[Midwest UX 2017] WORKSHOP: Creating User-Centered Products Through Collaboration

To create a successful product, you need a solid understanding of who your users are. In a perfect world, there's plenty of time available to do extensive user interviews and competitive research. However, most of the time, we're given a less-than-ideal amount of time to do this before development starts. How can we better understand who we're building our product for given this short amount of time?

In this half-day workshop, you'll learn simple techniques you can start using with your teams right away. We'll walk through the process, from establishing users to creating a design that can be taken right into development without the need for high-fidelity mockups or detailed documentation.

The key to success? Collaboration. You'll learn the value behind working collaboratively with your team and techniques for doing it without a giant shift in corporate culture.

Participants will leave this session with the ability to facilitate and participate in the following collaborative activities:
Proto-personas
Scenarios
User journeys
Design sessions

Participants will be split into groups to create proto-personas based on a hypothetical project and feature given to them. Once proto-personas have been established, we'll develop scenarios for their users. These will be used to create a user journey, and after the journey map is complete, groups will facilitate design sessions to draw out features as a team.

Transcript

6. Trying to fit UX into the Agile Process
7. Cross-functional teams Removing waste Continuous discovery Shared understanding Permission to fail Getting out of the deliverables business LEAN UX PRINCIPLES
8. We have no time to change. We don’t have the resources. Our clients don’t work that way. Our UX team is separated from development.
9. Introductions & Expectations
10. Introduce yourself: name, industry, what you do. Where do you struggle in your UX process?
13. Assumes their work is correct. Separated from development. UI design is to be implemented to pixel perfection. Technical constraints or feedback is irrelevant. Confused users must be ignorant or stupid.
14. Accept that they will be wrong about something. Figure out what is wrong as quickly as possible. Iterate on process until they find what works for them.
15. Give yourself permission to fail. Don’t be afraid to show your messy work. Don’t let your excuses get in the way.
16. Define Your Product
17. What problem does it solve? Who will benefit from it?
20. Before, during and after development. Based on real data and assumptions. Validate with real users and modify based on findings.
22. Define roles and pick one to focus on. Ask open-ended questions. Challenge answers if they don’t make sense.
23. Create a Proto-Persona
26. [Persona] wants to [action] because [need], but [friction]. Helps narrow focus and keep team from getting distracted. Start with most common or highest priority scenario.
28. Create a Scenario for your Persona
29. What potential issue will your persona run into? What is a main goal for your persona? [Persona] wants to [action] because [need], but [friction].
33. Knowledge comes from the process, not the deliverable. Visualize how users currently use feature. Visualize how users could use feature.
34. Persona & Scenario User Journey Needs, Activities & Expectations User’s Emotional State Opportunities for Improvement
37. Ask open-ended questions. Challenge self-reflection of user’s emotional state. Be open-minded of potential solutions.
38. Create a User Journey Map
39. Base on the scenario you created in the last activity. Think about user actions inside and outside of product. Choose your own format.
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46. Help everyone get on the same page. Visualize a feature as a team. Bring up potential issues of design immediately.
49. Define goals up front. Let everyone actively participate. Summarize and agree before leaving.
50. Run a Design Session
51. Base on the user journey map you just created. Try to think from perspective of multiple team roles. Choose your own format.
53. Be open-minded to multiple perspectives. Don’t be afraid to show messy work. Don’t get caught up in excuses.
54. These concepts are not all or nothing. Each team will work differently – embrace it! Keep iterating on your process.
56. Provide Optional Feedback
57. Draw an emoji that you feel best describes the workshop. Add context and feedback to the back of the card. Leave it on your table.