Stories have power to add empathy and connection to our work. They can help us learn about people, culture, and context—why, when, and how our products might be used—and share this with a design team. Stories permeate UX techniques from user stories to storyboards. They come to full power when used with personas: the persona provides a fully envisioned lead character for the story, a perspective through which interactions can be explored, and a voice for the emotional reactions to design ideas.
Creating stories for personas is a craft. They are not fiction, but are grounded in the data and user research that informs the persona. They are not fact, but are imagined events, shaped to explore possibilities. They are realistic, but not perhaps real, because they represent not just one individual or event, but something that might happen, and that provides insights into a user experience.
These slides were used in a presentation at CHIFOO on February 5, 2014
CHIFOO members have access to the video of this presentation, with sign interpretation
http://www.chifoo.org/index.php/chifoo/events_detail/persona_stories_weaving_together_qual_and_quant_for_a_richer_picture/
Persona Stories: Weaving together quant & qual for a richer picture
1. Persona Stories
Weaving together quant
& qual for a richer picture
Whitney Quesenbery
WQusability and Center for Civic Design
Twitter @whitneyq
2. Hi!
User research, usability, accessibility
Former theatre designer
Storytelling as a way to understand users,
culture, and context in UX design
Passionate about civic design
New book on accessible UX
How about you?
4. Personas & stories communicate patterns
Stories...
Communicate culture
Store and transmit knowledge
Explore new ideas
They help us…
4
Share information in
memorable form
Understand emotion and
desires
13. Ten minutes is not enough. That's Tanner’s opinion about
the time limits on using the computer at school.
Last Friday, he started working on a geography assignment
and look up some information about the animals in Africa.
He had just gotten started when his turn on the computer
was up. He’d like to work on it over the weekend, but can’t
access the school library. He prints out a few things, and
figures he will retype what he’s done when he gets home.
What a bore.
Communicate context (and emotion)
16. Rachel, Enthusiastic dreamer
28, finished one year at uni, works in an office
Lives in North London with a partner
Hasn’t settled down to a plan for her life
Interested in Social Sciences
FIRST CONTACT WITH THE OU: OU ON TV
Insomnia led Rachel to the OU, watching programs on the
telly. She starts to enjoy the programmes and thinks about
doing something to improve her career. It takes her a long
time to act on this idea, but she visits an Open Day.
She spends ages thinking about it, sometimes browsing the
web site, but also reading the brochures she has taken from
the Open Day.
On her third trip to an Open Day, she finally registers for an
Openings course that’s about to begin.
Fill in details and scenarios
17. Stories can explore unexpected data
Gina gave us the first clue. She was a nurse
manager for the county health system. “I’m on the
move all day and I have a huge case load. Patients
are always throwing new questions at me.
Yesterday, I really struggled to sort out a problem
one patient was having with side effects.
I speak a little Spanish, but just couldn’t remember
the correct medical term to explain a new adjuvant
the doctor wanted to try. It was so frustrating.”
She pointed at the sketch. “I don’t have a phone
that will do all that...yet, but... if it’s really that ...
simple…”
32. We mapped quantitative data to the persona
Demographics
Journey
Market segments
Task analysis
Skills
Usability needs
Other sites used
35. Personas can embody data
Maria
Lea
Emily
• Community health
worker in her Latino
community
• Married with grown
children
• Smartphone is her
primary computer
• Masters degree
• Writer/editor for a
trade publication
• Works from home
• Windows desktop
• Graduated from high
school and working on a
college degree
• Lives in a loft with a group
of friends
• Works part-time at a local
community center
36. Maria
"I love this. It's all here...when
I can find it."
Ability: Prefers Spanish language sites, when
she can find them; needs information and
instructions written clearly
Aptitude: Adventurous, but not very proficient;
husband and daughter set up bookmarks for her
Attitude: Thinks it’s wonderful to be able to have
her favorite websites with her at all times
Assistive Technology: Skype, online translation
sites
The data picture:
17.8 million people in the US speak English
"less than well"
Latino aduls are more likely to use moile
devices and search.
Maria
• 49 years old
• Community college +
healthcare certificate
• Married, grown children
• Spanish – English
bilingual
• Community health worker
• Smartphone from her
phone service, home
computer primarily her
husband’s, for his work
37. Lea
"No one gets that this really is
a disability."
Lea
• 35 years old
• Masters degree
• Writes for a trade
publication; works from
home
Ability: Fatigue from fibromyalgia,
trackball, and special keyboard
Aptitude: Average user
Attitude: Wishes people would understand
how hard it can be for her to make it
through the day
Assistive Technology: Split keyboard,
power keyboard user, Dragon Naturally
Speaking
The data picture:
5 million people in the US have
fibormyalgia, 80-90% are women
People with this and related diseases
have increased sensitivity to pain
38. Emily
"I want to do everything for myself"
Emily
• 24 years old
• Graduated from high
school and working on a
college degree
• Lives in a small
independent living facility
• Works part-time at a local
community center
Ability: Cerebral palsy. Difficult to use hands
and has some difficulty speaking clearly; uses a
motorized wheel chair
Aptitude: Uses the computer well, with the right
input device; good at finding efficient search
terms
Attitude: Wants to do everything for herself; can
be impatient
Assistive Technology: Communicator (AAC)
with speech generator, iPad, power wheelchair
The data picture:
800,000 children and adult in the U.S. have one
of the forms of CP.
Among all U.S. working age (18–64) people
with disabilities, only 21% are employed full- or
part-time.
40. How will you tell the story?
Mary and Leonard Trujillo – The Mudhead Gallery
41. Stories are efficient
Tanner was deep into a Skatepunkz game—all
the way up to level 12—when he got a buddy
message from his friend, Steve, with a
question about his homework.
He looked up with a start. Almost bedtime
and his homework was still not done. Mom or
Dad would be in any minute.
42. Each voice is a perspective
Third Person
Second Person
First Person
Story is told about
someone, looking at them
from the outside
Story is told from the point
of view of the main
character
For example:
A UX person telling stories
about how several different
people responded to a
prototype.
For example:
Feedback to a participant or
other stakeholder,
For example:
A UX person telling the
story of their own reactions.
“Interviewing a persona”
Persona stories, especially if
there is more than one
Talking directly to users of a
product
Retelling a story from the
point of view of the original
experience.
Maintains a distance
between “us” and
“them”
42
Story is a conversation
between the storyteller and
another person
Creates a direct
connection and invites
the other person to
respond.
Invites the audience to
look at the story
through the eyes of
43. 3rd person allows you to explain and interpret
Mary works as a nurse in a hectic
women’s health center for a lowincome neighborhood.
…
Her questions about cancer mostly
come from her patients, or from
wanting to be sure that she
catches any early signs.
…
She has learned conversational
Spanish, so she can talk to her
patients for whom this is a first
language.
…
When she looks things up on the
Web, she tends to go back to
familiar sites
Whose words and thoughts are these?
Are these things that Mary would say
or are they our interpretation of all the
data and stories that went into the
Mary persona?
How can we show when we are using
her own words?
Does this story invoke research
authority- a “realist tale”?
John van Mannen – Tales from the Field
44. 2nd person creates conversation
How can you show the conversation?
Persona by Caroline Jarrett for the Open University
Interviews maintain a separation
Conversations can also happen
between two personas
45. 1st person invites identity
You represent the persona and
tell the story from their point of
view.
Lets you “get into the head” of the
story (an “impressionist tale”)
OR
45
First person can tell your story of
your experience with the person
(a “confessional tale”)
46. Stories are not a detailed task analysis
Focus on the story
Establish the scene with imagery
What’s the time-frame?
What’s the emotional context
Think about the persona’s perspective
How do they see the events or interaction?
What words do they use? Style of language?
What are the boundaries of the story from their point of view?
(Hint: it might not be your product!)
Don’t use the story to describe the user
47. Use (relevant) details to compare and contrast
Include details outside of their interaction with your product, but
connect them to behavior that is relevant.
Think about counter-intuitive details
Example: The youngest persona may not be the most technology
savvy or have the most advanced mobile technology.
Show interactions with other products, organizations, or activities
Example: How central to their lives is this activity?
Example: Using recipe sites shows how nurses will use complex
search when they understand the context.
Add a little human interest
Example: What kind of pets do all the personas have? What sport
do play? What books are they reading?
48. Personas and their stories give us...
A richer understanding of context
Innovation from real needs
More persuasive ideas
People in the center of the process
49. Stories create empathy
Screen: Globalgiving.com
For more::http://succeedwithsuccessstories.com/dr-spocks-guide-to-improving-your-charitable-appeals/
50. Stories change how we think
Our experience of the
world is shaped by our
interpretations of it,
the stories we tell
ourselves.... so the
key to personal
transformation is story
transformation.
- Timothy Wilson, Redirect
Screen from Tripit
51. Personas (and stories) travel thru the UX journey
Gather information - both
qualitative and quantitative –
about the audience
Understand
Create personas that reflect
the breadth and depth of
the audience
Evaluate
Personas can be a
vehicle for evaluation,
or a check on usability
test participants
Specify
Design
Use the personas to
explore current problems
and new design ideas
52. A story is successful when it gets repeated
Based on real data
The stories you want told
Generate insights and empathy
& that lead to action!
53. Storytelling for User Experience
with Kevin Brooks
Global UX
with Daniel Szuc
A Web for Everyone
with Sarah Horton
http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/a-web-for-everyone/
Research report on mobile applications.Picks up from the last story. Show the research context as well: I’m about to say something new .. this was an example.Then, we could talk about how many other people said similar things, what we think it means,which they liked best, etc. The last paragraph is the point: If we can keep it simple enough, they might use it.We had another story from the same research – another nurse was trying to decide what phone to buy, wanted to make sure it ran a specific application she’d found – one she found valuable. Turned the tables on us to ask our advice “because we must know about this stuff”Not contradiction: still not early adopters or comfortable, but knows a good tools when they see one
We used Jason characteristics as a filter:First visit between 01/01/10 and 31/03/10• First visit Attributable Type is Search• Referring search term contains ‘computing degree’• Exclude records with Staff ID, Tutor IDSample size 174 unique individualsMost likely to ‘click’ natural search result - 92%BSc (Hons) Computing (B29) is most likely to be the firstpage viewed – 60%If Computing and ICT or Computing subject pages are viewed then a qualification description is also likely to be viewed - 75%
3. Be the persona (tell their story in first person - you’ll be surprised) [Client]: workshop to develop personas. When each group introduced in first person, their stories changed. The staff mostly represented one group of personas, but had trouble empathizing with othersFirst person, third person
In All the Beautiful Forevers, Kathering oo
Try telling the story in first person. Informance: Representing an idea by acting in order to explore, explain and share it.Role playing: Act out the interaction of serviceWhy?It’s harder to talk about someone when you are being themCheck whether reactions feel natural or forced
You have to be able to back them upYou have to know what stories you want to have toldStory about eyetracking hopping over the tile.