Research process and methods workshop with resources from HighEdWeb 2016 Memphis. #heweb16

1. Content Strategy and
User Experience
Combination in Practice
#heweb16
@amygracewells

2. Today’s Goal
Go through the entire research process so you feel
confident setting goals and selecting methods to gain
data that will create actionable outcomes.

3. Agenda
• 1:00-1:10: Introduction
• 1:10-1:30: Setting Research Goals and Objectives
• 1:30-1:50: Identify Problems
• 1:50-2:30: Overview of Techniques
• 2:30-3:00: Break
• 3:00-3:30: Research Problems
• 3:30-3:50: Analysis/Compilation/Recommendations
• 3:50-4:10: Present Findings
• 4:10-4:30: Bringing Teams Together
Take breaks as needed!

5. Research Goals &
Objectives
Research without direction is the same as taking a
trip without GPS.
What is the business goal?
What is the specific element you want to evaluate?
Why will this research be useful?

6. Research Goals &
Objectives
It helps focus stakeholders and teams.
“Why do people enter the website and not (apply/
donate)?”
versus just dictating methods:
“We need to do focus groups now!

7. Set Goals & Objectives
Exercise:
Gather your team. Write down questions about users and
the UX. Collect all the questions and stick them to a board.
Organize the questions based on similarity. Categories that
have more questions than others will likely become your
testing objectives.

8. Research Goals &
Objectives
https://www.usertesting.com/blog/2015/02/05/ux-
research-objectives/
https://www.sitepoint.com/usability-testing-goals-
knowing/
http://adaptivepath.org/ideas/e000107/

9. Identify Problems
In your groups, identify issues throughout the
conference that could be content or user experience
problems. These could include the website, physical
space, printed materials, etc.
Narrow your list down to two issues you plan to
research as a group.

10. Content Strategy
The space between content and people

11. –Kristina Halvorson
“Planning for the creation, delivery, and
governance of useful, usable content.”

12. –Margot Bloomstein
“Planning for the creation, aggregation,
delivery, and useful governance of useful,
usable, and appropriate content in an
experience.”

13. –Michael Brenner
“The mindset, culture and approach to
delivering your customer’s info needs in all the
places they are searching for it.”

14. –Joe Pullizzi
“...requires goals, different forms of content for
different customer touchpoints, mapping the
needs of people, the channels they prefer and
the content or stories, etc.”

15. Audits and Inventories
• Although inventories vary in what they capture,
most include the following raw data for each piece
of site content.
• Auditing the raw data requires going through each
piece and perform a quality assessment. The type
of assessment you choose to conduct depends on
what you are hoping to learn. Once goals and
scope are understood, you can choose which audit
makes sense for you.
http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/content-inventory.html

16. Audits and Inventories
Inventories
• Unique Content ID
• Title
• URL
• File Format (HTML, PDF, DOC, TXT…)
• Author or Provider
• Meta Description
• Meta Keywords
• Categories/ Tags
• Dates (created, revised, accessed)
Audits
• What pages should be removed
• Whether content need to be
revised
• Which content needs to be
written due to gaps
• Where content should be
mapped to if being moved or if it
requires redirects
• Whether content is appropriate
for target users

17. Audits and Inventories
• Don’t let it die on the vine!
• It needs goals prior to starting.
• What are you going to do with the information?
• What will you do with it in 6 months? 12 months?
• Is it for a short-term project?
• A content audit uncovers patterns in content to inspire future
content strategy.
• A content audit is used to better understand content lifecycle and
workflows.

18. Audits and Inventories
• https://gathercontent.com/blog/how-to-perform-a-content-audit
• http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/03/the-content-inventory-is-your-
friend/
• http://www.stickycontent.com/blog/qualitative-or-quantitative-which-
one-do-you-need

19. Content Modeling
Getting comfortable with your chunks

20. Content Modeling
• A content model documents all the different types
of content you will have for a given project.
• It contains detailed definitions of each content
type’s elements and their relationships to each
other.
• The level of detail in the model is determined by the
purposes you need it to serve.
http://alistapart.com/article/content-modelling-a-master-skill

21. Content Modeling
• A model can be used to validate the concept with
stakeholders, and helps IAs and designers start
thinking about the implications for the flow of the
site.
• A content model helps clarify requirements and
encourages collaboration between the designers,
the developers creating the CMS, and the content
creators.

22. Content Model
https://gathercontent.com/blog/content-modelling-and-design-diplomacy

23. Content Gap Analysis
• A gap analysis is an inventory of your existing
content, with added context for your brand. It’s a
simple way to discover content opportunities you
may have missed, and make a plan for moving
forward.
• There are three parts to a gap analysis:
understanding your current state, mapping your
future state and applying those gaps to your
strategy.
http://studiod.com/blog/how-to-save-time-and-money-with-a-content-gap-analysis/

24. Content Gap Analysis
• A gap analysis should help you understand
• Categories over- and under-represented on your
site
• How well your content aligns with KPIs
• How effectively you speak to your target audience
Additional reading: http://www.sitecore.net/learn/blogs/best-practice-blogs/beth-bader/
posts/2013/10/part-2-content-gap-analysis.aspx

25. Personas
Get to know your users

26. Personas
• Represent a major user group for your website
• Express and focus on the major needs and expectations of
the most important user groups
• Give a clear picture of the user's expectations and how
they're likely to use the site
• Aid in uncovering universal features and functionality
• Describe real people with backgrounds, goals, and values
http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/personas.html

27. Persona Benefits
Personas help to focus decisions surrounding site components by adding a layer
of real-world consideration to the conversation. Offer a quick and inexpensive
way to test and prioritize those features throughout the development process.
• Stakeholders and leaders evaluate new site feature ideas
• Information architects develop informed wireframes, interface behaviors, and
labeling
• Designers create the overall look and feel of the website
• System engineers/developers decide which approaches to take based on user
behaviors
• Copy writers ensure site content is written to the appropriate audiences
http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/personas.html

28. Personas
• https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2014/08/a-
closer-look-at-personas-part-1/
• http://www.uxbooth.com/articles/creating-personas/

29. More Techniques to Explore
• Competitor Analysis:
• http://meetcontent.com/blog/conducting-a-competitive-analysis/
• http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31619/How-to-Conduct-
Competitive-Analysis-to-Step-Up-Your-Content-Strategy.aspx
• Workflows:
• http://meetcontent.com/blog/designing-content-workflow-for-your-
cms/
• http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2016/02/content-marketing-
workflow/

30. User Experience

32. Interviews and
Focus Groups
Seven things to remember with user interviews
• Set proper expectations.
• Shut up and listen.
• Minimize biased questions.
• Be friendly.
• Turn off your assumptions.
• Avoid generalizations.
• Don’t forget the non-verbal cues.
http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2008/07/preparing-for-user-research-interviews-seven-things-to-remember.php

33. Interviews and
Focus Groups
The interview guide should contain:
• The brief description and goal of the study. This is for you to share with the
participant and use to remind yourself to stay close to the topic.
• The basic factual or demographic questions for putting the participant’s
answers in context. These will vary depending on the purpose of the
interview, but often include name, gender, age, location, and job title or role.
• A couple of icebreaker or warm-up questions to get the participant talking.
Most people know this as “small talk.” Feel free to improvise these based on
the demographic information.
• The questions or topics that are the primary focus of the interview.
http://alistapart.com/article/interviewing-humans

34. Interviews and
Focus Groups
• https://www.nngroup.com/articles/focus-groups/
• https://whitneyhess.com/blog/2010/07/07/my-best-
advice-for-conducting-user-interviews/
• http://www.slideshare.net/edanzico/user-interview-
techniques

35. Interviews and
Focus Groups
• https://articles.uie.com/three_questions_not_to_ask/
• http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/
focus-groups.html
• http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2011/07/dos-
and-donts-for-focus-groups.php

36. Card Sorts
• Card sorting is a method used to help design or
evaluate the information architecture of a site.
• In a card sorting session, participants organize
topics into categories that make sense to them and
they may also help you label these groups.
• Card sorting will help you understand your users'
expectations and understanding of your topics.
http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/card-sorting.html

37. Card Sorts
• Open Card Sort: Participants are asked to organize topics from
content within your website into groups that make sense to them and
then name each group they created in a way that they feel accurately
describes the content. Use an open card sort to learn how users
group content and the terms or labels they give each category.
• Closed Card Sort: Participants are asked to sort topics from content
within your website into pre-defined categories. A closed card sort
works best when you are working with a pre-defined set of
categories, and you want to learn how users sort content items into
each category.
• You may also choose to try a combination of the two. You could
conduct an open card sort first to identify content categories and
then use a closed card sort to see how well the category labels work.

38. Card Sorts
• https://www.nngroup.com/articles/card-sorting-how-many-
users-to-test/
• https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/book/the-
encyclopedia-of-human-computer-interaction-2nd-ed/card-
sorting
• https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2014/10/improving-
information-architecture-card-sorting-beginners-guide/

39. Field Studies
• Basic field study techniques are fairly simple, and
everyone who works on a design/content team
should go on customer visits from time to time.
• Visiting a real customer site is an invaluable
experience for designers, programmers, and
marketers.
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/field-studies-done-right-fast-and-observational/

40. Field Studies
• Field studies give the advantage of delivering the team information they
just can’t get in any other way:
• Terminology and processes: What do users do and how do they
talk about it?
• Context: What are the external forces that will impact the design?
Do the user’s requirements change when they are rushed or up
against a deadline?
• Similarities and differences: Just compiling a list of similarities and
differences observed in 4 separate visits can really help a team
focus on the critical functionality and requirements for a project.
https://articles.uie.com/field_studies/

41. Diary Studies
• In interviews, it can be difficult to get a sense of behavior over time
because you have to rely on the participant’s memory of past
activities or circumstances, and artifacts can only do so much to
prompt that. One way to widen your view of someone’s activities
without shadowing them 24/7 is to ask them to keep a diary.
• This can be some-what structured, much like a survey taken
several times, or can be free-form entry guided by a few questions.
• A diary can take almost any form: written responses to a periodic e-
mail reminder, a handwritten notebook, a narrated video, or photos
with written commentary.
http://www.uxbooth.com/articles/jumpstart-design-research-with-a-diary-study/

42. Diary Studies
• The main advantage of a diary study is that it
allows collecting longitudinal information.This can
be some-what structured, much like a survey taken
several times, or can be free-form entry guided by
a few questions.
• It focuses on reporting events and experiences in
their natural context.
http://uxpamagazine.org/dear-diary-using-diaries-to-study-user-experience/

43. Usability Studies
• Usability testing refers to evaluating a product or
service by testing it with representative users.
• Typically, during a test, participants will try to
complete typical tasks while observers watch, listen
and takes notes.
• The goal is to identify any usability problems, collect
qualitative and quantitative data and determine the
participant's satisfaction with the product.
http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/usability-testing.html

44. Usability Studies
• Learn if participants are able to complete specified tasks
successfully and
• Identify how long it takes to complete specified tasks
• Find out how satisfied participants are with your Web site or other
product
• Identify changes required to improve user performance and
satisfaction
• And analyze the performance to see if it meets your usability
objectives
http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/usability-testing.html

45. Usability Studies
• 5 to 10 tasks within a 90-minute session. Tasks should represent the
most common user goals (e.g. recovering a lost password) and/or
the most important conversion goals from the website or application
owner’s perspective (e.g. making a purchase).
• Clear success criteria for each task. Such as: “Participant must load
the URL www.examplewebsite.com/purchase-success/ in their
browser, and report that they believe they have successfully
completed a purchase.”
• Clarify where the participant should begin the task (e.g. at the home
page of the website), and how task completion and starting points
may affect the researcher’s ability to counterbalance task order.
http://www.usabilityfirst.com/usability-methods/usability-testing/

46. Agenda
• 1:00-1:10: Introduction
• 1:10-1:30: Setting Research Goals and Objectives
• 1:30-1:50: Identify Problems
• 1:50-2:30: Overview of Techniques
• 2:30-3:00: Break
• 3:00-3:30: Research Problems
• 3:30-3:50: Analysis/Compilation/Recommendations
• 3:50-4:10: Present Findings
• 4:10-4:30: Bringing Teams Together
Take breaks as needed!

47. Techniques
• Audit/Inventory
• Content Model
• Content Gap Analysis
• Personas
• User Interviews/Focus Groups
• Card Sorts
• Field Studies
• Usability Studies

48. Playing Together

49. One Table
Make it a priority for everyone to come together.
Have analytics and facts ready.
Set rules for discussion. Candid but constructive.

50. Not a table divided
Understand the goals and roadblocks of each team.
Find the common ground and point it out.
Keep the focus on the users.

51. Let everyone
participate
Don’t try to own the process or everyone.
Let others shape processes, workflows, governance.
Make sure they understand who will make the final decision.

52. Avoid participation
problems
Set time limits for discussion items, then recap the
discussion.
Find case studies or examples to help guide discussions.

53. Find your champions
Who are those people that want to collaborate or “get”
the bigger picture? Pull them in early.
Use them as ambassadors to share information.

54. Get support
If you can’t do it organically, go for the power play and
get support from higher levels.
It will create more contention at first, but keep at it.

55. Contact me always
Amy Grace Wells
amygrace@gracefulcontent.com
@amygracewells