user experience how to build the UX case
MITX User Experience Series
Overcoming Objections and Promoting ROI
Ashley Annis, Ph.D.
Director of User Experience
Bridgeline Software

user experience what is it?
User Research
Recruiting Users Incentivizing Users Contextual Inquiry Interviews
Divide the Dollar Card Sorting Surveys
Competitive Benchmarking
Competitor Reviews Industry Trends
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Business Research
Interviewing stakeholders (Marketing, Technology, SMEs, etc.)
Auditing the current site, Reviewing any research to date
Deliverables
Personas Sitemaps Wireframes Wireflows Content Inventories
Usability Test Scenarios ………… Copy Decks ………… Storyboards ………… Prototypes ………… Task Analysis ………
Multi-channel UX Maps ………… Pattern Libraries ………… Surveys ………… Presentations ………… Content Audits

why it’s important user experience…
Lets you know what Confirms functionalities
users / customers expect and features are right, easy
before you start designing to find, and easy to use
Improves conversions, Ensures ease of use,
lead generation usefulness, and increased use
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Empowers the brand Improves productivity
Affects buying decisions Reduces support requests
Reduces abandonment rates Generates revenue, improves
profitability
Identifies any disconnects between what the company wants and what its customers want ………… Increases
knowledge sharing ………… Saves re-development efforts ………… Improves retention ………… Drives adoption

RESISTANCE so why resist?
Clients often ask, Why should I do UX?
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Why should we do user research? …….. How can we cut costs? …….. Can you do this without impacting the project
schedule? …….. How do we get our customers to become users to talk to?

convince how to overcome objections?
Your response: Why should you NOT do UX?
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UX empowers the brand ………. Reduces customer support calls ………. Drives adoption ………. Affects SEO
Affects conversion rates ……….. Improves productivity ………. Ensures satisfaction ………. Helps you interpret analytics

RESISTANCE other “objections”
costs lack of education space
schedule
data analysis best practices incentivizing
no location no users executive egos 6
already did marketing research internal
“experts” recruiting no time
the CEO wants flashy pink thing on the home page
“You’re the expert: we’ll rely on your best practices” ……... The CEO demands a flashy pink thing on the home page ……….
“We’ve already heard from our users via customer support” ………. “We know what’s important: we did market research”

convince how to overcome objections
costs UX is a low-risk investment with high
returns: increased revenue, productivity;
decreased abandonment rates, etc.
the reach is worth the investment: the
sales team talks to a limited number of
prospects; the website can talk to 7
thousands, if not millions
recruit friends and family
remote user sessions vs. in-person
incentivize by raffle
“1-10-100 Rule”: Insufficient planning costs much more in the long run. ….. It costs $1.00 to make a change during planning
That increases to $10.00 once you start building ….... It becomes a significant $100.00 after the site / product has launched

convince how to overcome objections
we’ll use market research is not user research
our market market research asks for opinions about
research confidence, likeliness to buy, etc.
UX observes opinions in action, focusing
on how they use it, how they like it, and
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whether it’s useful
users often respond more strongly to UX
assets (like features) than brand
marketing may own the website, but the
user owns the mouse
What people say is not always the same as what people do …….. Similar to market research, analytics are valuable, but
they tell only part of the story …….. Measures performance (Is it usable?) ………… Assesses preference (Is it useful?)

convince how to overcome objections
just use Educate customers about the consequences
of designing without user input:
best
“thumb-in-the-wind” and creative-ego design
practices executive egos always turn a deaf ear to
best practices
no one wins opinion wars 9
when your customer wants to “keep up with
the Jones,” remind them that users will
compare your customer’s site to every other
site they use – not just the competitors’
Good politics almost always makes bad websites ………. Creative-ego design compromises business, marketing, and
UX strategies ………. Show % increase in revenue generated / conversions / satisfaction / lead generation / traffic

convince how to overcome objections
just use Sell the value
show quantitative results, if not of your own
best
research, then of case studies and others’
practices research
UX can interpret why people are driven to
the site; and why they abandon it, so add 10
web analytics and SEO to your UX research
efforts
continually collect and interpret research
have your customer attend UX sessions
People help support what they help create. …….. What’s important is what matters to the customer, not the marketing team,
not the designers. It’s about your customers. Not you. …….. Marketing/IT may own the website, but the user owns the mouse.

evolve
how to build the UX case
further Ashley Annis, “…When designing for users, involve users”…………………………………. http://is.gd/AbHY
reading Ashley Annis, “How to Recruit Participants for User Research”…………………………….. http://is.gd/AaJ7
Colleen Jones, “When ROI isn’t enough…”………………………………………………..….. http://is.gd/A9ja
IA Elevator Pitches……………………………………………………………………….………. http://is.gd/Ac6U
Aaron Marcus and Jim Gasperini, “Almost Dead on Arrival: A Case Study of
Non-User-Centered Design for a Police Emergency-Response System”………………….. http://is.gd/Ac8R 11
Gerry McGovern, “…Too far from your customers”…………………………………………… http://is.gd/zzPn
Gerry McGovern, “Is the organization the enemy of the customer?”………………………. http://is.gd/AbSz
Jakob Nielsen, “Return on Investment for Usability”…………………………………………. http://is.gd/B5JZ
Hallie Wilfert, “Web Analytics and Information Architecture”………………………………… http://is.gd/dCTs
Ashley Annis, Ph.D., Director of User Experience, Bridgeline Software
LinkedIn: http://is.gd/AcpL Blog: http://is.gd/Acdm Twitter: missdirected