What is User Experience?February 21, 2007

William TschumyUser Experience Evangelist, Western Region

Microsoft

“Questions about whether design is necessary or affordable are quite beside the point: design is inevitable.

The alternative to good design is bad design, not no design at all.

Everyone makes design decisions all the time without realizing it …and good design is simply the result of making these decisions consciously…”

--Douglas Martin (book designer)

Put a different way…

“You cannot not have a [user] experience”

-- Clued In, Lou CarboneCEO, Experience Engineering

Wait a minute:

I’m doing internal LOB applications…

Why do I care?

The short answer is:

Money

User Experience (UX) seeks to understand the implicit and explicit needs of a system’s constituencies

Understanding and satisfying your constituencies’ needs means they:

Are HappierAre More Productive

Require Less Training

Make Fewer Mistakes

How do I get started?

All techniques start with data collection and end with specific recommendations

The Bookkeepers The Strategists Who are they?

Approach personal finances from the point of view of monitoring the activity of their money

Rely on account summaries and paper trails to support purchasing and making routing money management decisions.

Not sophisticated money managers; tend to shy away from programs like Quicken or Microsoft Money

Think about long-term financial management and overall net worth. Think about their assets in terms of liquidity, investments and liabilities.

Rely on the online bank as a source of data for their strategic software tools.

Are sophisticated users and need strategic tools for viewing their overall financial picture.

Observations Tend to rely on paper trails to manage their finances.

Spend a lot of effort tracking down their transactions; feeling that they need control.

Even though they consider banking an “annoyance,” they also tend to be emotional about their financial situations (e.g. they are afraid of being overdrawn; they are concerned about mistakes; and the are excited about the possibility of making a purchase).

Rely on highly personalized financial tools and information, and like the idea of a central financial organizer.

Are enthusiastic about financial activities and enjoy engaging in them.

Are very loyal and may become advocates of the systems they use.

Enjoy researching sources of investment inspiration as well as managing net worth.

They are open to new products, especially those that can assist them with their financial “big picture”.

Financial Goal

Monitoring monetary activity Optimize their fortune

Information gathering Analysis Recommendations> >

Common goals, different methods

How do find my constituencies’ needs?

• User Research• Personas & Scenario Prototyping• Collaborative Design

User Research: Immersive research

Intercept interviews on the street…to get quick reactions to questions

Camera studies allow people to interpret their environment and activities when we can’t be there

What People Say and Make

Semi-structured interviews in customers’ workplaces to gather information on their daily activities and needs

• Ethnography is the study of customers in the natural context of their everyday lives.

• We may meet participants at their workplace, on the street, or in their home, combining interviews with observation of what they normally do.

• This research captures what people actually do, not what they say they do, or what they think they do.

• Understanding of their social environment reveals unmet user needs, motivations, beliefs, frustrations, and decision-making processes.

• It segments customers in those terms, evaluates customer readiness for adoption, and offers strategies for compelling customers to use the eBusiness and helps to foster long-term loyalty.

User Research: Ethnography

• In order to validate the hypotheses we form based on ethnographic research and/or benchmark and comparative usability tests, we may conduct online or phone surveys, or focus groups

• Both surveys and focus groups provide self-reported qualitative and/or quantitative data that informs market/user segmentation as well as the business strategy

online

focus

phonesurveys surveys

groups

User Research: Surveys & Focus Groups

Scenario Prototyping

The scenarios show how these characters may go about doing a task typical of their role and the challenges they face within the current environment

Fictitious narratives or scenarios are developed to illustrate key themes of user needs uncovered in the research. They each have different key goals and

motivators.

Scenario Prototypes gather requirements through narratives

Personas & Scenario Prototyping (cont’d)

Scenario outlines the major features of the business or application

Profiles are based off of user research, and are consistent with both the value map and the business model

Collaborative Design

Site Map 1. My Tools

Added by Chris

electronic messagingmanager selection

portfolio management tools

research data

investment management

investment mgmt. Firms

Chris McNiellie-- BellSouth/ Atlanta-- Aug. 14 2000

3. Communication

global market information

speaker events

annual report

white papers

chairman’s viewpoint

publications

executive speeches

press releases

market data

webcasts (llive & archived)

chat rooms/disc. Forums

external news feed

industry news

President/CEOs viewpoint

2. Industry watch

product information

product demos

online product training

help

FAQ

STT associated websites

3. Customerservice

account maintenance

account reporting

portfolio accounting

1. Accounting2. Performance &

analytics

analysis

poliicy monitoring

ER

Private Edge

Securities Lending

fundamental data

account information downloads

performance & analytics

equity execution

fixed income execution

credit services

trusts & investments

custody

securities lending

brokerage services

currency management

trade order management tools

corporate trust

currency execution

asset servicing

cash management

4. Servicesoffered

Respondents can work as teams, discussing individual views of the information hierarchy aloud.

Card sorting is useful in early stages of development to prioritize and cluster potential content offerings, find new content areas of value, and identify new areas of functionality.

This technique helps identify a user-centric view of the information architecture and nomenclature.

Collaborative Design (Cont’d)

Users make word-to-image associations when describing their collage to the group/facilitator, and articulate what a product/brand/interface SHOULD be as well as what it SHOULD NOT be.

Users can voice tacit perceptions that would otherwise not emerge in a focus group setting through non-verbal exercises. Collaging helps to elicit metaphorical associations or attitudes users have with specific topic areas.

summary collage: image use andimage metaphor descriptions

I don’t want to be confusing, elusive,intimidating, or complicated...

…it should have accurate tools, beprecise, knowledgeable, and intelligent...

...warm, well-managed, andintegrated...

responsivefocused

efficient

confident orderly

financially sound,complete

consistent strructure andorder… to me, this is art!

...it should respectmy time...

experimental,,mentor

challenging

Collaborative Design (Cont’d)

Collaborative sessions with constituents co-design possible screens. Constituents provide immediate input and feedback - developing and revising paper-based prototypes on the fly.

Rough sketches - or paper-base prototypes - shared with customers early in the design process to get their feedback on various homepage concepts. The team was able to “test” the concepts while exploring their needs and expectations in greater depth.

Usability Testing

HTML-based prototype (without final visual design) test the navigation and site functionality. Testing highlighted opportunities to streamline the site structure and overall user experience.

Usability testing identifies quick fixes that could be made before launch and those that would be addressed in subsequent launches.

What do I need to think about when doing experience design?

• Prototyping• Interaction Design• Information Architecture• Content Strategy• Visual Design

Experience prototypes model, simulate, or otherwise dynamically represent aspects of the experiences. These prototypes are the tangible outcomes of the design activities that embody—in whole or in part—significant attributes of the relationships between experiences.

These prototypes are different from Scenario Prototypes - Scenario Prototype focus on requirement gathering through narrative. Experience Prototypes focus on iterative solution development.

Experience Prototypes

Experience Prototypes

‘living’ identity

Product design

advertising

packaging

online

Describes key interactions and processes, both from a constituent perspective and system perspective.

Interaction Design focuses on accomplishing a given task on a page, or on a small set of pages

Information Architecture (IA) focuses on how concepts evolve over time as each constituent moves through the product or service

Interaction Design & IA

25

“Managing your home” experience –constituent

perspectivemanagehome

identifyneed

findsolution

follow-up estimate/order

providervisit

Interaction Design: Flows

“Edit Photo Title” experience—constituent perspective share/categorize

Information ArchitectureConceptual Model

Site Map

ID, IA: One experience, Many channels

Three Key questions:• What needs to be communicated to the user?• How should it be communicated to the user?• What organizational language does the user

speak?

Content Strategy

A Content Matrix is an exhaustive listing of all the content in a given product, service or business. It relates the content between the user requirement and the position within the product, service or business.

Content Strategy (Cont’d)

Vectren eEnablement Content Matrix

Section Page ID Content Area: Page TitleUI Prototype File

NameStatic Content

Word Doc nameContent Type Description Reused Content Types

Audience Non-Authenticated User (Visitor), Residential, Bldr, C&I, Mktr

Service TerritoryEvansville, Indianapolis, Dayton

Global

LG 1.0 Login login.html Login.docUsername and Password fields presented with instructional text and link to to login help. Login fields with link to Login Help All E, I

Login Error Incorrect entry, please try again message. All All

LG 1.1 Forgot My Password login_help.htm Login_Help.doc

Instructs user to enter email address and provides email address field. Submission generates confirmation message and response email. All E, I

Login Help Response

Informs user that he/she will receive an email containing his/her username and password, and provides instructions for alternatives. All E, I

Login Help Response emailSystem genreates email with the user's username and password. R, Bldr, C&I, Mktr

HM 0.3.1 Search Results Search_Results.htm Search_Results

Contains a title, displays term user entered, # of searc results found, page titles/abstracts/relevancy for the matches, provides a Search again text field and links to Searh Tips. All

RG 1.0RegisterRegister with Vectren Register_01.htm Register_01

Contains a title and instructional content, register as residential or business user radio buttons All

Security and Privacy Link All

RG 1.1Residential Personal InfoSet up your online account

RegisterResidential_01.htm

RegisterResidential_01

Contains a title, registration instructional content, and registration form.I do not want to register now link.

* Help with Form - Residential RSecurity and Privacy Link All

RG 1.2ConfirmationYour registration is complete

RegisterResidential_02.htm

RegisterResidential_02

Contains a title, welcoming message and link to Residential.Home R

Residential Registration emailRegisterResidential_02_email

Email contains welcoming message and instructions for loggin in to online account, presents username and password and provides customer care 800 number R

* Customer Care signature R

missing in site map

Rsgistration message for VEDO usersFuture online services

RegisterResidential_01_aVEDO

Contains a title and explains that online account management is not currently available in the VEDO service territory; Resdiplays email address from previous entry and informs user that they will be emailed when new services become available. R, Bldr

RG 1.1.1

Business Personal InfoEnter the account information for your business

RegisterBusiness_01.htm RegisterBusiness_01Contains a title, instructions and business registration form. Bldr, C&I, Mktr

* Help with Form - ResidentialSecurity and Privacy Link

RG 1.2.1

ConfirmationWe received business registration information

RegisterBusiness_02.htm RegisterBusiness_02

Contains a title and sets the expectations that a Vectren rep will contact them to isssue a business account user name and password. Assigns a case number and 800 number.

*Case Number* Customer Care 800 number

Builders Registration emailRegister_02_builders_email

Email contains welcoming message and instructions for loggin in to online account, presents username and password and provides customer care 800 number

* Customer Care signature

Business Registration emailRegister_02_commercial_email

Email contains welcoming message and instructions for loggin in to online account, presents username and password and provides customer care 800 number

* Customer Care signature

MAFL 1.0 Docs for Download

MAFL 1.1-1.4 Individual Form Pages

Note: forms and docs in the Form Library still contain old logos and company names. These should be edited to reflect new company naming.

Residential

How should our product, service or business look visually?

Visual Design

Please rank these mood boards.1=most favorite, 12=least favorite

Mood Boards: A basic vocabulary

Thank You!

William TschumyWilliam.tschumy@microsoft.com

415.420.3746User Experience Evangelist, Western Region

Microsoft