Presented at Web Directions South 2010, this talk covered how designers can use storytelling techniques to prototype complex, high-level concepts.

1. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Enriched storytelling.
@thoughtpod

2. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Design communication?

3. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Why stories are a design tool

4. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Stories can do things implicitly
that description can’t.
 context, and
 scaffolding
They can stand as a conceptual
prototype of a solution.

5. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
They contextualise a design

6. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Context is necessary

7. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Context is influential.
from Apollo 8 crew, NASA

8. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Stories can take complexity...
and provide a scaffolding.

9. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Stories can take complexity...
and provide a scaffolding.
User experience layer
Finds out about a
new service
Calls to
register
Call centre rep
conducts POI
Discuss
circumstances to
determine
eligibility.
Registration.
Week later,
receives
confirmation
letter and
welcome pack.
User interface layer
Process layer
Information layer
Product layer
Societal control layer
The ‘story’ bit’
The ‘enriched’
bit’

10. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Stories can take complexity...
and provide a scaffolding.
The ‘story’ bit’
The ‘enrich
bit’

11. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Making
enriched stories

12. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING

13. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING

14. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING

15. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING

16. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING

17. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING

18. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
User experience layer
The “what’s actually
different” layer
The architectural detail

19. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Focus on the future system in the wild.
Time
Jan Jul Jan Jul
Construction
complete
Deployment
complete
System
in use

20. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
people
things
channels
process
location
Time &
sequence
messaging Systems &
tech
Scope should include everything
that the scope should include –
no more and no less.
Cultural change

21. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
The user experience should
lead the story – and become a
scaffold for the architecture.
Finds out about a
new service
Calls to
register
Call centre rep
conducts POI
Discuss
circumstances to
determine
eligibility.
Registration.
Week later,
receives
confirmation
letter and
welcome pack.

22. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
The story should use a visual
and a textual taxonomy.
Week later, John checks his email,
and finds a message from the agency.
He opens it and [etc etc]
Email

23. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
The what’s different layer
should articulate the key
changes, not every change.
And if possible, they should be
tied to benefits and risks* – user
and business.
Week later, John checks his email,
and finds a message from the agency.
He opens it and [etc etc]
Email, rather than paper-
based correspondence decreases
the registration turnaround time and
reduces mailout/printing costs.
Email
* it’s a design prototype, not a
sales job.

24. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
The architecture layer
should show the key assets –
systems, processes, user
interfaces.
They can get more technical, but
usually only in later iterations.
Week later, John checks his email,
and finds a message from the agency.
He opens it and finds it contains an
appointment time, which updates his
online calendar [etc]
Email, rather than paper-
based correspondence decreases
the registration turnaround time and
reduces mailout/printing costs.
Email
Auto email facility – generates
emails based on case note.
Calendar – updated
based on
authenticated
link-click.
Previous scenes
in the story

25. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
What’s different?
Providers able to integrate
calendars with her. Sue can
keep track of complex
content and contacts
easily – no more post-its
and scrawls on random
paper
Sue feels in control.
What’s different?
Pathway approach –
Sue has help
navigating systems and
reactions, so that they
become more
predictable.
What’s different?
Information
management and
synthesis begins
immediately, not
retrospectively.
There’s continuity in
the response.
Person diagnosed with a heath issue registers and uses HealthNavigator.org.au to manage their response.
1
Health issue
emerges
Sue develops a
set of symptoms
that begin to
recur.
2
Diagnosis and
HealthNav referral
Sue visits her GP,
who diagnoses her
with a serious
condition.
Her GP suggests
she use
HealthNavigator to
manage her health
response.
3
Registering for
HealthNavigator
Sue registers and
starts using the
functionality
immedately.
Setting up Health Plan
She sets up her health
plan, learning about
benefits, support groups,
coping strategies
(presented as pathways
to be followed) and
adding in contacts
(people, institutions and
websites)
Managing health
response
She begins using the system to keep
notes of her conversations, and
asks providers to email her
appointment invitations to her
HealthNavigator email (which auto-
adds them to her calendar.
She also creates appointments
herself, as well as calendarising
upcoming events (eg test results).
Her HealthNavigator to-do list grows
in the first week, but begins to shrink
after the second.
Sharing
Access
Sue gives her
husband access to
her account, and they
begin to share the
management of her
response.
4 5
Userexperience
Sue, the patient:
Learn about her condition, and the available support
infrastructures
Manage her health response so she can keep track of everything.
Bianca, Sue’s GP:
Help Sue get well
Refer Sue to tools that can help her.
Email
invite
UIConcepts
What’s different?
GP educated to
provide advice on
response
management,
rather than just
treatment.
What’s different?
Family members more
involved in a structured
way. Everyone –
support, carers, etc –
using the same source
of information.

26. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
HealthNavigator.org would be available to users based
on referral from a medical practitioner, to help them
through the ‘crisis’ part of their diagnosis, and ongoing
to assist them in managing their response.
It could be delivered to their computer, their phone,
their personal management software (eg Outlook), and
to paper prints, to make sure that they have it on hand
as needed in the most useful form possible for a range
of circumstances.
I need
help
with…
I can’t
find my…
I just need
to talk to
someone
…
Integrated support and
counselling service
Phone help

27. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Simple one-pager…tells a story in a
single page, describing key people,
systems, processes, UI features,
business outcomes.
Don’t just tell the design decision
makers – show them, warts and all.
Get beyond the hype and the
confusion!
Some examples…

28. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Some examples…
Full scenario spelling out
the design, including:
• High-level overview
• Persona
• Stepped process
• User impact lenses

29. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Some resources…
Sun Microsystems’
designstories.org
Istockphoto, fotolia etc
Balsamiq, InPresoScreens
(prototyping)
Illustrator, Photoshop,
Powerpoint (yes, Powerpoint)

30. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING
Working the process…
Understand the context
Learn about the context, systems, users, and the desired
business outcomes
Find the senior sponsor
Understand the issues and solve them, review regularly,
escalate, add value
Pick the right brains
Facilitated workshops, interviews, project meetings,
documentation, user discovery
Partner with the team
Build strong relationships, share the work, build a sense
of contribution and ownership
Get something out EARLY,
review, iterate, repeat
Have a deadline
and an event
Senior stakeholder commitment
v. important

31. DESIGNING USING ENRICHED STORYTELLING