Pretty, but not Usable

“Don't worry about the UI, we have a framework for that” they say. Then the designer's job is merely to paint over whatever product comes out of it. Does that sound frustratingly familiar?

How can we change this situation to bring user needs back in the process, while still working with an imposed framework? Let me share with you some stories from my projects, what worked but also failed. I want to help and inspire you find a collaboration process that will also work for your own teams.

Transcript

1. Pretty but Not Usable Stéphanie Walter - @walterstephanie
2. UX & Product Designer Mobile expert. Pixel & CSS Lover stephaniewalter.design @WalterStephanie
3. My job is to find the best solution to solve 
 users’ problems
4. A library of generic UI components
5. It’s the story of a project…
6. Mr. Client had a nice idea
7. The dream team Stéphanie Walter - 2019 A team of developers A design team A team of iOS developers
8. “By the waaaaay, who will take care of the design of the iPad app?” The $1,000,000 question
9. “We take care of the whole design process” “Their designers will put some paint 
 on top of our UI framework components” VS Us Them
10. More than 15 actions, going back and forth in the tabs to complete the task 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
11. “Suggestions to make it more usable? Sure, but we can’t build custom components so stick to the framework” #deadlines #budget
12. “Just put some paint on the components and make it look 
 nice and pretty” #makeitpretty #makeitshiny
13. We made it nice, we made it shiny. 
 Sadly, shiny wasn't enough. #makeitpretty #makeitshiny
14. 1 morning, 2 designers, 1 new user flow
15. “The pretty (but not usable app) should do the job, we will implement your design in the next version” #deadline #budget
16. Why did this happen?
17. Don’t blame the tool, blame the process!
18. How might we work with those UI frameworks and still put the users 
 in the center of the process?
19. Don’t Skip User Research 01
20. But… but we don’t have “UX people” But… we don’t have the time But… we don’t have budget But…
21. But… but we don’t have “UX people” But… we don’t have the time But… we don’t have budget But… Everyone in your team is responsible for the user experience of your products.
22. But… Here are some guerrilla 
 user research techniques
23. Ask the support
24. Online user feedback
25. Analytics & backend data
26. Street Guerilla Interviews
27. Remote interviews
28. If you had a magic wand, what would you change to make this activity/task easier for you? Can you remember you biggest pain or issue when trying to perform this activity? How do you overcome this today? Interactions Dependencia Pain points What actions or decisions do you take in order to accomplish this? Describe an activity or task that requires you to use Scrap« in your dailywork. Are they other actions/ people you need in order to perform this activity? Activity How? changes Rythm & duration Hew long does it take? Objects Are they other tools you need irt order to perform your activity? ^ Priority If you had a magic wand, what would you change to make this activity/task Can you remember you biggest pain Interactions V- Dependencies Describe an activity or task that requires you to use Scrap« in your dailywork. What actions or decisions do you take in order to accomplish this? Magic Are they other actions/ people you need in order to perform this activity? Activity How? How do you overcome this today? A'rfw-J- dL Identify and analyse users’ goals and tasks
29. Build user flows
30. Try to involve the development teams when building user flows. #Quicktip
31. What do I need on each page?
32. Learn about & study the framework 02
33. Try to know early if there’s going to be a UI framework involved. 
 Then take a look at the documentation. #Quicktip
34. UI components overview
37. Use and challenge the components 03
38. Component documentation Paper wireframe
39. If you can’t find a component,
 ask your developer if it exists. #Quicktip
40. Source: Shan Shen
41. Turn this into a collaborative exercice
42. Don’t distort your users problems to make them fit into the framework UI solutions Crédit photo Jérémie Cohen NOPE!
43. Challenge the components when necessary What they wanted to use
44. Challenge the components when necessary What they wanted to use What suits the user needs
45. We need the knowledge and collaboration of both designs and developers to chose the right component Crédit photo Julie Muller
46. From paper wireframes…
47. … to prototype usability testing
48. Prototype and test early!
49. UI component based wireframes
50. Listing where they will be used
51. Style the components 04
52. As a designer, it’s tempting to change it all…
53. Anything that you can put in variables should be easy to customise
54. Be careful with accessibility
55. One family, different weight
56. Explicit labels are better than clumsy icons!
57. Built in specific behaviours and structure change of a component might be
 more complex
58. Framework
59. Framework Prototype
60. Calendar 15 April 2019 Expected Content 30 March 2019 Expected Content 30 April 2019 Expected Content Status 20100043 PIN Reference documents:: Content 28 Sept 2018 10 Jan 2018 Content 23 July 2018 Content John Doe 02 Jan 2019 Missing document for the moment Updated by: Updated updated on: Reference documents: Content Status 2 28 Sept 2018 Framework Prototype UI proposal
61. Ask your team about what’s easy to customise and what isn’t. Communication is key. #Quicktip
62. This is slowly becoming your product’s custom UI library.
63. Document and share 05
64. Why document?
65. Tables Table headings Table rows Collapsing table rows Table filters / search Table pagination Edit 540€ 3 planned works found in 1 intervention Christophe Grosjean 15/10/2018 To Send Edit 540€ 3 planned works found in 1 intervention Christophe Grosjean 10/11/2018 To Send We contacted him by mail COMMENTS 300€ Other reparation lo… - Recommended 40€ Tyre FR - Recommended 200€ Broken disc - Urgent WORKS DETAILS INT3RVENTION-N33MB3R Linked intervention: +352 00 000 000 christophe.grosjean@arhs-spikeseed.com CUSTOMER DETAILS BMW 320d - PA9976 First Name Last Name Email Adresss Phone Number Last Update Table headings have a font size of 16 px. User can sort the column by using the double arrows next to the table heading title Table rows have an odd/even background. They can have action buttons on the right side of the table. The action button is always an outline button style Table rows can have collapsing elements. When they do, we use - the down arrow for collapsed rows - the up arrow for expanded rows Some tables might have filters / search functionnalities to help users navigate inside the data. Those fonctionalities are displayed on top of the table headings Tables display 10 items by default. At the bottom or the table, the pagination lets user navigate towards other items Grosjean Christophe +352 909 8990 10/04/2018 08:14:41 Grosjean Christophe +352 909 8990 10/04/2018 08:14:41 Filtres Filter Interventions 12/11/2018 A partir de: Cette semaine Aujourd’hui Tous First Name Last Name Email Adresss Phone Number Last Update 12/11/2018 As of: This Week Today All Filters First Name Last Name Email Adresss Phone Number Last Update 13 14 12 10 … 2 3 4 1 Buttons and links Primary buttons Primary buttons are used for the MAIN action on the page / view Default Desactivated Hover and active Button Button Button fill: #FFFFFF 100% border: 1px center * #0072CE 100% fill: #E3F0FF 100% border: 1px center * #8BB8E8 100% fill: #0072CE 100% border: 1px center * #0072CE 100% color: #0072CE 100% font-face: Roboto-Medium font-size: 14px color: #0072CE 100% font-face: Roboto-Medium font-size: 14px color: #FFFFFF 100% font-face: Roboto-Medium font-size: 14px Default Desactivated Hover and active Button Button Button Button Default Desactivated Hover and active fill: #0072CE 100% border: 1px center * #0072CE 100% fill: #8BB8E8 100% border: 1px center * #8BB8E8 100% fill: #005090 100% border: 1px center * #005090 100% color: #FFFFFF 100% font-face: Roboto-Medium font-size: 14px color: #FFFFFF 100% font-face: Roboto-Medium font-size: 14px color: #FFFFFF 100% font-face: Roboto-Medium font-size: 14px Button Button fill: #FFFFFF 100% border: 1px center * #A1A3A6 100% fill: #EDEDED 100% border: 1px center * #BABCBF 100% fill: #FFFFFF 100% border: 1px center * #0072CE 100% color: #5B6770 100% font-face: Roboto-Medium font-size: 14px color: #A1A3A6 100% font-face: Roboto-Medium font-size: 14px color: #0072CE 100% font-face: Roboto-Medium font-size: 14px Outline secondary buttons Outline secondary buttons are used for the secondary actions on the page / view, actions that are performed the less often. They are also used for filters, tabs and interface controls All dealers Filter Interventions All Filters Outline primary buttons Outline primary buttons are used for the secondary actions on the page / view, actions that are performed less often than the first one. They are also used for repeated actions like in table rows Examples Examples Examples Interventions New Intervention Create Latest customers Import Preview More Save Send Import Preview More Save Send Primary buttons like send and save are in blue Outline secondary buttons preview and import Colors - main palette Colors - secondary palette Text colors and background Background colors Accessibility rgba(0,114,206,1); #0072CE blue-50 rgba(0,80,144,1); #005090 blue-70 rgba(0,55,99,1); #003763 blue-80 rgba(139,184,232,1); #8BB8E8 blue-20 rgba(195,215,238,1); #C3D7EE blue-10 rgba(227,240,255,1); #E3F0FF blue-05 rgba(197,41,155,1); #C5299B fushia-50 What and when to use them?
66. How do they work?
67. Small Medium Large 3 Fuites 0 Température élevée 1 Saturation 8 Changes Événements cette semaine (évolution par rapport à la semaine dernière) Normale Protection Normale Température: Sur le corps Capteur Chambre 01 M. Rousseau 3 Fuites 0 Température élevée 1 Saturation 8 Changes Événements cette semaine (évolution par rapport à la semaine dernière) Normale Protection Normale Température: Sur le corps Capteur Chambre 01 M. Rousseau 3 Fuites 0 Température élevée 1 Saturation 8 Changes Événements cette semaine (évolution par rapport à la semaine dernière) Normale Protection : Sur le corps Capteur : Normale Température : Chambre 01 M. Rousseau 3 Fuites 0 Température élevée 1 Saturation 8 Changes Événements cette semaine (évolution par rapport à la semaine dernière) Normale Protection : Sur le corps Capteur : Normale Température : Chambre 01 M. Rousseau 3 Fuites 0 Température élevée 1 Saturation 8 Changes Événements cette semaine (évolution par rapport à la semaine dernière) Chambre 01 M. Rousseau A changer Protection : Sur le corps Capteur : Normale Température : Chambre 01 M. Rousseau 3 Fuites 0 Température élevée 1 Saturation 8 Changes Événements cette semaine (évolution par rapport à la semaine dernière) Normale Protection Elevée Température : Sur le corps Capteur Chambre 04 M.Martin 3 Fuites 0 Température élevée 1 Saturation 8 Changes Événements cette semaine (évolution par rapport à la semaine dernière) Normale Protection Normale Température: Sur le corps Capteur Chambre 05 M. Johnes 3 Fuites 0 Température élevée 1 Saturation 8 Changes Événements cette semaine (évolution par rapport à la semaine dernière) Normale Protection Normale Température: Hors du corps Capteur Chambre 01 M. Dupont Responsive adaptation
68. Discuss about what kind of hand-off are expected and how to deliver them. #Quicktip
69. Design specifications: Invision, Zeplin, Figma…
70. Sketch Measure
71. Don’t keep your awesome work a secret! The custom UI components in code A design style guide with custom UI components +
72. Storybook
73. What can be overridden ? baseweb.design
74. Some governance 
 is required
75. Check the quality of the product 06
76. Don’t forget the quality review “Raw” dev version
77. Don’t forget the quality review “Raw” dev version Dev version using the UI Framework
78. Don’t forget the quality review “Raw” dev version Dev version using the UI Framework Final version after quality review 100% 9:41 AM BMW Louyet Mons Rue des Sandrinettes, 48, 7033 Mons + 32 (63) 23 05 60 Dealership Bodyshop 7AM - 7PM Tuesday 7AM - 7PM Monday 7AM - 12AM 1PM-6PM Wednesday 7AM - 7PM Thursday 7AM - 7PM Friday 7AM - 7PM Saturday Opening hours
79. Designers, in quality reviews, 
 explain the design decisions behind the feedback. #Quicktip
80. User testing on before we launch
81. 6 months after: is this still the right component?
82. It all comes down to communication & collaboration
83. Yes, it is possible to work with a UI frameworks and have a user centric process.
84. Building a great user experience with a UI framework is a team effort! UX Design UI Design Developpement
85. 1. Don’t Skip User Research 2. Learn about & Study the framework 3. Use and challenge the components 4. Style the components 5. Document and share 6. Check the quality of the product
86. Thank you :) stephaniewalter.design @WalterStephanie