we there yet?
• Are we there yet?
• Are we there yet?
• "[I want to] clarify some of what I was trying to explain at
today’s meeting. Since I don’t have a technical background, it
doesn’t always make it from my brain to my mouth in one
piece while under pressure." - project stakeholder
Technology can intimidate and exclude
Slide 27
Slide 27 text
Things Change Quickly
Slide 28
Slide 28 text
“I don’t like it when things change.”
Sammy, age 7
Things Change Quickly
Slide 29
Slide 29 text
Don’t Underestimate the Effect of Change
on your users.
Things Change Quickly
Slide 30
Slide 30 text
Unexpected Behavior
Slide 31
Slide 31 text
Unexpected Behavior
• User Acceptance Testing
Slide 32
Slide 32 text
Putting Kids to Work
• https://qz.com/703049/teens-summer-jobs-
unglamorous/
• https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/
blog/2013/11/21/importance-youth-jobs-
way-more-paycheck
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/
articles/PMC2936460/
Slide 33
Slide 33 text
User Involvement
• Giving acheivable tasks to users
• Working together towards a shared goal