Critical Thinking for UX Designers (Or Anyone, Really)

Critical Thinking(For UX Designers--or Anyone, Really)#critthinkSouth by Southwest 2011Russ Unger |Christina Wodtke | Zynga Image Source © Time Inc.

DTCTDefining The Critical Thinking

Houses, Walls, Windows Image Source © Time Inc.

Henry Ford “ If I would have asked people what they wanted, they would have said “a faster horse.” Images Source © Time Inc.

The Limbic System Images Source http://home.comcast.net/~momtoﬁve/SIDWEBPAGE2.htm

Brains Are Wired 2-Dimensionally Image Source © icanhascheezburger.com

Limbic Also Controls the Orgasms Image Source © http://www.meh.ro/

My Wife “ Really? An orgasm slide? ﬔose people had better not think that’s me in the picture... Image Source Russ Unger

Dr. Steve Julius “ With a bit of training and through some basic brain-stretching exercises, we can be reﬂective. We can slow down and ﬁnd alternative solutions. Image Source Steve’s Son Max

Let’s Try One• Four Magic Seedlings• Must be planted equal distances apart from each other• Yes. You have to plant four of them to make the magic Image Source © Russ Unger

Show Your Work 2’ Math Lesson: 271 2’ A2 + B2 = C22’ 2’ 4+4=8 284 2.8 Square Root of 8 = 2.82842712 2’ Image Source © Russ Unger

Solved! 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ Image Source © Russ Unger

DTCTWhat It IS NOT: What It IS: • Biased • Self-directed • Partial • Self-monitored • Uninformed • Self-corrective • Prejudiced Image Source © Time Inc.

The Reality of It All An Example in Failure

The Cotton Bowl“ She focused so much on her business that she forgot to focus on her business. Image Source My Cousin

The Reality of It All, Part 2An Example in “Well, we’ll have to wait and see how this one plays out, but, hmm...”

News To Me Images Source © Time Inc.

Deja vu? Images Source © ﬔe Wachowski Brothers

Remember These?“ When the cassette recorder was invented, the music industry announced a moral panic over the fact that people could simply steal music from the radio, or copy it from each other. - John Lanchester Images Source © http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/jacksonboyle/1506260962/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Remember These? Images Source Wikipedia

Meet the First Digital Audio Player 1979 Images Source Kane Kramer http://www.kanekramer.com

Meet the First Digital Audio Player Images Source Kane Kramer http://www.kanekramer.com

The MP3 Player is an Application Images Source © http://ﬂickriver.com

The New Books Free?

Back to the Newspapers...

Christina Wodtke - Zynga

Business is from Mars, Design from VenusDeductive/Inductive Reasoning Abductive Reasoning“Traditional ﬁrms utilize and reward the use of “Designers value highly a third type of logic:two kinds of logic. ﬔe ﬁrst, inductive, entails abductive reasoning. Abductive reasoning, asproving through observation that something described by Darden professor Jeanne Liedtka,actually works. ﬔe second, deductive, involves embraces the logic of what might be.proving -- through reasoning from principles --that something must be.” ﬔis style of thinking is critical to the creative process.” http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/aug2005/di20050803_823317.htm

Designers can make great leaps forward

But the business folks can be left behindCritical thinking can be used to build a bridge between two types of thinking,connecting the dots

Critical thinking can also help you with their ideasHow many have you thought about a client or a boss “ﬔat’s amoronic idea”Can you build a bridge to their goal?

Yes, and AND7

Step Back Think Organize Proceed ﬔe Inner Game of Stress: Outsmart Lifes Challenges and Fulﬁll Your Potential by W. Timothy Gallwey8

Tools for ThinkingClariﬁcation:Do I understand what you are saying?Understanding:Do I understand your thinkingContext:Do I understand the world we are acting in?Evidence:What tells me this is right?

For Clariﬁcation, try Active Listening 1. Repeat 2. Paraphrase 3. Extend

For Understanding, try Five WhysMy car will not start. (the problem) •Why? - ﬔe battery is dead. (ﬁrst why) •Why? - ﬔe alternator is not functioning. (second why) •Why? - ﬔe alternator belt has broken. (third why) •Why? - ﬔe alternator belt was well beyond its useful service life and has never been replaced. (fourth why) •Why? - I have not been maintaining my car according to the recommended service schedule. (ﬁh why, a root cause) •Why? - Replacement parts are not available because of the extreme age of my vehicle. (sixth why, optional footnote)

ContextA Little About Markets

One Word: Plastics

Why the one word? Opportunity Brand Completeness Blocking competition Raising money Curiosity

Is it worth doing? Three reality checks1. Size of Market2. Type of market3. Personality of market

REALITY CHECK #1: SIZE MATTERS TAM is not SAM

How Big Is The Opportunity? Total Available Market (TAM) • How many people would want/need the product? • How large is the market be Total Available Market (in $’s) if they all bought? (TAM) • How many units would that be? How Do I Find Out? • Industry Analysts – Gartner, Forrester • Wall Street Analysts – Goldman, Morgan

How Big Is My Slice? Served Available Market (SAM) • How many people need or can use product? • How many people have the money to Total Available Market buy the product Served Available Market (SAM) • How large would the market be (in (TAM) $’s) if they all bought? • Can you reach them? How Do I Find Out? • Talk to potential customers

Some Startups saw this. (SAM) Total Available Market (TAM)

Return on InvestmentAll your CEO cares about … •Returns (measurable changes) •Increased sales •Reduced costs •Achieving the mission (for a non-proﬁt) •Investments (cost of making change happen) •Keeping headcount low •Using resources more eﬀectively •Only bringing in consultants if necessary

REALITY CHECK #2: DIFFERENT MARKETS HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS What Business Will You Be In?

Three Types of Markets Existing Market Resegmented Market New Market Who Cares? Type of Market changes EVERYTHINGSales, marketing and business development diﬀer radically by market type

Existing

Competitor

Competing in an Existing MarketFaster/BetterSomewhere Else

The 9X Eﬀect John Gourville, Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers (2006)

Resegmented

Gap’s new entry

Competing By ResegmentingNiche = marketing/branding drivenCheaper = low end

New Market?

Same Product, Diﬀerent Markets New New Existing Resegmented

New MarketCheaper/good enough can create anew class of product/customerInnovative/never existed before

Choose your idea wisely From Guy Kawasaki, Art of the Start stupid ﬔe holy grailYour ability toprovideuniqueproduct orservice bankrupt compete on price Value to customer

REALITY CHECK #3: MARKETS ARE PEOPLE

Customer Development Steven Gary Blank, Four Steps to the Ephinany Customer Customer Customer Company Discovery Validation Creation Building

Potential RoadmapWhat Would You Move? • Collaboration space • Speaker features/video • Reporting and advancedCapability Admin • Community features • E(mail) to attendees Version 1.0 • Un/Oﬃcial events list • Network notiﬁcations • Basic Admin Soon Later Much Later 39

Evidence Research: Ethnography, user diaries, etc Testing: paper prototyping, ghetto testing, etc You’re good at this part!

Proceed Together ﬔe 3 Skills You Need to Succeed Product Business Tech

And Pray Idea Execution Timing Dumb Luck

So, Now What?

User / Browser Role Play Courtesy of Stephen Anderson

Wear A Diﬀerent Hat Courtesy of Stephen Anderson

Thank You!

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Critical Thinking for UX Designers (Or Anyone, Really)

by Russ Unger on Mar 14, 2011

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