Lecture delivered on 15th October 2014 for the Final Project module of the New Media degree. Focused on exploring opportunities and ideas for students to address on their final year project. Highlighting how user research techniques can help to understand who their users are/will be, and how to design a project that meets user needs and delivers high impact.

1. Hello, I’m Ana.
(New Media, COMM3710 - 15th October 2014)
“The importance of designing
the right thing before
designing the thing right.”
@anaceciliaboman www.feedmefeedback.me

2. Today.
how I got here
my final year project
user research + 4 tools
questions

3. How i got here.

4. Porto, Portugal

5. 2006-2007
Leeds, UK

10. unruly.co

11. Hyper Island

14. ceciliaishyper.tumblr.com

16. IDEO

17. Bruce Mau Design

18. Isaac Pinnock
Made By Many

21. grow markets with
the right product
customers need it grows the business

23. 48
people
14
designers
16
developers
8
strategists
10
producers
L O N D O N & N E W Y O R K

26. people + technolo gy

27. people
+
technology

28. 3 ‘real world’
projects.
(not by me!)

29. Push for Pizza app

30. Resident Cab driver

32. City mapper

33. Airbnb

34. grow markets with
the right product
customers need it grows the business

35. Approaching
user research

36. user research
is about
listening, observing
and being empathic

37. user research
is about
identifying user needs
and challenges

38. user research
is about
creating experiments
to test your hypothesis

39. user research
is about
revealing opportunity
spaces

40. User research in product development
VISION AND
DISCOVERY
PROTOTYPING PRODUCTION LAUNCH AND
SCALE
Establish vision and
explore opportunities
Refine proposition
and business model
Iterate towards
market ready
product
Launch and grow
in market place
Depth interviews,
desk research,
day in the life
Workshops,
guerrilla testing
Measure analytics,
usability testing,
depth interviews
Surveys,
usability testing

41. LEARN MAKE TEST

42. In 2010 Skype came to us and asked us to design a
digital marketing campaign around teachers using
Skype in innovative ways in their classrooms.

43. “Err… well, what if we could make
Skype more useful for teachers?”
image credit: www.engagethelearner.net

44. Existing teacher behaviour

45. Interviewed pioneer teachers
1 2 3
4 5 6

46. Testing early ideas with teachers

47. Finding other classes to Skype
with was the biggest challenge
for teachers.

48. Start with where you can
provide the most value.

50. A destination for telling PR stories
about some of the amazing teachers
using Skype around the world

51. A destination for telling PR stories
about some of the amazing teachers
using Skype around the world
A platform building long-term value
for the brand by making Skype even
more useful for teachers

53. Quick recap so far.
‣ Don’t build things just because you can. (Yo Pizza)
‣ Design for sustainability - products should be here for the
long run.
‣ Are you addressing the right problem? (Skype)
‣ Find out how you’re going to deliver the most value.
‣ The best user researchers are great detectives at heart.
‣ Purpose of research changes as your objectives change.

54. User research tools
1. Depth interviews
2. Day in the life
3. User journeys
4. Experience prototyping

55. 1. Depth interviews
Useful to: get to know your users. Discover
latent needs, perceptions, values, opinions,
explicit and concealed information,
interactions and idea inspiration.

56. Checklist
• Find the right people to talk to
• Create a discussion guide for your interviews
• Take notes or record the interview
• Highlight interesting emotions/quotes on the fly
• Start with broader topics
• Use open ended questions
• Be neutral, don’t influence your interviewees

60. 2. User journey
Useful to: understand major touch
points of an existing or new service,
from the point of view of the user.

61. Aware Join Pay Advocate Exit

64. Discovery Request Authenticate Profile
www www
How can we help?
email: Submit
From: Bobby
Hello
We've received a request
for support on Macmillan
Skype Buddy. To get
started, please confirm
your email address.
Click here
Joan
Hello! Tell us a little about
yourself
your age
male female
Other information
Your first name
Joan
Subject: Macmillan newsletter
www.skype-mamcillan.com
Get support
Submit
Data
User ID
+
Age, Sex
+
Info, Name
+
Request
Data
Email
+
Request

65. Volunteer farming

Karen Lucy Gary
Hello Karen,
We received a request for help from a
lady called Joan. She’s 65 years old.
Here’s what she needs:
Are you able to speak with her?
Not right? Help us match you with the
most suitable people.
Click here
I can help Not for me
Data
User ID
+
Requester ID
+
Open time
+
Response time
action
To confirm that you can help Joan,
please click the link below.
From: Bobby
www
www
Confirm
www
Thank you. We’ve notified Joan that
you can help.
✓

66. 3. ‘Day in the life’
Useful to: understand a user through a typical
day in their life. Detect behavioural habits (e.g.
technological) and help inform the design
process by observation of real activities.

67. Helpful to illustrate how a users
time is assigned to various activities.

71. Katy’s day in the life highlights:
!
• Retired, filling spare time with lots of activities: zumba
• Has a share on a narrowboat - close to community
• Regular outdoor activities: gardening and dog walking
• Good friends with other ‘Skype grannies’ via Facebook
• Regularly organises to meet up friends through SMS

73. Understand how your idea might
fit into peoples’ lives.
!
Understand how peoples’ lives
might influence your idea.

74. 4. Experience
prototyping
Useful to: see what it's like to 'use' a service
and what it's like to 'be' the service.
Appreciate the complexity of the users
needs and how difficult they are to meet.

75. *Don’t be too precious.
!
If you put too much design into a prototype
people will focus on the design rather than
the interaction.
!
Time for obsessing over layout, type
choices and colour palette does not exist.

76. Prototypes should be low fidelity,
tangible and quick to make.

77. Here are some examples of real world
prototypes used to simulate an experience.
!
They are not just telling a story, they are giving
us an experience.

78. PAPER PROTOTYPE

79. PAPER PROTOTYPE WEBPAGE

80. ON LAND

81. ON LAND ON WATER

82. PARABOLIC FLIGHT

83. PARABOLIC FLIGHT ISS

84. All of these examples give users a taste of
an experience of something to come.

87. Experience prototyping is:
• About creating an experienceable event
• A rapid learning/refinement technique
• A way to see if you’re on the right track
• Simulations, not stories

88. Recap:
user research tools
1. Depth interviews
2. Day in the life
3. User journeys
4. Experience prototyping

89. To give yourself the
greatest chance of success,
you need to understand
who you are designing for.

90. Design the right thing, before
designing the thing right.

91. The end.
Questions?
@anaceciliaboman
anacecilia.boman@gmail.com

92. Useful links + reading
!!
Designing with users:
http://madebymany.com/blog/designing-with-users-an-exercise-in-empathy
!
5 tips on conducing depth interviews:
http://madebymany.com/blog/5-thoughts-on-conducting-in-depth-interviews
!
UX research - a manual
http://boxesandarrows.com/ux-researcher-a-users-manual/
!
Project charter:
http://www.isixsigma.com/tools-templates/project-charter/six-sigma-project-charter-vital-control-document/
!
Google Ventures - the research sprint:
http://www.gv.com/lib/the-gv-research-sprint-a-4-day-process-for-answering-important-startup-questions
!
User research methods wiki, by Government Digital Service:
https://userresearchmethods.hackpad.com/Welcome-to-User-Research-Methods-Wiki-S0j1jM7vrcp
!
A List Apart - great blog about designing and developing for the web with users;
http://alistapart.com/

93. Help us understand
user behaviour by
tracking touch points.

94. Tell us what is
happening, not why.

95. Analytics
tools
google analytics
kiss metrics
mix panel

96. FACEBOOK + ITV EXAMPLE