By the Book: How Great User Experiences in Software Can Impact Government and Citizens

By the Book How Great User Experiences in Software Can Impact Government and Citizens Anthony Franco twitter.com/anthonyfranco President, EffectiveUI anthonyfranco.wordpress.com

What is software ROI for Government?

Software ROI for Government Operational Efﬁciency Dissemination of Information Gathering of Information Collaboration Compliance

Software ROI for Citizens Citizen Enablement Tools: •BeneﬁtSelf Service •Convenience Information Transparency Information Find-ability

example ROI calculations citizen self service x user adoption = ROI employee data entry x user adoption = ROI information gathering x user adoption = ROI process automation x user adoption = ROI collaboration portals x user adoption = ROI compliance portals x user adoption = ROI

the main multiplier for software ROI is user adoption

investing in a Good User Experience is simply hyper focusing on User Adoption

IBM “Cost-Justifying Ease of Use” “Every $1 invested in usability returns between $10 and $100”

its not enough to talk about it

if user adoption = ROI How do we optimize success through better user adoption?

HOW? the laws of effective user experiences

what was common about the successes?

Law # 1 FOCUS ON THE USER FIRST

✓ focus on the end user first by: understanding user goals and needs before deciding on a technology approach

avoid: Vector Graphics MXML Flash Client Processing Cover-flow Java Service Oriented Architecture Sliverlight Animation Social Networking Streaming Video Aqua Multi-Channel Runtime Skip Intro Web 2.0 Productivity iPhone Accessibility Google Reflections Audio AJAX Thin Client Security Sandbox Multi-Touch APIs Apple Open Source Flex Rich Conversions Microsoft Adobe XAML Web Services Objective C SUN buzz word bingo

✓ focus on the end user first by: understand user goals and needs before deciding on the user ﬂow

BUSINESS UNITS TURN IT INTO THIS: PICK HOW YOU OPEN AN STORE CREDIT CLICK EMAIL SHIP WILL PAY CARD INFORMATION WAIT FOR EMAIL TO CONFIRM ACCOUNT Now? I just want to ship something. LOGIN PACKAGE, CHOOSE TO & FROM CHECK PRICE/ DETAILED CONFIRM TRACK SERVICE PAY DESCRIPTION I don’t know how What does to answer that. each cost? user ﬂows as deﬁned by executives

USERS WANT THIS: PACKAGE, COST VS. CONFIRM SHIP TO & FROM TIME DECISION PAY & TRACK this is what users wanted

avoid: allowing stakeholders to deﬁne user ﬂows before user research

✓ focus on the end user first by: conducting good research and testing your usability prototypes

start with contextual research

build prototypes based on research

use prototypes to conduct empirical research

avoid: building large user research documents

fewer research interpretations are better quality of user research number of interpretations the ﬁdelity of research deliverables

✓ improve user requirement fidelity by: Iterating and prototyping through the development process

✓ improve user requirement fidelity by: Keeping the same team engaged throughout the product lifecycle

Law # 2 YOU ARE PROBABLY NOT YOUR USER

baduigallery.com how did this happen?

“Software today is designed for the people who are building it”

this is our fault

ABC CORP SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE TRANSACTION CITIZEN DATA SERVER LEGACY BPM AUTOMATION CMS FRAMEWORK project teams to minimize the user 3rd PARTY 3rd PARTY WORKFLOW CONTENT in almost every process SOA SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION UI this is our fault

this is our fault

these are your “users” - the people we must care about ...when these are more like your users

✓ empathize with your users by: Budgeting at least 20% of your resources toward strategic user research and interaction design

the less you are like your user the more user research you will need user research you = your user wilson’s law of user research

PA Welfare Beneﬁts

avoid: making major functional decisions without talking to your users

✓ empathize with your users by: Injecting “empathy” & “humility” into everyone’s job description

Law # 3 Location, Location, Location

✓ Deliver the software experience where the user wants it, on the device they want it

Navy Federal Credit Union iPhone App

Law #4: GATHER FEEDBACK THROUGH CONVERSATION

avoid: survey question #8 I found the system intuitive and easy to use. Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

✓ gather feedback by: talking to users

Law #5: USERS DON’T KNOW HOW TO BUILD REQUIREMENTS

You need to interpret what your users ask for

- Henry Ford If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said ‘faster horses.”

“where’s the refresh button?” joe user

✓ Interpret user requirements by: Taking the time to understand the core issues behind what the user is telling you

avoid: Allowing your users to directly deﬁne their software experience

Law #6: VALUE GOOD DESIGN

Give me 5 features that made you upgrade your operating system

“1990 called and they want their interface back”

✓ Good design will grab and keep a user’s attention

raise your hand immediately after you read this

Navy Blue Angels

Adobe Watson Express

✓ value good design by: Involving designers early in the process

avoid: the big pitch

Law #7: DO NOT TRY TO BUILD FOR EVERYONE

If you build for everybody, you wind up building for nobody

this is the result of building for everyone

✓ do not build for everyone: Contextualize how you think about your users by deﬁning a small set of user types (a maximum of 3 is best)

avoid: “fewer features”

The key to ease of use is not less features, it is fewer decisions

from: Joel Spolsky’s topic, It’s Not That Hard” an example of “feature” thinking

from: Joel Spolsky’s topic, It’s Not That Hard” an example of “end user” thinking

Law #8: COLLABORATE

Technology Design Director

Design Director Technology

Director Technology Design

Technology Director Design

✓ collaborate: Deﬁne joint ownership & embrace conﬂict

It is the entire project team’s fault when a project fails to meet its objectives

avoid: Delegating user experience to a single person

avoid: Offshoring your interface design or architecture

Law #9: RIGID PLANS ARE PLANS TO FAIL

“Software projects are predictably unpredictable”

process diagrams are a dime a dozen

avoid: you can’t schedule innovation like this

✓ On Time ✓ On Budget ✓ No Difficult Conversations Upward (who cares if anyone is using it) rigid plans attempt to produce these results

- Richard Monson-Haefel “When you try to guess at future requirements, 50% of the time you’re wrong and 49% of the time you’re very, very wrong”

✓ improve user requirement fidelity by: Iterating and prototyping through the development process

TriGeo Console Project Milestone v_0.1 Last Modi ed: October 30, 2008 9:12 AM USER INTERVIEWS INTERVIEW #1 NOTES nds something then looks at details :( con gure/manage tools Only person take action takes forever to load technical support resolve address other people on technical sta use it check attacks source Dashboard monitor logs who is/traceroute CPU, memory not as dedicated Others check logs/trouble shooting Dial, inspection log not regular basis Would like to nd all for IP for week/ overall network security health calls the TriGeo Console “the TriGeo” day/month (Green/Yellow/Red) Runs it in the background Deep dive in IGS Version of software set up alerts Block IP name of device gets alert google.com for IP to see if we do attackers/source hold always open on separate computer business with graph - top 10 attackers wants sounds Filters Graph/pie chart uses blinking 58 (all) some TriGeo/some created top devices generating IP events In/ Cisco IPS 37 in tabs (dynamic and changing) = 6 Out TriGeo Console Project Milestone v_0.1 rows of tabs Last Modi ed: October 30, 2008 9:12 AM uses the management console line graph/real time Monitors TriGeo and any alerts that Mentioned the usage of “ lter sets” attacks over time come through IPS then uses that TriGeo #of alerts generated console for that event. Custom top alerts USER INTERVIEWS CONT. describes this as “synergy” INTERVIEW #2 NOTES “Day in the Life” what kind/how many functioning 20 - 3 rows logs IGS - servers, edge, rewall suspicious tra c create and delete a lot monitors servers, workstations consolidate logs Morning activity/events Wishlist 10-11 on dedicated research nd out what events are coming from checkdatabases sql lters Top Tasks scheduling reports which thing check tools on team, some semi-trained 4 people (status=up?) remain in directory where you put the Console runs 24/7 Windows IGS console has better capabilities run/check person primary reports last one *same location view tabs jumps around from window to let it run all day not enough licenses for all comps, but ? -rule builder favorite serving locations window Top Activities going that route tools lag time tools create lter from alert Context Scenarios run on desktop to get a sense of Windowing 120 workstations would like ad hoc reports/custom reports for rules too ! Logs in to the console what’s going on the network (tabs) most apps run like that there are already prebuilt ones likes drag and drop for rules and lters go through tabs to see what’s going ! Monitors network feeds Usage not much thought analyzeLife on internet (IP, domain, Day in info on throughout the day (made on navigating through window when other alerts? no? see accounts) Dashboard ! Sets advanced filters general health monitoring TriGeo most custom) looking into speci c task security functions knowledge base same day to day what each server is doing ! Establishes rules login errors, hardware errors program rules for health uses it when needed driven by lters ! Receives an alert *trying to nd info that was stored by lter to nd what’s going on or TriGeo through reports 9 ! Drills down to problem area run reports make notes of Ext.Info Wishlist ! Discovers and attack tool alias wants to be able to deal with monitor console unmanaged Device ! Quarantines affected area IDS make rules in rule builder Rule Builder make notes, then goes into rule Quick reports with button click dedicated machine builder alerts Alert general server health like being able to click and create rule TriGeo Console Project Milestone v_0.1 ! James Woo disk usage or has to take info and plug info rule Last Modi ed: October 30, 2008 9:12 AM Power User Primary Persona virus alerts automatically windows time sync search alerts in Rule Builder? 29 savers rules in alpha order go through log les order is confusing USER RESEARCH SUMMARY backups succeeded CONSIDERATIONS to deal with would like to be able James is an IT administrator for an internal network of a 3000 employee corporation. He is services stopping? General unmanaged workstations** on call 24-7 and is responsible for maintaining a very complex, multi-tiered environment, Context Scenarios restart Tabs take up a lot of space. take action Tactics for gaining insight into an application through the eyes of ! Logs in to the console on/o line agents users can be achieved many ways. User interviews, observation, Navigation should be area- and task- lter tabs from high-profile servers to employee computers. based ! Reviews Network Activity round-table discussions. This research directly impacts the direction of the design and execution. Multiple windows should be brought ! Sets New Rules into the “central” portion of the 10 Being able to put his finger to the “pulse of the network”, maintain fine-grain control of application as much as possible As part of the TriGeo project, user interviews were conducted Primary tasks should be brought out traffic and maintain a high level of security is what James relies on. There are gigabits of over the phone to gain a general insight to usage patterns, pain points and usability. When progress is made incorporating of “hidden” contextual menus to be activity happening every hour that he must be able to respond to at a moments notice. more top-level this feedback, more focussed research is done to further re ne Eliminate redundancy in menus aspects of the application. There is a separation between menus When James logs in to the application he is able to maintain an overview of his network. and information Initial phone interviews were made, however E ectiveUI was Addition of a Dashboard (Ops Center) He knows the network inside and out and has customized his “workspace” to cater to the asked to halt further user analysis and focus on the direct feedback provided by primary stakeholders. Ability to customize in various ways most critical areas. Add methods of “progressive disclosure” allowing users to dive ! Marian Phillips Altogether, six people were interviewed and written notes were deeper. obtained accordingly. Based on the discussions with users and making an evaluation Consistency in work ows and interface elements Novice User Secondary Persona of the console, a number of target areas were identi ed for Ops Center improvement and consideration. Feedback from TriGeo also helped drive the focus on some of these areas. Ability to customize view and content Marian is IT support for a 200 employee company. She monitors the network, but also Ability to add pre-created “Portlets” or create unique ones helps with employee hardware and software. “Work Areas” Re ne results using a variety of criteria The first order of business for Marian is checking email, voice messages and the current In-context options for taking action on status of the network. She receives an email stating that employees are no longer allowed TriGeo Console Project Milestone v_0.1 areas of interest to browse YouTube.com. Last Modi ed: October 30, 2008 9:12 AM In-line re nement of data In addition to monitoring the network, Marian can perform a couple easy steps to creating Context Scenarios 8 a rule to block employees from browsing to YouTube.com. Sure, Marian can view every ! Logs in to the console EXPERIENCE MAP network activity, but her primary concern is respondingGlancesimmediate demands of ! to the at Dashboard enforcing company policies. ! Evaluates network “saves” The Experience Map acts as a diagram of the “ ow” of an application. It is important to hone in on this high-level framework of the application so a clear direction may be Context Scenarios established. This map helps the direction of wireframes without getting too far into the details. ! Demonstrates the application ! Drills into specific features The content of the Experience Map is based on user research, a current understanding of the application and methods of ! Clark McCarthy improving usability. As more information is gathered and Experience Map evolves until a direction has been established. Executive User Secondary Persona ! George Newstead Creating the Experience Map was an ongoing process that ran in tandem with wireframes and creating design compositions. TriGeo Executive Clark is CTO for a 3000 employee company and reports directly to board members. inconsistent overlap due to these areas Although there was some He likes to keep tabs on the companies networkproduct that being done in parallel, thinking around on the path to a to George is looking for a response and effectiveness to see and headed wireframes helped can be white labeled if TriGeo Console Project Milestone v_0.1 spending all that money on new servers is really paying off. tightenwith required functionality. vice versa. SaaS offering while delivered on time and areas of the Experience Map and Last Modi ed: October 30, 2008 9:12 AM Steve wants an easy-to-use dashboard that allows him to monitor just how great his of the TriGeo Console was generated In the end, a solid overview that acts as the foundation for additional development and user network is running. It also doesn’t hurt that he has high level information he can use is still work to be done and directly experience re nement. There Context Scenarios to get get praise from the boss. correlates to the Wireframes. ! Gives a demo WIREFRAMES : OPS CENTER ! Navigates through features ! Linda Deris TriGeo Employee Linda is focused on selling TriGeo offerings. She wants something easy to demo and TriGeo Console Project Milestone v_0.1 sell while successfully conveying the value, ease and power of the application. Last Modi ed: October 30, 2008 9:12 AM 20 WIREFRAMES : MONITOR TriGeo Console Project Milestone v_0.1 Last Modi ed: October 30, 2008 9:12 AM 28 WIREFRAMES : OPS CENTER 34 31 planning only gets you 20% of the way there

✓ avoid over-planning by valuing the PRODUCT over the PROCESS

✓ projects are unpredictable because: SCOPE = PRODUCT

The Broken Analogy “A bridge is the sum of its parts. The pieces of metal and welds and everything else all add up to a single, static bridge. A software system is the behavior created by the dynamic interaction of its parts” EffectiveUI The art of building great experiences in software

✓ Things you would never have to deal with when constructing a bridge:

Can we move the bridge 17 feet to the left? It’s only 17 feet, so that’s not a big deal, right?

We aren’t very happy with how the bridge looks so far. Can you propose a change in the kind of materials you’re using to make it more attractive?

Remember when you asked us whether the bridge would ever need to support vehicle trafﬁc and not just pedestrian trafﬁc, and we weren’t sure, so we just settled on the cheaper pedestrian version? Well, we were wrong. What can you do to make this work for our needs?

We’ve hired an offshore company to start building from the other side of the valley so we can cut the construction time in half. They’re making some improvements on your design, so please coordinate with them to make sure everything comes together ahead of schedule.

Law #10: EVERY PRODUCT NEEDS A SINGLE VISION

Product Director Designer Developer Manager

deﬁne success and build consensus

8 criteria for good user experiences: ✓ provide valuable feedback ✓ behave with consistency ✓ behave in a familiar way ✓ be obvious and efficient ✓ be responsive and perform ✓ help people & businesses accomplish goals ✓ be brand consistent & elegant ✓ be progressive & trustworthy

understand the end user

contextual research

Context Scenarios Logs in to the console Monitors network feeds Sets advanced lters Establishes rules Receives an alert Drills down to problem area Discovers and attack Quarantines a ected area James Woo Context Scenarios Logs in to the console Power User Primary Persona Reviews Network Activity Sets New Rules James is an IT administrator for an internal network of a 3000 employee corporation. He is on call 24-7 and is responsible for maintaining a very complex, multi-tiered environment, from high-pro le servers to employee computers. Being able to put his nger to the “pulse of the network”, maintain ne-grain control of tra c and maintain a high level of security is what James relies on. There are gigabits of activity happening every hour that he must be able to respond to at a moments notice. Marian Phillips When James logs in to the application he is able to maintain an overview of his network. Novice User Secondary Persona He knows the network inside and out and has customized his “workspace” to cater to the Context Scenarios Logs in to the console most critical areas. Glances at Dashboard Marian is IT support for a 200 employee company. She monitors the network, but also Evaluates network “saves” helps with employee hardware and software. The rst order of business for Marian is checking email, voice messages and the current status of the network. She receives an email stating that employees are no longer allowed to browse YouTube.com. In addition to monitoring the network, Marian can perform a couple easy steps to creating a rule to block employees from browsing to YouTube.com. Sure, Marian can view every Clark McCarthy network activity, but her primary concern is responding to the immediate demands of enforcing company policies. Executive User Secondary Persona Context Scenarios Demonstrates the application Drills into speci c features Clark is CTO for a 3000 employee company and reports directly to board members. He likes to keep tabs on the companies network response and e ectiveness to see if spending all that money on new servers is really paying o . Steve wants an easy-to-use dashboard that allows him to monitor just how great his Newstead George network is running. It also doesn’t hurt that he has high level information he can use to get get praise from the boss. TriGeo Executive George is looking for a product that can be white labeled and headed on the path to a SaaS o ering while delivered on time and with required functionality. Context Scenarios Gives a demo Navigates through features Linda Deris TriGeo Employee Linda is focused on selling TriGeo o erings. She wants something easy to demo and sell while successfully conveying the value, ease and power of the application. user archetypes

Gwen’s Customer Journey Gwen is moving her family of three. She knows she’s going to need phone and internet service. The affective and contextual factors that will affect Gwen’s choice in telecom vendors are price, her existing knowledge and previous experience. ? nt fro e. . up ? . . n od ns lo h. h ed ue as e. ? go ea is a rc fo uc t g . va dg va xp o k ight ea in n’t m th e. m i nc wle is . s ar h o ct ar e r ou le to be th do ce r uc s a no do ? ew t l go g. at e to vi m ay be y es in en ht m gu o ad p tim so ice tt ov h l g to yv n e w ab ni ice ie es ice e m er i e d ve rv n ee tio . ur be e v sa e dd em er M e go as ys er tim ha e’r s ed i yn es lla itt h u fin th se en to er ss W e. yb re io n ce th e eI ll m th t a lo ev ing ns lin ow cis m wi Pr em d ro e’s eI ’s a do vi t o ul co on p ed no t g e p n r re em us ho s I’v hy he he re d is w go e l yp m na ’m No I’ll It’s Ho ed e & Is Th Th el Th I us W t W W I’ll tio d tra wh ite xio ra us er xc pi An Fr Ov E As Thoughts & Feelings Calls to order service Emotional Emotion throughout journey Goes online and checks out different options Experience Emotion towards -------- Consults with influencer I can’t afford what I’m finding here. On hold for too long. Hanging up. Ends phone call Go back Go back Phases of the Journey Inquiry Comparison Purchase Installation Description Description Description Description The Inquiry phase consists of the reasons people are The potential customer comes in to the Comparison The Purchase phase involves the provider demanding Installation phase is the handoff from customer shopping around for new service. These are usually phase usually armed with the right info, tech jargon, quite a bit of personal info. The order flow tends to be service to the installer. There are usually scheduling related to moving and relocation, an upgrade to and is looking for lowest cost. They tend to be brand complex and the process can be all over map. There is conflicts between all parties involved. This phase can existing service, or hunting down new deals. Moving agnostic . If they can’t find the right price or the right a sense of delayed gratification - waiting on service usually be somewhat painful for the customer in is the biggest reason. services, they may leave and go back to inquiry. installation and activation. dealing with installer. Recommendations Recommendations Recommendations Recommendations Design homepages with separate targeted call-out Recommend using IP Location services to geo-locate Reduce amount of info required by streamlining and Many factors converge to make this phase of the areas lying above the fold tailored for residential customers - removing the current service address improving any areas that contain form fields using customer journey unpleasant. Providing accurate customers and tech-savvy customers. Internal product roadblock. Allowing users to configure services before industry best practices. Work on setting expectations arrival times, courteous technicians, and clear instruc- areas should include basic plain-english product adding them to the cart, and reflecting bundled price for installation phase with customer service reps on tion materials during Installation can help alleviate descriptions and large price points with a clear call to discounts in a clear and obvious manner. the phone to improve overall experience with your the negative experience inherent in this phase. Also, action. Tech-savvy bullet points should include brand. consider having leave behind customer comment keywords that summarize options and features cards so customers feel empowered to give feedback typically found in product datasheets. into the process. the customer journey

customer stories

inspire good design

Mood Board : Showcase Mood Board : Slate Mood Board : Dynamic mood boards

ensure business, design & technology collaboration

TriGeo Console Project Milestone v_0.1 Last Modi ed: October 30, 2008 9:12 AM EXPERIENCE MAP The Experience Map acts as a diagram of the “ ow” of an application. It is important to hone in on this high-level framework of the application so a clear direction may be established. This map helps the direction of wireframes without getting too far into the details. The content of the Experience Map is based on user research, a current understanding of the application and methods of improving usability. As more information is gathered and Experience Map evolves until a direction has been established. Creating the Experience Map was an ongoing process that ran in tandem with wireframes and creating design compositions. Although there was some inconsistent overlap due to these areas being done in parallel, thinking around wireframes helped to tighten areas of the Experience Map and vice versa. In the end, a solid overview of the TriGeo Console was generated that acts as the foundation for additional development and user experience re nement. There is still work to be done and directly correlates to the Wireframes. 20 experience maps

wireframes

style guides

graphic components

interactive technical references

articulate the vision

vision demos

What is our opportunity?

instead of this

try this

Thank You Anthony Franco twitter.com/anthonyfranco President, EffectiveUI anthonyfranco.wordpress.com

Anthony Franco President, Founder EffectiveUI anthonyfranco.wordpress.com twitter: anthonyfranco thank you

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By the Book: How Great User Experiences in Software Can Impact Government and Citizens

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By the Book: How Great User Experiences in Software Can Impact Government and Citizens — Presentation Transcript