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Mobile UX:We’re still human

Chris Scull

Between the ages of 13 -17...

I worked weekends for my dad’s engineering company

My main duties included carrying toolboxes,around buildings, for engineers

This was hard work

The toolboxes were always ridiculously heavy

And I always had to carry them to the topor bottom of a building

But I noticed something..

The engineer never used ALL the tools in the toolbox

So I made a deal...

The game changed, but the players were the same

We would decide what tools were needed

And if we discovered we needed more,I’d make another trip...

Things got a lot better after that...

So most of the time I wasn’t dragginga massive toolbox about

Which is obviously better

I’d say 70% of the time, the engineer knewwhat tools to take

That story is true

ALLEGORY

ALERT

Here’s thepresentation menu

With mobile and tablet now accounting for 10 -20% of traffic to most websites its increasingly important that mobile user experience is as good as desktop.

I’ll cover my rules to help you design better mobile user experience, with case studies from the field

The points I’ll be making

Allegorical toolbox storyWhich actually happened (ask my dad)

Point 1: Mobile and desktop are differentYou’ll want to be sitting down for this, it’s a real bombshell

Point 2: Design for the context, not the contentBecause context is more important

Point 3: Be bloody, brave and resoluteBe as fearless as Macbeth when creating mobile UX

Point 4: Don’t be afraid to be good at one or two thingsEmbrace simplicity and ease of use

Point 5: Success isn’t the thing existingIt doesn’t end there

I’ll concludeAnd spell out the meaning of the allegory earlier

POINT 1Mobile and desktop are

different

o Sat down in a familiar location

o Alone in a quiet room

o Concentrating hard; desktop interaction is likely to be sole focus.

o Plenty of time to do what she wants

o Typing with both hands

o Has full access to everything in her office and on her computer

o Stood up – and on the move

o Surrounded by other people; lots of sensory distractions

o Concentrating on something else (not missing his train)

o Fitting what he’s doing into an idle moment

o Holding the device with one hand

o Likely to be using a touchscreen device

o Mobile is inherently social

o Push notifications remove the need to check multiple sites

o Much smaller real estate

Spot the difference?

Patently, experiences should be different dependent on whether you’re on a mobile or desktop.

An IA might change. Functionality might change. Everything might change.

Be flexible.

Takeaway

Point 2: Design for the context, not the content

Responsive doesn’t solve your mobile problem

Is this content/functionality useful?

Is it valuable?

Is it worth being on mobile?

Designing a mobile site for a public sector agency

Mobile and tablet important as they now account for 20% of all traffic.

First step was to understand the context and usage – how does web and mobile-web fit?

Client X: Mobile UX design for user context

I believe that mobile shouldn’t necessarilydirectly mimic desktop

Desktop1. Home2. Consumer information page3. Consumer information page

Client X: Mobile UX design for user context

And the stats reflect that... Popular pages

Mobile1. Contact us (70%)2. Consumer landing page3. About

If mobile users consider ‘Contact Us’ the most important journey on a mobile site, then treat it as such

Business insightsPeople buy legal services based on reputation and personal relationships

They buy into an individual, not just the firm that person works for

Sales do not happen online, you do not add legal services to a shopping basket and go to the checkout

Digital needed to support the offline business, not replace it

First understand how the business operates

Telephone

“We’re interested in legal services for marketing. Yes, sure I’d love to meet Simon.”

Mobile-web

2 days laterDiary reminder: your meeting with Lewis Silkin is in 30 minutes.

“Who is this guy I’m meeting – what’s he like?

Email

“I’ll send you an email to confirm and a link to Simon’s profile.”

Face-to-face

“Hi Simon.. I was just reading your journal post – really interesting stuff.”

Mapping out the customer journey helped us to understand where mobile web could make a

difference

Lewis Silkin: Mobile UX design for user context

Automotive Client: Mobile UX

Some awful mistakesApp for a car model

Don’t presume positive outcomes

The success of mobile UX is dependent on the human holding it and the situation they are in.

Solve the problem; don’t answer a question that’s not being asked.

Takeaway

POINT 3Be bloody, brave and resolute

(Fearless like Macbeth)

Don’t cram everything in

Make every piece of content fight for its life on mobile

Wield the axe

Less is more

Be bloody, brave and resolute!

Nobody wants a mobile app or site to be like an overstuffed suitcase that you can’t close

(Let alone fit into an overhead bin)

Client Y: “What are we going to do with all our great contentwhen we go to gov.uk?!”

Research/Analytics: NO ONE IS LOOKING AT YOUR ‘GREAT CONTENT’

This is why gov.uk wins awards...

Be bloody, bold and resolute with content and functionality!

Embrace simplicity

Fast, stylish & elegant!

Not overstuffed..

Busy, complex, difficult to navigate and use

All the best mobile experiences are fast, stylish and elegant.

Your mission is to remove the friction which prevents that.

Takeaway

POINT 4Be really awesome at

one or two things

Being awesome at a few things

The Guardian app is awesome at summarising The Guardian

Vine is great and creating and sharing looping videos

Being awesome at a few things

Vanity Fair have a really elegant pared down experience

The Sweet Setup focus on mobile use by streamlining their offering for mobile

Instagram sold for approx $1bn

It is awesome at one thing.

Instagram sold for approx $1bn

“We knew that if we specialised in photos and did photos really well, that’s in some way more powerful than this bundle of everything else”

- Kevin Systrom

Make it simple.

Be awesome at one or two things.

Don’t be a toolbox.

Takeaway

POINT 5Success isn’t “the

thing existing”

Automotive Client: Mobile UX

“Yeah but we’ll be on the App Store!”

Client X: Mobile UX

“Everything needs to be on mobile”

Analytics, 3 months later: No one is looking at it.

Client X: Mobile UX

“We’ve launched our big campaignwith a YouTube video!”

Analytics: It has 30 views after a month

What is working? What isn’t working?

Test on real people.

Learn and iterate.

Takeaway

Let’s ‘wrap’ this up

To conclude

Don’t give users the entire toolbox, when afew tools will suffice

Users want a fast, stylish and elegant mobile experience.

Pick the right tools for the job

By the end of 2013, there will be more mobile

devices on Earth than people

--------------------------------------Cisco 2013

“ ”

Questions?Chris Scull– UX Consultant

Get in touch:Email: chris.scull@readingroom.comTwitter @cjscullBlog: blog.readingroom.com

Interests: Digital strategy, user experience, information architecture, usability, accessibility, mobile, social media Outside work: West Ham, live music

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