A talk given at the University System of Maryland & Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) - Unconference, Baltimore, MD, March 25, 2016.

1. STRATEGICALLY
UX-ORIENTED
WITH
PERSONAS
B O H Y U N K I M
H T T P : / / B O H Y U N K I M . N E T | @ B O H Y U N K I M
U N I V E R S I T Y O F M A R Y L A N D , B A L T I M O R E
U S M A I U X C O N F E R E N C E - U M B C , M A R . 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 ,

2. Photo from Flickr licensed by CC: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/15233741506
HOW WAS YOUR USER EXPERIENCE
WITH _____?

3. Photo from Flickr licensed by CC: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9516941@N08/5195194218/

4. OR YOUR LIBRARY …?
Photo from Flickr licensed by CC: https://www.flickr.com/photos/theritters/2435098651

5. WHAT IS USER EXPERIENCE (UX)?
• “User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user's
interaction with the company, its services, and its products.”
- Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/definition-user-experience/
• “The User Experience is how someone feels when using a
product or service” – Source: Schmidt and Etches (2014)

6. UX ≠ USER INTERFACE
• Reserving a conference room at a library
• Paying the library fine
• “Even if the UI for finding a film is perfect, the UX will be poor
for a user who wants information about a small independent
release if the underlying database only contains movies from
the major studios.” - Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/definition-user-
experience/

7. UX ≠ USABILITY
• “Usability is a quality attribute of the User Interface, covering
whether the system is easy to learn, efficient to use, pleasant,
and so forth.” - Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/definition-user-experience/
• User Experience is a broader concept than usability.

9. UX ≠ INTERACTION DESIGN
• Interaction design is a discipline which examines the
interaction (via an interface) between a system and its user.
• “User Experience is not just concerned with the interactive
elements but also the way that certain elements look, feel or
contrive to deliver certain outputs.”
Source: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/what-is-the-difference-between-
interaction-design-and-ux-design

10. UX ≠ CUSTOMER SERVICE
Photo from Flickr licensed by CC: https://www.flickr.com/photos/96223380@N02/16864721353

11. Author/Copyright holder: Thomas-pluralvonglas. Copyright terms and licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
Source: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/what-is-the-difference-between-

12. GOOD USER EXPERIENCE
• There is a need for use.
• It is easy to use.
• It is delightful to use.
 Relevant > Intuitive > Delightful
 Useful > Usable > Desirable

13. NEED FOR USE?
http://uqr.me/2014/07/qr-code-failures/

14. Photo from Flickr licensed by CC: https://www.flickr.com/photos/osseous/21346954988
EASY TO USE?

15. Photo from Flickr licensed by CC: https://www.flickr.com/photos/javacolleen/2901462778
PLEASANT TO USE?

16. DELIGHTFUL TO USE?
https://www.instagram.com/p/s9FgGasGEl
https://vimeo.com/105678997

17. UX = HOLISTIC APPROACH
1. You are not your user.
2. The user is not broken.
3. A good user experience requires research.
4. Building a good user experience requires empathy.
5. A good user experience must be easy before it can be
interesting.
6. Good user experience design is universal.
7. Good user experience design is intentional.
8. Good user experience design is holistic.
- Schmidt and Etches (2014) p.4-11. “The Principles of Library User Experience Design”

18. USER-RESEARCH METHODS
• Survey
• Focus Group
• Interviews
• Contextual inquiry
• Journey map
• Personas
• Usability testing
• Content audit
• Card sorting
• A/B testing
• Five-second test
• User data from research articles

19. Source : http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/09/15/who-uses-libraries-and-what-
they-do-at-their-
libraries/?utm_content=buffer3146b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.
com&utm_campaign=buffer
RESEARCH DATA
EXAMPLE

20. PERSONAS
• “A persona is a
representation of a type
of customer. Personas
answer the question,
“Who are we designing
for?” and they help to
align strategy and goals
to specific user groups.”
- UX Mastery
• “Personas are fictitious,
specific, concrete
representations of target
users.” – Adlin & Pruitt (2010)
Photo from Flickr licensed by CC: https://www.flickr.com/photos/coderonin/7468723128

21. Source: Tempelman-Kluit, Nadaleen. “Persona Most Grata: Invoking the User From Data to Design.”
2012. http://www.slideshare.net/nadaleen/persona-most-grata-invoking-the-user-from-data-to-
design-14605604

23. Source: http://guides.lib.wayne.edu/c.php?g=174916&p=1152869

24. WHAT PERSONAS ACHIEVE
• Transition from company-centric thinking to user-centric
thinking
• Align the assumptions about target users across the
organization.
• Streamline communication.
• Give a focus to the product/service design and development
process.

25. http://uxmastery.com/create-ux-personas/

26. PREP WORK FOR PERSONA CREATION
1. Business, brand, and UX goals for your product or service
2. Identify current language used to describe categories of
users.
– e.g. Customers/Inactives/Prospects, Education/Legal/Medical,
Approvers/Submitters, etc.
3. Assumption sticky note exercise
– Assumptions about a target user with a goal/activity/problem
4. Assimilate assumptions (affinity diagramming).
– Cluster them and label each.
Source: Adlin & Pruitt (2010)

27. Source: Ward, Jennifer. “Persona Development and Use” http://libraryassessment.org/bm~doc/ward_jennifer.pd

28. STATEMENTS WITH
ACTIVITIES, GOALS, PROBLEMS
• User categories: Faculty / Students / University Staff / Library staff
– Faculty members are rarely aware of library workshops.
– A sociology professor books a computer classroom for hands-on exercise
with statistics software for her class.
– Researchers rarely come to the library building and mostly use the library
online.
– For a good grade, a student studies at the library until closing during the
final period.
– Many are unable to find where meeting rooms are located in the library
building.
– Librarians who teach workshops at computer classrooms want to show two
different screens at the same time but are unable to do so with the current
setup.

29. (A) AD HOC PERSONAS
• Reassimilate based on user goals.
– New categories “I want …” and “I need… ”
– Cluster and label them. (e.g. I want to set up new services on
my bank account.)
Source: Adlin & Pruitt (2010)

30. (B) DATA PERSONAS
• Process the data
: Filter and prioritize the data to most important and relevant
factoids for the specific product or team.
• Assimilate
: Organize factoids into meaningful groups to identify
categories and subcategories of users.
: Label groups. (e.g. Freshmen – Mobile device use)
Source: Adlin & Pruitt (2010)

31. SKELETONS
• Skeleton 1—“I am a new student and want to learn about
what the library offers.”
o “I have a question about library hours and facility.”
o “I want to access reading materials for my class.”
o “What do I do if a book I need is not found in the library
catalog?”
o “I do not know how to pay for using printers and photocopiers
at the library.”
Source: Adlin & Pruitt (2010)

32. FROM SKELETONS TO PERSONAS
1. Create skeletons from user categories.
2. Prioritize skeletons.
(based upon immediate goals or low-hanging fruit).
3. Develop selected skeletons into persona sketches and then
into personas.
4. Include details: Name, age/gender, photo, quote, job/role
description, persona’s key questions and concerns, things
that may be of interest but may not think to ask for, goals,
abilities/skills/knowledge, environment, (data sources), etc.
Source: Adlin & Pruitt (2010)

33. Source: Tempelman-Kluit, Nadaleen. “Persona Most Grata: Invoking the User From Data to
Design.” 2012. http://www.slideshare.net/nadaleen/persona-most-grata-invoking-the-user-
from-data-to-design-14605604

34. Source: Duckett, Kim, and Honora Eskridge. “Personas: An Assessment Tool for Library Space and Service
Design.” Southeastern Library Assessment Conference, October 21, 2013.
http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/southeasternlac/2013/event/2.

35. Source:

36. VALIDATE PERSONAS
• Review your personas against the original data sources.
• Have experts (those closest to your users) review your
personas.
• Have representative users of each persona review “their”
persona.
• Conduct reality-check site visits.
• Conduct large-sample surveys or interviews.
Source: Adlin & Pruitt (2010)

37. PERSONAS & STRATEGIC PLAN
• Both personas and an organization’s strategic plan aim to
provide clarity and focus on the organization’s pursuits.
• Strategic plan often express or imply assumptions about the
target users.
• Personas are explicit representations of target users.
• Personas can guide strategic planning towards user-centered
goals and strategies for an organization.

38. Source: Ward, Jennifer. “Persona Development and Use”
http://libraryassessment.org/bm~doc/ward_jennifer.pdf.

39. INCORPORATE USER NEEDS
INTO YOUR DEPT. GOALS / STRATEGIES
• Library Goal: Create a knowledge culture supportive of entrepreneurship and discovery
through responsive and anticipative services.
• Dept. Goal: Anticipate users’ future needs and continuously improve the library’s
technology‐enabled spaces and services offered related to them, such as classrooms,
meeting rooms, study rooms, the Commons, the Innovation Space, and the
Presentation Studio.
• Dept. Strategy: Continue to respond to requests through the library genie survey and
provide technology‐related solutions to improve the user experience of library patrons.
• Individual work goal: Obtain often-requested converter adapters and cables and let
patrons borrow at the circulation desk. Create an alerts application that allows library
staff to immediately post critical information such as early library closing without
mediation to quickly inform library patrons.

40. MAKING IT STICK
• UX / UCD in every level!
– Service design
–Service philosophy
–Individual work goals
–Department /Division goals
–Library goals
• Organizational culture that supports and promotes UX
thinking
• Decisions based upon user research
• Small improvements based upon user needs

41. http://www2.hshsl.umaryland.edu/newsletter/?p=2098

42. UX AS A STRATEGIC GOAL
https://library.nyu.edu/about/Strategic_Plan.pdf

43. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/25/the-incredible-power-of-the-
IT’S HARD TO BE USER-CENTERED!

44. REFERENCES
• Nielsen, Jakob, and Don Norman. “The Definition of User Experience (UX).” Nielsen Norman
Group. Accessed January 18, 2016. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/definition-user-
experience/.
• Kellingley, Nick. “What Is the Difference between Interaction Design and UX Design?” The
Interaction Design Foundation. Accessed January 18, 2016. https://www.interaction-
design.org/literature/article/what-is-the-difference-between-interaction-design-and-ux-
design.
• Schmidt, Aaron, and Amanda Etches. Useful, Usable, Desirable: Applying User Experience
Design to Your Library. American Library Association, 2014.
• Bernstein, Gregg. “How To Create UX Personas.” UX Mastery, May 26, 2015.
http://uxmastery.com/create-ux-personas/.
• Adlin, Tamara, and John Pruitt. The Essential Persona Lifecycle: Your Guide to Building and
Using Personas. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Morgan Kaufmann, 2010.
• Lage, Kathryn, Barbara Losoff, and Jack Maness. “Receptivity to Library Involvement in
Scientific Data Curation: A Case Study at the University of Colorado Boulder.” Portal:
Libraries and the Academy 11, no. 4 (2011): 915–37. doi:10.1353/pla.2011.0049.
• “Strategic_Plan 2013-2017.” New York University Division of Libraries, 2013.
http://library.nyu.edu/about/Strategic_Plan.pdf.

45. LIBRARY USER PERSONA EXAMPLES
• NYU Bobst Library
Tempelman-Kluit, Nadaleen. “Persona Most Grata: Invoking the User From Data to Design.” 2012.
http://www.slideshare.net/nadaleen/persona-most-grata-invoking-the-user-from-data-to-design-
14605604
“User Personas, NYU Libraries.” Juliana Culbert, 2014. http://www.juliana-culbert.com/nyu/.
• Wayne State University Libraries http://guides.lib.wayne.edu/personas
• Stanford University Library http://library.stanford.edu/blogs/digital-library-blog/2011/06/personas
• Cornell University Library
https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/8302/cul_personas_final2.pdf;jsessionid=F3642A
8AC1AC433673F494B77B31D435?sequence=2
• University of Washington Libraries
Ward, Jennifer. “Persona Development and Use”
http://libraryassessment.org/bm~doc/ward_jennifer.pdf.
• Johns Hopkins University Libraries
https://wiki.library.jhu.edu/download/attachments/30752/UNAPersonasCompressed.pdf?version=1&u
sg=AFQjCNGgBxTz0W3eP8flhLvpYsEi1czEbA
• Duckett, Kim, and Honora Eskridge. “Personas: An Assessment Tool for Library Space and Service
Design.” Southeastern Library Assessment Conference, October 21, 2013.
http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/southeasternlac/2013/event/2.
• Des Moines Public Library http://dmpl.org/personas

46. `
Source : http://mappingexperiences.com/
QUESTIONS?