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Introduction to user-centered design

Beyond Usability: User-Centered Design Strategies - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Christina Wodtke :: christina@carboniq.com Carbon IQ User Experience Group http://www.carboniq.com tel: 415 824 7090. Introduction to user-centered design. What is it?. It’s more than usability testing. NO!.

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Introduction to user-centered design

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  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

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