User Centered Design 101

1 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics User Centered Design 101 An Experience Dynamics training WEB SEMINAR With Frank Spillers, MS

2 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics About Your Speaker Frank Spillers Masters Cognitive Science 10 years User Centered Design experience Founder, Experience Dynamics- leading Usability Design Research firm

3 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Agenda Is User Centered Design a buzzword, a technique, or a methodology? Why does "UCD" get so much attention? How has it changed how teams approach web application usability efforts? Is UCD right for you? 1.User Centered Design: Evolving from Dot-Com to Web 2.0 2.Why UCD? (Development, Business, Design benefits) 3.Development process: UCD vs. Agile vs. Waterfall 4.Case Studies: User Centered Design success stories 5.Is UCD right for you?: Planning a UCD process for your product 6.Q & A

4 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics 1. User Centered Design: Evolving from Dot-Com to Web 2.0

5 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics User Centered Design Using user advocacy as a means to product development… Grounding requirements and design decision making in observed behavioral data. For Websites, portals, Intranets. Software, Web applications. Embedded or mobile devices, hardware products. For end-to-end experiences.

6 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Timeline* 1997 20082001 2004 A lot of good post-dot com guessing…and heavy sprinkles of usability and UCD… UCD methodology has influenced every aspect of Web design and development in the past 6 years. *Note: This timeline is incomplete and is for illustrative purposes only. Sorry if we left you off!

7 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics www.usabilitylabrental.com

8 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics in a UCD process 1. Get to know the users 2. Analyze user tasks and goals 3. Establish usability requirements 4. Prototype some design ideas 5. Usability test the concepts 6. Repeat as necessary 6 Basic Steps

9 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Let’s make a distinction • Usability is not UCD • Usability is a result, a goal, a field (UE, UX) • UCD is a methodology • Usability is an outcome of UCD practices

10 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics International Standards Org 1. ISO 9241-11 (1998) defines usability as an outcome “The extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.” 2. ISO 13407 (1999) defines HCD as an approach Human centred design processes for interactive systems “Human-centred design is an approach to interactive system development that focuses specifically on making systems usable. It is a multi-disciplinary activity…”

11 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics “Is it possible to win with just usability?” Yes, I think so…but Enterprise level organizations need a framework to manage UCD and adhere to the practice of user involvement a la behavioral research… Otherwise techniques get shelved, filed away or move on (with bright stars).

12 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Why does UCD often look diluted, dated, misplaced or weak? Different reasons: •Usability consultants or Centers of Excellence like to extend, expand and redefine •It is used for different purposes: marketing; PR; promotional reasons •Different backgrounds; different disciplines come to UCD practice •Not all steps are or can be followed •UCD follows organizational buy-in to usability

13 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics 2. Why UCD? (Development, Business, Design benefits)

14 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Approaches to Design Technology driven • Component focus • System driven (use cases) • Product defect view of quality • Focus on system robustness User Centered Design driven • Solutions focus • (real-world) Scenario driven • Task success view of quality • Focus on User Interface robustness

15 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Business case for usability • Reduce development costs • Reduce support costs • Reduce documentation time • Reduce maintenance costs • Increase user satisfaction • Increase user loyalty • Increase user adoption

16 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Web 2.0 case for…(your case here) • More compelling user experience • Faster application development • Usability fixes more elegant • More flexibility • Better control of presentation layer (UI)

17 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics 3. Development process: UCD vs. Agile vs. Waterfall

18 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Development methods: Waterfall: -3-6 month + releases -Requirements definition up front -Sequential process -Used heavily pre-Web -Delay testing to end Agile: -”XP” Extreme Programming -Reduce the cost of change -30 day releases -Include user involvement -Test as you go along UCD: -”Guerilla HCI” -User testing often -Iterative by nature -Rapid (UI) design prototyping -User test anytime

19 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics “Fitting usability in” to Agile • Move UCD deliverables to a quarterly management cycle • New features and functionality gained from field study and usability tests should be reviewed and prioritized at every new monthly build review meeting

20 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Issues with Agile • Agile competes with UCD activities (time and attention) • Close partnerships are required • UCD team needs to debrief and ‘bug-squash’ features • Usability findings should be cascaded into Agile review cycles

21 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Agile and UCD • Field Studies= Quarterly usability priority (feed to Agile dev process) • Usability Testing= Monthly usability priority (depending on what needs tested, might be small, incremental) • Usability Reviews= Can feed into the more narrow "inside a month" cycles.

22 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics 4. Case Studies: User Centered Design success stories

23 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Many Success Stories…

24 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Design an “Information Appliance” ExoBox

25 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Business Objectives • It is not a computer • Target is a home environment • Reduce fear, increase motivation

26 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics User Objectives • Support interruptions • Don’t make me feel stupid • Reduce fear of technology • Quick, Effective, Productive • Parent • Teen/Child • Grandparent • Friend • Shopper...

27 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics User Attributes • E-mail is a prime motivator • Surfing the web, too • Familiar with appliances • Are fearful of complex technology – They don’t want to feel stupid – But don’t want to be left behind

32 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Distinction • UCD takes on many interpretations- folklores • Usability efforts are stifled by many factors • Managers who don’t “get it” • IA’s or UX folks who think they “get it” but don’t (or don’t get it enough to convince their boss)

34 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Preparing your organization • Usability testing is a good start – Expert reviews are politically limited – Field studies are easily misinterpreted • Once established, Persona Research is vital – Ethnography should be embraced – Developing personas is valuable

35 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics Building momentum… • Usability Education • Research based design • Credibility (business team buy-in) • Integration (development process) • Best practice capture • Leadership (and budget) • Expertise * * * *

39 All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics thank you! 1-800-978-9183 www.experiencedynamics.com Frank Spillers, MS Frank.Spillers@experiencedynamics.com 1. Managing with User Centered Design checklist 2. Incorporating UCD into your product lifecycle: How UCD fits with Agile 3. Components of UCD Techniques: When to use and NOT to use User Centered Design 4. Guidance and Advice: how you can learn from best practice 5. Insider tips for promoting UCD at the team and management level 6. Q & A Be sure to catch UCD 102 on March 21st 2007 ($125 charge)

All contents © Copyright 2007-2008 Experience Dynamics About Experience Dynamics: Experience Dynamics is a professional usability design research firm. Through its User Centered Design services, Experience Dynamics assists organizations with removing the frustration and confusion that plagues most website and software development projects. Companies benefiting from Experience Dynamics actionable usability recommendations include AutoNation, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Verizon, Microsoft, Four Seasons, Washington Mutual, Bank One, Target, Land Rover, Providence Health System and KeyBank. About Experience Dynamics web seminars: Experience Dynamics offers a recurring set of usability web seminars on hot usability topics. The web seminars provide an overview and quick review of key issues and opportunities related to best practices in usability research. The seminars are presented by Frank Spillers, MS, a recognized expert in the field of usability engineering and user experience design. Experience Dynamics seminars are complimentary and are attended by companies including Intel, Citigroup, KeyBank, The Hartford, Fujitsu, Intuit, EMC Corp, Chase, US Bank, Apple, Amazon.com, Business Objects, Mentor Graphics, GM, Toyota and others.