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Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

Beginning  the  Story      Kevin  Brooks,  Motorola  Mobility  Whitney  Quesenbery,  WQusability  

Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

Hi!    User  researcher    Theatre  designer    Storytelling  as  a  way  to  understand  user,  culture,  and  

context  in  UX  design  

  Researcher  in  new  UI  technologies    Performance  storyteller    Storytelling  as  a  pivotal  part  of  the  creaKon,  

performance,  and  design  process.  

  How  about  you?  

 

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Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

We  all  tell  stories  

You already know what a story is…

..but you may not know how to use stories effectively in your work.

Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

Stories  add  depth  to  UX  work  

If  you  craO  and  use  stories  in  a  conscious  way  

  You’ll  add  a  richer  understanding  of  users  as  an  input  to  your  design  process  

  You’ll  find  new  design  ideas  more  easily    You  can  be  more  persuasive  in  communicaKng  those  new,  innovaKve,  

usable  designs    You  can  use  stories  to  enhance  the  usability  work  you  are  already  doing.    You  can  use  stories  to  bring  people  into  the  center  of  the  process.  

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Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

Listening  Exercise  

Talk  about  something  you  did  or  made  that  you  are  very  proud  of  

Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

Stories  create  relaKonships  

FIGURE 2-2

Storyteller Audience

Story

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Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

A  story  is  shared  by  everyone  who  hears  it  

Someone  starts  telling  a  story  

As they listen, the audience members form their own images of the story.  

Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

A  story  is  shared  by  everyone  who  hears  it  

The storyteller and the audience both shape the story.

In the end, each person in the audience ‘owns’ the story, too

The audience is a part of the story each time it is told.

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Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

Success?

Stories  are  embedded  in  user  experience  

Specify

Understand

Design

Evaluate

Collecting stories helps us understand people and goals, context....

Finding  themes  and  paYerns  is  the  first  step  in  idenKfying  requirements

Design  tells  a  new  story  that  changes  something  about  the  world

Usability  evaluaKon  is  a  way  of  trying  the  story  out  to  see  if  it  works  for  other  people,  too.

Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

UX  stories  have  a  purpose  

  MeeKng  the  users    IllustraKng  user  needs    Points  of  pain    Brainstorming    Success  stories    Design  exploraKon    EvaluaKon  task  

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Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

To  craO  a  story,  start  with  the  basics    Start  from  an  experience  in  your  work.    

   Think  about  a  specific  person  or  event.    

 Maybe  it  changed  your  own  thinking    Maybe  a  story  about  ...    –  How  someone  used  your  product  –  A  need  they  didn’t  even  know  they  had  –  A  deligh]ul  experience  –  A  painful  experience  

Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

What  makes  a  good  story?    Stories  have    Time  and  place    Characters    Events  

But  they  also  have    EmoKons    Imagery    InteracKon    MoKvaKon  

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Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

Stories  can  be  told  in  many  ways  Some  stories  are  a  simple  narraKve      PrescripKve  structure  

Framing  structures  create  contrast    Me  -­‐  Them  -­‐  Me    Here  -­‐  There  -­‐  Here    Now  -­‐  Then  -­‐  Now  

Stories  can  explain  a  situaKon  or  set  a  context    Layered    Contextual  interlude  

   Journeys  show  obstacles  overcome    A  hero’s  journey  

Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

There  are  also  many  ways  to  tell  a  story  

  Elevator  stories    Stories  you  tell  around  a  

table    WriYen  stories    PresenKng  a  report    Comic  or  storyboard    Visual  collage    In  a  formal  presentaKon  

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Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

Storytelling  can  make  your  work  richer  and  more  effecKve  

Storytelling  for  Use  Experience  –  Whitney  Quesenbery  and  Kevin  Brooks  

If  you’d  like  more  about  stories    Storytelling for User Experience: Crafting stories for better design

Whitney Quesenbery & Kevin Brooks whitneyq@wqusability.com  brooks@media.mit.edu   Blog www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/storytelling/  IlustraKons  available  under  CreaKve  Commons  www.flickr.com/photos/rosenfeldmedia/