agile vancouver - involving stakeholders in user experience (ux) design

Involving Stakeholders in !User Experience (UX) Design"

Paul D. Hibbitts!Hibbitts Design"

A Little About Me"!  Established Hibbitts Design in 1998"!  100+ successful software UX projects"!  Instructor at Simon Fraser University"!  Usability Mentor, 2009 Season of Usability!

(co-sponsored by Google)"

!  HFI-Certified Usability Analyst"

12-02-22" ©2012 Paul D. Hibbitts. All rights reserved. " 2"

Stakeholders"http://www.flickr.com/photos/levelten/4195533335/

Stakeholder Types!I’ve Encountered"

!  Project sponsors"!  Project influencers"!  People affected by the project outcomes"!  People that will build the project"!  People who work with the customers of !

the project"!  People who provide user support for project"!  Customers of the project (not end-users)"


Stakeholder Involvement !“Happiness” Poll"


INVOLVING STAKEHOLDERS TIP #1"

Empathy is a key element !for UX design and working

with your stakeholders."

"

Methods We Will be !Exploring Today"

1.  Usability and UX goals"2.  Design scenarios"3.  Stakeholder design reviews"


Why These Methods?""  Quick and easy to learn techniques""  Each method can be fairly structured""  No unnecessary documentation is created""  Involves stakeholders at multiple points""  Passive review and/or active collaboration""  Mixture of individual and group activities""


Your Mileage May Vary!"


Your Mileage May Will Vary!"


1. Setting Direction with!Usability and UX Goals"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nostri-imago/3137422976/

Usability Goals – How it Works"!  Learnability (first time users) "•  The product should be easy to learn"

!  Efficiency (experienced users)"•  The product should be efficient to use"

!  Memorability (casual users)"•  The product should be easy to remember"

!  Error-resistance (all users)"•  The product should minimize usage errors"


Starts the Conversation!about Usability Early!"


Defining Usability Goals"!  Common factors for consideration are"•  Frequency of use"•  Importance of task or need"

•  Task structure (e.g. complexity, repetition)"•  Motivation/attitude"

!  Assign a priority to each goal (e.g. 1-3)"


Assessing Usability Goals"!  Use a valid + reliable usability survey, such as

the System Usability Scale (SUS)"!  Be sure to observe users, and don’t just rely on

what they record on a survey"

!  Don’t get hung-up on trying to separately assess each usability goal"


www.measuringux.com/SUS.ppt

UX Goals – How it Feels"!  Can be daunting to articulate and agree upon"!  Product Reaction Cards by Microsoft (2002)"!  118 words (60% positive, 40% negative)"


Sample Product Reaction Cards"Accessible Desirable Gets in the way Patronizing Stressful

Appealing Easy to use Hard to use Personal Time-consuming

Attractive Efficient High quality Predictable Time-saving

Busy Empowering Inconsistent Relevant Too technical

Collaborative Exciting Intimidating Reliable Trustworthy

Complex Familiar Inviting Rigid Uncontrollable

Comprehensive Fast Motivating Simplistic Unconventional

Confusing Flexible Not valuable Slow Unpredictable

Connected Fresh Organized Sophisticated Usable

Consistent Frustrating Overbearing Stimulating Useful

Customizable Fun Overwhelming Straight Forward Valuable

www.microsoft.com/usability/UEPostings/ProductReactionCards.doc

Example Process for !Defining UX Goals"

1.  Each stakeholder selects a set number of attributes (i.e. 6-10)"

2.  All chosen items are posted on a wall"3.  Each stakeholder is given a set number of

“points” to vote for each attribute"

4.  Visualize results (e.g. word cloud), and further refine as needed"


Word cloud created using wordle.com"

Example Reaction Cards!Word Cloud"


Assessing UX Goals"1.  Reduce provided attributes to � 60 to 70"2.  Ask participants to select most relevant 10"3.  Pair with a standard usability survey !

(e.g. System Usability Scale)"4.  Visualize the results (e.g. word cloud)"

5.  Position as one input, not final decision"



A critical question to ask your stakeholders early on is!“what does success look like

to you?”""

2. Envisioning with !Design Scenarios"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjpacres/3293117576/

What are Scenarios?"!  Descriptions of people and their activities"!  Series of events that results in reaching!

a goal"!  Can be described textually or visually"


Example Scenario"“Emma, a sales manager, needs to arrange a meeting with her 5-member sales team to work out the details of an upcoming promotion. Using the meeting room booking system from her office computer she determines when they can all meet this week and reserves a room with a projector for the meeting.”!


Why Use Scenarios?"!  Focus on (high-level) user goals"!  Excellent way to share a vision !

(without requiring visuals)"!  Highlights missing specifics early"!  Provides a workflow-based viewpoint"

!  Establishes a shared understanding"

Why Use Scenarios?"“Scenarios are among the most powerful tools in product and service design, with uses ranging from developing requirements to ensuring that a design accounts for the full range of possible interactions.”"Kim Goodwin !Author of “Designing for the Digital Age”!and past VP of Cooper Design"


Possible User Representations!for Scenarios"

!  Persona "•  A specific fictional person representing each type

of user"

!  User profile"•  A broad summary of relevant user characteristics

for each type of user"


Design success factors " Make booking a

meeting painless " Provide the best

meeting room possible

" Leverage existing calendar tool concepts

Knowledge,*Skills*&*Abili2es*

• Very comfortable using desktop apps and the Web

• Undergraduate degree in Marketing and Communications

• Has seven years of related job experience

Goals,*mo2ves*&*concerns*

• To have her team deliver materials on time and on budget

• To meet the performance objectives set by her Manager

• To minimize her time related to management duties

Key*tasks*&*ac2ons*

• Perform multiple job tasks at once

• Books 4-6 meetings a day

• Provides leadership to her team with various projects

• Effectively co-ordinate activities of various team members

“If all these meetings aren’t bad enough, it always take more work than I want to find a meeting time that works for everyone - along with a suitable room!”

Demographics • 46 years old • Has joined the company only one year ago • Responsible for 5-member team

Emma: Sales Team Manager

Meeting Goals

Meeting Scheduling Tasks

To attend as few meetings as possible To find convenient times and locations for meetings To ensure needed meeting resources are available To not miss attending any scheduled meetings

Decide attendees Assess available meeting times and locations Book room and required resources

Characteristics Age 30-55 Windows experience Low – High (moderate is typical) Frequency of use At least several times a day Other software used Microsoft Office, Google Apps, HR System Usage Mandatory Turnover rate Low Environment of use Desktop, tablets, and smartphones

User Profile: Managers

Personas and/or User Profiles – Good Question!"

!  Some considerations…"•  Time and resources"•  Available data"

•  Product type"•  Team work style/culture"


User Representations Poll"


Choosing Scenarios to Create"1.  List the user tasks (moderate granularity) of

the system/product you will be creating"2.  Determine frequency and importance for all

tasks to help with scenario creation, prioritization and UI structure decisions"


How to Create Good Scenarios"#  Describe what, not how"#  Be very specific"#  Describe reaching a user goal !

(or solving a problem)"#  Include underlying motivation"

#  Describe who the user(s) are"#  Include the context of use"


Describe What, Not How"“Emma, a sales manager, needs to arrange a meeting with her 5-member sales team to work out the details of an upcoming promotion. Using the meeting room booking system from her office computer she determines when they can all meet this week and reserves a room with a projector for the meeting.”!


Be Very Specific"“Emma, a sales manager, needs to arrange a meeting with her 5-member sales team to work out the details of an upcoming promotion. Using the meeting room booking system from her office computer she determines when they can all meet this week and reserves a room with a projector for the meeting.”!


Describe Reaching a User Goal"“Emma, a sales manager, needs to arrange a meeting with her 5-member sales team to work out the details of an upcoming promotion. Using the meeting room booking system from her office computer she determines when they can all meet this week and reserves a room with a projector for the meeting.”!


Differences Between!Goals and Tasks"

Goals" Tasks"!  Things users want or need

to achieve"

!  Tends to remain constant over time"

!  System independent"

!  Reaching a goal changes the state of the world"

!  Must be performed to!reach goals"

!  Tends to change over time, often due to technology"

!  System dependent"

!  May require !problem solving"


Include Underlying Motivation"“Emma, a sales manager, needs to arrange a meeting with her 5-member sales team to work out the details of an upcoming promotion. Using the meeting room booking system from her office computer she determines when they can all meet this week and reserves a room with a projector for the meeting.”!


Describe Who the User(s) Are"“Emma, a sales manager, needs to arrange a meeting with her 5-member sales team to work out the details of an upcoming promotion. Using the meeting room booking system from her office computer she determines when they can all meet this week and reserves a room with a projector for the meeting.”!


Include the Context of Use"“Emma, a sales manager, needs to arrange a meeting with her 5-member sales team to work out the details of an upcoming promotion. Using the meeting room booking system from her office computer she determines when they can all meet this week and reserves a room with a projector for the meeting.”!


Good Scenarios…""  Describe what, not how""  Are very specific""  Describe reaching a user goal !

(or solving a problem)""  Include underlying motivation"

"  Describe who the user(s) are""  Include the context of use"



Before conducting user research, create a research plan

with your stakeholders."

"

3. Getting Feedback with !Stakeholder Design Reviews"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cspp1/6217471472/

Oh, the Troubles I’ve Seen…"!  Wrong type of feedback"!  Personal opinion (wars)"!  Last-minute surprise requirement"!  Multiple concepts causing endless debates"!  Company culture/politics/issues"


One Format That Has!Worked for Me"


1. Set Level of Feedback"!  Conceptual buy-in"•  Sketchy mockups (e.g. paper + markers, Balsamiq)"

!  Detailed content/layout buy-in"•  Wireframes (e.g. PowerPoint, OmniGraffle, Visio)"

!  Interactive behavior buy-in"•  Working prototype (e.g. JustinMind, FlairBuilder)"


2. Define Objective of !the Session"

!  For example, to identify potential problems state that solutions are “off the table” "

!  If a solution is still provided, ask about the problem it is intended to solve"


3. Review Goals!and User Descriptions"

!  Present usability and UX goals along with user profiles/personas"

!  Earlier stakeholder involvement and sign-off should minimize “swoop-and-poops”"


4. Present the Design"!  Walkthrough design based on scenarios"!  State that the design will be shown twice"•  First time for overall context"•  Second time for feedback and Q&A"

!  Link shown design solutions to defined goals"



Learn and speak the language !of your stakeholders."

"

Involving Stakeholders Summary""  Usability and UX goals""  Design scenarios""  Stakeholder design reviews"


Related Readings"www.delicious.com/stacks/paulhibbitts"

Involving Stakeholders in UX Design"


More Techniques I’ve Used!Successfully with Stakeholders"!  Ad-hoc persona workshops"!  UX design principles"!  Co-design (project definition) workshop"!  Page description diagrams"!  Application maps"


Additional Readings"www.delicious.com/stacks/paulhibbitts"

Involving Stakeholders in UX Design – More Techniques"


Thank You! Further Questions?"Contact info"

Web: paulhibbitts.com"Email: [email protected]"Twitter: @hibbittsdesign"LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/paulhibbitts"

These slides"Speaker Deck: speakerdeck.com/u/hibbittsdesign !SlideShare: slideshare.net/hibbittsdesign/"


agile vancouver - involving stakeholders in user experience (ux) design

Design

established hibbitts

season of usability

usability mentor

usability goal12

dening usability goals

reliable usability survey

system usability scale4

standard usability survey