Video and slides synchronized, mp3 and slide download available at http://bit.ly/10XzYfo. Tomer Sharon discusses the psychology of attitude & behavior and shares tips for conducting a high-quality, impactful, and fast UX research. Filmed at qconsf.com. Tomer Sharon is a User Experience Researcher at Google Search in New York City and author of the book, It's Our Research, that provides strategies and tactics for getting buy-in for UX research. He founded and led UXPA Israel and is the co-founder and organizer of leanUXmachine, a weekend of UX learning, collaboration, and mentorship for Israeli startups.

1. HIGH-QUALITY,
IMPACTFUL, FAST
UX RESEARCH
FOR ENGINEERS
TOMER SHARON, UX RESEARCHER, GOOGLE

2. Watch the video with slide
synchronization on InfoQ.com!
http://www.infoq.com/presentations
/UX-Research
InfoQ.com: News & Community Site
• 750,000 unique visitors/month
• Published in 4 languages (English, Chinese, Japanese and Brazilian
Portuguese)
• Post content from our QCon conferences
• News 15-20 / week
• Articles 3-4 / week
• Presentations (videos) 12-15 / week
• Interviews 2-3 / week
• Books 1 / month

3. Presented at QCon San Francisco
www.qconsf.com
Purpose of QCon
- to empower software development by facilitating the spread of
knowledge and innovation
Strategy
- practitioner-driven conference designed for YOU: influencers of
change and innovation in your teams
- speakers and topics driving the evolution and innovation
- connecting and catalyzing the influencers and innovators
Highlights
- attended by more than 12,000 delegates since 2007
- held in 9 cities worldwide

4. @tsharon

5. HIGH-QUALITY, IMPACTFUL, FAST UX
RESEARCH FOR ENGINEERS
Psychology of attitude & behavior
1. High-quality noticeability test
2. Impactful A/B usability study
3. Fast, colorful collaboration tool

6. WHAT’S A HIGH-
QUALITY, FAST, &
IMPACTFUL UX
RESEARCH?

7. FAST
IGNORED CRAPPY
HIGH-QUALITY IMPACTFUL
SLOW

8. KEY

9. DON’T LISTEN
TO USERS

10. OBSERVE
BEHAVIOR

11. I DON’T LISTEN TO
USERS BECAUSE OF
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF
ATTITUDE & BEHAVIOR

12. STRONG
RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN ATTITUDE
AND BEHAVIOR

13. SOLDIER POSITIONS ON WAR PREDICTED
THEIR QUALITY OF FIGHTING
[STOUFFER, 1949]

14. PEOPLE’S ATTITUDE TOWARD A CERTAIN
CAR MODEL PREDICTED ITS SALES
[BOGART, 1967]

15. STRONG
RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN ATTITUDE
AND BEHAVIOR

16. A CHINESE COUPLE VISITED 250 RESTAURANTS & HOTELS
IN THE US AND GOT ONE REFUSAL TO BE SERVICED.
A LETTER SENT TO THE SAME BUSINESSES ASKING IF
THEY WOULD SERVE CHINESE CUSTOMERS GOT A
REFUSAL FROM 92%.
[LAPIERRE, 1934]

17. STUDENTS WERE ASKED ABOUT THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARD
CHEATING.
A FEW WEEKS LATER, THEY WERE ASKED TO GRADE THEIR
OWN TESTS. THERE WAS CLOSE TO ZERO CORRELATION
BETWEEN ATTITUDE TOWARD CHEATING AND ACTUAL
CHEATING.
[COREY, 1937]

18. TODAY

19. MANY STUDIES
FOUND NO
RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN ATTITUDE
AND BEHAVIOR

20. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS STARTED ASKING
WHAT AFFECTS THE
RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN ATTITUDE
& BEHAVIOR

21. 6

22. 1

23. ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR RELATIONSHIP
LEVEL OF
MEASURMENT

24. 1ST PRINCIPLE
A GENERAL ATTITUDE
FORMS A GOOD BASIS
FOR PREDICTING A WIDE
SET OF BEHAVIORS

25. GENERAL ATTITUDE
TO WHAT EXTENT DO
YOU CONSIDER
YOURSELF A ‘SOCIAL
ANIMAL’?

26. SPECIFIC BEHAVIOR
NUMBER OF FRINEDS,
LIKES, COMMENTS,
AND SHARES ON
FACEBOOK

27. 2ND PRINCIPLE
A SPECIFIC & UNIQUE
ATTITUDE MIGHT
PREDICT A SPECIFIC &
UNIQUE BEHAVIOR

28. GENERAL & SPECIFIC ATTITUDES OF MARRIED
WOMEN TOWARD USING THE PILL
[DAVIDSON & JACCARD, 1979]

29. ATTITUDE CORRELATION
USING BIRTH CONTROL 0.08
THE PILL AS A BIRTH CONTROL 0.32
USING THE PILL AS A BIRTH CONTROL 0.53
USING THE PILL AS A BIRTH CONTROL IN THE 0.57
NEXT 2 YEARS

30. 2

31. ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR RELATIONSHIP
TIME BETWEEN
MEASURMENTS

32. PRINCIPLE
POSITIVE CORRELATION
BETWEEN ATTITUDE &
BEHAVIOR INCREASES IF
MEASUREMENT TIME-
DIFFERENCE IS SHORTER

33. REASON
BECAUSE PEOPLE’S
ATTITUDES ARE NOT
STABLE AND CHANGE
OVER TIME

34. HOW MANY TIMES DID A USER DRAW A SCREEN THEY
WANT, ONLY TO REJECT IT 3 MONTHS AFTER IT?
[AFTER YOU COMPLETED CODING THE DAMN THING]

35. 3

36. ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR RELATIONSHIP
WAY OF ACQUIRING
ATTITUDE

37. JOEY, 10-YEARS-OLD, WANTS A VIDEO GAME HE PLAYED AT A FRIEND’S
HOUSE; HIS FRIEND MARK HEARD ABOUT THIS GAME FROM JOEY; THEIR
FRIEND ANDY SAW A COMMERCIAL FOR THAT GAME.
WHO IS MORE LIKELY TO NAG THEIR PARENTS TO BUY THE GAME?

38. PRINCIPLE
PAST EXPERIENCE
CLARIFIES ATTITUDE
AND INCREASES ITS
POSITIVE CORRELATION
WITH BEHAVIOR

39. APPLICATION 1 TO UX
IN USABILITY TESTING,
ASK ABOUT OPINIONS
ONLY AFTER USERS
ACTUALLY EXPERIENCE
THE PRODUCT

40. APPLICATION 2 TO UX
ASK ABOUT PAST
EXPERIENCES RATHER
THAN PREDICTIONS
OF THE FUTURE

41. 4

42. ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR RELATIONSHIP
CLARITY OF ATTITUDE

43. PRINCIPLE
HIGH, POSITIVE
CORRELATION BETWEEN
ATTITUDE & BEHAVIOR
INCREASES WHEN
ATTITUDE IS CLEARER

44. STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN ELECTION IF THEY HAD MORE
INFORMATION ABOUT CANDIDATES COMPARED TO STUDENTS
WHO WERE NOT VERY UP-TO-DATE WITH CANDIDATE
INFORMATION.
[DAVIDSON ET AL, 1985]

45. RESEARCHERS MEASURED PREGNANT WOMEN’S ATTITUDES TOWARD
BREASTFEEDING, THEN MEASURED WHO OF THEM BREASTFED. A
STRONGER CORRELATION BETWEEN ATTITUDE & BEHAVIOR WAS FOUND
AMONG WOMEN WHO GAVE BIRTH BEFORE.
[MANSTEAD, PROFFITT & SMART, 1983]

46. 5

47. ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR RELATIONSHIP
ACCESSIBILITY OF
ATTITUDE TO
CONSCIENCE

48. PRINCIPLE
CONSCIENCE-
ACCESSIBLE
ATTITUDE BETTER
PREDICTS BEHAVIOR

49. COMPUTER GEEKS SPEND A LOT OF TIME THINKING ABOUT THEIR OWN
COMPUTER SOFTWARE PREFERENCES. PEOPLE’S ATTITUDES BETTER
PREDICT BEHAVIOR WHEN THEY ARE ASKED OR HEAR ABOUT THEM
REPEATEDLY.
[POWELL & FAZIO, 1984, BORGIDA & CAMPBELL, 1982]

50. 6

51. ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR RELATIONSHIP
PERSONALITY

52. PRINCIPLE
PEOPLE WITH HIGH SELF
MONITORING DO NOT
DEMONSTRATE
CONSISTENCY OF
ATTITUDE & BEHAVIOR

53. PEOPLE CONCERNED WITH
THEIR EXPRESSIVE SELF-
PRESENTATION TEND TO
CLOSELY MONITOR
THEMSELVES TO ENSURE
DESIRED PUBLIC
APPEARANCES

54. IT IS HARD TO PREDICT BEHAVIOR BASED ON ATTITUDE OF
PEOPLE WITH HIGH SELF-MONITORING SCORES.
[SNYDER, 1974, 1979]

55. THIS IS WHY YOU SEE
SOME PEOPLE MISERABLY
FAILING TO COMPLETE
TASKS IN A USABILITY
TEST YET ARE ‘EXTREMELY
SATISFIED’

57. WHAT DOES
IT MEAN TO
YOU?

58. DON’T
ASK WHAT
THEY NEED

59. INSTEAD
OBSERVE
WHAT THEY DO

60. DON’T
ASK WHAT IS
THEIR FEEDBACK

61. INSTEAD
WATCH THEM
USE IT

62. HIGH-QUALITY

63. ONLY AN EYE
TRACKER CAN TELL
IF USERS NOTICE
STUFF

64. EYE TRACKERS
ARE NOT MIND
READERS

65. EYE TRACKERS ONLY
TELL YOU WHERE
PEOPLE LOOK,
NOT WHAT THEY
NOTICE

66. NOTICEABILITY
TEST

67. NOTICEABILITY TEST
A RESEARCH TECHNIQUE
FOR LEARNING
WHETHER PEOPLE
NOTICE KEY ELEMENTS
IN YOUR DESIGN

70. RESULT
YOU GET A
CRYSTAL-CLEAR
ANSWER

71. HOW TO
PRINT SCREEN
CUT ELEMENTS & NON-ELEMENTS
MIX
PREP BLANK PAPER & SCISSORS,
SHARPIE AND TAPE
ONE KIT PER USER

72. HOW TO
AFTER USERS COMPLETE
A TASK ASK THEM TO RE-
ASSEMBLE THE KEY
SCREEN, SHUT UP, &
WATCH WHAT HAPPENS

73. ANALYSIS
DID THEY PUT KEY
ELEMENTS IN PLACE?
DID THEY LEAVE OUT WHAT
DOESN’T BELONG?
DID THEY DRAW ELEMENTS
THAT WEREN’T THERE?

74. WHY IS IT
HIGH-
QUALITY?

75. IMPACTFUL

76. A/B
USABILITY
STUDY*

77. LOOP11 (www.loop11.com/startups)

78. *THE BIG LIMITATION
OF A STANDALONE
A/B TEST IS THAT IT
ONLY TELLS YOU
WHAT, NOT WHY

79. A/B USABILITY TEST
AN ONLINE RESEARCH
TECHNIQUE DURING WHICH
USERS ARE ASKED TO
COMPLETE TASKS WHILE UX
METRICS ARE COLLECTED
BEHIND THE SCENES

80. RESULTS
THINGS TO KEEP
OPPORTUNITIES FOR
IMPROVEMENT
COMPERATIVE DATA ABOUT
SPEED, SUCCESS, &
SATISFACTION

81. TASK EXAMPLE
IMAGINE YOU ARE PLANNING
A VACATION IN BORA BORA
BETWEEN MAY 10 AND 20,
2013, WITH YOUR SPOUSE.
USE UNITED.COM TO BOOK
YOUR FLIGHTS.

82. WHY IS IT
IMPACTFUL?

83. FAST

84. COLORFUL
COLLABORATION
TOOL

85. THE RAINBOW
SPREADSHEET

86. THE RAINBOW SPREADSHEET
A SPREADSHEET WITH
WHICH DATA COLLECTED
DURING A UX STUDY IS
CENTRALLY DOCUMENTED
COLLABORATIVELY BY A
TEAM

87. THE SPREADSHEET SERVES
AS THE CENTERPIECE FOR
LESSONS LEARNED FROM
A STUDY AND LATER TURNS
INTO THE FINAL REPORT

91. ADVANTAGES
INVOLVES THE ENTIRE TEAM
FAST TURNAROUND OF RESULTS
COMMITTMENT TO ACT ON RESULTS
VISUAL INFO CLARIFIES WHAT’S IMPORTANT
NO REPORT

92. goo.gl/w0zXw

93. WHY IS IT
FAST?

94. RECAP

95. PSYCHOLOGY OF ATTITUDE & BEHAVIOR
1. Level of measurement
2. Time between measurements
3. Way of acquiring attitude
4. Clarity of attitude
5. Accessibility of attitude to conscience
6. Personality

96. HIGH-QUALITY, IMPACTFUL, FAST UX
RESEARCH FOR ENGINEERS
1. High-quality noticeability test
2. Impactful A/B usability study
3. Fast, colorful collaboration tool

98. FAST
HIGH-QUALITY IMPACTFUL

99. DON’T LISTEN
TO USERS

100. OBSERVE
BEHAVIOR

101. THANK
YOU
@tsharon