Creating Hard & Fast from Soft & Squishy

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Evangelize UX to clients by speaking their language--hard and fast numbers that demonstrate ROI. See how to get beyond the yeah yeah yeahs, quantify "fluff", and align user goals with measurements of success. Presented by Margot Bloomstein (ISITE Design) at the MITX UX breakfast panel May 19, 2009.

Technology Education Design

Creating hard & fast
from soft & squishy
Created for the MITX User Experience Series
Margot Bloomstein | May 19, 2009

A full-service
interactive agency
comprising 60 strategy, design,
and development folks in
Portland, Cambridge, Dallas
since 1997

UX starts with…
you!*
*except not really.

UX starts with…
*except not really:
customers

UX starts with…
*except not really:
“users”

UX starts with…
*except not really:
delivery drivers

UX starts with…
*except not really:
women shopping

UX starts with…
*except not really:
women shopping
for themselves

UX starts with…
*except not really:
women shopping
for their partners &

UX starts with…
*except not really:
women shopping
for their partners &
kids & classrooms

UX starts with…
*except not really:
elderly investors

UX starts with…
*except not really:
20-something rich kids

UX starts with…
*except not really:
urban hipsters

UX starts with…
*except not really:
first-time homebuyers

UX starts with…
*except not really:
parents with sick kids

UX starts with…
*except not really:
potential donors

UX starts with…
*except not really:
college young alumni
still in New England

UX starts with…
*except not really:
gamers fluent in the
writings of Ayn Rand

Get beyond the yeah yeah yeahs
Quantify “fluff” on the cheap
Measure success by user goals

Yeah, yeah, yeahs…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginger82/3064448895

We already
know our users
We can’t afford that
We don’t have
time for that

We can’t afford that
What’s the real cost
of not doing it?

We can’t afford that
What’s the real cost
of risk?

We can’t afford that
Adding a blog
Design a
template:
12 hours

We can’t afford that
Adding a blog
Design a
template:
12 hours
Research &
draft copy:
3 hours

We can’t afford that
Adding a blog
Design a
template:
12 hours
Research &
draft copy:
3 hours
Talking it
up:
2 hours

We can’t afford that
Adding a blog
Design a
template:
12 hours
Research &
draft copy:
3 hours
Talking it
up:
2 hours( )4 times

We can’t afford that
Adding a blog
32 hours @ $125/hour

We can’t afford that!
Adding a blog
$4000 and lost
opportunity cost

If something’s
worth doing,
it’s worth doing
well.”
“

If something’s
worth doing,
it’s worth doing
well.”
So, who defines
well?”
“
“

well?”“
get me excited for the
next release!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/282246695

800 fill power
18 ounces
325 thread ct. case

Well” is measured
in numbers.
“
conduct group
interviews

Well” is measured
in numbers.
“
go fast & cheap!

How did you finance
the purchase?
How did you
get the money?
How did you
choose a lender?

Hitch your wagon
to their star
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawilson/2623785708

Align user goals
with measurements
of success.

Align user goals
with measurements
of success.
Reach users’ goals,
and your clients
will hit their targets
in the process.

Behavioral goals:
Spend 50% less time on the site
Conversion metric:
30% increase in visitor
conversions
Tactics:
Trim self-help content and offer
phone number to increase calls
Tweakable tactics, quantitative
numbers

Understanding
them starts with
you.
Tie user metrics
to measurements
of success.
Result:
Happy, engaged,
and eager for more!

Thank you!
Margot Bloomstein
mbloomstein@isitedesign.com
@mbloomstein
Presentation © 2009 Margot Bloomstein;
all images © 2009 Margot Bloomstein except
where noted.

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Long before you target prospective students, they’re forming opinions, narrowing options, and determining costs… without talking to you. They’re hearing other voices—and what those voices say may surprise you. Today, organizations like Peterson’s, Sallie Mae, and College Confidential help students vet schools and determine budgets, conversations previous generations had with guidance counselors and college recruiters. Discover how publishers and financial institutions are earning trust through new choices in content types, calls to action, and partner investments. As higher education draws scrutiny for cost and relevance, it’s time to learn from adjacent industries and reframe the conversation from your own institution. Learn how students gain confidence in their choices as they navigate the application and aid processes. Discover what prospects look for when determining what resources deserve their time, attention, and trust. Uncover how partners can strengthen your brand in the topics students value—especially when they don’t want to hear about those topics from you. Presented at Confab Higher Ed 2016, #ConfabEDU, in Philadelphia November 15, 2016.

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Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centered design, and this workshop will help you get up to speed on the philosophy, questions, tools, and exercises to implement it. We’ll conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you maintain content for the Web, mobile apps, social media, or offline experiences. Eager for more efficient engagements? You’ll also discover how a brand-attributes card sort can help you identify potential pitfalls and points of disagreement while you improve organizational alignment. Then use this foundation to conduct a qualitative and quantitative content audit. We’ll discuss the content opportunities a gap analysis can reveal when we use the message architecture as a metric of quality. Trying to manage scope creep? What about seagulling stakeholders? And what content matters most, anyhow? These questions and other challenges drive content strategy, and the business issues beyond it. What if you need to empower a team, wrangle a client, and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for your primary navigation? No matter your title, it’s time to embrace content strategy, starting with the message architecture. Join this workshop to build out your content strategy toolkit: Learn how—and why—to establish a hierarchy of communication goals in a message architecture with a hands-on exercise Discuss the right questions to ask—and how to ask them—to minimize distracting, off-brand features, like the blog no one has time to update Gain additional tools to keep your projects on track, on time, and on budget

Content Strategy for an Era of Self-Validating Facts at CSsummit

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The 2016 US presidential election reveals a post-fact culture. Previously, catching someone in a lie could sully their name, derail a campaign, or decimate a brand--ask Gary Hart, Richard Nixon, and former governor and Appalachian Trail enthusiast Mark Sanford. Today, lies matter less. Not to brands, but to their audiences. Emotion replaces logic. So how do you choose content types to develop rapport when your audience tests proof points against their convictions? Can mass media validate fact if "truthiness" trumps truth? Can you harness opposing perspectives without ceding to false equivalency? Most importantly, we'll discuss how to empower audiences to embrace the courage of their convictions on your behalf. Presented at the online Content Strategy Summit 2016, #CSsummit, August 25, 2016.

Establishing a Brand-driven Message Architecture WebVisions NYC

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Trying to manage scope creep? What about seagulling stakeholders? And what content matters most, anyhow? These questions and other challenges drive content strategy. If you’re a designer planning for content or a developer tailoring the CMS to specific content types, they’re your challenges, too. If you need to empower a team, wrangle a client, and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for your primary navigation, forget your title. It’s time to embrace content strategy, starting with the message architecture. Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centered design, and this workshop will help you get up to speed on the philosophy, questions, tools, and exercises to implement it. We’ll conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you design for the web, mobile apps, social media, or offline experiences. Then use this foundation to learn about a qualitative and quantitative content audit, content types, and editorial style guidelines. We’ll discuss the content opportunities a gap analysis reveals when we use the message architecture as a metric of quality. You’ll leave with the savvy and experience to bring brand-driven content strategy techniques and thinking into your own work. What you can expect: Learn how—and why—to establish a hierarchy of communication goals in a message architecture with a hands-on exercise Discuss the right questions to ask—and how to ask them—to minimize distracting, off-brand features, like the blog no one has time to update Use a content audit to evaluate content against the message architecture Gain additional tools to keep your projects on track, on time, and on budget Presented as a workshop at WebVisions NYC, April 7, 2016, at WebVisions in New York.

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Creating Hard & Fast from Soft & Squishy

1. Creating hard & fast from soft & squishy Created for the MITX User Experience Series Margot Bloomstein | May 19, 2009

2. A full-service interactive agency comprising 60 strategy, design, and development folks in Portland, Cambridge, Dallas since 1997

3. UX starts with…

4. UX starts with… you!*

5. UX starts with… you!* *except not really.

6. UX starts with… *except not really: customers

7. UX starts with… *except not really: “users”

8. UX starts with… *except not really: delivery drivers

9. UX starts with… *except not really: women shopping

10. UX starts with… *except not really: women shopping for themselves

11. UX starts with… *except not really: women shopping for their partners &

12. UX starts with… *except not really: women shopping for their partners & kids & classrooms

13. UX starts with… *except not really: women shopping for their partners & kids & classrooms

14. UX starts with… *except not really: elderly investors

15. UX starts with… *except not really: 20-something rich kids

16. UX starts with… *except not really: urban hipsters

17. UX starts with… *except not really: first-time homebuyers

18. UX starts with… *except not really: parents with sick kids

19. UX starts with… *except not really: potential donors

20. UX starts with… *except not really: college young alumni still in New England

21. UX starts with… *except not really: gamers fluent in the writings of Ayn Rand

22. WTF do they want?!

23. Why does it matter?

24. How do you get me to care?

25. Get beyond the yeah yeah yeahs Quantify “fluff” on the cheap Measure success by user goals

26. Yeah, yeah, yeahs… http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginger82/3064448895

27. We already know our users We can’t afford that We don’t have time for that

28. We can’t afford that

29. We can’t afford that What’s the real cost of not doing it?

30. We can’t afford that What’s the real cost of risk?

31. We can’t afford that Adding a blog Design a template: 12 hours

32. We can’t afford that Adding a blog Design a template: 12 hours Research & draft copy: 3 hours

33. We can’t afford that Adding a blog Design a template: 12 hours Research & draft copy: 3 hours Talking it up: 2 hours

34. We can’t afford that Adding a blog Design a template: 12 hours Research & draft copy: 3 hours Talking it up: 2 hours( )4 times

35. We can’t afford that Adding a blog 32 hours @ $125/hour

36. We can’t afford that! Adding a blog $4000 and lost opportunity cost

37. If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” “

38. If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” So, who defines well?” “ “

39. well?”“ make me read more

40. well?”“ make me read less

41. well?”“ show me more options

42. well?”“ get me excited for the next release!

43. Well” takes metrics.“

44. Quantify “fluff” on the cheap

45. http://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/282246695

46. fluffy

47. 800 fill power 18 ounces 325 thread ct. case

48. Well” is measured in numbers. “

49. Well” is measured in numbers. “ survey!

50. Well” is measured in numbers. “ conduct group interviews

51. Well” is measured in numbers. “ go fast & cheap!

52. How did you finance the purchase? How did you get the money? How did you choose a lender?

53. Get reportable, quantitative results.

54. Hitch your wagon to their star http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawilson/2623785708

55. Align user goals with measurements of success.

56. Align user goals with measurements of success. Reach users’ goals, and your clients will hit their targets in the process.

57. Behavioral goals: Spend 50% less time on the site Conversion metric: 30% increase in visitor conversions Tactics: Trim self-help content and offer phone number to increase calls Tweakable tactics, quantitative numbers

58. Understanding them starts with you. Tie user metrics to measurements of success. Result: Happy, engaged, and eager for more!

Creating Hard & Fast from Soft & Squishy

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