Foundations For A Great User Experience
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The document outlines critical factors for creating a great user experience in new products and ventures, emphasizing the importance of brand and UX design. It discusses challenges faced by startups, the need for effective research strategies, and various research methods to understand user needs and behaviors. Additionally, it highlights the evolution of brands and the necessity of tailoring UX to align with a brand's personality to foster customer loyalty and engagement.
Foundations For A Great User Experience
- 1. Foundations for a Great User Experience Considerations for New Products and Ventures Prepared by Dorothy M. Danforth for Danforth Media
- 2. About Dorothy Dorothy M. Danforth Founder & Principal, Danforth Media Software Design Consulting ● 14 years software design, usability research, and systems development for Fortune 500 and emerging technology companies ● Has made a career out of working with startups and developing new product concepts. Spearheaded web design and usability processes and standards. Led numerous R&D efforts for venture funding.
- 3. New Products & Ventures Have many challenges… • Lack infrastructure • Informal or no process • Missing key personnel • No proven product • Smaller budgets
- 4. New Products & Ventures On the other hand… • No legacy systems • Quick to adapt • High innovation potential • Lower overhead • “Under the radar”
- 5. Presentation Outline UX Research for New Products & Ventures 1. Brand & UX Design 2. Process Considerations 3. Conceptual Groundwork 4. Research Methods & Examples
- 6. Brand & User Experience Design (keep an eye on the big picture)
- 7. By Brand I Mean… ● Symbols, experiences and associations connected with a product or company ● Brand is psychological and experiential, it extends beyond visual identity ● Brand is a company or product's personality as perceived by its constituents
- 8. UX is an Attribute of Brand When defining user experience (not just usability) think brand… ● Any experience a customer has with a company develops its brand image UX as an attribute of brand: 1. Facilitates tough decisions 2. Allows for “charismatic” experiences
- 9. Brand Strategies Trickle-down Facilitates Long Term Product Decisions ● There is no single “correct” user experience ● Successful software involves making tough decisions about what stays and what goes ● Decisions informed by a common, guiding set of principles results in a continuity that helps with predictability, ease of use, and customer loyalty
- 10. Brand Strategies Trickle-down Apple iPhone: Online Activation ● Mobile users more loyalty to carrier ● Many phone manufacturers offer service through multiple carriers ● Apple as an “exclusive” brand initially limited service to AT&T… • This helped Apple’s web designers to craft a simple, easy to use activation process
- 11. A Charismatic UX… The difference between a good & great experience ● Charismatic? …a special magnetic charm or appeal ● “When usability, interaction, and visual design connect through brand to create a unique, confident, and compelling experience”
- 12. Twitter Whimsical and unique error screens…
- 13. Google The confidence to lead with one “not evil” thing… do it really well, and let users seek out more.
- 14. Apple’s Coverflow Coverflow is compelling, & you “Think different.”
- 15. Brand Creation & Evolution A Key Element in the Development of Brand is Time ● Brands evolve in response to internal and external influences— intentionally or not ● Over time a brand can gain increasing confidence and clarity articulating itself ● Research processes should address the need for the UX to follow a brand’s evolution
- 16. Brand Creation & Evolution Apple Web site in 1997 vs. today…
- 17. Brand Creation & Evolution Your company doesn’t need formal brand tenets (or even a logo) to have a brand identity ● Many strong brands are extensions of the vision and personality of an individual; • Apple = Steve Jobs, MSO = Martha Stewart, Disney = Walt Disney, Ford etc. ● No formally defined brand? …draw from the founder’s vision and personality
- 18. Process Considerations (critical success factors)
- 19. Organizational Context Be realistic! You don’t need a cannon to shoot a canary… ● Appropriate for organization’s stage and maturity ● “Best practice” doesn’t matter if the research cannot be utilized ● Understanding context will help set expectations about results
- 20. Foster a Participatory Culture Want buy-in? Never “silo” UX discovery ● As the UX specialist its your job to ensure people “see what you see” and are empowered to use data you find ● Identify aspects of UX research that could be extensions of other functional areas ● Offer other departments substantive input into user testing, surveys, and other research.
- 21. Understand Research Goals Discovery Research? (theoretical research) ● Ideas and users reaction to concepts • Early stage explorations • Considers interaction models and design preferences Validation Research? (empirical research) ● Gauge user acceptance of a product or prototype to be developed
- 22. Craft a Research Strategy Good strategies uncover a breadth and depth of data (for a full picture) Chris Jordan’s ‘Cans Seurat’ (2007) …made up of 106,000 aluminum cans based on Georges Seurat’s, ‘Sunday Afternoon at the Grande Jatte’ (1884)
- 23. Craft a Research Strategy Your strategy should include incremental testing ● An iterative multi-faceted methodology… • Cost Efficient project lifecycles • Provides Progressive Value • Quicker product development • Offers more Accurate Insights • Mitigates Risk, only invest in what works!
- 24. Craft a Research Strategy A “Discovery” research strategy… • Audits, Prototypes, User Testing & Events • Initial concepts get refined, incorporated into research for next testing round
- 25. Research Calendar A research calendar can manage communication and help you adapt to organizational changes ● Your research calendar should… • Be published • Include recurring Items • Evolve • Have an owner
- 26. Conceptual Groundwork (not really rules, more like guidelines)
- 27. Look Beyond Demographics Address universal needs, behaviors, and attitudes! ● Software should speak to individuals, not stereotypes such as “soccer moms”, “early adopters” ● Personas can help communicate user goals, but take them with a grain of salt… • Personas will not indicate useless functionality
- 28. Natural Conversations Users interact with software according to a natural dialog (internal or external) ● Taxonomy – “I’m in the mood for a comedy, let me look at new releases” ● Sound Effects – less formal after repeated interactions. “interesting”, “uh huh”, “…” ● Transitions – Don’t move too fast or slow, respond in a conversational pace
- 29. Natural Conversations Shopping Experience User goes to check out… wait, what’s this pop up?
- 30. Natural Conversations What was intended… What was implemented…
- 31. Natural Conversations A less intrusive approach... Balance sales vs. any negative impact on user experience, brand image… (good for an eye-tracking study) (Sony)
- 32. Keep Users “In the Zone” Keeping users engaged and “in the zone” is key to increased consumption ● Don’t present the user with objective reminders of what he/she is doing ● Group similar tasks, support fluid interactions ● Can be addressed in workflow and functionality Casino are designed to keep you “In the Zone”
- 33. The Art of Crafting Perception Explore what conveys responsiveness, quality and ease of use… ● The perception of speed and robustness can be as important as actual reaction times and functionality ● Car manufacturers design car doors that make a distinctive “quality” sound when closing ● Good graphic design will support your approach
- 34. Take Cues from Outside Draw ideas from comparables outside your market ● What is this function or process in abstract? ● What else works in a similar way? ● Who already does that really well? • Not a one-to-one correlation… concepts must be carefully adapted and translated for your industry, product, context, etc
- 35. Research Methods and Examples (a few tips to get started)
- 36. User Experience Audits Using Audits & Secondary Research ● A good audit includes a range of sources, geared to answer… • What are the current trends and user expectations? • What have we already tried? What worked and what didn’t? • What user issues, needs or problems revealed in the data that might be addressed by a more usable interface?
- 37. User Experience Audits Competitive & Comparative Evaluations ● Conduct against consistent metrics, geared to answer… • How are our competitors handling usability? • Idea generation on how to solve various usability issues • What it might take to gain a competitive edge through UX? • How does our product rank in reference to its competition?
- 38. User Experience Audits Quick Analysis Rubric (instead of a full competitive review)
- 39. User Surveys Online surveys are a quick and easy way to get feedback! ● Can be done often and with minimal effort and cost ● Use follow-up surveys to compare against a baseline ● Never miss an opportunity for feedback ● But keep it short! Keep it short!
- 40. Iterative Prototypes “Discovery” Prototypes • Collection of ideas, not a viable product • Requires at least one validation round • Analysis is tough, no right/wrong “Validation” Prototypes • Reveals changes to build a product • Less open ended, specific workflows • Easier analysis –what worked, what didn’t
- 41. User Testing User Testing can be In Person, Remote, Formal, Informal ● Plan interim steps, not one formal round ● Informal wireframe concept tests… • Can be as small as five participants (gets over 80%) • Get quick feedback and adjust • Usually simple “walk through” scenarios • Test internal users, great for buy-in
- 42. Thank You.