Applying Usability toImprove Value and Reduce Risk

Close the gap between User, Tech writer, and Developer worlds

Nathalie Cotté@NathErgo38nathalie.cotte@bonitasoft.com

Agenda

• A bit of context• Usability in an R&D team• Reduce risk / improve value

– Train – Wake up the craftmen / heroes– Be creative

• Non-Negotiable Usability• To take away

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• A bit of context

• Usability in an R&D Team• Reduce risk / Improve value• Non-Negotiable Usability• To take away

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A bit of context

• Usability person

• Role: Usability advisor to R&D

1998 2001 2003 20162013

Usabilityspecialist

Usability consultantUsabilityengineer

Cognitivescientist

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A bit of context

Process and Business data

Modeling

3 solutions: • Business Process Management• Enterprise Application Development• Digital Business Transformation

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A bit of context

3 solutions: • Business Process Management• Enterprise Application Development• Digital Business Transformation

UIModeling

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A bit of context

Personalized User Interfaces

3 solutions: • Business Process Management• Enterprise Application Development• Digital Business Transformation

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A bit of context

Documentation web site

3 solutions: • Business Process Management• Enterprise Application Development• Digital Business Transformation

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A bit of context

• Bonitasoft is a 7-year old company, founded by 3 technical experts in Java:

– Everything started with R&D– They once were in charge of:

• Product requirements• Design, Implementation• Quality• Pre-Sales• Usability, Documentation

– New actors and teams only took tasks (and control) away from them

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A bit of context

• As Bonitasofters, we:– Are passionate human with substantial egos

-> involvement– Think we are quite clever

-> self-confidence– Like to enjoy ourselves

-> motivation– Are a little shy or…

-> Space for improvement

… have behavior preferences

– All pursue the same goal: create a product that rocks!11

A bit of context

• Common says about usability:

“Everyone has common sense.”

“UX is an optional polish on top of the technical base.”

“It is an additional constraint when time is short.”

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A bit of context• With common sense: no UX person, no users involved

Formal specs Technical POC(feasibility) Working Alpha

Bug-free Beta End-to-end testedRelease

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A bit of context• With common sense: No UX person, no users involved

Bad user

feedback.

⇒ Lots of rework after it’s delivered. Sad. Hurts egos.⇒ If developers code for someone else than themselves, they need UX

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A bit of context

“We can all be part of UX, with a Usaband a Tech writer.”

“UX is an optional polish on top of the technical base.”

“It is an additional constraint when time is short.”

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A bit of context

• Polish: UX people as a disastrous post-disaster relief– After the feature / product is developed– External consultant– An audit/validation, as the last testing suite.

Formal specsTechnical POC

(feasibility) Working Alpha

Bug-free Beta End-to-end testedRelease

Usability / « Wording » validation

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A bit of context

• Polish: UX people as a disastrous post-disaster relief

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A bit of context

• Polish: UX people as a disastrous post-disaster relief

– Eventually, nothing may be improved, at all18

Usability in an R&D Team

“We can all be part of UX, with a Usaband a Tech writer.”

“It’s a needed integrated layer of our piece of software.”

“It is an additional constraint when time is short. ”

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• Usability in an R&D team• Reduce risk / improve value• Non-Negotiable Usability• To take away

• A bit of context

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Usability in an R&D team

• UX person as an internal influencer– Why “influencer”?

• The difference between a shirt and a piece of software

Nice shirtTaylor

Useful and usable productDeveloper

Raw material Finished product

Nice fabricTextile worker

Clean, smart, bug-free codeDeveloper

Piece of software

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Usability in an R&D team

• When influence is not enough:– UX design comes last in a thick roadmap:

• A new feature always start with technical feasibility⇒Feasibility of what? For what value?

– UX improvement comes last in a sprint planning:• New features and maintenance go first

⇒Some bugs are less critical than users getting stuck(Usability improvements have severity levels too)

⇒Usability debt

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Usability in an R&D team

• UX person as a Silly Crusader vs Team Manager– “Release date is fixed”– “Other features are in the queue for this release”– “The time spent on the feature is enough”– “You cannot argue till you get to the perfect UX” – “You have to let go”

Just - Based – On – TimeRegardless – Of – The – Value – Delivered

LET GO ?!23

Usability in an R&D team

– Fight for UX.

– UX can become a person-to-person struggle24

• Reduce risk / improve value- Train

• Non-Negotiable Usability• To take away

• A bit of context• Usability in an R&D team

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Train

• UCDDD Corners (User-Centered Design, Development, and Documentation) 30 min sessions

- Pick a hot theme chosen by the team or the tech writer or the usab

- Give guidance and tips- Create quick tips and tricks & theoretical rationale

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Train

• Simplified documentation guide

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Train• Usability guidelines per topic

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Train• Now in Google drive, migrating to Confluence

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Train• Usability Principles• ISO 9241-11: Guidance on Usability. Interface and interaction

– User guidance, information structure, incitation– Help – Minimal workload, concision, low density– Consistency & standards– Visibility on the system status, feedback, waiting time– User control and freedom– Flexibility, variability intra-individual– Avoid errors and help error recovery, manage delete

⇒ Hard to translate into clear UI items⇒ Implementation depends on the context and the purpose

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• Cognitive schema

Decisionmaking

ActionFeedback

DecodingAttentional

focusMemoriesBeliefsSenses

Train

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Train

COMPANY GOAL

TEAM SUB-GOALS

TASK

Pick a ticket from a sorted

list

Answer tickets relevantly and

on time

Expand

Pleasecustomers

• Principle that drives cognitive activity– E.g.: Customer support team member

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Train

• Users and developers share the cognitive schema and the principle that drive human activity

• But they are many elements of the system software use that the developers are not aware of

Decisionmaking

ActionFeedback

DecodingAttentional

focusMemoriesBeliefsSenses

COMPANY GOAL

TEAM SUB-GOALS

TASKPick a ticket

from a sorted list

Answer tickets relevantly and

on time

Expand

Pleasecustomers

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Train

Physical stateMental state

GenderSkills

Seniority

PrescriptionMaterialsMachines

Social relationshipsOrganization

Work timeWork space

Activity

Para

met

ers

Parameters

• A definition of activity

– Each situation is unique– The piece of software is just a part of the picture– Relationship to the piece of software: Bonitasoft has designed and

built the system – users haven’t 34

Train

What Bonita BPM needs to do to let Dave use it

User-centered design

Techno-centered design

What Dave needs to do to use Bonita BPM Studio

• Bonitasoft needs to bridge the gap, not the users35

Train• User eXperience = make your

– Users, whoever they are– Succeed on all use-cases– Avoid and recover from error– Be efficient– Learn– Enjoy

⇒ Make R&D work worth it

⇒ Make the value real: create perceived quality⇒ Let Usab handle usability principles, work with her⇒ Let Tech Writer write the right articles and wording⇒ Developers learn/train as they go

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Train

May include:1. The fact that there is an issue2. Its cause3. Its severity4. Its consequences5. What the user can do to recover6. Shortcuts on buttons

… in words the persona can understand

• Error messages

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• Reduce risk / improve value- Wake up the craftmen / heroes

• Non-Negotiable Usability• To take away

• A bit of context• Usability in an R&D team

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Wake up the craftmen / heroes

• Facts:– 68% of users give up because they think you don’t care

about them– 50% development time is about fixing avoidable issues– 97% of users cite “ease of use” as the main factor in

selecting enterprise applications– By 2020, customer experience will overtake price and

product as the important brand differentiator

⇒ There is no other way than spend time on UX⇒ No code artist can manage ⇒ Need to turn into code craftmen

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Wake up the craftmen / heroes

- Heroes’ qualities• Solid logic• Sense of responsibility• Empathy• Courage• Humility

• …. But no super-hero: not reading users’ minds

- Bonitasoft Marketing launched an external campaign

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Craftmen / heroes… is not enough

“We can all be part of UX, with a Usab.It’s a needed integrated layer of our piece of software.It is a team purpose when time is short. ”

But time is still very short. So what?

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• Reduce risk / improve value- Be creative

• Non-Negotiable Usability• To take away

• Introducing Bonita BPM, Bonitasoft, R&D Bonitasofters• Usability principles

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Be creative

• Solid logic, that’s what it is!⇒The team needs:

• Data from the field• Thresholds

⇒ Turn usability into a Boolean system:• Good to release / Not good to release• Feedback on non-negotiable items are bugs• No perfect UI. Good enough UI. Checked.

⇒That is Non-Negotiable Usability43

• Non-Negotiable Usability• To take away

• A bit of context• Usability in an R&D Team• Reduce risk / improve value

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Non-Negotiable Usability

• A goal:– The user needs to be successful to find value in

what we produce

• A team:– We want to build pride on what we release– We all play a part in this goal– We work with data from the field and thresholds

to avoid endless discussions and tension

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Non-Negotiable Usability

• A process, methods, tools:

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Process, Methods, and Tools

• A simplified checklist

UX = make your– Users, from the VIP personas– Succeed, on the basic use-cases– Avoid and recover from error– Be efficient whatever their “profile”

– Learn– Enjoy

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Process, Methods, and Tools

• Translates into:– Users, from the VIP personas

• Create and know your personas, work with them, for them– Succeed, on the basic use-cases

• Get use-cases from them, and User Acceptance Criteria– Learn

• Easy to notice• Easy to guess the value• Easy to understand words, controls, flow

– Avoid and recover from error• Guidance• Clear, complete messages

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Process, Methods, and Tools

• Users, from the VIP personas- Create and know your personas, work with them, for them

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Process, Methods, and Tools

• Personas

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Process, Methods, and Tools

• Users, from the VIP personas- Create and know your personas, work with them, for them

– Succeed, on the basic use-cases– Get Use-Cases from them, and User Acceptance Criteria

• From ISO 13407: Human Centered Design Process for Interactive Systems

TESTIMPLEMENTDESIGNCOLLECT

Communicate with users

Real drawInquiries Personas Real test Personas

FINALIZE

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• COLLECTProcess, Methods, and Tools

Identifycustomers and their projects

Gather a panel

A stakeholder User Acc Criteria

Power users

Personas

Use-cases

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• Write requirements: ConfluenceProcess, Methods, and Tools

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• DESIGNProcess, Methods, and Tools

TESTIMPLEMENTDESIGNCOLLECT FINALIZE

Communicate with users

Real drawInquiries Personas Real test Personas

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• DESIGNProcess, Methods, and Tools

Design Studio(UI and navigation)

Mockups /Quick specs

Technical design / Quick POC

Agreement on the feasible must

have

Split / Backlog

Story telling(= pre-Doc)

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• Design Studio (2h)

– Users, R&D, Marketing, Usab, Tech Writer– Mockuping and sharing– Creating a common mockup for use cases

Process, Methods, and Tools

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• Mockup with BalsamiqProcess, Methods, and Tools

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• Split in small implementation pieces: JiraProcess, Methods, and Tools

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• Tell a story: MindMupProcess, Methods, and Tools

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• IMPLEMENTProcess, Methods, and Tools

TESTIMPLEMENTDESIGNCOLLECT FINALIZE

Communicate with users

Real drawInquiries Personas Real test Personas

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Process, Methods, and Tools

• Users, from the VIP personas- Create and know your personas, work with them, for

them

• Succeed, on the basic use-cases- Get use-cases from them, and User Acceptance

Criteria

• Learn- Easy to notice- Easy to guess the value- Easy to understand words, controls, flow

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• IMPLEMENT

• Share your screens with the usability person to get him/her guide you to implement usability principles

Process, Methods, and Tools

Write tests

Code

Personas

Write targetvalue for a

sprint

Checklist

Mockups

UACStory told

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• Examples– Learn/Easy to notice: use hierarchy

Process, Methods, and Tools

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• Examples– Learn/Easy to notice: catch attention (tours)

Process, Methods, and Tools

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• Examples– Learn/Easy to notice: use tips

Process, Methods, and Tools

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• Examples– Learn/Easy to understand: contextual help

Process, Methods, and Tools

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• Examples– Learn/Easy to understand: Generic help

embedded

Process, Methods, and Tools

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• Examples– Learn/Easy to understand: Give examples

Process, Methods, and Tools

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• Examples– Learn/Easy to understand: Tutorials

Process, Methods, and Tools

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Process, Methods, and Tools

• Users, from the VIP personas- Create and know your personas, work with them, for them

• Succeed, on the basic use-cases- Get use-cases from them, and User Acceptance Criteria

• Learn- Easy to notice- Easy to guess the value- Easy to understand words, controls, flow

– Avoid and recover from error• Guidance• Clear, complete messages

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• Examples– Avoid errors/Guidance: Warnings

Process, Methods, and Tools

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• Examples– Avoid errors/Guidance: validation

Process, Methods, and Tools

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• Examples– Avoid errors/Guidance: Give feedback (+/-)

Process, Methods, and Tools

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• Examples– Avoid errors/Guidance: Default values

Process, Methods, and Tools

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Process, Methods, and Tools• Examples

– Avoid errors/Guidance: Refactoring wizards

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• Examples– Avoid errors/Guidance: Expected formats

Process, Methods, and Tools

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• TESTProcess, Methods, and Tools

TESTIMPLEMENTDESIGNCOLLECT FINALIZE

Communicate with users

Real drawInquiries Personas Real test Personas

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• TEST

• 3 to 5 users are enough• Record the test sessions: this is data to share

Process, Methods, and Tools

Test at myDesk

Panel

Early fixes

Assistedtesting

sessions

Customers and partnersSummarize

known risks

Feature level

Β version level

Summarizeknown risks

Usab

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• Share current development: Slack Process, Methods, and Tools

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• Share current development: SlackProcess, Methods, and Tools

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• Share testing feedback: ConfluenceProcess, Methods, and Tools

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• FINALIZEProcess, Methods, and Tools

TESTIMPLEMENTDESIGNCOLLECT FINALIZE

Communicate with users

Real drawInquiries Personas Real test Personas

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Process, Methods, and Tools

FINALIZE

Write the documentation

Knownlimitations

• FINALIZE

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• Git for documentation (markdown)Process, Methods, and Tools

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• To take away

• A bit of context• Usability in an R&D Team• Reduce risk / improve value• Non-Negotiable Usability

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To take away

• Work as a multi-skilled team including users

• Aim at providing success / value to the users

• Never put UX work last

• Base decisions on data and thresholds to avoid discussions

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By the way…

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By the way

• What is negotiable, in the end?– Efficiency, to be dealt with later on– More advanced use-cases, write tutorials until then– Graphical waows, yet another, fundamental job

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Visit us online bonitasoft.com

Join our communityBonitasoft.org

DownloadBonitasoft.com/downloads

Follow us on twitter @bonitasoft

Time for Questions

@NathErgo38

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Visit us online bonitasoft.com

Join our communityBonitasoft.org

DownloadBonitasoft.com/downloads

Follow us on twitter @bonitasoft

Good UX – No tension

@NathErgo38

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Usability principles - Details

• Sources:– Bastien, J. M. C., & Scapin, D. L. (1993). Ergonomic criteria for the

evaluation of human-computer interfaces (Report No. 156). Rocquencourt, France: Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique.

=> http://www.ergoweb.ca/criteres.html

– Nielsen, J., and Molich, R. (1990). Heuristic evaluation of user interfaces, Proc. ACM CHI'90 Conf. (Seattle, WA, 1-5 April), 249-256.

=> http://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/

– ISO 9241-110=> http://www.userfocus.co.uk/resources/iso9241/part110.html

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