A Story Rich World - UPA NYC - Sept 14

It’s a Story–Rich World:Storytelling for UX
Whitney Quesenbery
UPA NYC
14 September

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 creation, performance, and design process.

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 in UX
Stories make UX personal. They remind us that everything we make is made for a real person.
@ianeverdell

Storytelling is already part of UX
Understand
If you look at a generic design process…
Success?
Specify
Evaluate
Design

Stories are embedded in the UX cycle
Collecting stories: hearing what other people have to say
Understand
Analysis: finding patterns in shared stories
Success?
Specify
Evaluate
Evaluation:testing designs to see if they tell the story well
Design: creating ideas that embody key stories
Design

Storytelling is already part of UX…We just don’t call them stories
Userresearch
Analysis
Field studies
Card sorting
Site visits
Cluster sorting
Content analysis
Evaluation
Design
Usability Testing
Scenarios
Wireframes
Prototype walk-through
Log Analysis

Stories add depth to UX work
If you craft 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 communicating those new, innovative, 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.

We all tell stories
Storytelling is how we make sense of the world: re-imagining our everyday lives as an experience to be shared with others.
@otrops

Listening Exercise
Work in pairs - with someone you don’t know
1 minutes to speak - then switch
Speaker’s job - speak about something relatively comfortable
Listener’s job - just listen. Don’t have to talk, interrupt or fill silences.
Talk aboutsomething you madethat you are proud of.

Standard “biz talk” doesn’t work
Most of the time we try to construct a logical argument, as though just putting the facts in front of someone is the way to convince them.
From Stephen Denning’s work on storytelling and leadership: www.stevedenning.com

Claude Shannon was wrong*
Stories do not work like a broadcast transmission.
Stories are created by everyone who hears them.
* At least about stories.

A story is shared by everyone who hears it
First the storyteller shapes the story
As they listen, the audience members form an image of the story in their own minds.

A story is shared by everyone who hears it
The storyteller and the audience each affects the other and shapes the story they create.
The most important relationship is between the audience and the story.
The audience is a part of the story each time it is told.

A story is shared by everyone who hears it…but heard by each person in their own way
The storyteller and the audience all shape the story
In the end, each person in the audience ‘owns’ the story, too.

Stories use pull, not push, to persuade
They let your audience think about something (new)…
In a realistic situation
With a compelling character and perspective
And imagine how it will solve a problem

The relationships around a story are called the Story Triangle

Stories close a gap
When you retell a story, you make a connection between your colleagues and the person you heard the story from.

Any time you are listening,turn on your juicy story filter
You are looking for stories that….
You hear from more than one source.
Have a lot of action detail.
Have details that illuminate user data
Surprise or contradict common beliefs
And are clear, simple, and compelling.

Ask the questions that encourage stories
“Have you ever [done something]?”
“How often do you [do that thing]?”
“What makes you decide to [do that thing]?”
“Where do you [do that thing]?”
+
“When was the last time you [did that thing]?”
+
“Tell me about that.”
(and really listen)

Juicy fragments can grow into a story
“I love seeing lots of people on the metro platform. It usually means a train will arrive soon.”
“When I’m waiting for a bus, I wish I had a way to know when it will arrive.”
“When the bus stop isn’t well marked, I always worry whether I’m in the right place.”
“If I’m running late, I can drive if I’m going to miss the train.”

Crafting (and using) stories
Stories help us empathize and experience another person’s condition. Stories appeal to our emotions and drive us to action.
@balchenn

Stories let build empathy for personas
Aged 30-45Well educated45% married with children50% use the web 3-5 times a week65% use search engines
Elizabeth, 32 years old
Married to Joe, has a 5-year old son, Justin
Attended State College, and manages her class alumni site
Uses Google as her home page, and reads CNN online
Used the web to find the name of a local official

Stories explain unexpected user data
Use data to setup the storyMerge demographicand other statisticswith a humansitutation
We were ready to be disappointed. Nurses were more interested in people than technology.
They used the Web, of course, but didn’t see social media as work. Only a few of them had phones that did more than make phone calls. Some didn’t even have Web access except at home.
So we were taken by surprise when one nurse after another got enthusiastic about some concept sketches for mobile health sites.

Stories explore situations and ideas
Character The persona creates the perspective andrelationship
Imagery Suggests theemotionalconnections
Context Set up the problem
Gina gave us the first clue. She was a nurse manager for the county health system. “I’m on the move all day and I have a huge case load. Patients are always throwing new questions at me. Yesterday, I really struggled to sort out a problem one patient was having with side effects. I speak a little Spanish, but just couldn’t remember the correct medical term to explain a new adjuvant the doctor wanted to try. It was so frustrating.”
She pointed at the sketch. “I don’t have a phone that will do all that - yet, but if it’s really that simple…”

Use stories to trigger brainstorming
Drug dictionary formatted for a small screen.
Multi-lingual dictionary of medical terms
Checklists of questions patients should ask their doctor.
Chat with a specialist

Stories give us a new perspective
Every interaction is a story, with the user as the "star." This appeals to our human need to be at the center of every experience.
@dgelman

Stories can be test scenarios
They create a realistic context because they are based on real stories.
They give you a range of stories and perspectives to draw on.

Transforming a story to a test task
Use stories to decide on tasks thatlet the participant “finish the story”
Another person just got promoted ahead of you. You know you are good at your job but notice that everyone else has a degree in business. Maybe it’s time to go back to school.
Does the local college have a program you can manage with your work schedule?
MotivationEnough of a story to provide motivation
Goal The task can be veryprecise, or allow the participant more freedom

Stories can make your usability work more effective
Storytelling is a two-way mirror. You see yourself reflected in the experience of others.
@nathangibbs

Stories can spark innovation
Start with…
Stories you hear during customer conversations
Explore new perspectives on a problem or goal
Personas
Show their behavior in new situations
Data
Explore the story behind the data
Juicy fragments
Explain the unexpected
What’s the story outside the box

A story is successful when it gets repeated
Think carefully about what stories you want retold.
Look for stories that are
Based on real data
The stories you want told
Generate insights and empathy

Thank you
Storytelling for User Experience:Crafting stories for better design
Whitney Quesenbery & Kevin Brookswhitneyq@wqusability.combrooks@media.mit.edu
Blog and book sitewww.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/storytelling/
Ilustrations by Calvin C. Chan available at www.flickr.com/photos/rosenfeldmedia/

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A Story Rich World - UPA NYC - Sept 14

by Whitney Quesenbery and Kevin Brooks on Sep 14, 2010

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A Story Rich World - UPA NYC - Sept 14 — Presentation Transcript