Slides from a talk I did in 2012 for Coloft Academy in Santa Monica. At the time, I was constantly dumbfounded by how few UX/UI "professionals" were researching, talking to, or even thinking about users. This is still a problem. So, this talk is about refocusing design on the people that we do it for: the users. Who are they in the first place? How do we learn more about them? What are user personas and how do we make them actionable?

1. putting the “user”
back in
user experience
12.18.2012 coloft academy

2. who are you?

3. skot carruth
founding partner
philosophie

4. what is ux?
“User experience” encompasses all
aspects of the end-user’s interaction
with the company, its services, and its
products.
nielsen norman group

5. what is ux?
everything.
© 2009 iA

7. internal factors
• Personal History
• Mood
• Culture
• Education
• Motivations
a.k.a. “User”

8. external factors
• Location
• Distractions
• Devices
• Relationships
a.k.a. “Context”

9. what is ucd?
a process.
1. Identify the users
2. Research the users
3. Design and prototype
4. Test with the users

10. this isn’t new
Human Factors
40s 50s 60s 70s ‘84 90s
The Design of
Everyday Things
IxD
HCI
Ergonomics
Cooperative
Design

11. what is ucd?
• Audience
• Context
• Purpose

12. what is a “user”?

13. hidden users
• Administrators
• The Press
• Investors
• Community Members

14. hidden users
Admins get shafted.

15. One of the horrible words we use is
“users”...I would prefer to call them
“people”.
donald norman
users = people...

16. ...but not always
People Interface
Doggie Interface

17. who are my users?
• Lots of users? Analytics.
Not a straightforward question...

18. who are my users?
• Lots of users? Analytics.
• Few users? Observation.
Not a straightforward question...

19. who are my users?
• Lots of users? Analytics.
• Few users? Observation.
• No users? Intuition.
Not a straightforward question...

20. the persona

21. what is it?
• Archetype
• Typical, not average
• As real as possible

22. why they’re cool
• Visualize and describe
• Empathy
• Common ground

23. how we do it
1. Name and tagline
2. Image
3. Demographics
4. Backstory
5. Goals and motivations
6. Ideal experience

24. activity time

25. discussion time

26. variations
• Gear
• Quotes
• Favorite brands/products
• Turn-offs
• Roles and responsibilities

27. when?
• Introducing a new type of
audience
• Examining a segment
• When things change

28. validate
• Beware: personal biases
• Ask a friend
• Find your personas
• Feedback surveys

29. now what?
• Be their friend
• Bring them to meetings
• Role-play

30. ucd this
• Card sorting
• Paper prototyping
• TAL
• Workflow analysis
Techniques you can use without real users

31. thanks!
skot@gophilosophie.com
@skotcarruth