Developing UX is your job!

Every day, we use tons of apps and, for most of them, we usually find something we don't really like. That's because of the expertise we gain while using the Android system on a daily basis: as developers, we can make this whole ecosystem much batter by taking care of some small aspect of the UX that we can truly affect... let's do it!

1. Developing UX is your job! Roberto Orgiu
2. Why this talk? We are not designers but we are developers! and we can do pretty nice things too!
3. What is UX? image curtesy of uxisnotui.com UX is not UI What the user sees and what the user feels
4. Moreover… You are a user.
5. Why is this important? We develop for the users.
6. Who’s doing what? • Think about a feature • Prototype it • Design the UI and the interactions • Develop the feature
7. What if… • Pair-working • Communication … we acted more like a team?
8. Don’t be mean!
9. Show passwords • Typing while moving is hard • Less authentication calls • Less frustration
10. Implement proper navigation • Navigation Drawer is not the universal solution • You can still use tabs • Root element • Back stack
11. Double back to exit • Unnatural behaviour • Manually override system’s default • Remember what the user pressed • No added value Don’t use it, unless it is REALLY necessary (i.e. unsaved data)
12. Dialogs • They come from Fragment • Passing back the response is harder • Can be replaced if there’s no need for user interaction
13. Toolbars • Extension of ActionBar and more • Easy to implement and use • Place where to put all the tools • Can give a sense of continuity
14. Floating Action Button • Should be used for the most frequent action • You probably do not need it • Do not force the concept of primary action
15. Long operations • Main Thread is not good. Never. • Loading indicators can be useful • Pre-load data when possible Don’t force long operations on main thread, they lead to bad things (i.e. NetworkingOnMainThreadException)
16. Errors Users do not care why the error happened, they need to know how to avoid it. You know how to avoid the error, tell it simply.
17. Casting things • Show the button at the right moment and with the right state • Don’t forget the receiver • Controls on lock screen http://goo.gl/yOXfLM
18. Don’t hide things! • Not everyone knows where to look for a specific element • Try and make everything easily reachable • Do not make a single Activity make everything
19. Rotation • Very few apps need to lock the rotation. • You have to manage manually a huge amount of possible scenarios • You have to reset the system rotation value to the user’s preference
20. Empty status • An empty window can be discouraging. Certainly, it’s ugly. • Think of a way to add data • Or refresh the content • Do not underestimate this issue, it can happen a lot.
21. Overdraw Drawing the same pixels over and over will lead to a non responsive UI
22. Care about your user • Avoid making too many networking request while on mobile • Remember about wake locks: are they always needed • Postpone heavy operations until the device is connected to a power source and under a Wi-Fi network
23. Android Wear • Micro-interactions: do one thing, do it fast and do not keep your user out of the world • Design for big actions • Provide the needed information in the most clear way
24. Test your app 1. Be a user, not someone who knows the app 2. Ask your mum, dad, dog, hamster to try your app! 3. Proper user testing and QA 4. Ask your friends developer to try your app!
25. Conclusion • As Dev you can do good things for UX, just do it • Bug fix is good, make the user notice it while using your app • Don’t be too serious, when you can
26. Q & A Not sure about the A