building a usability practice
TRANSCRIPT
Building a Usability Practice
Madison Experience Design Meetup6/15/15
Schedule
● Socializing/Mingling● Intros/Announcements
○ Jobs/Opportunities● Brief Presentation
○ Techniques○ Market Fit○ Deliverables
● Afterparty?
About Me
Brad [email protected]@bradorego
B.S. in Computer Science, B.A. in PsychologyDevelopment Lead, MobileIgniterMadXD Organizer
Dancer, Curler, Ultimate-er, Cyclist, Beer-batter pancake blogger
The “what”
Usability Research Techniques
Usability Studies
Goal: gathering qualitative data about a productThings to think about:● Think-Aloud, Paired/Partnered Interaction● Wizard of Oz, Conceptual Modeling● Critical Incidence
Drawbacks:● Costly! (time, resources)● Easy to miss the point if not designed well
Focus Group
Goal: Discovering higher-level perceptions about a problem spaceThings to think about:● Structured, Free-Association● Non-direction, Transition
Drawbacks:● Open to bias (by facilitator, cohort)● Almost never interacting with actual product
Ethnography
Goal: observing users in their (natural) habitatThings to think about:● Design Ethnography (remember: say, do, use)● In-situ usability studies
Drawbacks:● Almost impossible to do properly● Extremely Costly
Analytics
Goal: aggregate actual user interactions with the system to see trendsThings to think about:● How to analyze data● What to measure
Drawbacks:● Extremely difficult to do right● Have to infer causality
The “who”
Discovering Market Fit
What are your strengths?
Are there certain areas you have expertise in?...certain techniques?...certain industries?
Do you have specific interests…?
Who do you want to work with?
What are their needs?...financially?...politically?
Big companies? Small?
How do you reach them?
How do they acquire your services?...discover your practice?...know they need it?...leverage what you produce?
How do you empower them?
The outcome
Putting the “practice” in
Deliverables
Raw data● full video/audio● direct quotes● analytics data
Benefit: Let them see for themselvesGood for: product people
Deliverables
Processed Data● snippets/highlights● high-level summaries● infographics, data reports
Benefit: provide an overview without getting bogged down in dataGood for: management, executives, etc
Deliverables
Prepared● whitepapers● usability summary report● metrics suite
Benefit: show the value in your workGood for: the industry, potential clients
Summary
Building a Usability Practice
Goal: determine which services you wish to offer, at what levels of fidelity, and to whom
Benefits: the world needs more/better usability. Plus there’s money to be made out there
A brief plug - MobileUXLab
MobileIgniter is creating a usability practiceFocus on mobile apps/servicesLab itself is mobile - technology can come to you
Interested? Email [email protected]
Thanks!