Human Experience Design (Digital Summit Workshop)

Human Experience Design
Lean UX Secrets to Engage & Delight
Sarah Weise, UX Director, Booz Allen Hamilton @weisesarah
Linna Ferguson, Creative Director, Booz Allen Hamilton @linnaferguson

Hello Slideshare Viewers!
These slides you’re about to flip through are from a 4 hour, hands-on workshop
presented at the Digital Summit conference series in 2014-2015.
There are a number of stories and content not included here. We’ve tried to
add a few notes along the way, but if you’d like to learn these techniques in
more depth, we’d love to see you at our next workshop. Visit
www.techmediaco.com for dates and details.
Thanks for viewing,
Sarah & Linna

I
want
to
tell
you
a
story
about

the
ﬁrst
UX
project
I
ever

worked
on.
It
was
over
a

decade
ago,
and
it
lasted
a
full

year…

@weisesarah @linnaferguson
We
analyzed
customer
segments,
and

idenBfied
and
recruited
a
ton
of
users
in
each

of
those
segments.
We
made
sure
to
select
a

staBsBcally
significant
number
of
parBcipants

from
each
group
so
that
we
could
report
our

findings
with
scienBfic
precision
–
confidence

intervals
and
margin
of
error.

I
was
doing
t-‐
tests
and
z-‐tests
to
find
out
which

recommendaBons
should
go
in
Phase
I
versus

Phase
2.

I
even
remember
bringing
my
old

college
staBsBcs
textbook
to
work
with
me!

We
conducted

our
research
in

a
lab
with
a

two-‐way

mirror.

We

ﬁlmed
the
test

parBcipants

and
went
back

and
watched

the
tests

mulBple
Bmes,

scruBnizing

facial

expressions

and
body

language.

By
the
end
of
the
year,
we
had
a
big
honkin’
report.

There
were
over
100
findings.

We
actually
had
tables

to
group
and
categorize
all
of
the
findings.

It
was
in
a
binder
like
this.

With
a
cover
page
slaved

over
by
a
graphic
designer.

This
was
my
first
UX
job,
and
at
the
Bme
I
was
so

proud
of
this
report.

It
was
massive.

It
showed
off
all

the
hard
work
we
did.

The best part…
Over
10
year
later,
their
website
is
largely
the
same.

Only
2-‐3
recommendaBons
had
been
implemented

out
of
100+,
and
those
were
preRy
much
low
hanging

fruit.

This
process
stole
a
year
of
my

life.
Countless
billable
hours,

your
taxpayer
dollars,

painstaking
work,
meeBngs

and
staBsBcal
nonsense.

Are
you
familiar
with
this

heartbreak?

“The biggest lie in
software is Phase II.”
Jeff Gothelf

Why can’t it always be like this?
Over
a
decade
later,
the
organizaBon
re-‐engaged
us.

Some
of

the
very
same
clients,
actually.
But
this
Bme,
our
process
was

lean.

In
under
a
month,
we
had
a
substanBally
beRer
product.

With
far
less
work
and
hassle.
Clients
parBcipated
in
the

process,
and
became
our
advocates.

It
leW
me
thinking…
Why
can’t
it
always
be
like
this?

PRIX FIXE MENU
Data Gathering :: choose one
Usability testing
Create scenarios based on top tasks, craft post-test survey, and
conduct 6 hours worth of one-on-one usability testing*
Web survey
Create survey questions to solicit preference data and discover
more about target audiences*
Existing data trends
Evaluate existing data such as help desk tickets, web
analytics, and/or survey data
Focus group
Plan and lead 6 hours worth of focus group sessions*
Analysis :: choose one
Expert review
SME evaluation of select screens from a website or application
Visual evaluation
Analysis of branding strategy, colors, images, typography
Task analysis
Evaluate paths to streamline information architecture
Persuasion, emotion, trust evaluation
Evaluate how to more effectively move customers to take action
Stakeholder analysis
Based on a web survey, focus group, or existing data if available
Pattern analysis
Identify trends in existing data
Benchmark
Compare my site to my competitors’
* Recruiting/scheduling not included
Presented in 2010 by Sarah Weise / Linna Ferguson, User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA)
Now
this
is
not
the
first
Bme
I’ve
asked
myself
this
quesBon.
In

fact,
I’ve
spent
my
career
trying
to
make
UX
as
simple
and

effecBve
as
possible.

5
years
ago,
Linna
and
I
even
coined
the
term
“Express

Usability”
at
a
UXPA
conference
in
Munich,
where
we

convinced
a
whole
bunch
of
people
to
implement
UX

strategies
in
just
1
week
with
a
fixed
price
menu
approach,
an

idea
that
came
to
us
aWer
drinking
heavily
at
a
fixed
price

restaurant.

PRIX FIXE MENU
Deliverable :: choose one
Recommendations report
Details top recommendations based on our analysis in a finding-rationale-recommendation format
Screen-by-screen findings report
Points out areas on each page that can be improved
Design concepts
Pair with the visual evaluation: two alternate design concepts
Information architecture recommendations
Navigational outline or flow chart detailing enhancements to organization and page flow
Wireframe(s)
Visually displays layout recommendations; interactive prototyping may be an option if time permits
Trend report
Pair with the pattern analysis or benchmark; couple with stakeholder analysis if data is available and time permits
Presented in 2010 by Sarah Weise / Linna Ferguson, User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA)

By the end of the day, you’ll know 10 new techniques to cultivate
EMPATHY. CREATIVITY. FOCUS.
HUMAN EXPERIENCE DESIGN BEGINS WITH YOU

In
my
opinion,
the
key
difference

between
Lean
UX
and
tradiBonal
UX

methods
is
the
idea
that
UX

professionals
are
NOT
just
advocates

for
the
user.

In
Lean
UX,
we
work
to

understand
and
define
the
business

and
product
vision,
and
find
where

that
intersects
with
customer
needs.

Let’s
say
we
find
out
that
users
need

bicycles,
but
the
goal
of
the
business

is
to
sell
unicycles.
If
we
don’t
take

that
into
account,
we’re
going
to
be

fighBng
every
step
of
the
way,
and

our
recommendaBons
will
never
be

implemented.

Let’s meet.

The Numbers Game
This
workshop
acBvity
demonstrated
the
pi`alls
of

mulBtasking,
namely
that
you
are
far
less
creaBve

when
you’re
switching
context
between
two
diﬀerent

tasks.

We think on autopilot.
Multitasking makes us less creative.

We lose a lot to context switching
# of simultaneous projects % of time available per project Loss of time to context switching
1 100% 0%
2 40% 20%
3 20% 40%
4 10% 60%
5 5% 75%
This
is
waste
!

Quality Software Management by Gerald Weinberg

Who is an artist in here?
When
you
ask
this
in
a
kindergarten
classroom,

almost
every
hand
shoots
up.

Today,
we
had
1
or
2
hands
go
up
out
of
100.

AGE 5
You used 80% of
your creative
potential.
AGE 12
Your creative
output has
dropped to 2% ADULT
Your creative output stays around 2%...
Unless you do something about it!

Look
at
a
3-‐5
year
old
classroom.

These
spaces
are

ﬁlled
with
fun
and
colorful
things
to
do,
see
and

touch.

But
then
we
end
up
here.

How
could
we
be
creaBve

in
a
space
like
this?

How
do
we
communicate
or

connect?

20-Circle Challenge

Was that harder or easier than you thought?
What was your approach?
How did this challenge make you feel?
Nervous? Excited? Anxious? Focused?
20-Circle Challenge
Discuss with a partner

Everyone can be creative.
Use a UFB to cultivate creativity.
UFB
=
Uninterrupted
Focus
Block

This
is
a
way
to
protect
your
Bme,
focus
on
a
single

thing,
and
empower
yourself
to
be
creaBve.

Creativity is a muscle. Exercise it.
Commit to 5 minutes a day for 30 days.
Not
only
that,
start
your
UX
sessions
oﬀ
with
a
creaBvity

booster
like
one
of
these
acBviBes,
and
your
parBcipants

will
get
in
the
zone.
They’ll
be
more
focused,
aRenBve

and
creaBve
in
your
sessions.

Doodle a picture
Draw an animal
Make something out of play dough
Write a journal entry
Find an interesting object from nature, and write 20 words to describe it
Discover a new word, and use it in a sentence
Do a crossword puzzle or word hunt
Write a haiku
Try a new food
Pin an inspiring picture on Pinterest
Build a tower with blocks or legos (I’m partial to MagnaTiles…)
Find an interesting texture and do a paper rubbing
30 Days of Creativity
Ideas for the challenge. Each day…

Companies like
3M and Google
give staff 15-20%
of time to work on
projects of their
choosing
Gmail
Google
Ads
Post-it
notes Masking
Tape

What creative habit will you start today?
What will you try for 30 days straight?
How will you bring this back to work?
Creativity
Write down on your note-taking page…

Ok, so what’s
next?
How do I apply
this to my work?
How does
creativity relate to
empathy?
Will this really
change my life?

Let’s shift from personal to group creativity

1. Mad Libs
2. Wall Voting
3. Target Priorities
4. Personas
5. Empathy Maps
6. Journey Maps
7. User Stories
8. Ideation & Refining
9. Usability Testing
10. Projective Interviews

Rules can be your friends
There’s no dial-in number
Let’s maximize connection. Pure attention and focus. Humans
only. The optimum number of people is somewhere between 4 and
20.
No phones, tablets, laptops
We have a short time with you. We have to focus!
Goal is to generate a lot of ideas quickly
There are deadlines and timers for each activity.
Pretend you’re in an elevator
Talk quickly and stay on topic. We have a parking lot for off-topic
ideas to help everyone stay on track.
We are not in the idea or ego squashing business
We succeed through a breadth of perspectives and concepts

The Story of
Sprout Wealth
This
is
a
case
study
of
a
ficBBous
wealth
management

company
serving
a
specific
niche
–
those
with
a

minimum
of
$5M
in
assets.

You
are
all
founding

partners,
each
with
a
different
viewpoints
about
how

to
form
this
company.

#1 Mad libs
FOR: target customer
WHO NEEDS: service/feature
UNLIKE: alternative/competitor
Entrepreneur
Mobile app
to check up
on $
DIY
investing

#1 Mad libs
WE ARE A: business type
WE PROVIDE: emotional benefit
WE STAND OUT BY: key differentiator
Financial
advisor
Simplicity
High tech

•  Scribble as many ideas as you can in 2 mins
(can do this as individuals or in pairs/groups)
•  Ever person/pair/group must fill 5 post-its
•  Build it, ideas will come – Put 50 stickies on the wall, and
have people shout out ideas
•  Everyone stands, shouts out 1 idea then sits, selects
someone else to go
A few different ways to capture ideas
Brainstorming methods with a group

AWer
wall
voBng,
move
the

most
voted
on
items
to
the

top.

You’ll
be
able
to
read
the

vision
statement
across
if

they
categories
are
lined
up.

Write
out
the
vision

statement
at
the
end.

It
will
not
be
in
beauBful

prose,
but
it
sure
will
be

powerful.
Everyone
has

parBcipated
in
creaBng
this

straw
man
to
build
from…

in
the
course
of
an
hour!

#1 Mad libs
Inspired creative thinking.
Ideas sprouted off each other.
Everyone rallied behind ‘sherpa’.

#2 Wall voting shows trends & limits discussion to key points

#2 Wall voting
Who is our primary target customer?
Wealthy old people /
retirees
Young entrepreneurs
Average Joe with
family inheritance
Busy CEO’s
Middle-aged, successful
business people

#2 Wall voting
retirees
Young entrepreneurs
Average Joe with
family inheritance
Busy CEO’s
business people
Try
voBng
with
2
colors
–
green
for

agree
most,
red
for
disagree
most

#2 Wall voting
retirees
Young entrepreneurs
Average Joe with
family inheritance
Busy CEO’s
business people
When
everyone
adds
their

votes,
which
ones
do
we

need
to
discuss?

VoBng

saves
Bme!

#2 Wall voting can also take place over time

#3 Wall target helps visualize and narrow key priorities
Here’s a twist!
Have a team
prioritize in
silence.

#3 Wall target helps visualize and narrow key priorities
Entrepreneur
Wealthy retirees
Average Joe
with
Inheritance
Busy CEO’s

#4 Personas instantly create empathy
When I was 10 my father had a
heart attack in front of me. From
then I vowed to be prepared if that
situation ever happened again.
This
is
Bill
Winters.
Bill
is
an
EMT
in
his
early
40s.
When

he
was
10
years
old,
his
father
had
a
heart
aRack
in

front
of
him.
From
that
point
on,
he
vowed
to
always
be

prepared.
This
inspired
him
to
become
the
EMT
he
is

today.

Bill
has
2
teenage
daughters
and
even
though

he’s
divorced
and
only
sees
them
on
the
weekends,

he’s
always
sharing
his
knowledge
with
them
and

insBlling
them
with
a
sense
of
preparaBon.

He
enjoys

grilling
with
on
Sunday
aWernoons,
and
trying
out

grilling
apps
on
his
tablet.
Bill
was
extremely
inﬂuenBal

in
redesigning
FIrstResponder.gov.

But
there’s
one
thing
I
haven’t
told
you
about
Bill.

He’s
100%
fake.

Description
Goals & Needs
Tech Usage (Laptop / Tablet / Phone / Favorite apps…)
Picture (Yes, draw it!)
Age:
Gender:
Occupation:
#4 Personas
Customer Name:

We
love
all
the
sketches
our

parBcipants
do
in
this

workshop!

#4 Personas make a post-it come to life
See
how
this
one
(from
a
real
client)

looks
preRy
much
the
same?

We
do
this
idenBcal
acBvity
with
our

clients,
and
it
really
works!

#4 Personas make a post-it come to life
Yes!

We
totally
agree.

Thanks
for
the
shout-‐out,

Michael.

We’re
big
fans
of
personas.

Let’s
help
our
clients
make

these
pieces
of
paper
come

to
life
so
that
they
can
help

drive
business
decisions.

#4 Personas can be paired with wall voting

#4 Personas can be used to role play

#4 Personas
can quickly state what
resonates
(and what doesn’t)
for this customer

#4 Personas
can be visual
Check out what’s
on Amy’s work
station

#5 Empathy maps let you quickly connect with users
Design Thinking Action Lab 2013

#5 Empathy maps can be put into context

#6 Journey maps follow a user’s steps to document experience
Or
to
streamline
it!

#6 Journey maps applied to websites = task analysis
30+ screens to
apply for a job!
Using this, we
streamlined
USAJobs.gov to 9
screens.

#7 Write-and-pass user stories generate perspectives

#7 User stories I am a YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR
I want to…. So that I can…
71
Never have to meet in person Spend my time growing my business
Exclusively use a phone/tablet app Never be bound to a desk
Round
1:
Write
a
full
line
at
a
Bme.

#7 User stories I am a YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR
I want to…. So that I can…
72
Spend my time growing my business
Get VC funding to expand internationally
Retire at 45
Save the world
Give workshops at Digital Summit
Meet a girl
Truly create a double bottom line company
Buy a jet
Bring on a managing partner
Leave a legacy to Georgetown University (Hoya Saxa
Round
2:
Fill
out
the
“So
that
I

can…”
side
only.
Get
to
the

boRom
of
what
does
this
person

want
to
do.

Then
swap
papers
and
fill
out
the

“I
want
to…”
secBon
for

somebody
else’s
“So
that
I
can”

lines.

Did
you
get
more
creaBve

features/services
offered
as

soluBons
(the
“I
want
to”
side)
in

this
round
when
you
had
to
think

of
a
soluBon
for
an
issue
instead

of
thinking
about
the
soluBon

first,
then
jusBfying
it
with
why

the
user
wants
it?

What will you take away from this?
How might you apply this at work?
Do you have a specific project in mind?
#7 Write-and-pass user stories
Discuss with a partner…

#8 Ideation generates lots of ideas and gets people out of “ruts”

#8 Ideation can be encouraged with prompts
Try this! Generate 5-10 solutions using the following prompts…
The most obvious solutions: ___________________________________________
By adding, removing or modifying these: _________________________________
If you were a 5 year old: ______________________________________________
If you were a rebellious teenager: ______________________________________
If you had unlimited budget: ___________________________________________
If you couldn’t spend a dime: __________________________________________
With superhuman powers (invisibility, teleportation, etc): ___________________
If you were <Persona Name>: __________________________________________

#8 Ideation can build off a persona
Brianne (New Hire) Dalton (Supervisor)
Portia (Mid Level Worker Bee) Aiden (Learning Leader)

#8 Ideation can build off a persona

#8 Ideation refinement pulls best elements from each idea

What will you take away from this?
How might you apply this at work?
Do you have a specific project in mind?
#8 Ideation
Write down on your note-taking page…

#9 Usability testing shows what real, live users experience
Moderated Un-moderated
USABILITY TESTING
Open-ended Scenario-based

#9 Usability testing
Structure for moderated, scenario-based testing
1.  Opening script
2.  Intro questions
Warmup / baseline data / recall last time
3.  First impressions
Without clicking, what are your first impressions? How does it make you feel?
4.  Scenarios
At the end of each, ask for a rating of difficulty or ease.
1 = very difficult; 5 = very easy
5.  Post-test questions
Level of agreement with statements; open-ended questions;
tester rating of web savvy

Opening script
Thank you for volunteering to participate in this study. To begin, I need to read an orientation script to you. I’m reading it
directly so that all participants receive identical instructions.
<Company name> is working to improve its website, and today they are collecting feedback directly from users like you. The
input gathered here today will help identify what works well, and what needs improvement.
In this session, I'll first ask a few questions about your first impressions. After that, I'll present you with scenarios that ask you
to locate information on the site. Please speak aloud as you navigate, telling me what's going through your mind as you decide
where to go or what to click, as if you were on a game show.
This study is in no way a test of you, your skills, or your knowledge. It's a test of the system. If you feel frustrated because you
can’t find something or don’t know where to go, please let me know because this will help identify areas of the website that
need improvement. Since I'm here as a neutral observer, though, I won't be able to give you hints about where to go or what to
click.
The data from this study will be presented in aggregate form only, and your name will not be tied to your responses.
I’ll also mention that I’ve been hired just to conduct these studies and did not build or design this site in any way, so you won’t
be hurting my feelings by critiquing the site. The most important thing is to be honest about what works for you and what
doesn't, so we can fix it.
Questions at this point?

Intro/baseline questions… some examples
•  How often do you use the XYZ website?
•  How do you feel about the current site?
•  When you've come to the site in the past, are you typically looking for something in
particular, or just browsing?
•  What pages do you have bookmarked?
•  How do you typically come to the site? For instance, do you navigate directly to
the URL, do you click a link you've previously bookmarked, or do you find a page
from this site after you've Googled something?
•  Based on your past experiences, how helpful has the XYZ site been to you? 1 =
Not at all helpful, 5 = Very helpful

First impression questions… some examples
•  When you look at the homepage, what are your first impressions? How does it
make you feel?
•  Based on your first impressions, how useful do you think this site would be to you
on a scale of 1-5?
•  Without clicking on anything, just scroll up and down the homepage and tell me
what information would be most useful to you?
•  In your own words, how would you describe the purpose of this site?
•  Is there too much information on the homepage?
•  What do you think of the layout / colors / images / labeling / etc.
•  Does any of the text make you want to click to find out more?

Scenarios
•  Avoid saying the actual label of what you want someone to click
•  Provide context with words like “Imagine” or “Pretend”
Here’s an example where it’s vital:
Imagine you are a soldier having your medical condition evaluated. You would like
to know how your disability rating is determined, and whether or not you can stay
in the Army. Please find this information.
How it would read without the “Imagine”
You are having your medial condition evaluated…
“Huh? What? Are you saying I have a problem? That’s messed up, man.”
•  Stay neutral. Try not to agree during a testing session. “Mmm-hmm” and “Go on”
is better than “Yes” or “Sure” or “Right”

Metrics
Task
compleBon
Perceived
ease

Time
to
complete

Post-‐test
quesBons

(Level
of
agreement
with

statements
about
visual

and
funcBonal
aspects)

Comparison
metrics

#10 Image-based projective interviews
uncover deep feelings
Fear
Of the unknown
For my life (helplessness)
For my health and body
For my family and kids
For my home.
For nature, environment, planet
Protection
For loved ones, especially kids
Anger
At the government

I will try these 3 things at work:
3.
2.
1.
Tweet your top takeaway to @weisesarah @linnaferguson
#dsclt15
94
Mad Libs
Wall Voting
Target Prioritization
Personas
Empathy Mapping
Journey Mapping
Write-and-Pass User Stories
Ideation & Refinement
Usability Testing
Projective Interviews

You now know new techniques
to connect quicker and
build better products, leaner.

Sarah Weise
@weisesarah
linkedin.com/in/sarahweise/
Linna Ferguson
@linnaferguson
linkedin.com/in/linnaferguson/
Get the slides & handbook
www.slideshare.net/weisesarah

Human Experience Design (Digital Summit Workshop)

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