UX and CRO : Toolkits and Tips
UXPA UK - 20th March 2014
@OptimiseOrDie
@OptimiseOrDie
• UX and Analytics (1999)
• User Centred Design (2001)
• Agile, Startups, No budget (2003)
• Funnel optimisation (2004)
• Multivariate & A/B (2005)
• Conversion Optimisation (2005)
• Persuasive Copywriting (2006)
• Joined Twitter (2007)
• Lean UX (2008)
• Holistic Optimisation (2009)
Was : Group eBusiness Manager, BelronNow : Consulting
@OptimiseOrDie
Became obsessed with UX
Save the Trees
Discovered UX
Breaking the bonds
Getting the mix right
UX Hype Cycle
@OptimiseOrDie
Timeline
Tested stupid ideas, lots
Most AB or MVT tests are bullshit
Discovered AB testing
Triage, Triangulation,
Prioritisation, Maths
Zen Plumbing
AB Test Hype Cycle
@OptimiseOrDie
Hands on!
Nice day at the office, dear?
@OptimiseOrDie
Craig’s Cynical Quadrant
Improves revenue
Improves UX
YesNo
No
YesClient delighted (and fires you for another UX
agency)
Client fucking delighted
Client absolutely fucking furious
Client fires you (then wins an award for your
work)
Top Tools & Tips#1 Get out of the office#2 Immerse yourself#3 Session Replay#4 Voice of Customer#5 Get the right inputs#6 Act like a P.I.#7 Experience testing#8 Split testing tools#9 Get performance#10 Analytics health check#11 Going agile
Examples
@OptimiseOrDie
#1 : GET OUT OF THE OFFICE
@OptimiseOrDie
@OptimiseOrDie
1a : Lab Based Testing
@OptimiseOrDie
1b : Remote UX Testing
1
2
3
33
1 Moderator
Participant2Viewers3
3
13
Som, feedbackRemote UX tools (P=Panel, S=Site recruited, B=Both)Usertesting (B) www.usertesting.comUserlytics (B) www.userlytics.comUserzoom (S) www.userzoom.comIntuition HQ (S) www.intuitionhq.comMechanical turk (S) www.mechanicalturk.comLoop11 (S) www.loop11.comOpen Hallway (S) www.openhallway.comWhat Users Do (P) www.whatusersdo.comFeedback army (P) www.feedbackarmy.comUser feel (P) www.userfeel.comEthnio (For Recruiting) www.ethnio.com
Feedback on Prototypes / MockupsPidoco www.pidoco.comVerify from Zurb www.verifyapp.comFive second test www.fivesecondtest.comConceptshare www.conceptshare.comUsabilla www.usabilla.com
@OptimiseOrDie
1c : Crowdsourced Testing
@OptimiseOrDie
1d : Beer, Caffeine and Work Breaks
DESKTOP & LAPTOPCamStudio (free) www.camstudio.orgMediacam AV (cheap) www.netu2.co.ukSilverback (Mac) www.silverbackapp.comScreenflow (Mac) www.telestream.net
MOBILEUX Recorder (iOS) www.uxrecorder.com Skype Hugging bit.ly/tesTfm Reflection bit.ly/GZMgxR Reflector bit.ly/JnwtMo
@OptimiseOrDie
1e : Guerrilla Testing
@OptimiseOrDie
1f : The Secret Millionaire• Tesco placed IT users in front line roles with
product• You have to to create this kind of feedback loop• If it isn’t there, you need to push/encourage• Connect the team with pain points AND
outcomes of their work, split tests and changes• Hugely motivational strategy• One last tip – learn how to interview like a pro• Read these:
“Don’t Make Me Think” amzn.to/1gIZEJn“Rocket Surgery Made Easy” amzn.to/1e0hnUL“Talking to Customers” bit.ly/1e0hT58“Talking with Participants” bit.ly/1kKL3LE“Don’t listen to Users” bit.ly/1cQpiIE“Interviewing Tips” bit.ly/1fKqu03“More interviewing Tips” bit.ly/1bmvGT
#2 : IMMERSE YOURSELF
@OptimiseOrDie
• Test ALL key campaigns• Use Real Devices• Get your own emails• Order your products• Call the phone numbers• Send an email• Send 11 shoes back• Be difficult• Break things• Experience the end-end• Do the same for competitors• Team are ALL mystery
shoppers• Wear the magical slippers• Be careful about dogfood
though!
• Vital for optimisers & fills in a ‘missing link’ for insight• Rich source of data on visitor experiences• Segment by browser, visitor type, behaviour, errors• Forms Analytics (when instrumented) are awesome• Can be used to optimise in real time!
Session replay tools• Clicktale (Client) www.clicktale.com• SessionCam (Client) www.sessioncam.com• Mouseflow (Client) www.mouseflow.com• Ghostrec (Client) www.ghostrec.com• Usabilla (Client) www.usabilla.com• Tealeaf (Hybrid) www.tealeaf.com• UserReplay (Server) www.userreplay.com
@OptimiseOrDie
#3 : GET SESSION REPLAY
• Sitewide Omnipresent Feedback• Triggered (Behavioural) Feedback• Use of Features, Cancellation, Abandonment• 4Q Task Gap Analysis very good
• Kampyle
www.kampyle.com
• Qualaroo
www.qualaroo.com
• Feedback Daddy
www.feedbackdaddy.com
• 4Q
4q.iperceptions.com
• Usabilla
www.usabilla.com
#4 : GET THEIR VOICE
• Make contact and feedback easy & encouraged• Add contact & feedback to everything (e.g. all mails)• Read Caroline Jarrett, run surveys (remember them?)• Run regular NPS and behaviourally triggered surveys • Get ratings on Service Metrics • Find what drives the ‘level’ of delight• Ask your frequent, high spend, zealous users questions• Make the team spend ½ a day a month at the Call Centre• Meet with your Sales and Support teams ALL the time• Tip : Take them for Beers and encourage bitching
#4 : GET THEIR VOICE
Insight - Inputs
#FAILCompetitor copying
Guessing
Dice rolling
An article the CEO read
Competitor change
PanicEgo
OpinionCherished notionsMarketing whimsCosmic raysNot ‘on brand’ enough
IT inflexibility
Internal company needs
Some dumbass consultant
Shiny feature blindness
Knee jerk reactons
#5 : Your inputs are all wrong
@OptimiseOrDie
Insight - Inputs
InsightSegmentation
Surveys
Sales and Call Centre
Session Replay
Social analytics
Customer contactEye tracking
Usability testingForms analyticsSearch analyticsVoice of Customer
Market research
A/B and MVT testing
Big & unstructured data
Web analytics
Competitor evals
Customer services
#5 : These are the inputs you need…
@OptimiseOrDie
• For your brand(s) and competitors• Check review sites, Discussion boards, News• Use Google Alerts on various brands & keywords• See what tools they’re using (www.ghostery.com)• Sign up for all competitor emails• Run Cross Competitor surveys• This was VITAL for LOVEFiLM• Use Social & Competitor Monitoring tools :
slidesha.re/1k7bflG
#6 : ACT LIKE A PI
#4 – Test or Die!Email testing www.litmus.com
www.returnpath.comwww.lyris.com
Browser testing www.crossbrowsertesting.com
www.browserstack.com
www.spoon.net
www.saucelabs.com
www.multibrowserviewer.com
Mobile devices www.appthwack.comwww.deviceanywhere.comwww.mobilexweb.com/emulatorswww.opendevicelab.com
@OptimiseOrDie
#7 : MAKE MONEY FROM TESTING!
• Google Content Experiments bit.ly/Ljg7Ds
• Optimizelywww.optimizely.com
• Visual Website Optimizerwww.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com
• Multi Armed Bandit Explanationbit.ly/Xa80O8
• New Machine Learning Toolswww.conductrics.comwww.rekko.com
@OptimiseOrDie
#8 : MAKE MORE MONEY FROM TESTING!
26
#9 – Fight!
• Google PageSpeed Tools• Webpagetest.org• Mobitest.akamai.com@OptimiseOrD
ie
Site Size Requests
The Daily Mail 4574k 437
Starbucks 1300k 145
Direct line 887k 45
Ikea (.se) 684k 14
Currys 667k 68
Marks & Spencers
308k 45
Tesco 234k 15
The Guardian 195k 35
BBC News 182k 62
Auto Trader 151k 47
Amazon 128k 16
Aviva 111k 18
Autoglass 25k 10
Real testing : mobitest.akamai.com
@OptimiseOrDie
Slides : slidesha.re/PDpTPD
If you really care, download this deck:
@OptimiseOrDie
Scare the Ecom or Trading director:
#10 : Your analytics tool is broken!
@OptimiseOrDie
• Get a Health Check for your Analytics– Mail me for a free pack
• Invest continually in instrumentation– Aim for at least 5% of dev time to fix +
improve• Stop shrugging : plug your insight gaps
– Change ‘I don’t know’ to ‘I’ll find out’• Look at event tracking (Google Analytics)
– If set up correctly, you get wonderful insights• Would you use paper instead of a till?
– You wouldn’t do it in retail so stop doing it online!
• How do you win F1 races?– With the wrong performance data, you won’t
@OptimiseOrDie
#10 : Your analytics tool is broken!
#11 : Go Agile
@OptimiseOrDie
33
Methodologies - Lean UX
Positive– Lightweight and very fast methods– Realtime or rapid improvements– Documentation light, value high– Low on wastage and frippery– Fast time to market, then optimise– Allows you to pivot into new areas
Negative– Often needs user test feedback to
steer the development, as data not enough
– Bosses distrust stuff where the outcome isn’t known
“The application of UX design methods into product development, tailored to fit Build-Measure-Learn cycles.”
34
Agile UX / UCD / Collaborative Design
Positive– User centric– Goals met substantially– Rapid time to market (especially when
using Agile iterations)
Negative– Without quant data, user goals can
drive the show – missing the business sweet spot
– Some people find it hard to integrate with siloed teams
– Doesn’t’ work with waterfall IMHO
Wireframe
Prototype
TestAnalyse
Concept
Research
“An integration of User Experience Design and Agile* Software Development Methodologies”
*Sometimes
35
CRO
36
Lean Optimisation
Positive– A blend of several techniques– Multiple sources of Qual and Quant data aids triangulation– Focus on priority opportunities drives unearned value and
customer delight for all products
Negative– Needs a one team approach with a strong PM who is a Polymath
(Commercial, Analytics, UX, Technical)– Only works if your teams can take the pace – you might be
surprised though!
“A blend of User Experience Design, Agile PM, Rapid Lean UX Build-Measure-Learn cycles, triangulated data sources, triage and prioritisation.”
37
Lean CROInspectio
n
Immersion
Identify
Triage & Triangulate
Outcome Streams
Measure
Learn
Instrument
We believe that doing [A] for People [B] will make outcome [C] happen.
We’ll know this when we observe data [D] and obtain feedback [E]. (reverse)
@OptimiseOrDie
agile - Summary• Design your own methodology
Experiment and optimise with your team• Don’t be a slave
The methodology is the slave, not your masterhttp://tcrn.ch/1gPpUNo
• Collaborative working– Harvard study into teams – it’s an all the time
thing• Ask me later…
Questions – see me on Twitter, G+ or ask by mail
@OptimiseOrDie
Scarcity principle...#1 : EXAMPLES
Scarcity principle...#1 : EXAMPLES
• 20M+ visitor tests with People Images• Some interesting stuff at Autoglass
(Belron)• Negative body language is a turnoff • Uniforms and branding a positive (ball
cap) • Eye gaze and smile are crucial• Hands are awkward without a prop• Best prop tested was a clipboard• Single image better than groups• In most countries (out of 33) with strong
female and male images in test, female won
• So – a question about this test
@OptimiseOrDie
#2 : SPLIT TESTING PEOPLE
+13.9%
@OptimiseOrDie
+5.9%
Terrible Stock Photos : headsethotties.com & awkwardstockphotos.comLaughing at Salads : womenlaughingwithsalad.tumblr.comOther Stock Memes : linkli.st/optimiseordie/7FdxzBBC Fake Smile Test : bbc.in/5rtnv
@OptimiseOrDie
UK Wave 2 - Isi
+2.4%
TV - Off
+6.4%
TV - On
+2.3% +14.8%
Isi went on to star in the TV slot and helped Autoglass grow recruitment of female technicians, as well as proving a point!
#3 : TV ADVERTISING
SPAIN
+22% over control
99% confidence
“It’s not about what you think when you look at the design – it’s about the reaction it causes in the mind of the viewer. Always design for that first.”
@OptimiseOrDie
#3 : PHOTOGRAPHY UX
@OptimiseOrDie
#4 : VOC, NPS, EXPERIMENTS
• Belron NPS programme is huge• Millions of people every year, across the world• 35% survey takeup, 6% dropout rate!• (Try @lukew and @cjforms and @stickycontent)• Higher scores than some consumer products• Why? Measuring the drivers of delight • Even on A/B tests, we could split NPS data• We could see a new funnel drove a 5.5% rise• Lovefilm beat their competitors using NPS• How? Measuring key service metrics• Regression to find high value investment areas• Contact deflection using self service• Analytics, split testing, UX
49
How is it working out for Craig?• Methodologies are not Real Life ™• It’s mainly about the mindset of the team and
managers, not the tools or methodologies used• Not all my clients have all the working parts• Use some, any techniques instead of ‘guessing’• Bringing together UX techniques with the
excellent tools available – along with analytics investment - will bring you successful and well-loved products
• Blending Lean and Agile UX with conversion optimisation techniques (analytics, split testing, Kaizen, Kano) is my critical insight from the last 5 years.
• UX got hitched to numbers, they ran away and lived happily ever after
If it isn’t working, you’re not doing it right
@OptimiseOrDie
:@OptimiseOrDie
:linkd.in/pvrg14
Slides on Slideshare.net/sullivac tonight!
RESOURCE PACK
• Maturity model• Best CRO people on twitter• Best Web resources• Good recent books to read• Triage and Triangulation• The Bucket outcome methodology• Belron methodology example• CRO and testing resources• Companies and people to watch• Building a ring model• Manual Models for Analytics
@OptimiseOrDie
53
Ad Hoc
Local HeroesChaotic Good
Level 1Starter Level
GuessingA/B testingBasic tools
AnalyticsSurveys
Contact CentreLow budget
usability
Outline process
Small teamLow hanging
fruit
+ Multi variateSession replayNo segments
+Regular usability
testing/research
PrototypingSession replay
Onsite feedback
_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _
Dedicated team
Volume opportunities
Cross silo teamSystematic
tests
Ninja TeamTesting in the
DNA
Well developed Streamlined Company wide
+Funnel optimisationCall tracking
Some segments Micro testing
Bounce ratesBig volume
landing pages
+ Funnel analysis
Low converting & High loss
pages
+ offline integration
Single channel picture
+ Funnel fixesForms analytics
Channel switches
+Cross channel testing
Integrated CRO and analyticsSegmentation
+Spread tool use
Dynamic adaptive targetingMachine learningRealtime
Multichannel funnels
Cross channel synergy
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Testing
focus
Culture
Process
Analytics
focus
Insightmethod
s
+User Centered DesignLayered feedback
Mini product tests
Get buyin
________________________________________________________________________________________________Missio
nProve ROI Scale the
testing Mine valueContinual
improvement
+ Customer sat scores tied to
UXRapid iterative
testing and design
+ All channel view of
customerDriving offline using online
All promotion driven by testing
Level 2Early maturity
Level 3Serious testing
Level 4Core business value
Level 5You rock, awesomely
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Best of Twitter
@OptimiseOrDie
@danbarker Analytics@fastbloke Analytics@timlb Analytics@jamesgurd Analytics@therustybear Analytics@carmenmardiros Analytics@davechaffey Analytics@priteshpatel9 Analytics@cutroni Analytics@AschottmullerAnalytics, CRO@cartmetrix Analytics, CRO@Kissmetrics CRO / UX@Unbounce CRO / UX@Morys CRO/Neuro
@PeepLaja CRO@TheGrok CRO@UIE UX@LukeW UX / Forms@cjforms UX / Forms@axbom UX@iatv UX@Chudders Photo UX@JeffreyGroks Innovation@StephanieRieger Innovation@DrEscotet Neuro@TheBrainLadyNeuro@RogerDooley Neuro@Cugelman Neuro
Best of the Web
@OptimiseOrDie
Whichtestwon.comUnbounce.comKissmetrics.comUxmatters.comRogerDooley.comPhotoUX.comTheTeamW.comBaymard.comLukew.comPRWD.comMeasuringusability.comConversionXL.comSmartinsights.comEconsultancy.comCutroni.com
www.GetMentalNotes.com
Best of Books
@OptimiseOrDie
Triage and Triangulation
• Starts with the analytics data• Then UX and user journey walkthrough from SERPS -> key paths• Then back to analytics data for a whole range of reports:• Segmented reporting, Traffic sources, Device viewport and
browser, Platform (tablet, mobile, desktop) and many more• We use other tools or insight sources to help form hypotheses• We triangulate with other data where possible• We estimate the potential uplift of fixing/improving something
as well as the difficulty (time/resource/complexity/risk)• A simple quadrant shows the value clusters• We then WORK the highest and easiest scores by…• Turning every opportunity spotted into an OUTCOME
“This is where the smarts of CRO are – in identifying the easiest stuff to test or fix that will drive the largest uplift.”
@OptimiseOrDie
58
The Bucket Methodology“Helps you to stream actions from the insights and prioritisation work. Forces an action for every issue, a counter for every opportunity being lost.”
Test If there is an obvious opportunity to shift behaviour, expose insight or increase conversion – this bucket is where you place stuff for testing. If
you have traffic and leakage, this is the bucket for that issue.
InstrumentIf an issue is placed in this bucket, it means we need to beef up the
analytics reporting. This can involve fixing, adding or improving tag or event handling on the analytics configuration. We instrument both
structurally and for insight in the pain points we’ve found.
Hypothesise This is where we’ve found a page, widget or process that’s just not working well but we don’t see a clear single solution. Since we need to really shift the behaviour at this crux point, we’ll brainstorm hypotheses. Driven by
evidence and data, we’ll create test plans to find the answers to the questions and change the conversion or KPI figure in the desired direction.
Just Do It JFDI (Just Do It) – is a bucket for issues where a fix is easy to identify or the change is a no-brainer. Items marked with this flag can either be deployed in a batch or as part of a controlled test. Stuff in here requires low effort or are micro-opportunities to increase conversion and should be fixed.
Investigate You need to do some testing with particular devices or need more information to triangulate a problem you spotted. If an item is in this
bucket, you need to ask questions or do further digging.
5 - Belron example – Funnel replacementFinal
prototype
Usability issues
left
Final changes
Release build
Legal review kickoff
Cust services review kickoff
Marketing review
Test Plan
Signoff (Legal, Mktng, CCC)
Instrument
analytics
Instrument
Contact Centre
Offline tagging
QA testing
End-End testing
Launch 90/10%
MonitorLaunch 80/20%
Monitor < 1
week
Launch 50/50%
Go live 100%
Analytics review
Washup and
actions
New hypothes
es
New test design
Rinse and
Repeat!
CRO and Testing resources• 101 Landing page tips : slidesha.re/8OnBRh • 544 Optimisation tips : bit.ly/8mkWOB• 108 Optimisation tips : bit.ly/3Z6GrP• 32 CRO tips : bit.ly/4BZjcW• 57 CRO books : bit.ly/dDjDRJ• CRO article list : bit.ly/nEUgui• Smashing Mag article : bit.ly/8X2fLk
@OptimiseOrDie
So you want examples?
Examples of companies putting this stuff together in a good way:
• Belron – Ed Colley• Dell – Nazli Yuzak• Shop Direct – Paul Postance (now with EE)• Expedia – Oliver Paton• Schuh – Stuart McMillan• Soundcloud – Eleftherios Diakomichalis & Ole
Bahlmann• Gov.uk – Adam Bailin (now with the BBC)
Read the gov.uk principles : www.gov.uk/designprinciples
And my personal favourite of 2013 – Airbnb!@OptimiseOrDie
62
#1 Building a Model
#1 Avinash article#2 The Ring Model#3 3 examples#4 Benefits#5 Summary
63
6.1 – Avinash “See-Think-Do”• Avinash Kaushik, analytics guru, proposes a very nice model for marketing. A
brilliant article can be read here:• http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/see-think-do-content-marketing-measurement-
business-framework/
• But this sort of thinking is also relevant to optimisation• CRO often focuses on purely the ‘Do’ stage – rather than ‘See’ or ‘Think’ stages.
64
6.1 – Example
65
6.2 – The Ring Model• Simply looking at conversion points is not enough• We need a way to look at the ‘layers’ or ‘levels’ reached• So I developed a ring or engagement model• This works for many (but not all) websites• Focuses on depth of engagement, not pages viewed• Helps to see the key loss steps, like a funnel• It’s not a replacement for funnel diagrams• It helps to see the ‘big picture’ involved• So – let’s try some examples
66
6.3 – Examples – Concept
Bounce
Engage
Outcome
67
6.3 – Examples – Shoprush.com
Bounce
Search or Category
Product Page
Add to basket
View basket
Checkout
Complete
68
6.3 – Examples – 16-25Railcard.co.uk
Bounce
Login to Account
Content Engage
Start Application
Type and Details
Eligibility
Photo
Complete
69
6.3 – Examples – Guide Dogs
Bounce
Content Engage
Donation Pathway
Donation Page
Starts process
Funnel steps
Complete
70
6.3 – Within a layer
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Exit
Deeper Layer
LikeContact
Wishlist
Micro Conversions
71
6.4 – Benefits• Helps you see where flow is ‘stuck’• Sorts out small opportunities from big wins• Ignores pages in favour of ‘Macro’ and ‘Micro’ conversions• Lets you show the client where focus should be• Helps flush flow or traffic through to lower levels• Avoids prioritising the wrong part of the model!• Example – Shoprush problem is basket adds, not checkout• If you had 300k product page views, 5k adds and 1k
checkouts – where would your problem be?• If you had 300k product page views, 100k adds and 1k
checkouts – it’s a different place!• Example – Google adwords site has bad traffic, not
conversion
72
6.5 – Benefits contd.• A nice simple way to visualise complex websites• Does not rely on pages – more ‘steps’ or ‘layers’• Helps you see where traffic is ‘stuck’ or ‘failing to engage
more deeply’• The combination of traffic potential, UX and persuasion
issues combines to identify opportunity• Avoids visual bias when doing an expert review• In the e-commerce example, Rush have optimised product
page first, not homepage.• Questions?
73
QUESTIONS?
74
#5 By Hand Analytics
#1 When to use this method?#2 How to use it#3 Demo#4 Limitations
75
5.1 – When to use this method• If goals are unreliable / broken / have no data• If flows are mixed in funnels (mid stage joiners)• If the conceptual model does not match site config• When the data you need does not exist
76
5.2 – How to use this method• For example, with a funnel• Use UNIQUE PAGEVIEWS (and events, if available)• Do NOT mix with pageviews or visitor counts• Step 1 – Basket UPVs• Step 2 – Customer details• Step 3 – Shipping• Step 4 – Payment• Step 5 – Thank you• Use regex / advanced segments to aggregate or filter• Gives you a unique count of people at steps• Always be aware of time periods!
77
5.3 – Limitations & Benefits• Mixing and matching data can look nice but causes issues• Time consuming and more complex• Try to use in-page filters not advanced segments (sampling)• Is not readily replayed by client
Some benefits though:• Construct segmented funnels• Split by other data attributes• Very good way to spot variances inside funnels• Vital for multi-device category websites
78
END SLIDESFeel free to steal, re-use, appropriate or otherwise lift stuff from this deck.
If it was useful to you – email me or tweet me and tell me why – I’d be DELIGHTED to hear!
Regards,
Craig.
