User Experience Debt talk from IA Summit 2014 in San Diego, California.

1. IA Summit – March 30, 2014 – @andrewjwright #uxdebt
UX Debt
Creating awareness and
acting on missed opportunities.
@andrewjwright
#uxdebt

2. IA Summit – March 30, 2014 – @andrewjwright #uxdebt
Picture someone
you’ve borrowed
something from.

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Imagine that person
was one of
your users.

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I.O.U.

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Useful,
Usable, and
Desirable.
We create experiences that are

6. IA Summit – March 30, 2014 – @andrewjwright #uxdebt
recurring problems
• limited time, budget, and resources
compromise the design
• good ideas get lost in the shuffle
• decisions are made without understanding
the impact on the experience

7. IA Summit – March 30, 2014 – @andrewjwright #uxdebt
To improve
your
product,
identify the
threats.

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technical debt - ward cunningham
Carrigg Photography - http://www.carriggphotography.com/

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Hierarchy
of Needs
- Aarron Walter

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Intentional
UX Debt
Unintentional
UX Debt

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Intentional UX debt is a result of
decisions made based on
project constraints.

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Not enough budget, time, or people to
design, test, iterate, and build everything.

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Lots of budget and time but
not enough people.

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Budget and more than enough people,
but no time.

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Designers

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Developers

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Executives

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Product
Manager/Owner

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Project / Product Lifespan
Intentional UX Debt can be created any time.

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Example: JunkMail

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In order to stay in touch with my mom,
as a web-savvy internet user and world traveller,
I want to send email from my browser.

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It's so frustrating typing my
email in this tiny little box....It's
the worst.
Feedback

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I can't tell if the address I'm
typing is right ‘cause I can’t
see it.
Feedback

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I don't get what happens
when I click 'done'... is it saved
somewhere or something?
Feedback

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Time for
some changes,
eh?

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Perceived UX Debt is the result
of a hunch or hypothesis without
evidence to immediately back
up the claim.

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#protips
You know you’re creating UX Debt when you hear...
• "we'll fix it later"
• "we'll improve it in release 2"
• "we don't have time"
• "we don't have resources"
• "we can train them on that"

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Unintentional UX debt results
from misconceptions about
users and from changes in their
needs, abilities, or expectations
over time.

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Team

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Users

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Competitors

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Competitors’
Users
Competitors

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Project / Product Lifespan
The worst Unintentional UX Debt is created here.

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Project / Product Lifespan
UnintentionalUXDebt
Unintentional UX Debt naturally increases over time.

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pinch and zoom

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There are times when I write all
or part of a message and I just
want to throw it away.
Feedback

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I can't remember anyones’
email address... can I save
them somewhere or
something?
Or maybe you could add that thingy that
Awesomemail has... that'd really help.
Feedback

56. IA Summit – March 30, 2014 – @andrewjwright #uxdebt
Sometimes I start writing a
message and I can't send it
right away but I don't want to
have to retype the whole
thing.
Feedback

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58. IA Summit – March 30, 2014 – @andrewjwright #uxdebt
I can't remember anyones’
email address... can I save
them somewhere or
something?
Or maybe you could add that thingy that
Awesomemail has... that'd really help.
Feedback

59. IA Summit – March 30, 2014 – @andrewjwright #uxdebt
Image c/o Apple Inc.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2486
Interviews

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2 approaches
to assessing
Unintentional
UX Debt

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1. be deliberate

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2. pay attention

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This lens
is a tool for
betterment.

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Get rid of
UX Debt in
3steps

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Determine if and
where UX Debt
exists.
1.

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Compare severity
to importance
2.

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Make time to fix it3.

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Socialize the
concept
+1

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First you make it work,
then you make it work well,
and then you make it so
people can't imagine life any
other way. That's #UX.
- Karl Fast

72. IA Summit – March 30, 2014 – @andrewjwright #uxdebt
Thank you!
@andrewjwright
#uxdebt
Resources
Sample UX Debt Tracking spreadsheet: http://bit.ly/P2oMOG

73. IA Summit – March 30, 2014 – @andrewjwright #uxdebt
Attributions
Designing for Emotion – Aarron Walter – Hierarchy of (User) Needs
http://www.abookapart.com/products/designing-for-emotion
Public Domain – People designed by Dima Kolchan
Creative Commons – Attribution (CC BY 3.0) – Money Bag designed by Patrick Morrison
from the Noun Project
Creative Commons – Attribution (CC BY 3.0) – Time designed by Wayne Middleton from
the Noun Project
Public Domain – Magnifying Glass – Roy Lichtenstein
http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/roy-lichtenstein/magnifying-glass-1963
Creative Commons – Attribution (CC BY 3.0) – 3 steps
https://www.flickr.com/photos/zen/
Creative Commons – Attribution (CC BY 3.0) – Waterfall
https://www.flickr.com/photos/3sth3r/
Creative Commons – Attribution (CC BY 3.0) – Rapids
https://www.flickr.com/photos/desawindsinger/