the characteristics & principles of user experience · immediate feedback is provided by...

ACCESSIBLEFIXED PORTABLE

To what degree is the experience local (close) to the user?

Eudora provides a �xed experience.Downloading e-mail to the clientmachine means e-mail is only availablethere through a desktop application.

GMail provides portable access to e-mailfrom any computer (since its a hostedsolution) and in many forms (web app,portlets, mobile apps, desktop apps).

ADAPTIVESTATIC DYNAMIC

To what degree does the experience adapt itself for time, context or users?

Most sites on the web are static andnon-adaptive, even those that o�erpersonalized content like Facebook,Myspace and YouTube.

There are very few examples of highlyadaptive, dynamic online experiences.Stephen Anderson, however, talksabout it extensively, http://is.gd/1FwiG

CONFIGURABLE FIXED CHANGEABLE

To what degree is the experience customizable by a user?

CNN.com is a �xed experience.The contents and layout cannot bechanged by the user (the singleexception is the U.S. vs Int’l edition)

BBC.com allows the user to changethe contents and layout of theexperience to suit their needs andpreferences.

CONNECTEDSTAND-ALONE INTEGRATED

To what degree does the experience stand-alone or connect to others?

Basecamp provides a mostly stand-aloneexperience. Only recently has it startedto connect to other products.

Google maps is more that “just a map”.It seamlessly integrates usergenerated maps, photos, reviews,and local information.

CONTROLLABLEPROVIDER USER

Who controls the interactions with the system, the provider or the user?

A research experience like Wikipedia ismostly controlled by the provider. Thecontrols available to the user are limitedto changing language, contacting, etc.

Amazon gives users many optionsand controls over the experience.Searching vs Browsing, sorting lists,zooming images, reading reviews, etc.

FOCUSEDNARROW BROAD

Is the experience narrowly focused on a few things, or broadly on many?

Basecamp tries to be the “best productpossible with the least number offeatures”. Its narrow scope intentionallydoes “less than the competition”.

Microsoft Project’s robust approachto project management includesa broad range of almost everyPM feature in existence.

IMPARTIALUNBIASED INFLUENTIAL

To what degree does the experience seek to in�uence the user?

Edmunds.com strives to be unbiasedin its reviews of cars and relatedproducts and services.

E-commerce experiences likefordvehicles.com seek to in�uencetheir users in a certain direction(buying the product!)

INFORMATIONALBRIEF THOROUGH

What amount of information does the experience provide?

Google chooses to be very briefin their search results. Only a pagetitle, brief sentence and URL areshown.

Wikipedia chooses to be verythorough with their entries.Their mission, after all, is to beencyclopedic.

LEARNABLESELF DIRECTED HELPFUL

To what degree does the experience help inexperienced users?

�ickr’s organizer tool is optimized forrepeated, expert, use by self-directedusers.

TurboTax is optimized for infrequentuse. It is designed to o�er extensivehelp for users not familiar with theprocess or terminology.

PERSONALGENERIC SPECIFIC

To what degree does the experience provide data speci�c to a single user?

Wikipedia entries are generic. Theyare identical to all users and show nopersonal data.

GMail’s “content” is personal andspeci�c to each user - their e-mail,contact lists, etc.

PLAYFULSERIOUS FUN

To what degree does the experience encourage play?

The New York Times is a very seriousexperience with very limited use ofgaming principles or techniques.

Facebook engages users with manyfun games, quizzes and activities.

PREDICTABLESURPRISING EXPECTED

To what degree does the experience show or hide objects, events or locations?

Games like World of Warcraft or onlinescavenger hunts intentionallychallenge players with surprisingfeatures, locations & events.

E-commerce experiences like Amazonrely on their ability to provide expectedinformation and actions to users.

RESPONSIVENESSDELAYED IMMEDIATE

How long does the experience take to satisfy a user need?

E-mail provides a delayed response, asdo many e-commerce experiences. Some,however, have started to provide immediatedownload of content (PDF books or games).

Immediate feedback is provided byinstant messaging tools like AOL’sAIM along with newer tools likeGoogle WAVE.

SENSORYONE-DIMMENSIONAL IMMERSIVE

To what degree does the experience engage all �ve senses?

Google search is one-dimensional,focusing exclusively on the visualsense. They do have a ‘labs’ tool foraudio searches (Gaudi).

The nature of the web makes it di�cultto engage all �ve senses. Video orgaming sites are perhaps the closestto an immersive web experience.

SOCIALINDIVIDUAL GROUP

To what degree does the experience support interaction between users?

Performing a search on Google is anindividual experience.No capabilities are provided tointeract with other users.

A social networking experience likeFacebook is full of capabilities to allowusers to communicate with each otherthrough groups.

AESTHETICA good user experience is aesthetically appropriate,

encouraging enjoyable sensations and emotions.

mint.com’s soothing and refreshingaesthetic implies a new, crediblemethod of easily managing your�nances without stress.mint.com

The iPhone’s sleek aesthetic withApple’s iconic “rounded corners”permeating the casing and interfaceimplies “simple yet sophisticed”.apple.com/iphone

RELEVANTA good user experience is relevant to user needs,

business goals, the date/time and the environment.

Google’s sparse homepage maintainsits focus on search, the thing mostrelevant to its users. Their holidaylogos also add a sense of timeliness.google.com

wikipedia.org

Wikipedia entries are sometimes updatedwithin seconds of an event happening,providing highly detailed, relevant (andad free) information to users.

COMPREHENSIBLEA good user experience allows a user to perceive

what is meant and grasp the information conveyed.

The Crisis of Credit video makesa complicated topiccomprehensible by using simplelanguage, analogies and humor.www.crisisofcredit.com

TurboTax’s use of progressivedisclosure, simple language andembedded help makes the taxsystem easier to comprehend.turbotax.com

USEFUL

USABLE

DESIRABLE+ =

CHARACTERISTICSchar-ac-ter-is-tic: adj. A feature that helps to distinguish a person or thing; distinctive.These characteristics de�ne what a user experience is trying to be (think of the chemical bases of DNA).The extent to which an experience re�ects each of these characteristics is dependent on user needs, business goals & environmental constraints.

PRINCIPLESprin-ci-ple: n. A fundamental, primary, or general law or truth.These principles de�ne how an experience is constructed (think of the double helix of DNA).An experience must consider and excel at each of these principles to be useful, usable and desirable.

This work is licensed under a Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Richard Dalton, 2/17/2012mauvyrusset.com

THE CHARACTERISTICS & PRINCIPLES OF USER EXPERIENCE

DRIVERS OUTCOMES