Eating our Own Dog Food: Using UX Methods to Build a UX Business Lou Rosenfeld, Rosenfeld Media Design Research Conference Chicago, Illinois, USA September 22, 2007 www.rosenfeldmedia.com

Brief bio Co-author, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web Publisher and founder, Rosenfeld Media (books for User Experience practitioners) Blog: www.louisrosenfeld.com New book: Search Analytics for Your Site: Conversations with your customers

Co-author, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web

Publisher and founder, Rosenfeld Media (books for User Experience practitioners)

Blog: www.louisrosenfeld.com

New book: Search Analytics for Your Site: Conversations with your customers

Questions for us all Can we truly improve and innovate …within established industries? …with established media? I’m trying to find out in publishing, using UX methods (a work in progress)

Can we truly improve and innovate …within established industries? …with established media?

I’m trying to find out in publishing, using UX methods (a work in progress)

What challenges do publishers face? Book design Can book design be improved upon? Choosing proposals Which books should we publish? Book content How can we ensure quality content? All of these are design challenges

Book design Can book design be improved upon?

Choosing proposals Which books should we publish?

Book content How can we ensure quality content?

All of these are design challenges

Book Design: Market research Focus groups and blog discussions What UX books do you (dis)like? What about them do you (dis)like? Results louisrosenfeld.com/home/bloug_archive/000410.html www.rosenfeldmedia.com/announcements/2006/02/what_makes_for_a_good_design_b.php www.rosenfeldmedia.com/announcements/2006/03/more_on_what_makes_for_a_good_1.php

Focus groups and blog discussions

What UX books do you (dis)like?

What about them do you (dis)like?

Results

louisrosenfeld.com/home/bloug_archive/000410.html

www.rosenfeldmedia.com/announcements/2006/02/what_makes_for_a_good_design_b.php

www.rosenfeldmedia.com/announcements/2006/03/more_on_what_makes_for_a_good_1.php

Book Design: User testing Print and PDF book testing Task analysis Foundation (e.g., What is this book about?) Navigation (e.g., refinding) Extension (e.g., grabbing a diagram) Post-test questionnaire Rating values (e.g. author credibility, price) Open-ended comments/feedback

Print and PDF book testing

Task analysis

Foundation (e.g., What is this book about?)

Navigation (e.g., refinding)

Extension (e.g., grabbing a diagram)

Post-test questionnaire

Rating values (e.g. author credibility, price)

Open-ended comments/feedback

The Gold Standard (DMMT)

Interiors

Covers X √

Obvious lessons Innovation is great, but it’s not for everyone or everything. Real opportunities come from improvements, but they’re easy to miss. Applying UX methods iteratively leads to small but meaningful improvements. Hire an art director!

Innovation is great, but it’s not for everyone or everything.

Real opportunities come from improvements, but they’re easy to miss.

Applying UX methods iteratively leads to small but meaningful improvements.

Hire an art director!

Choosing proposals: Create and violate boundaries “ Horizontal” series √ Mental models √ Card sorting √ Prototyping √ Internal search analytics • Comics as design tool • Contextual inquiry • Story-telling • … “ Vertical” series • UX for audiences (seniors, children, …) • UX for industries (health care, financial services, …) The metaphor breaks… √ Web form design • Shopping cart design • … Image from www.classicistranieri.com

Choosing Topics: UXzeitgeist.com

UXZ Person

UXZ Topic Index

UXZ Book Index

Good help isn’t so hard to find Editorial Board Liz Danzico Andrew Dillon Steve Krug Mike Kuniavsky Ginny Redish Marc Rettig Nathan Shedroff Rashmi Sinha Karen Whitehouse

Obvious lessons Create, then violate boundaries. Metaphors will only get you so far. That’s OK. Web 2.0 is expensive. Don’t create; reuse. If you do create, don’t get cute: launch it fast. The best authors, topics, and helpers won’t come to you. But they will talk.

Create, then violate boundaries.

Metaphors will only get you so far. That’s OK.

Web 2.0 is expensive. Don’t create; reuse.

If you do create, don’t get cute: launch it fast.

The best authors, topics, and helpers won’t come to you. But they will talk.

Book content: Dialogues succeed Proposal development From simple (agile review)… …to traditional (expert review from editorial board) Readers engaged via book blog Passive: RSS Active: SEO, comments, surveys… networks

Proposal development

From simple (agile review)…

…to traditional (expert review from editorial board)

Readers engaged via book blog

Passive: RSS

Active: SEO, comments, surveys… networks

Revel in infrastructure Enjoy what the Internet has to offer BaseCamp for authors and editors MovableType, RSS, Flickr, del.icio.us for authors FeedBurner and Google Analytics for data analysis (shared with authors) But infrastructure won’t run your projects

Enjoy what the Internet has to offer

BaseCamp for authors and editors

MovableType, RSS, Flickr, del.icio.us for authors

FeedBurner and Google Analytics for data analysis (shared with authors)

But infrastructure won’t run your projects

Obvious lessons Trust yourself. You already have UX in your veins. Let things emerge organically. Build in iteration everywhere. Feed and care for your network. There’s no excuse to ignore infrastructure. Making books is still damned hard.

Trust yourself. You already have UX in your veins. Let things emerge organically.

Build in iteration everywhere.

Feed and care for your network.

There’s no excuse to ignore infrastructure.

Making books is still damned hard.

Obvious lessons of the general sort In UX, it’s hard not to be a hypocrite. But that shouldn’t stop you. In UX, research equals marketing. Transparency works in new fields: your customers are also your peers. So does asking for help. Eat your own damned dog food.

In UX, it’s hard not to be a hypocrite. But that shouldn’t stop you.

In UX, research equals marketing.

Transparency works in new fields: your customers are also your peers.

So does asking for help.

Eat your own damned dog food.

Contact me Louis Rosenfeld, Publisher Rosenfeld Media, LLC 705 Carroll Street, #2L Brooklyn, NY 11215 USA +1.718.306.9396 voice +1.734.661.1655 fax [email_address] www.rosenfeldmedia.com

Louis Rosenfeld, Publisher

Rosenfeld Media, LLC

705 Carroll Street, #2L

Brooklyn, NY 11215 USA

+1.718.306.9396 voice

+1.734.661.1655 fax

[email_address]

www.rosenfeldmedia.com