When building a new product or designing a new feature, you always have a voice in the back of your mind whispering, "What if no one uses it? What if nobody really understands the value of what I am building? What if it becomes a total flop?" This webinar with Feedly co-founder Arthur Bodolec provided simple and quick techniques to ensure your product gets used. Examine how to pick the right target audience, how to gather user stories to make sure you are designing the right features, and learn best practices for testing your product.

2. Designing with your ears

6. Finding people to talk to

7. Friends
Facebook
Twitter
Support
UserTesting
Craigslist

8. Craigslist

11. Write a screener
To make sure you talk to the right people

12. Who do you want to talk to?
What screening questions will
you ask?
What exact criteria will identify
the people you want to talk to?
(Questions shouldn’t reveal “right” answers.)
Are you using a reader: Yes, No
Non feedly users
Must not be using feedly
!
If yes, which one? ______
Use the web to feed their interests
Mix of men and women
Use media consumption apps (news
reader, TechCrunch, CNN, etc.)
3 men, 3 women
Please list the apps you use on a weekly
basis on your mobile device: ______
!
What topics are you interested in staying
current with? ______
Gender: M, F

13. Who do you want to exclude?
What exact criteria will identify
the people you want to exclude?
What screening questions will
you ask?
(Questions shouldn’t reveal “right” answers.)
Feedly users
Is currently using feedly
Please list the apps you are using on a
daily basis: ______
Minors
<18 yrs old
Age: ______
Unusually technical
Work as eng, UXer, PM
If you’re currently working, what is your
occupation? ______
Work for competitors
If you’re currently working, who is your
Works for Pulse, Flipboard, Currents, etc.
employer? ______

14. Friends
Facebook
Twitter
Support
Craigslist

15. Questions :)

16. Understanding your users

17. User stories
Collecting real stories to guide your design
!
Quantity: 10

18. Who are they?
•
What is your occupation?
•
What is your passion?
•
Did you use any other product before feedly?

19. Why are they using your service?

20. Why are they using your service?
Why are you using feedly?

21. Why are they using your service?
“To have all my feeds in one place.”

22. Why are they using your service?
Why do you need to read all these feeds?

23. Why are they using your service?
“To get access to information.”

24. Why are they using your service?
Why is getting access to
that information important?

25. Why are they using your service?
“To get inspired to write my book.”
“To learn about my competition.”
“To learn about the latest HR laws.”

26. In what context are they using your service?
•
Where were you?
•
Describe the last time you used feedly.
•
What other services did you use?

27. In what context are they using your service?
You said you are using Twitter,
what is the difference with feedly?

28. In what context are they using your service?
“Feedly is where I get information,
Twitter is where I talk about it.”

29. Get some usability feedback
•
What frustrates you?
•
What’s one thing that makes you happy when you use feedly?
•
If you could add one thing what would it be?

30. Feature based user stories
A more specific way to collect stories
!
Quantity: 10

31. Feature based user stories
•
Who are they?
•
Why are they using your product?
•
Why do they need this feature?

32. feedly profile
Sharing your feedly collections

33. “
I am a copywriter specializing in digital content. I use Feedly to curate
content from social networks (FB, Twitter, G+, LinkedIn) that I'll review/
share via my social channels. My goal is to share my Feedly feeds so that
my team can pull content from my "preferred" sources when they post
social updates to my business' Twitter or FB page. I need to delegate that
task to members of my team (I don't have time to do it myself, all the time).
So I would like to have everyone access the same list of feeds so as we
fine tune the content we want to share everyone is on the same page.
!
From: Copywriter
To:
Her team
Goal: Let them access a curated list of feeds so they share articles from
her favorite sources

34. “
I am a food photographer. I use Bundles as a major part of my website, Eating
Appalachia. Through Google Reader, I created individual Bundles for the
categories of blogs/websites I read on a regular basis. As you can see on the
right sidebar of my site, these Bundles are divided into "vegan," "omni," "glutenfree," and "other." If someone visiting my site clicks on "Vegan," for example,
they're taken to my vegan bundle. There they can explore the blogs I read and
link over to other people. I've also used this function to help promote a food
blog group that I'm a part of--SSFC, Southern SOLE Food Challenge (as you
can see when you click on that logo on the right sidebar of my site).
!
From: Food photographer and blogger
To:
His readers (foodies)
Goal: So his reader can discover and follow food blogs based on subtopics
(vegan, omni, gluten-free)

36. Skype
Email

37. Questions :)

38. Testing your product

39. What to test?

40. Discovery Goal
The first experience a user has with your product
•
Do they understand the service?
•
Can they discover what they are supposed to do?
•
Can they find the key features?

41. Discovery Method
•
Don’t give any instructions
•
Let the participant get lost in your product
•
If they ask you questions say you don’t know

42. Features Goal
The key tasks people can do with your service
•
Can they find feature ________?
•
Can they use feature ________?

43. Features Method
•
Have a list of the things you want you participant to do
•
Give them tasks to do:
•
“Save an interesting article.”
•
“Delete a feed.”
•
“Change your profile picture.”

44. Discovery + Features

45. What to tell participants
•
There is nothing wrong you can do
•
Don’t worry you are not going to hurt our feelings, we want to learn
•
Think aloud and describe what you are looking and trying to do
•
The screen and voice is going to be recorded

46. Your attitude
•
Don’t pitch your product, don’t lead the user
•
Let people use your product and get lost
•
If they fail to do something ask them why they did it
•
Answer questions with questions
•
If it’s too general ask for specifics
•
When in doubt clarify

47. What to look for
•
Aha moments
•
Confusing and misleading things

48. Questions :)

49. UserTesting.com
Time: 20 min
Cost: from $33 to $49 / participant
!
Quantity: 5 (on a same product iteration)
Frequency: 2 per week

53. Tasks
What you want to learn?
What tasks will you give?
Do people understand the main concept of feedly?
Launch the app and use it for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes using
feedly, please explain what you understand from it.
Can people easily use the explore panel?
Can people add a site to their feedly ?
Find and add 3 architecture sites to your feedly.
Can people find the search bar?
Can ppl add a site to their feedly ?
Find the site “Cult of Android” and add it to your feedly.
Do people understand the concept of collections?
Do people understand how to share articles?
How would you read all the articles published by the 3
architecture sites you added?

54. Iterate

55. Questions :)