HOW TO MAKE TOAST UNDERSTANDING YOUR USERS MENTAL MODELS @laura_yarrow

What are mental models THIS SESSION Let’s draw toast! Video Summary / wrap up Playback of our drawings Discussion - how is design understood in your organisation?

DISCUSSION: HOW IS DESIGN UNDERSTOOD IN YOUR ORGANISATION? • Do people understand what user centred design is? • Do they know the benefits? • What terminology do you use to describe design? • What stage does design start? • Do you have different roles for different design problems?

MENTAL MODELS What the user believes about the system This is not based on fact! They base their predictions about the system on their mental model Their actions on the system are based on how that model thinks they should interact with it Mental models are in flux because they are embedded in our brains There is usually a big gap between users and designers mental models Mismatched models can occur when we try something new Photo by Louis Hansel @shotso f l ouis on Unsplash

DRAW HOW YOU MAKE TOAST Grab some paper and a pen/pencil Draw! Take a photo and upload to the board (I’ll put a link in the chat) You have 5-10 minutes!

Let’s look at the board 1 How many of you included pictures of people? 2 Are there different entities (nodes) involved? Pans? 3 Where does the process start and end for each person? 4 What links are there between the nodes? 5 How detailed are the drawings? 6 REPLAY WHAT WE DID

2 3 1 TAKEAWAYS Visualising a problem can be really valuable when you are trying to design a solution for that problem. Adopting a systems thinking mindset is essential for service designers and will help you consider the larger system as a whole so the users experience doesn't become fragmented. We all have a mental model of how a task or process should be done. They are all different, and based on our beliefs about something.

KICK BACK AND WATCH A VIDEO Short 9 minutes Tom Wujec - “Got a wicked problem? First, tell me how you make toast” Please let me know if the sound doesn’t work https://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_got_a_wicked_problem_first_tell_me_how_you_make_toast?language=en

OTHER RESOURCES Check out the video of MrsReeves on Twitter Nielsen Norman website information on mental models: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/mental-models/ Tom Wujec’s TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/ tom_wujec_got_a_wicked_problem_first_tell_me_how_you_make_toas t?language=en Run a Draw Toast workshop information: https://www.drawtoast.com/ Buy indie Young’s book: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/mental-models/ Get an introduction to systems thinking: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Donella-Meadows/Thinking-in- Systems--International-Bestseller/18123592

THANK YOU! @laura_yarrow laura.yarrow@landregistry.gov.uk