UX Process Improved: Integrating User Insight
25 likes1,679 views
Aviva Rosenstein and Steve Portigal emphasize the importance of user insights in enhancing the UX process throughout product development. They discuss various types of insights—qualitative and quantitative—and the need for different research methods tailored to specific stages of the product lifecycle. The presentation highlights the critical skills required for effective user research, including listening, empathy, and synthesis, to create better user experiences.
UX Process Improved: Integrating User Insight
- 1. UX Process Improved Integrating User Insight Aviva Rosenstein Lead Usability Analyst, Salesforce.com @uxresearch arosenstein@salesforce.com Steve Portigal #UXsxsw Principal, Portigal Consulting @steveportigal www.portigal.com steve@portigal.com SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 1
- 2. Why we’re here, what you’ll learn We believe: insights about people help teams create great user experiences We’ll talk about: – What sort of insights are valuable at different points in the product development process – Frameworks that may help you decide how to go about getting those insights – Basic skills to get better insights SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 2
- 3. We Uncover Needs but Also Reveal New Opportunities SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 3
- 4. SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 4
- 5. Moving Beyond “Testing” • More to do than validating our hypothesized solutions • Insight inspires the creation of new solutions • Ask what someone wants, without expecting to simply go and implement that answer • Seek to understand why! SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 5
- 6. What type of insight? RICH DESCRIPTION • Gain understanding of user’s lived experience, values, desires, environments • Research design is emergent, opportunistic • Data: stories, recordings, images, artifacts • Leading indicators SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 6
- 7. What type of insight? QUANTITATIVE • Model behavior, predict outcomes • Research design is fixed, hypothesis driven • Data: Numbers, counts, percentages, statistics • Trailing indicators SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 7
- 8. User research throughout the product lifecycle Stage of product lifecycle Prototype Alpha Beta General Simplified waterfall Regardless of the development process used, different phases of the product lifecycle benefit from different types of insight. SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 8
- 9. The idealized product lifecycle (according to a user researcher) What do we How do we How well did build? build it? we build it? Regardless of the development process used, different phases of the product lifecycle benefit from different types of insight. SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 9
- 10. How do the insights from user research fit into the UX process? SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 10
- 11. The Right Insight at the Right Time Ideate & Refine ideas, Launch Plan prototype, build Iterate and improve SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 11
- 12. The Right Insight at the Right Time Take a fresh look at people What do we Refine ideas, Launch build? prototype, build Iterate and improve SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 12
- 13. The Right Insight at the Right Time Use existing ideas as hypotheses What do we Refine ideas, Launch build? prototype, build Iterate and improve SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 13
- 14. The Right Insight at the Right Time Is it working like we hoped? What do we Refine ideas, Launch build? prototype, build Iterate and improve SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 14
- 15. The Right Insight at the Right Time What do we Refine ideas, Launch build? prototype, build History provides context to explore new opportunities Iterate and improve SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 15
- 16. Get to the answers that matter, and match resources required with risk Resource intensive Quick, techniques: low cost Ethnographies, techniques: Diary Studies Rapid iterative Segmentation studies, surveys, Online card sorts, UX evaluations Live testing and benchmarks, Eyetracking Being able to generalize the results of a study usually requires more money and time. SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 16
- 17. Method selection framework When risk is high, consider More more Resources resource intensive approaches Fewer Resources More More SXSWi Descriptive Quantifiable Portigal & Rosenstein 17
- 18. Different Methods Work Together Start with descriptive research, then validate hypotheses or Look at abstractions, patterns – then go look at individuals experiences to develop explanations, understanding SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 18
- 19. Different Methods Work Together Music Application Usage 55% Windows Media Player 55% 55% 38% RealPlayer 33% 35% 18% iTunes 23% 28% 18% MusicMatch Jukebox 17% 20% 7% Winamp 7% 16% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 19
- 20. Different Methods Work Together Music Application Usage 55% Windows Media Player 55% 55% 38% RealPlayer 33% 35% 18% iTunes 23% 28% 18% MusicMatch Jukebox 17% 20% 7% Winamp 7% 16% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 20
- 21. The UX Community Offers the Promise of Mastery SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 21
- 22. SXSWi Muscles vs. methods Portigal & Rosenstein 22
- 23. But we must go beyond rote learning • There are some human-scale skills that underpin most (all?) methods and that are essential if you want to build your abilities across current and future methods – Listening – Synthesis – Noticing/Observation – Empathy – Storytelling – Modeling SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 23
- 24. Four (questioning) tactics for listening Natural language Questions without Answers Silence 1 Silence 2 SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 24
- 25. Tactic #1 – Natural Language Talk like your subject talks! SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 25
- 26. Tactic #2 – Questions without Answers Don’t give away the answers you are looking for SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 26
- 27. Tactic #3 – Silence 1 After you ask your question, be silent SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 27
- 28. Tactic #4 – Silence 2 After they’ve answered you, be silent SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 28
- 29. Listening Body Language Yes! Not so much. SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 29
- 30. Synthesis is Successive Refinement • First process the experience you have collecting data (“in your head”) and then the data itself (“heavy lifting”) • You’ll go through and refine it • Then go through that and refine it • Repeat! SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 30
- 31. Synthesis is Ongoing • Throughout the data collection process • Storytelling and regular debriefs: What did you see? What does it mean? • Go talk about what you saw and write it up • Get all the detail, don’t worry about what it means until later SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 31
- 32. Noticing • Things that make you go “Hmm” • Your attention is grabbed • Stop what you are doing • Laugh • Point • Cringe • Don’t understand SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 32
- 33. Noticing Is Important In UX Research • Gaps between self-reported and actual behavior • Not only what people say, but how they say it • Workarounds, hacks, and kludges • Process breakdowns • Artifacts or details to ask about SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 33
- 34. Noticing helps you to notice later SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 34
- 35. Noticing helps you to notice later SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 35
- 36. Noticing helps you to notice later SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 36
- 37. Noticing helps you to notice later SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 37
- 38. Noticing helps you to notice later SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 38
- 39. Empathy • Let go of your perspective • Embrace their perspective Let go, Luke! SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 39
- 40. HOWTO Let Go • Before you start a project, do a team-wide brain dump of all your assumptions and expectations • Make user sessions about that user Sometimes the unpredictable and “real” nature of interviews will • Be comfortable asking questions ensure that you do indeed let go even if you think you know the answers SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 40
- 41. Wrap It Up SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 41
- 42. “Methodology should not be a fixed track to a fixed destination, but a conversation about everything that could be made to happen.” John Chris Jones, Design Methods (1992) SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 42
- 43. I’ve got a tip (that you didn’t cover) that works well for me… One new Yeah, I’ve thing I got a learned question today is… for ya… SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 43
- 44. Thank You! Steve Portigal Aviva Rosenstein Principal, Portigal Consulting Lead Usability Analyst, Salesforce.com @steveportigal @uxresearch www.portigal.com arosenstein@salesforce.com steve@portigal.com SXSWi Portigal & Rosenstein 44