user experiencehow to build the UX case

Ashley Annis, Ph.D.

Director of User Experience

Bridgeline Software

Overcoming Objections and Promoting ROI

MITX User Experience Series

user experiencewhat is it?

Recruiting Users Incentivizing Users Contextual Inquiry Interviews Divide the Dollar Card Sorting Surveys

User Research

Competitive BenchmarkingCompetitor Reviews Industry Trends

Business ResearchInterviewing stakeholders (Marketing, Technology, SMEs, etc.) Auditing the current site, Reviewing any research to date

DeliverablesPersonas Sitemaps Wireframes Wireflows Content Inventories

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Usability Test Scenarios ………… Copy Decks ………… Storyboards ………… Prototypes ………… Task Analysis ………

Multi-channel UX Maps ………… Pattern Libraries ………… Surveys ………… Presentations ………… Content Audits

why it’s importantuser experience…

Empowers the brand

Lets you know what users / customers expect before you start designing

Ensures ease of use, usefulness, and increased use

3Improves productivity

Confirms functionalities and features are right, easy to find, and easy to use

Improves conversions, lead generation

Identifies any disconnects between what the company wants and what its customers want ………… Increases

knowledge sharing ………… Saves re-development efforts ………… Improves retention ………… Drives adoption

Reduces support requestsAffects buying decisions

Reduces abandonment rates Generates revenue, improves profitability

RESISTANCEso why resist?

Clients often ask, Why should I do UX?

Why should we do user research? …….. How can we cut costs? …….. Can you do this without impacting the project schedule? …….. How do we get our customers to become users to talk to?

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convincehow to overcome objections?

Your response: Why should you NOT do UX?

UX empowers the brand ………. Reduces customer support calls ………. Drives adoption ………. Affects SEOAffects conversion rates ……….. Improves productivity ………. Ensures satisfaction ………. Helps you interpret analytics

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RESISTANCEother “objections”

costs schedule lack of education spacedata analysis best practices incentivizing no location no users executive egosalready did marketing research internal “experts” recruiting no time

“You’re the expert: we’ll rely on your best practices” ……... The CEO demands a flashy pink thing on the home page ………. “We’ve already heard from our users via customer support” ………. “We know what’s important: we did market research”

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the CEO wants on the home pageflashy pink thing

convincehow to overcome objections

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“1-10-100 Rule”: Insufficient planning costs much more in the long run. ….. It costs $1.00 to make a change during planning That increases to $10.00 once you start building ….... It becomes a significant $100.00 after the site / product has launched

costs UX is a low-risk investment with high returns: increased revenue, productivity; decreased abandonment rates, etc.the reach is worth the investment: the sales team talks to a limited number ofprospects; the website can talk to thousands, if not millionsrecruit friends and family remote user sessions vs. in-personincentivize by raffle

convince

What people say is not always the same as what people do …….. Similar to market research, analytics are valuable, but they tell only part of the story …….. Measures performance (Is it usable?) ………… Assesses preference (Is it useful?)

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how to overcome objections

we’ll use our market research

market research is not user research

market research asks for opinions about confidence, likeliness to buy, etc.

UX observes opinions in action, focusing on how they use it, how they like it, and whether it’s useful

users often respond more strongly to UX assets (like features) than brand

marketing may own the website, but the user owns the mouse

convincehow to overcome objections

Good politics almost always makes bad websites ………. Creative-ego design compromises business, marketing, and UX strategies ………. Show % increase in revenue generated / conversions / satisfaction / lead generation / traffic

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Educate customers about the consequences of designing without user input:

“thumb-in-the-wind” and creative-ego designexecutive egos always turn a deaf ear to best practicesno one wins opinion warswhen your customer wants to “keep up with the Jones,” remind them that users will compare your customer’s site to every other site they use – not just the competitors’

just use best practices

convincehow to overcome objections

People help support what they help create. …….. What’s important is what matters to the customer, not the marketing team, not the designers. It’s about your customers. Not you. …….. Marketing/IT may own the website, but the user owns the mouse.

just use best practices

Sell the value show quantitative results, if not of your own research, then of case studies and others’researchUX can interpret why people are driven tothe site; and why they abandon it, so add web analytics and SEO to your UX research efforts continually collect and interpret researchhave your customer attend UX sessions

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evolvehow to build the UX case

furtherreading

Ashley Annis, “…When designing for users, involve users”…………………………………. http://is.gd/AbHY

Ashley Annis, “How to Recruit Participants for User Research”…………………………….. http://is.gd/AaJ7

Colleen Jones, “When ROI isn’t enough…”………………………………………………..….. http://is.gd/A9ja

IA Elevator Pitches……………………………………………………………………….………. http://is.gd/Ac6U

Aaron Marcus and Jim Gasperini, “Almost Dead on Arrival: A Case Study of Non-User-Centered Design for a Police Emergency-Response System”………………….. http://is.gd/Ac8R

Gerry McGovern, “…Too far from your customers”…………………………………………… http://is.gd/zzPn

Gerry McGovern, “Is the organization the enemy of the customer?”………………………. http://is.gd/AbSz

Jakob Nielsen, “Return on Investment for Usability”…………………………………………. http://is.gd/B5JZ

Hallie Wilfert, “Web Analytics and Information Architecture”………………………………… http://is.gd/dCTs

Ashley Annis, Ph.D., Director of User Experience, Bridgeline Software

LinkedIn: http://is.gd/AcpL Blog: http://is.gd/Acdm Twitter: missdirected

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