Selling the Value of
User-Centered Design
Jason Ulaszek, Manifest Digital
1.19.09 Manifest RFP Response | Terlato Wines International

Q: Why is user-centered design important?
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

It’s an approach that seeks to remind us…
”If you’re only looking
at the problem from
your own point of
view, you’re only
going to be, at best,
half right.”
Jesse James Garrett, User Experience Architect
http://www.ddj.com/dept/architect/184411634
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

Because nobody seeks frustration on purpose
User-centered design can help to create –
• A more relevant and valuable product
• Products that support rather than constrain or frustrate users

It allows you to seek understanding first
And understand the true nature of the problem or
opportunity before you devise the product or solution

And because user-centered design…
Helps strike a balance between people creating products and
those using them – creating a greater chance for success
Sweet, you’re
meeting my
I’m selling needs!
more, yippee!

And it…
• Reduces your chances of failure
• Positively affects your product’s experience overall

AT THE END OF THE DAY…

Q: How do I communicate the value
of user-centered design?
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

TAKING YOUR FIRST STEP
STOP forcing education. START selling action.
Know your “toolbox” of user-centered design activities
intimately – understand each activities’ (activity = tool)
purpose and value it can bring to solving business
problems
Let education and awareness happen naturally through
participation in the activity. .
Make your discussions with your client about the
activities and the business value they can provide
Be pragmatic – it’s never your way or the highway.
Find and partner with advocates
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

ARGUMENTS FOR USER-CENTERED DESIGN
THREE effective techniques exist
1. Appealing to reason
• Works well when you know the client’s specific goals or objectives
• May include data-driven points such as references to Return on Investment (ROI), web traffic
reports, statistics, etc
2. Demonstrating your credibility or authority
• Works well when there’s a previous relationship with the client
• Can also be helped by describing your expertise, providing references, describing previous
successes, etc.
3. Appealing to emotion
• Works well when you know your client’s values
• Can be supported by referring to recent emotionally-charged events (such as issues they may
have had in the past when UCD was not included, and user-reported issues caused problems in
rework or bad press).
• Showing someone a usability test is a great way to make this appeal
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

PEOPLE SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY – USE THE SAME LANGUAGE
I see a Um…
heart I see a
boomerang?

VALUE TO A BUSINESS MANAGER (CEO, VP, etc.)
• Increase overall product quality
• Increase product sales and
customer satisfaction
• Increase user acceptance and
adoption
• Increase end user productivity
• Lower support and training
costs
• Lower maintenance costs by
making sure user needs are
met before products
(sites/systems) are released
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

VALUE TO PROJECT MANAGER
• Reduce or avoid potential
costly revisions – deliver on
time and within budget
• Increase overall product quality
• Assist in achieving pride in the
work completed
• Meet or exceed performance
measures
• Ensure clear and consistent
communication across project
team
• Help the team secure success
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

VALUE TO TECHNOLOGY LEADER
• Reduce the number of late
design changes
• Shorten the development cycle
• Identify/plan for potential reuse
• Improve IT development by
more clearly understanding
requirements
• Reduce IT development costs
by avoiding cost overruns
• Decrease amount of
maintenance
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

VALUE TO AN END USER (EMPLOYEE, CONSUMER, etc.)
• Increase job satisfaction and provides a
more pleasurable experience
• Reduce the amount of training, creating
additional self-sufficiencies
• Lessen time spent looking for support/help
• Reduce number of errors made during a
task
• Help provide consistency across
applications
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

Q: Don’t we need to prove the Return
on Investment (ROI) to sell UCD?
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

Arguments for User Centered Design: Situation A
• Situation:
o The client has an existing site and is looking to make small
but high-impact changes to it without a full redesign.
o Examples: Revisions to a checkout process, general home
page updates, improving task efficiencies.
o Objectives are specific and clearly state, for example,
decrease time on task by 10%.
• Argument
o The focus is on making immediate, incremental gains for an
existing product. It’s a relatively specific and planned project.
o Focusing on their potential Return on Investment (ROI) can
be effective in this case.
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

Example of ROI Analysis: Situation A
• Measuring savings for completing insurance claims
o Agent Smith works 40 hours a week for 50 weeks of the
year.
o Before the redesign, he completed 1 claim every 5 minutes;
after the redesign he completes 1 claim every 2 minutes.
o Agent Smith went from completing 12 claims an hour to 30
claims an hour
o Savings is significant AND measurable
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

Arguments for User Centered Design: Situation B
• Situation:
o The client has an existing site but wants to do a fairly
extensive redesign. Their objectives may be more general
but can include hard numbers
o Example: Increase online sales by 10%
• Argument:
o ROI is harder to track since it’s no longer a simple cause-
and-effect situation
o Many things are changing at once, i.e. marketing campaigns,
look-and-feel, etc.
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

Example of ROI Analysis: Situation B
• It’s often more helpful to explain the benefits of a UCD
process in terms of improving desirable behaviors like:
o attracting more customers to the site
o getting them to perform some kind of initial action (like
registering)
o getting them to complete a flow on the site (like purchasing
an item)
o retaining them (e.g., ensuring return visits)
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

Arguments for User Centered Design: Situation C
• Situation
o The client wants to launch a new initiative or
needs to make a decision that includes a high
level of risk or uncertainty.
• Argument
o ROI is no real help here: there are too many
unknowns at play
o UCD can help to:
 Uncover opportunities for innovation
 Help clients understand current usage patterns and
gaps that can be filled with new technologies
 Validate a design direction
• Conducting research and gathering
responses to new tools in a planful way
can also help mitigate risk before large-
scale initiatives are launched.
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

Exercise – Selling the Value of UCD to Project Stakeholders
• Pair up into groups of 3-4
• Each group will be given 5 personas, a design
company and four client stakeholder personas
• In your groups, read your through scenarios and role
play your persona
• When we reconvene, be prepared to share your
experience
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design

Thank you!
Jason Ulaszek
Email: jason.ulaszek@manifestdigital.com
Manifest Digital: http://www.manifestdigital.com
Blog: http://www.webbit.com
Twitter: webbit
1.19.09 Manifest RFP Response | Terlato Wines International

Appendix – References
• 10 Most Common Misconceptions About User Experience Design
o http://mashable.com/2009/01/09/user-experience-design/
• Selling UX
o http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2008/10/selling-ux.php
• Selling Usability: User Experience Infiltration Tactics
o http://www.amazon.com/Selling-Usability-Experience-Infiltration-
Tactics/dp/1442103736
• Return on Investment for Usable User-Interface Design: Examples and
Statistics
o Aaron Marcus, President, Aaron Marcus and Associates, Inc. (AM+A), 2002
o http://www.amanda.com/resources/ROI/AMA_ROIWhitePaper_28Feb02.pdf
• Professional usability testing and return on investment as it applies to user
interface design for web-based products and services
o MauroNewMedia (MNMedia), 2002
o http://www.taskz.com/pdf/MNMwhitepaper.pdf
05.07.09 Selling User-Centered Design