Improving the User Experience Improving the User Experience by Applying Progressive by Applying Progressive Information DisclosureInformation Disclosure

Presented by

Andrea L. AmesAndrea L. AmesIBM Senior Technical Staff Member / Information Experience Strategist & ArchitectIBM Senior Technical Staff Member / Information Experience Strategist & Architect

UC Extension in Silicon Valley Certificate Coordinator & InstructorUC Extension in Silicon Valley Certificate Coordinator & Instructor

STC Fellow & Past President (2004-05)STC Fellow & Past President (2004-05)

ACM Distinguished EngineerACM Distinguished Engineer

Tweeting?

@aames

About Andrea

Technical communicator since 1983 Areas of expertise

Information architecture and design and interaction design for products and interactive information

Information and product usability—from analysis through validation User-centered design and development process

IBM Senior Technical Staff Member University of CA Extension certificate coordinator

and instructor STC Fellow, past president (2004-05), and past member of

Board of Directors (1998-2006) ACM Distinguished Engineer

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Agenda

Progressive disclosure (PD) Traditional information PD The new twist – applying it to the information

experience, in particular the UI But first, we have to think more

and write less Quick steps to PD Resources

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According to Wikipedia… progressive disclosure (PD): “To move complex and less frequently used options out of the main

user interface and into secondary screens“

An interaction design technique Often used in human computer interaction Helps maintain the focus of a user's attention by reducing clutter,

confusion, and cognitive workload Improves usability by presenting only the minimum data required for the

task at hand

Sequences actions across several screens Reduces feelings of overwhelm for the user Reveals only the essentials and helps the user manage the complexity

of feature-rich sites or applications Moves from "abstract to specific" via “ramping up” the user from simple

to more complex actions

PD for interaction isn’t new Around since at least the early 1980s (Jack Carroll, IBM) Jakob Nielsen has been discussing it for ages

"Progressive disclosure is the best tool so far: show people the basics first, and once they understand that, allow them to get to the expert features. But don't show everything all at once or you

will only confuse people and they will waste endless time messing with features that they don't need yet".

In information development, PD can be applied to content, as well

What is progressive information disclosure?

In an information experience, enables you (the author) to provide the right information in the right place at the right time

Assumes “competent performer” to “proficient performer” is stage of use (backup) in which users will spend most of their time when using the product

Defer display of novice information, background, concepts, extended reference material, etc., until the user needs and requests it

Reduces complexity by revealing only the essentials for a current task and then reveals more as users advance through tasks

What is progressive information disclosure? (cont.)

Reveals information in an ordered manner Each layer builds on the previous one in a flow that provides

progressively more information Provides only the details that are necessary at a given time, in a

specific context Provides assistance when necessary--not information created just

to cover an empty widget Do not repeat information; for example, do not repeat field labels in

hover text. “A guided journey, not a scavenger hunt"

Designed around the ideal information experience–with no resource or time constraints

Implemented realistically with necessary constraints

A rose by any other name…

Technical communicators have been “doing” PD for a long time

We might not call it PD The best example of traditional PD:

Well-architected traditional online help Primary “layer”: Contextual and task topics Secondary “layers”: prereqs, background, related

concepts and reference, etc.

Traditional, contextual help

The problem with traditional assistance and traditional information development methods

Typical UI-text development process: Written by developers of the UI Edited by tech pubs (best case; often copy edit capturing only capitalization and punctuation issues

and typos) Typical help development process:

Writers attend (some) design meetings, keeping track of the number of UI panels in the product, which typically include one help button per panel

Writers develop one help topic for each UI panel in the product Pop-up help/hover help provided for all, or no, controls Task help describes how to complete the fields in the UI panel:

Pop-up help content repeated in task help Writers cut and paste from specs

Typical library design and development process: Deliverables developed based on development expectations and history vs. user needs Other (non-help) deliverable content identified without regard for task help also being created

Extensive redundancy across UI text, help, and other deliverables (like books) Design process completed within resource and time constraints, not according

to ideal or customer needs

The next PD evolution/revolution

The UI Get even closer to the task than the help Influence the design of the task and task

ecosystem Drive reductions in words Prioritize resources around client value

PD revolution prereq: Think More, Write Less

“Think more” means… Owning and being responsible for

the information experience Not making our users think about

how to use the product Not falling back on old paradigms:

One help topic per UI screen How many books are we going to write?

Not letting the developers think for you

Being assertive – making sure you’re involved throughout the design process

“Write less” means… Ensuring that the UI is as easy to

explain as possible by contributing to designing interaction the right way the first time

Starting from the user’s immediate task context and working your way out to more general information—make “looking for” the answer a last resort (because it is)

Not forcing users to read more than they have to

Prioritizing what you cover and where—for example, using scenarios

Not just “papering the product” with traditional documentation

Why do we need to change? Traditional deliverables, developed by traditional methods, are not working:

Reference that “papers the product” Generalized user-guide info “Type your name in the Name field” help Most documentation focuses on functional information, not domain information, or the mapping from

domain to product function—written from the inside out Much of that information covers the large number of tasks users need to do – such as installing,

migrating, etc. – that are not business goals Online libraries stuffed with everything we produce

Documentation is often compensation for unusable products—a finger in an eroding dam of bad product design

Customers and users don’t read documentation—reading documentation is never a business goal

Information is difficult to find and often does not address the user’s issue Customers do not perceive information as separate from product Customers look more and more to forums, knowledge bases, and other social

sources of info vs. product doc Can you afford not to change—do you have the resource to continue building

and maintaining content that customers don’t need or use?

How can we think more and write less? Prioritize using deep understanding of users (scenarios, use cases,

etc.) Sometimes this means not writing something Most often, it means covering it in an unfamiliar way (to the team,

customers, and even you) Design deliverables to support users’ efficient and effective

use of information in the context of their tasks (embedded assistance, contextual information, examples, samples, concrete information, take cues from community-written info)

Own your portion of the responsibility for the usability of the product—the information experience begins in the product

How can we think more and write less? (cont.)

If the design discussion around an aspect of the product seems complicated or difficult to you, it probably is—this is where your customers most need you! In the design discussion, raise the issue with the dev team, contribute ideas for

improving the design. Look for gaps in user-goal and user-task flows: between UI panels, between tasks,

between different UIs (admin versus end user client, e.g.), between products. Ask questions about what you don’t know (they are probably the same as user’s

questions). If you can’t get product changes, or get them right away, find ways to improve the user

experience without adding topics… embedded information, “show me” demo, or tutorial.

Start with the user and provide the right information within the UI’s task flow (embedded assistance).

Determine what’s highest-value for your users—examples, samples, tasks, tutorials—and focus on those; don’t try to cover every part of the product with every kind of info and deliverable.

How can we think more and write less? (cont.)

Document the UI in the UI Don’t rewrite what’s in the UI in hover help and help pane Don’t include unnecessary hover help and help-pane content

When considering additional documentation Focus on user tasks—not UI tasks—and then on supporting reference and conceptual

information Focus concepts on the user’s task domain, not the tool Don’t duplicate UI help and hover-help content in other deliverables

When testing information, take user input into consideration, but don’t just do whatever they say Understand the root causes of their concerns Design the right solution for the issue at hand and validate it Typically, users don’t know what the root cause is; they only know how to articulate what

they like and don’t like; base design decisions on observable performance, if possible

What we do requires thinking! There is no cookbook or recipe for implementing it!

Now what?

1. Start with the product: is it as obvious and self-evident as possible

2. Consider your users’ stages of use (backup)3. Consider the types of content you need to provide

Control assistance Panel assistance Domain assistance

4. And the types of mechanisms available Persistent UI text that doesn’t require

a user gesture Simple UI gestures your users will tolerate

5. Can you improve “help?”6. How are you supporting use of the

product with non-UI, task-oriented deliverables?

Resources

Jakob Nielsen, Alertbox

Demystifying Usability blog

Time-Tripper UI patterns

InteractionDesign.org

2012 STC Summit Proceedings paper: PDF (pg 177): http://tinyurl.com/crdwwld Mobile: http://bit.ly/MhO97q

This presentation on slideshare: http://slidesha.re/JlUaNT

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Questions?

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Contacting/following Andrea

E-mail: aames@pobox.comTwitter: @aamesFacebook: www.facebook.com/alames Blog: http://thinkmorewriteless.wordpress.com/

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Backup

Stages of Use Model:A tool for applying PD2012 STC Summit Proceedings paper:

PDF (pg 177): http://tinyurl.com/crdwwldMobile: http://bit.ly/MhO97q

“Stages of use” in designing and writing embedded assistance layers of PD

Novice15-25%

Advanced Beginner60-75%

Competent Performer

10-15%

Proficient Performer

5-10%

Expert1-5%

0 25 50 75 100Information Level

InformationLevel

60

Novice15-25%

Advanced Beginner60-75%

Competent Performer

10-15%

Proficient Performer

5-10%

Expert1-5%

0 25 50 75 100Information Level

InformationLevel

60

“Stages of use” in designing and writing embedded assistance layers of PD, cont.

Novice15-25%

Advanced Beginner60-75%

Competent Performer

10-15%

Proficient Performer

5-10%

Expert1-5%

0 25 50 75 100Information Level

InformationLevel

60

Novice15-25%

Advanced Beginner60-75%

Competent Performer

10-15%

Proficient Performer

5-10%

Expert1-5%

0 25 50 75 100Information Level

InformationLevel

60

Cautionary note about stages of use in EA design

Stages of use apply to multiple user dimensions; for example: Domain knowledge Computer use Your tool Tools like your tool

A user who is a novice in your tool and tools like your tool might be an expert in the domain and the use of computers in general.

The same user might be an expert with most parts of your UI and a novice in some, or might be an expert in some parts of a task flow and a novice in others.

You must consider the many dimensions of your users before arbitrarily applying a single “stage of use” label to them

Consider the appropriate information for the point in time for which you are designing: does the user need tool information, domain information, or both?

Thankfully, progressive disclosure enables you to support multiple levels of users throughout their use of the various parts of the product and through their growth in domain and tool knowledge and experience