winning at the politics of usability

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Winning at the Politics of Usability John Sorflaten – Human Factors International Michael Rawlins – Open Solutions Jeff Sauro – Oracle; Measuring Usability Javier Broch – Columbia University Linda Chadwick – Duck Creek Technology

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Politics Defined “The Buck Stops Here” – Harry Truman So…. Take ownership of political

problems.

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Who has heard this?…. “We don’t have time for usability now” “We don’t need you right now…maybe

later.” “This project is almost done. Can you

check it out?” Others?

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But….we’re here… Many organizations heard the message

and now have usability staff And trained them… And hope to use them… And… (gulp….) … you don’t get used….

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The art of politics… “Politics moves mountains with mere

words.” -- anonymous

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Here’s some words….

1. Speak credibly – John Sorflaten2. Have credentials – Michael Rawlins3. Talk the talk – Javier Bloch4. Be quantitative – Jeff Sauro5. Do the dew. Get moxie. – Linda

Chadwick

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John: Speaking Credibly

Roadbump? You: “I think we should use a drop down

list here to make it easier to type the entry.”

Them: “That’s your opinion. Here’s my opinion….”

Guideline: avoid giving opinionsSee eleven more shock absorbers,

next…

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Cite your Data (top 4 winners):

1. “Research indicates…” (e.g., www.usability.gov)

2. “Our usability testing shows…”3. “Our standards say…” (and they have

been tested for usability)4. “Best practices suggest that…”

(usability training, books, gurus…)

http://www.usability.gov/

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Do Gedanken Experiments (Einstein)

5. Cognitive task analysis: Identify loads… • Visual• IntellectualE.g., To select a radio button:

1. decide to use mouse (I); 2. look for mouse (V+Mo); 3. reach, grab (Mo); 4. re-position pointer (V+Mo); 5. select option (V, I, Me, Mo)

• Memory• Motor

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Speak Objectively…

6. “I don’t know…we’ll run a usability test” (avoid speaking for all users)

7. “If I were to conduct a UT, I expect x% of subjects to have this problem…” (give reasons, too)

8. “If I were a UT subject, I would probably be puzzled by…”

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Borrow Findings…

9. “Other UTs covered similar issues…” (and those results suggest we do x)

10. “Our interviews and observations showed end-users actually did x...”

11. “End-users said they thought x…” (collective mental model)

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Now, “Speak Credibly”… Avoid opinion like “I think” or “I feel” Use your data (top 4 winners) Use thought experiments (VIMM) Speak objectively (If I were…) Borrow findings (other tests, interviews..)

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Michael: Have Credentials

Roadbump? You: “I read that Jakob Nielsen said…” Them: “Yeah, but Jarrod Spool said…”

See 5 improved seats, next…

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1. Get R-E-S-P-E-C-T (Thanks Aretha!)

If you’re a gatekeeper for usability, can you demonstrate earning that role?

Doctors get an M.D.; Executives get an MBA. Pilots get a license.

What’s your “white coat and stethoscope”?

PhD? MA? CUA? (Certified Usability Analyst); IIBA? (International Institute of Business Analysis certification)

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2. Get Style Did you pass a driver’s license test? What did it mean? A credential validates our knowledge Self-confidence creates authority Self-efficacy shows up in our “style”

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3. Be A Professional Professional-ism means membership,

peer review, demonstrated skills Passing a test means “initiation” “A Professional” means management

treats you with: Respect Allegiance Expectations

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4. Network Your Community… Read and meet your peers… Meet the person next to you. Share your main political challenges. Share solutions, ideas. Share phone number and email. Follow up and network again. “What’s their personality type?”

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5. Ethically Negotiate and Communicate Risks…

It’s not important to win every argument…

Allow people to reach the correct conclusion on their own time. Supply the kernels of knowledge.

Share the importance of open, direct communication.

Index

Javier: Talk the Talk

Political Steps - roadmap

1.Define Strategy & Interview stake holders

2.Usability budged

3.BAD GUY - external group to execute political

4.Committee & Tools

5.Fund one project

6.Train & Hire usability

Index

Political (elevator) speech –I make technology easy to use

–Simplify things

–Tech. for my mom

–Humanize technology

–Lower the cognitive load

–Make things simpler to use

Winning at Politics: ready to say? be unpopular?

– “My feedback does not count, I’m not the intended user”

– What your boss likes might not be what your users like

– Negative feedback

– Culture to satisfy the “board room” (not the user)

– Involve all the parties

Index

Expected political obstacles and roadblocks

– The usability of Usability work

– ”I know what the user wants”

– The stakeholder “I like this…”

– “I like this type of web technology”

– “If I can find it, they could find it”

Index

Why change the process?

• Ownership? Decentralization

• No usability $, No standards

• The wake up call. Nobody wants to do it

• Customer might only interact via web

• No inventory. Duplication Index

Why change the process? (Cont.)

• No focus on user (UCD)

• Political design

• Every one has an opinion

• Every one wants a link

• The boss opinion

.. your reasons …

Index

E-mail usability

Political gain … Collecting simple Usability Data

What ..

– are your …. user groups? …frequent tasks?

– key information do your users access the most?

– type of services?

– part of your site do users use the most?

Index

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Measuring Usability

Politics of Quantitative Usability

Jeff Sauro

June 18th 2008

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Quanta-Phobia

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Lies,

Damn Lies

& Statistics

… and usability ?

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You Can't Manage What You Don't Measure

Metrics allow for ROI of Usability

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6/8 Complete

75% Completion Rate

What do you Report?

Completion Rates

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75%

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Release your inner Math Geek

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What is the true Completion Rate ?6/8 Complete

0 10050

2.5% 2.5%

95% Confidence Interval (40%, 94%)

95%

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Wide Margin of Error—Why Bother?

95% CI (40%, 94%) = 54 points

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Use Benchmarks / Criteria

0 10050 70

91%

60%

6/8 Complete

60% Chance 70% of Users Can Complete

97.5%

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Dealer’s Hand

Your Hand

60% Chance You Win

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60% Chance of Rain

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60% On Time Arrival

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60% Chance of Successful Operation

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1.Benchmarks—What is the min completion rate?

2.How sure do you need to be you’ve improved?

3.Quantify the unknown with CI’s

4.Work within the Limitations of Small Samples

Be brave and be quantitative

http://measuringusability.com/UPA

Calculators & Formula Online

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Appendix

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Sample size

Think-aloud Studies

Normality

Time on Task

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Diagnosis /Comparisons in Think-Aloud

One dot does a lot

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Managing Non-Normality

Log Transformation

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Margin of Error for Task Time

Sample Size

Marg

in %

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Cv

0.70

0.300.48

Margin % vs Sample Size for Typical CVs

Samples < 20 Have > 20% Margin of Error

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Sample Size

Perc

ent

of Cri

teria

1101008060402015104

93

90

85

80

75

70

60

50

Sample Size Needed for % of Criteria to be SignificantCV of .48

Use Benchmarks / Criteria

How Long Should the task take?

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Linda: Do the Dew. Get Moxie.

Roadbump? You: “Why don’t we focus more on

usability?” Them: “But there’s so much to do, so

many other problems to solve.”

See 5 steering tips next…

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The Misperceptions …

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1. Be “Coordinator” vs. “Expert” Reduce “threat” to colleagues egos Respect and listen to opinions Avert resentment, foster team work Now they’ll listen to your ideas Now they’ll WANT “cool and usable” Make the system work for you

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Change

"Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better”

-- Sydney J. Harris

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2. Use “Change Management” Check out this discipline, get a book Publish positive reports, experiences Give advance notice on changes Personal messages better than mass mail Update people on project progress

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3. Reward “Early Adoption” At meetings, praise individual usability

efforts Start positive feed-back loops Reinforce champion’s confidence in your

work Give your champion something to brag

about

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4. Spread the Usability Training Avoid energy-drain of endless questions Packaged training lets others see the

“secrets” You are the “usability consultant” to others “Word processing” now done by everyone Range of training: one-hourhalf daymore You’ll keep job security, amidst teaching

others

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What are you called?

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5. Job Title Finesse Re-think “job title du jour” phenomenon Create a hierarchy of usability titles NOT a “dead-end” job (for tired people) Promote path for advancing usability careers Insure salary perks for increased skills/scope All this acknowledges: “career professional” Usability will never disappear Do the due. GET MOXIE!

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John: Rapping Up Politics Doing the dew (due) means “politics” Who would like more moxie? Tell us your take-home rap…

! Wow… ! Sure… ! Love it… ! Goforit…

E-mail your ideas: [email protected]

winning at the politics of usability

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