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By Ruth Ellison
Twitter @RuthEllison
Edge of the Web 2009 conference
Guerrilla user & design research:
undertaking research on a shoestring
Does this sound familiar?
Dilbert by Scott Adams
I’m Ruth
‚I help make
things easier to
use‛
User experience designer
Work mostly with
Federal Government
Loves gadgets
Chocolate appreciator
Information architect
Work at Stamford Interactive
Loves robots
Live in Canberra
What is user & design research
Build a deeper understanding of the
problem space* in order to inform
your design process
* people, their activities, context of use, technical
constraints, business needs etc
Guerrilla
research is...
Doing research with
less money and
time!
And sometimes under the
radar...
Formal research
More time & money
Much greater depth of
results
Guerrilla research
Less depth of results
Faster & cheaper
Where does research fit in?
Analyse
Design
Build
Test
Strategy Research
Why we don’t do research
Don‘t have
enough money
Don‘t have
the time
We already
know what
the users
want
We are the
users
It’s just too
hard
Don’t have
access to
the users
Barriers to research
Why we should do research
1 in 3 IT projects fail to meet
user expectations (worldwide)
http://www.tcs.com/news_events/press_releases/Pages/ITprojectunderperformanceacceptedasthenormbyglobalbusinessmanagementre
searchreveals.aspx
http://www.galorath.com/wp/software-project-failure-costs-billions-better-estimation-planning-can-help.php
Human error causes most
software project failures due to:
Unclear requirements
Overly optimistic and/or unrealistic
schedules
Lack of user input
Lack of executive sponsorship and
support
Turnover and layoffs
“Software Quality Insights”, published January 2009, http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/software-quality/why-software-
projects-fail-and-more-will-fail-in-2009/
Guerrilla User and Design Research
Culture, not features, drives adoption
Anil Dash
Inform the design
Design build on research rather than
opinions
Lower possibility of building something
that you have to change again
How we do it
Large number of techniques
Guerrilla
techniques
Formal
techniques
Design
concept wall
The coffee
meeting
Contextual enquiries
Ethnographic studies
Expert/heuristic reviews
Surrogates
Usability testing Usability walkthroughs
Guerrilla usability
testing
Interviews
Focus groups
Surveys
Website analytics
A/B testing
The projects
Project 1 website redesign
Limited budget & time
Experienced web team
Project 2 web app redesign
Limited budget & time
Limited access to overseas users
Wanted recommendations for
improving UI
Project 3 intranet redesign
Limited budget & time
Limited access to some users
The techniques
Design concept wall
Interviews
Surrogates
The lunch room chat
The coffee meeting
Guerrilla usability testing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gord99/3583275256/
Design concept wall
It is...
A method of getting feedback from
users & stakeholders
Designs placed on wall
Helps to socialise the designs
Guerrilla User and Design Research
Use when...
Want input from a greater amount of
people with a minimal budget
Input from users and stakeholders
A wall
Sharpies
Post it notes
Design concepts on A3 paper
Instructions to passersby
Highly visible wall
Get permission to put up on wall
Leave contact details
Map flow between screens
Allow for anonymous feedback
Things to watch out for
Doesn’t work in all environments
People may not participate
Depends on organisational
culture
Focus groups
Use when...
Limited time with people
Limited access to people
Instead of focus groups
6-8 participants
45 minute one-on-one
interviews
Script & questions
Incentives*
Recording device maybe
* Money, coffee or chocolates work well
Define clear research questions
Start wide then narrow
Listen!
Open-ended questions
People don’t always say what
they mean
Things to watch out for
Underlying political agendas
Leading the interviewee
Surrogates
Also known as intermediaries, proxies, key informants
It is...
Using people to talk to them about the
target audience
Use when...
No direct access to end user
Commercial-in-confidence content or
security concerns
Should not replace research with
actual target audience
Things to watch out for
Another layer of bias
Second hand information
The lunch room chat
Learn about organisation
Build relationships
‘Smokers talk’ conversations
The coffee meeting
The coffee meeting
Informal meeting over a hot beverage
of choice
Need input from stakeholders
Highly politically charged situations
Guerrilla usability testing
Similar technique is cafe testing
It is...
Usability testing on the cheap
Method of finding out what works and
doesn’t works
Involves real people
No formal lab
Source: Brighton Uni Usability Lab, http://www.flickr.com/photos/yandle/3231980616/
Prototypes low-fidelity
4-5 participants 10-60 minutes, one-
on-one sessions
Incentives
Tasks/scenarios
Recording equipment
A step by step guide
Plan
Recruit participants
Conduct usability testing
Debrief & decide with project
team
Test when and where you can
Listen & observe
Any users are better than
none
Use people who reflect target
group but don’t get hang up over it
To design an easy-to-use interface,
pay attention to what users do,
not [just] what they say. Self
reported claims are unreliable, as
are user speculations about future
behaviour
Jakob Nielsen
But wait...there’s more!
Mwhawhahah
There truly isn’t any excuse to avoid doing
research now!
Trade shows, conferences
Airplane neighbours
Reception areas
Bookmarks & favourites,
browser history
User forums & wikis
Website logs
Useful tools
Guerrilla User and Design Research
Guerrilla User and Design Research
Guerrilla User and Design Research
Guerrilla User and Design Research
Guerrilla User and Design Research
Guerrilla User and Design Research
Guerrilla User and Design Research
Making sense of the research
"If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they
would have said a faster horse.“
- Henry Ford
Guerrilla User and Design Research
Share the research
Scenarios or user stories
Personas
Presentations
Interesting visualisations
http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/legos-building-block-for-good-
experiences/
http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/legos-building-block-for-good-experiences/
Some research is better
than none
Clearly understand why
you’re doing the research
Use a combination of
techniques
Small wins
Grab opportunities to
research!
Mike Kuniavsky’s Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User
Research
Intermediaries in user research, http://www.gurtle.com/ppov/2009/01/23/intermediaries-in-user-research
Can’t You Just Ask People?, http://theanthroguys.com/2009/09/17/can’t-you-just-ask-people/
Bite-Sized UX Research, http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2008/05/bite-sized-ux-research.php
Affinity Diagrams, http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_86.htm
User Research for Personas and Other Audience Models,
http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2009/04/user-research-for-personas-and-other-audience-models.php
Further
reading
Ruth Ellison
Email: ruthe@stamfordinteractive.com.au
Web: www.stamfordinteractive.com.au
www.ruthellison.com
@RuthEllison
Find this presentation at www.slideshare.net/ruthellison
Photo credits
selective color on a shoestring by theilr from http://www.flickr.com/photos/theilr/2988412495/. Available under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license
Canton trade fair by tarotasticfrom http://www.flickr.com/photos/tjt195/380173157/ Available under a Creative
Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
Horse power by Zadok Ben-David (2003) by marie-ll from http://www.flickr.com/photos/grrrl/61040830/ Available
under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license
easyJet A321 Cabin by WebDub from http://www.flickr.com/photos/irishflyguy/2436838012/ Available under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 GenericYoono by Glenn Batuyong from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/glennbatuyong/2436810549/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution
2.0 Generic license
If you were choosing the default bookmarks for a browser, what would you choose? -- Current day safari
default bookmarks by Amit Gupta from http://www.flickr.com/photos/superamit/2254765518/ Available under
a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic license
Kent and austin in the inter@ctivate reception area – DSC00061 by sean dreilinger from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43927576@N00/433923968 Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-
Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license
Photo credits
Cafeteria at work by CaptQuirk from http://www.flickr.com/photos/perrynelson/3963005/ Available under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic license
Affinity diagrams by jderuna from http://www.flickr.com/photos/jderuna/2280189105 Available under a Creative
Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
Twitter icon from http://randaclay.com/freebies/free-twitter-graphics/
Hattori Hanzou by Hattori Hanzou http://www.flickr.com/photos/dunechaser/107089103/in/set-
72057594068446573/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0
Generic license
bookshelf spectrum, revisited by chotda from http://www.flickr.com/photos/santos/1704875109/ Available under
a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic licence
Thank You! by vernhart from http://www.flickr.com/photos/vernhart/1574355646/in/photostream// Available under
a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

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Guerrilla User and Design Research

  • 1. By Ruth Ellison Twitter @RuthEllison Edge of the Web 2009 conference Guerrilla user & design research: undertaking research on a shoestring
  • 2. Does this sound familiar? Dilbert by Scott Adams
  • 3. I’m Ruth ‚I help make things easier to use‛ User experience designer Work mostly with Federal Government Loves gadgets Chocolate appreciator Information architect Work at Stamford Interactive Loves robots Live in Canberra
  • 4. What is user & design research
  • 5. Build a deeper understanding of the problem space* in order to inform your design process * people, their activities, context of use, technical constraints, business needs etc
  • 6. Guerrilla research is... Doing research with less money and time! And sometimes under the radar...
  • 7. Formal research More time & money Much greater depth of results Guerrilla research Less depth of results Faster & cheaper
  • 8. Where does research fit in? Analyse Design Build Test Strategy Research
  • 9. Why we don’t do research
  • 10. Don‘t have enough money Don‘t have the time We already know what the users want We are the users It’s just too hard Don’t have access to the users Barriers to research
  • 11. Why we should do research
  • 12. 1 in 3 IT projects fail to meet user expectations (worldwide) http://www.tcs.com/news_events/press_releases/Pages/ITprojectunderperformanceacceptedasthenormbyglobalbusinessmanagementre searchreveals.aspx http://www.galorath.com/wp/software-project-failure-costs-billions-better-estimation-planning-can-help.php
  • 13. Human error causes most software project failures due to: Unclear requirements Overly optimistic and/or unrealistic schedules Lack of user input Lack of executive sponsorship and support Turnover and layoffs “Software Quality Insights”, published January 2009, http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/software-quality/why-software- projects-fail-and-more-will-fail-in-2009/
  • 15. Culture, not features, drives adoption Anil Dash
  • 16. Inform the design Design build on research rather than opinions Lower possibility of building something that you have to change again
  • 17. How we do it
  • 18. Large number of techniques Guerrilla techniques Formal techniques Design concept wall The coffee meeting Contextual enquiries Ethnographic studies Expert/heuristic reviews Surrogates Usability testing Usability walkthroughs Guerrilla usability testing Interviews Focus groups Surveys Website analytics A/B testing
  • 20. Project 1 website redesign Limited budget & time Experienced web team Project 2 web app redesign Limited budget & time Limited access to overseas users Wanted recommendations for improving UI Project 3 intranet redesign Limited budget & time Limited access to some users
  • 21. The techniques Design concept wall Interviews Surrogates The lunch room chat The coffee meeting Guerrilla usability testing
  • 24. It is... A method of getting feedback from users & stakeholders Designs placed on wall Helps to socialise the designs
  • 26. Use when... Want input from a greater amount of people with a minimal budget Input from users and stakeholders
  • 27. A wall Sharpies Post it notes Design concepts on A3 paper Instructions to passersby
  • 28. Highly visible wall Get permission to put up on wall Leave contact details Map flow between screens Allow for anonymous feedback
  • 29. Things to watch out for Doesn’t work in all environments People may not participate Depends on organisational culture
  • 31. Use when... Limited time with people Limited access to people Instead of focus groups
  • 32. 6-8 participants 45 minute one-on-one interviews Script & questions Incentives* Recording device maybe * Money, coffee or chocolates work well
  • 33. Define clear research questions Start wide then narrow Listen! Open-ended questions People don’t always say what they mean
  • 34. Things to watch out for Underlying political agendas Leading the interviewee
  • 35. Surrogates Also known as intermediaries, proxies, key informants
  • 36. It is... Using people to talk to them about the target audience
  • 37. Use when... No direct access to end user Commercial-in-confidence content or security concerns Should not replace research with actual target audience
  • 38. Things to watch out for Another layer of bias Second hand information
  • 40. Learn about organisation Build relationships ‘Smokers talk’ conversations
  • 42. The coffee meeting Informal meeting over a hot beverage of choice Need input from stakeholders Highly politically charged situations
  • 43. Guerrilla usability testing Similar technique is cafe testing
  • 44. It is... Usability testing on the cheap Method of finding out what works and doesn’t works Involves real people No formal lab
  • 45. Source: Brighton Uni Usability Lab, http://www.flickr.com/photos/yandle/3231980616/
  • 46. Prototypes low-fidelity 4-5 participants 10-60 minutes, one- on-one sessions Incentives Tasks/scenarios Recording equipment
  • 47. A step by step guide Plan Recruit participants Conduct usability testing Debrief & decide with project team
  • 48. Test when and where you can Listen & observe Any users are better than none Use people who reflect target group but don’t get hang up over it
  • 49. To design an easy-to-use interface, pay attention to what users do, not [just] what they say. Self reported claims are unreliable, as are user speculations about future behaviour Jakob Nielsen
  • 50. But wait...there’s more! Mwhawhahah There truly isn’t any excuse to avoid doing research now!
  • 51. Trade shows, conferences Airplane neighbours Reception areas
  • 52. Bookmarks & favourites, browser history User forums & wikis Website logs
  • 61. Making sense of the research
  • 62. "If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.“ - Henry Ford
  • 65. Scenarios or user stories Personas Presentations Interesting visualisations http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/legos-building-block-for-good- experiences/
  • 67. Some research is better than none Clearly understand why you’re doing the research Use a combination of techniques Small wins Grab opportunities to research!
  • 68. Mike Kuniavsky’s Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User Research Intermediaries in user research, http://www.gurtle.com/ppov/2009/01/23/intermediaries-in-user-research Can’t You Just Ask People?, http://theanthroguys.com/2009/09/17/can’t-you-just-ask-people/ Bite-Sized UX Research, http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2008/05/bite-sized-ux-research.php Affinity Diagrams, http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_86.htm User Research for Personas and Other Audience Models, http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2009/04/user-research-for-personas-and-other-audience-models.php Further reading
  • 69. Ruth Ellison Email: ruthe@stamfordinteractive.com.au Web: www.stamfordinteractive.com.au www.ruthellison.com @RuthEllison Find this presentation at www.slideshare.net/ruthellison
  • 70. Photo credits selective color on a shoestring by theilr from http://www.flickr.com/photos/theilr/2988412495/. Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license Canton trade fair by tarotasticfrom http://www.flickr.com/photos/tjt195/380173157/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license Horse power by Zadok Ben-David (2003) by marie-ll from http://www.flickr.com/photos/grrrl/61040830/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license easyJet A321 Cabin by WebDub from http://www.flickr.com/photos/irishflyguy/2436838012/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 GenericYoono by Glenn Batuyong from http://www.flickr.com/photos/glennbatuyong/2436810549/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license If you were choosing the default bookmarks for a browser, what would you choose? -- Current day safari default bookmarks by Amit Gupta from http://www.flickr.com/photos/superamit/2254765518/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic license Kent and austin in the inter@ctivate reception area – DSC00061 by sean dreilinger from http://www.flickr.com/photos/43927576@N00/433923968 Available under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license
  • 71. Photo credits Cafeteria at work by CaptQuirk from http://www.flickr.com/photos/perrynelson/3963005/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic license Affinity diagrams by jderuna from http://www.flickr.com/photos/jderuna/2280189105 Available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license Twitter icon from http://randaclay.com/freebies/free-twitter-graphics/ Hattori Hanzou by Hattori Hanzou http://www.flickr.com/photos/dunechaser/107089103/in/set- 72057594068446573/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license bookshelf spectrum, revisited by chotda from http://www.flickr.com/photos/santos/1704875109/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic licence Thank You! by vernhart from http://www.flickr.com/photos/vernhart/1574355646/in/photostream// Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license