bog musk
portabello
impatiens hedgehog
poppies snapping
matsutake
painted
tulips
zinnias shitake
snapdragons
sliders
clematis hydrangea porcini
chanterelle marigold

bog musk
portabello
impatiens hedgehog
poppies snapping
matsutake
painted
tulips
zinnias shitake
snapdragons
sliders
clematis hydrangea porcini
chanterelle marigold

bog musk
portabello
impatiens hedgehog
poppies snapping
matsutake
painted
tulips
zinnias shitake
snapdragons
sliders
clematis hydrangea porcini
chanterelle marigold

bog musk
portabello
impatiens hedgehog
poppies snapping
matsutake
painted
tulips
zinnias shitake
snapdragons
sliders
clematis hydrangea porcini
chanterelle marigold

impatiens
bog
poppies hedgehog
zinnias shitake
sliders
tulips matsutake
painted
clematis porcini
marigold musk chanterelle
hydrangea portabello
snapping
snapdragons

Now: Information Architecture
1. Concept Map
2. Bullseye Diagram ...then
1. Card Sorting
3. Navigation Map 2. Web-based Surveys
3. One-on-one Interview
4. Workflow Diagram 4. Ethnographic Study

Introducing... the domain.

Introducing... the concept map.

Tips for creating a
concept map:
1. Make a list of nouns in your domain.
2. Draw lines connecting terms (nouns).
3. Annotate lines with relationships (verbs).

Introducing... the bullseye diagram.

Tips for creating a
bullseye diagram:
1. Draw a bullseye with three rings.
2. Make a list of tasks users can perform.
3. Place tasks in rings (post-it notes are nice).
4. Look for natural relationships/structure.

Introducing... the new and improved navigation map.

Tips for creating a
navigation map:
1. Pick a landing place/page/screen.
2. Loosely define the UI for that place.
3. Backup one step. How do you get there?
4. Sketch siblings that are connected.
5. Step back & look for patterns/relationships.

Introducing... the workflow diagram.

Tips for creating a
workflow diagram:
1. Write a short, descriptive sentence.
2. Using sentence, define decision points.
3. Using decision points, define milestones.
4. Using all three, define participants.
5. Consider alternate paths for workflow.

Announcing... the halfway point.

...then
1. Concept Map
2. Bullseye Diagram
3. Navigation Map
4. Workflow Diagram
Now: User Research Methods
1. Web-based Surveys
2. Card Sorting
3. One-on-one Interview
4. Ethnographic Study

Introducing... web-based surveys.

Tips for conducting a
web-based survey:
1. Appeal to user’s ego/area of expertise.
2. Make survey submission painless.
3. Indicate progress, give visual feedback.
4. Write unbiased questions.

Introducing... the almighty index card.

Tips for conducting a
card sort:
1. Use index cards, please.
2. Aim for more than 30, less than 100 cards.
3. Allow user to create cards and labels.

Introducing... the controversial interview.

Tips for conducting a
one-on-one interview:
1. Come to the interview unprepared.
2. Turn off phone(s) and other distractions.
3. Take user off-subject to gain understanding.
4. Write a thank you note.

Introducing... the best way to learn about your users.

Tips for conducting an
ethnographic study:
1. Research how things were done pre-www.
2. Shadow your target-user for a day.
3. Have conversations with relevant non-users.
4. Write thank you notes.

Concluding... with perspective.

If this UX advocate cut
hair, she’d...
1. Create a wiki with a page for every client.
2. On the first cut, ask the user to describe what they want before the haircut,
document on wiki.
3. On each cut thereafter, ask the user to describe how the cut served them during
the past x weeks, document.
4. Take a 360° panorama shot of the user, both before and after cut, post to wiki.
5. Create notes for myself to describe my cutting methods for each cut, put on wiki.
6. Ask user to rate cut satisfaction, graph out over time.
7. Make wiki public so other folks that cut hair could see my process and use it/
improve it.

Who has the time for that?
1. She has trusted methods.
2. She asks good questions.
3. She trusts herself.

Beck Tench
Duke University
btench@duke.edu
becktench.com/hci/presentations
A special thanks goes to the following folks and organizations for their inspiration...
Brad Paley, Edward Tufte, Christopher Alexander, Sandi & Jami at Redz, David
Bishop and Paul Gould at MAYA Design, Nick and Logan at disruptorMonkey, Jesse
James Garrett, Jakob Nielsen, Paul Jones, Greg Corrin, Boxes and Arrows, Daniel
Frommelt,The IT Crowd, Jessica Hagy, Gary Larson and Super Mario Bros.