Introduction to user-centered design

1. Beyond Usability:User-Centered Design Strategies- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Christina Wodtke :: christina@carboniq.comCarbon IQ User Experience Group http://www.carboniq.comtel: 415 824 7090

2. Introduction to user-centered design • What is it? It’s more than usability testing NO!

3. Introduction to user-centered design • What is it? • Method to get user reactions and feedback • Performed throughout the entire product development cycle • Used to ensure a usable product • Iterative

4. Test before you build Test while you build Test after you think you’re done Introduction to user-centered design

5. Introduction: How does it work? • Learn who the customer is. • Create a rough prototype to test with the people who will use it. • Revise based on what you learned. • Build a prototype that is close to the finished thing. • Test again. • Make fixes based on what you learned. • Ship the product. Include a feedback device so you can make the next version even better.

6. Introduction: Who does it? • User Research Company • Internal User Research Specialist

7. Introduction: Who does it? • User Research Company • Internal User Research Specialist • Outside Consultant

8. Introduction: Who does it? • User Research Company • Internal User Research Specialist • Outside Consultant • You

9. Introduction: Why do it? • Know if the product meets user needs before you build it • Enable you to develop easy-to-use products • Satisfy customers • Decrease expenditures on technical support and training • Advertise ease-of-use successes • Improve brand perception • Ultimately increase market share

10. Introduction: Fighting for it. You will have to fight. Prepare your arguments in advance.

11. Who are the users of the system? • Start by collecting pre-existing information • Hunt down previous data (marketing demographics, surveys, past usability tests) • Hold stakeholder interviews • Conduct customer service interviews Next: techniques for user-centered design

12. Personas

13. Persona development/user profiling • Personas are: • Archetypal users • Conglomerates based on user data • Built collaboratively by team • Not the same as talking to actual users • Useful for keeping users front-of-mind • Holds down “nifty factor” in favor of user requirements

14. Persona development/user profiling • How to create: • Summarize findings, distribute to stakeholders. • Hold a work session with stakeholders & development team to brainstorm personas. • Prioritize and cull lesser personas to develop primary and supporting personas.

15. Example personas

16. Talk to the end user: Questionnaires • What is it? • Method of getting information about users • Quantitative, rather than qualitative • Good for gathering large amounts of facts • Less reliable when dealing with opinions People lie, and with very little reason

17. Talk to the end user: Questionnaires • Two types: • Factual • Gender: male or female • Age:__ • Opinion • From a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is easy and 5 is difficult, how hard was it to use this system? • Would you buy this product?

18. Finding the end user • Recruiting • Develop a portrait of the user (a la the persona) • Develop a screener based on this • Recruit typical end users • Professional recruiter • Do it yourself • Offer a consideration: cash or a gift • Watch for ringers • Professional testers • Inarticulate users

19. Not the end user • Employees • Designers • Programmers • Market researchers • You

20. Talk to the end user: Contextual Inquiry • Onsite observation.

21. Talk to the end user: Contextual Inquiry • What is it? • Observe users in the environment they use your product • Watch them use the product • Understand their behavior by encouraging them to “think out loud” • Remember to compare what they say and what they do.

22. Talk to the end user: Contextual Inquiry • Technique: Thinking-out-loud • Also used in usability testing, participatory design • Users encouraged to voice their thoughts as they use the product • Try an exercise to illustrate

23. Talk to the end user: Contextual Inquiry • Running a contextual inquiry • Recruit a number of typical end-users • Visit the location where they would use your product • Ask them to show you how currently do their tasks • Ask them to accomplish those tasks with your product • Analyze your results

24. Analyzing what you’ve learned. • Mental Models - diagram of the end user’s perception of product • Study the user • Map the mental model • Develop a conceptual model

25. A simple mental model

26. A conceptual model

27. Map the mental model • Pencil and paper • Write down how the user thinks • Sketch it– don’t worry about being pretty • Adjust by addingbusiness restraints • Design conceptual model • Share with developmentteam

28. Analyzing what you’ve learned • Persona Scenarios – the power of story telling • Get your personas out • Tell ideal user experience for one persona • Adjust for business constraints • Build for this scenario

29. Example Persona Scenario

30. Analyzing what you’ve learned. • Task analysis • Step by step analysis of user behavior • Helps define interface/interaction needs • Flushes out potential opportunities for errors

31. Analyzing what you’ve learned • Task analysis • Start with scenario • Break it up into discreet tasks • Subdivide into smaller steps

32. Task analysis Purchasing a purse at nordstroms.com might include the tasks: 1. locate purse 2. add purse to shopping cart 3. check out

33. Task analysis And so on…

34. Example Task analysis

35. Designing for the end user - and with them! • Prototyping • Simple low-fi mockup • Often paper or simple html • Early or not designed • Quick, easy to revise

36. Designing with the user • How to: Designing and Preparing a paper prototype test • Required: paper, pens, tape, scissors and 3 people • Use paper and hand draw prototype • One person acts as the computer, one as moderator, one takes notes • Ask users to accomplish tasks • Make small changes as needed Paper prototyping kit available at http://www.infodesign.com.au/usability

37. Rapid prototyping • Paper or html • Very early stage design, or half complete design • Allow time between tests to make changes • Note where design gets better or worse • You should be making fewer changes as the test continues • The report is partly the final prototype

38. Participatory Card Sort • Way to understand user’s mental models and language • Useful on sites with large amount of content

39. How to: Running a successful card sort • 50-75 pieces of content (not categories!) • Provide as much information as possible while not overwhelming • Lay all content out on a large table, shuffled thoroughly • Provide blanks for category labels • Encourage thinking-out-loud • Be helpful, but do not suggest or advise. Play psychiatrist. • Collate results and look for patterns.

40. Usability testing—at last

41. Conclusion • User-centered design works • It makes good business sense • It’s affordable • It’s satisfying

42. More reading • Contextual Design • Don’t Make Me Think • Designing Web Usability • Inmates are Running the Asylum • Software For Use • All can be found at • http://www.eleganthack.com/reading/ • (and more!)

43. More reading • Usable Web http://www.usableweb.com • Usability Toolbox http://www.best.com/~jthom/usability/ • Ask Toghttp://www.asktog.com/ • Useit.com – Jakob! http://www.useit.com