User Centered Design 101

User Centered Design 101 An Experience Dynamics training WEB SEMINAR With Frank Spillers, MS

About Your Speaker
Frank Spillers
Masters Cognitive Science
10 years User Centered Design experience
Founder, Experience Dynamics- leading Usability Design Research firm

Agenda
Is User Centered Design a buzzword, a technique, or a methodology? Why does "UCD" get so much attention? How has it changed how teams approach web application usability efforts? Is UCD right for you?
1. User Centered Design: Evolving from Dot-Com to Web 2.0
2. Why UCD? (Development, Business, Design benefits)
3. Development process: UCD vs. Agile vs. Waterfall
4. Case Studies: User Centered Design success stories
5. Is UCD right for you?: Planning a UCD process for your product
6. Q & A

User Centered Design: Evolving from Dot-Com to Web 2.0

User Centered Design Using user advocacy as a means to product development… Grounding requirements and design decision making in observed behavioral data . For Websites, portals, Intranets. Software, Web applications. Embedded or mobile devices, hardware products. For end-to-end experiences.

Timeline* 1997 2008 2001 2004 A lot of good post-dot com guessing…and heavy sprinkles of usability and UCD… UCD methodology has influenced every aspect of Web design and development in the past 6 years. *Note: This timeline is incomplete and is for illustrative purposes only. Sorry if we left you off!

www.usabilitylabrental.com

in a UCD process
Get to know the users
Analyze user tasks and goals
Establish usability requirements
Prototype some design ideas
Usability test the concepts
Repeat as necessary
6 Basic Steps

Usability is not UCD
Usability is a result, a goal, a field (UE, UX)
UCD is a methodology
Usability is an outcome of UCD practices
Let’s make a distinction

International Standards Org
ISO 9241-11 (1998) defines usability as an outcome
“ The extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.”
ISO 13407 (1999) defines HCD as an approach
Human centred design processes for interactive systems
“ Human-centred design is an approach to interactive system development that focuses specifically on making systems usable. It is a multi-disciplinary activity…”

“ Is it possible to win with just usability?”
Yes, I think so…but Enterprise level organizations need a
framework to manage UCD and adhere to the practice of
user involvement a la behavioral research…
Otherwise techniques get shelved, filed away or move on (with bright stars).

Why does UCD often look diluted, dated, misplaced or weak?
Different reasons:
Usability consultants or Centers of Excellence like to extend, expand and redefine
It is used for different purposes: marketing; PR; promotional reasons
Different backgrounds; different disciplines come to UCD practice
Not all steps are or can be followed
UCD follows organizational buy-in to usability

2. Why UCD? (Development, Business, Design benefits)

Approaches to Design
Technology driven
Component focus
System driven (use cases)
Product defect view of quality
Focus on system robustness
User Centered Design driven
Solutions focus
(real-world) Scenario driven
Task success view of quality
Focus on User Interface robustness

Business case for usability
Reduce development costs
Reduce support costs
Reduce documentation time
Reduce maintenance costs
Increase user satisfaction
Increase user loyalty
Increase user adoption

Web 2.0 case for…(your case here)
More compelling user experience
Faster application development
Usability fixes more elegant
More flexibility
Better control of presentation layer (UI)

3. Development process: UCD vs. Agile vs. Waterfall

Development methods:
Waterfall:
-3-6 month + releases
-Requirements definition up front
-Sequential process
-Used heavily pre-Web
-Delay testing to end
Agile:
-”XP” Extreme Programming
-Reduce the cost of change
-30 day releases
-Include user involvement
-Test as you go along
UCD: -”Guerilla HCI” -User testing often -Iterative by nature -Rapid (UI) design prototyping -User test anytime

“ Fitting usability in” to Agile
Move UCD deliverables to a quarterly management cycle
New features and functionality gained from field study and usability tests should be reviewed and prioritized at every new monthly build review meeting

Agile competes with UCD activities (time and attention)
Close partnerships are required
UCD team needs to debrief and ‘bug-squash’ features
Usability findings should be cascaded into Agile review cycles
Issues with Agile

Field Studies= Quarterly usability priority (feed to Agile dev process)
Usability Testing= Monthly usability priority (depending on what needs tested, might be small, incremental)
Usability Reviews= Can feed into the more narrow "inside a month" cycles.
Agile and UCD

4. Case Studies: User Centered Design success stories

Many Success Stories…

Design an “Information Appliance”
ExoBox

Business Objectives
It is not a computer
Target is a home environment
Reduce fear, increase motivation

User Objectives
Support interruptions
Don’t make me feel stupid
Reduce fear of technology
Quick, Effective, Productive
Parent
Teen/Child
Grandparent
Friend
Shopper...

User Attributes
E-mail is a prime motivator
Surfing the web, too
Familiar with appliances
Are fearful of complex technology
They don’t want to feel stupid
But don’t want to be left behind

Tasks
Get a message
Prepare a meal
Get help with homework

User Centered Design works better when business models align with end-products.

UCD takes on many interpretations- folklores
Usability efforts are stifled by many factors
Managers who don’t “get it”
IA’s or UX folks who think they “get it” but don’t (or don’t get it enough to convince their boss)
Distinction

5. Is UCD right for you?: Planning a UCD process for your product

Usability testing is a good start
Expert reviews are politically limited
Field studies are easily misinterpreted
Once established, Persona Research is vital
Ethnography should be embraced
Developing personas is valuable
Preparing your organization

Usability Education
Research based design
Credibility (business team buy-in)
Integration (development process)
Best practice capture
Leadership (and budget)
Expertise
Building momentum… * * * *

UCD must evolve to meet market conditions

Agile-friendly!

6. Q & A

thank you ! 1-800-978-9183 www.experiencedynamics.com Frank Spillers, MS [email_address]
Managing with User Centered Design checklist
Incorporating UCD into your product lifecycle: How UCD fits with Agile
Components of UCD Techniques: When to use and NOT to use User Centered Design
Guidance and Advice: how you can learn from best practice
Insider tips for promoting UCD at the team and management level
Q & A
Be sure to catch UCD 102 on March 21 st 2007 ($125 charge)

About Experience Dynamics: Experience Dynamics is a professional usability design research firm. Through its User Centered Design services, Experience Dynamics assists organizations with removing the frustration and confusion that plagues most website and software development projects. Companies benefiting from Experience Dynamics actionable usability recommendations include AutoNation, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Verizon, Microsoft, Four Seasons, Washington Mutual, Bank One, Target, Land Rover, Providence Health System and KeyBank. About Experience Dynamics web seminars: Experience Dynamics offers a recurring set of usability web seminars on hot usability topics. The web seminars provide an overview and quick review of key issues and opportunities related to best practices in usability research. The seminars are presented by Frank Spillers, MS, a recognized expert in the field of usability engineering and user experience design. Experience Dynamics seminars are complimentary and are attended by companies including Intel, Citigroup, KeyBank, The Hartford, Fujitsu, Intuit, EMC Corp, Chase, US Bank, Apple, Amazon.com, Business Objects, Mentor Graphics, GM, Toyota and others.

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User Centered Design 101

by Frank Spillers on Mar 09, 2007

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User Centered Design 101 — Webinar Transcript