Putting "U" back in UX

putting “u” back in UX | @albertatrebla SoCal UX Camp - Cal State Fullerton
Illustration: Dan Willis
alberta soranzo | @albertatrebla
SoCal UX Camp – Cal State Fullerton
putting “u” back in UX

NZ001 — LHR-LAX

(New) Armano’s WTF-OMG!
based on http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2008/12/the-omgwtf-spectrum.html

anatomy of the process
source: thebarracuda57.wordpress.com/

scary, isn’t it?
source: blog.qburst.com

VISUAL DESIGNVISUAL DESIGN
INFORMATION DESIGNINFORMATION DESIGN
STRUCTURESTRUCTURE
REQUIREMENTSREQUIREMENTS
STRATEGYSTRATEGY
Designing the presentation of information
to facilitate understanding
navigation, table of contents, indices,
visual hierarchy
Structural design of the information space
to facilitate intuitive access to content
information architecture, interaction
design, wireframe, progressive disclosure
Definition of scope, user needs, content
and information requirements, functional
specifications
personas, accessibility, feature set,
ethnographic research, differentiation,
purpose
Planning out the objectives and goals
of the project, specifying organisational
requirements
project space, project schedule, selecting
methods and techniques, briefing
CONCEPTION
abstract
COMPLETION
concrete
The visual treatment of graphic elements,
the look and feel of the product
typography, colour palette, alignment,
texture, tactile quality of materials
GOOD PRACTICE GUIDELINES
It is important to consider good practice guidelines relevant to
the project in order to address broad user requirements and meet
accessibility standards. For example RNIB legibility guidelines, W3C
validation, ISO standards, British Standards or ergonomic principles.
USER REQUIREMENTS
It is vital to use all available resources to gather information about
the users’ requirements. Successful projects use an average of
five different sources of information. These may be focus groups,
contextual or individual interviews, observation, surveys, etc.
STICKY NOTES
Comparing notes is a useful tool to aid decision making. Ideas are
written down on individual sticky notes, weighed against one another
and organised according to priority or other criteria (speed, cost,
quality, desirability etc). This technique can also be used with users
to get them to put their considerations in order of importance.
PROJECT SPACE
A dedicated project area where research and visualisations can be
organised spatially on walls provides a creative work environment
where meetings can be held surrounded by stimuli. Constructing a
story about the project in the space providing roughs and unpolished
design invites others to comment and contribute.
PERSONAS AND SCENARIOS
A persona is an archetype comprised of habits and characteristics
of the target audience. Scenarios are little stories describing how
typical user tasks are carried out. They help to anticipate and identify
the decisions a user will have to make at each step in their experience
and through each environment or system state they will encounter.
AESTHETICS
Visual design impacts greatly on the usability of a product. Users
prefer a beautiful look & feel over an ugly or dull one. Aesthetic designs
are perceived as easier to use, whether they are or not. Good designers
find a perfect combination of accessibility and aesthetics.
PROGRESSIVE DISCLOSURE
Managing the information complexity or cognitive load by displaying
only relevant information at any given time prevents information
overload. For example through effective signposting of destinations
in a wayfinding system or using “read more” links on a website.
USABILITY TESTING
Evaluating a product by testing it with representative users helps
to identify usability problems by collecting quantitative data on
the users’ performance (e.g. error rate) and establishing their
satisfaction with the product.
METHODS AND TECHNIQUES METHODS AND TECHNIQUES
CO
NCEPT
IMPLEM
E
NTATION
EVALUATION
PERSONAS & SCENARIOS
ROLE PLAY
USER TESTING
ACCESSIBILITY TESTING
FOCUS GROUP
OBSERVATION
The user centred design process
is an iterative cycle where every
step is evaluated against the
initially identified requirements
of the users and iterated until
these requirements are met.
Evaluation methods include:
AN
ALYSIS
AN
D
PLAN
N
IN
G
LAUN
CH
user centered design
source: paznow.com

UXPA
source: blog.qburst.com

the process
Strategy → Research → Analysis →
Design → Production

artifacts (that’s deliverables)
source: @tuna (Gary Barber)

Stories
Proverbs
Personas
Scenarios
Content Inventories Analytics
User SurveysConcept MapsSystem Maps
Process Flows
Wireframes
Storyboards
Concept Designs
Prototypes
Narrative Reports
Presentation
Plans
Style Guides Specifications
Design Patterns
semanticstudios
source: semanticstudio.com

deliverables
source: semanticstudio.com

deliverables - Jamie R. Levy
Anybody can draw a box and put it on a
page.
— Jamie R. Levy, 2013

deliverables - Peter Morville
Clearly, these artifacts of the process are
not the whole story. We must also think
about the relationship between goals,
methods, and documents.
— Peter Morville, 2009

trained monkeys
source: nerudaproject.wordpress.com

evolution of how we practice
source: geekybytes.org
WHAT

source: c21nicholson.com
“u”

evolution of how we practice
source: geekybytes.org
HOWWHAT

methods vs principles
“As to methods there may be a million and
then some, but principles are few. The man
who grasps principles can successfully
select his own methods. The man who tries
methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have
trouble.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

I say
Just because everybody else is doing it, it
doesn’t mean that it’s going to work for you.

the real issue
We worship at the altar of "doing" and
technology.

a little social experiment

Seamus O’Leary, PhD
Queen’s University
Institute of Cognition and Culture
Belfast
“Predictive Cognitive Semantic Analysis: An Algorithm for
Place-Making in Cross-Channel Experiences” (2010)

Predictive Cognitive Semantic Analysis
“I had an intuition that by interpolating results of best
merge dendograms with anti-pattern libraries and text
readability scores, my algorithm would accurately predict
the boundaries of cognitive and semantic mapping.”

Predictive Cognitive Semantic Analysis
• Parallax Theory of Brain Modeling (Johnston, Neil et al.)
• Cognitive Disenthropy Theory (Blake, McGuinn)
• Systemic Distribution of Neural Pathways Model (Mould?)
• Fibonacci Sequence
• Limit of Consecutive Quotients Paradox (Kepler)
• Structural Malta Approach to Card Sorting (Mann, Pallot)

is it just an American thing?
• Australia
—
ac%ve
listening,
facilita%on
• Canada
—
decision
making,
change

management

• India
—
dealing
with
diﬃcult
people,

building
trust,
%me
and
stakeholder

management,
conﬂict
resolu%on
source: uxmatters.com

• Scandinavia
—
presen%ng,
building
trust,

stakeholder
management
• United
Kingdom
—
presen%ng,
decision

making
• United
States
—
planning,
organiza%on,

persuasion,
inﬂuence,
presen%ng
source: uxmatters.com
is it just an American thing?

E = U
em·pa·thy
/ˈempəTHē/
Noun
The ability to understand and share
the feelings of another.

Empathy is a three-way thing
Stakeholders
Users
You are
HERE Colleagues

what do I do?
THINK
(before you do)

give it 5 minutes
“Man, give it five minutes.”
— Richard Saul Wurman

ask more questions
“Asking questions means you want to know.”
— Jason Fried (37signals)

daily UX zen

Empathy = getting in character to understand
Stakeholders
Users
ColleaguesYou are
THEM

who are you?

the end
Questions?

#whoissheanyway
alberta soranzo
@albertatrebla
albertasoranzo.com
Thank you!

Putting "U" back in UX

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Putting "U" back in UX