An updated, refreshed version of the talk I gave in Poland, this is the 2015 Big Design slide deck of "Ethnography in Software Design: An Anthropologist's Point of View."
When a software development company couldn’t understand why attorneys weren’t happier with their new document submission software researchers were called in to figure it out. Using a combination of in-context research and a lab-based Kano Method study we identified key misunderstandings and shortfalls in the offering, ultimately inspiring the development team to call for more exposure to users in future projects.
Ethnography in Software Design - An Anthropologist's PerspectiveKelly Moran
Ethnography claims its roots from the field of anthropology. How can a technique used for such a seemingly exotic purpose be useful in the modern world of software design? Revealing and most importantly understanding user needs requires sensitivity, empathy, and a disciplined approach – all of which can be found within ethnography. This talk outlines the basic components of an ethnographic perspective, explores a case study from a recent engagement between projekt202 and an enterprise software company, and highlights how the impact of this research ripples through the software development process.
Collaboration. Customers. Conflict? Bridging the Gap between Agile and UXjohanna kollmann
In 2000, Jesse James Garrett first published his The Elements of User Experience diagram. In 2001, a group of practitioners signed the Agile Manifesto. Since then, User Experience and agile approaches to software development have gained traction, and have influenced how we build digital products. In this talk at UX Day Graz, Johanna outlined the opportunities and challenges UX designers face when working in an agile context, shared some of the best practices to make Agile and UX work well together, and discussed why the Lean Startup approach is opening doors for UX.
UX STRAT Online 2021 Presentation by Jos-Marien Jansen, PhilipsUX STRAT
These slides are for the following session presented at the UX STRAT Online 2021 Conference:
"Mixed Methods in UX Research in the Fields of Design, Data, and AI"
Jos-Marien Jansen
Philips: Sr. Design Researcher
Insight Types That Influence Enterprise Decision Makers (Christian Rohrer a...Rosenfeld Media
Christian Rohrer: "Insight Types That Influence Enterprise Decision Makers"
Enterprise UX 2015 • May 13, 2015 • San Antonio, TX, USA
http://enterpriseux.net
When a software development company couldn’t understand why attorneys weren’t happier with their new document submission software researchers were called in to figure it out. Using a combination of in-context research and a lab-based Kano Method study we identified key misunderstandings and shortfalls in the offering, ultimately inspiring the development team to call for more exposure to users in future projects.
Ethnography in Software Design - An Anthropologist's PerspectiveKelly Moran
Ethnography claims its roots from the field of anthropology. How can a technique used for such a seemingly exotic purpose be useful in the modern world of software design? Revealing and most importantly understanding user needs requires sensitivity, empathy, and a disciplined approach – all of which can be found within ethnography. This talk outlines the basic components of an ethnographic perspective, explores a case study from a recent engagement between projekt202 and an enterprise software company, and highlights how the impact of this research ripples through the software development process.
Collaboration. Customers. Conflict? Bridging the Gap between Agile and UXjohanna kollmann
In 2000, Jesse James Garrett first published his The Elements of User Experience diagram. In 2001, a group of practitioners signed the Agile Manifesto. Since then, User Experience and agile approaches to software development have gained traction, and have influenced how we build digital products. In this talk at UX Day Graz, Johanna outlined the opportunities and challenges UX designers face when working in an agile context, shared some of the best practices to make Agile and UX work well together, and discussed why the Lean Startup approach is opening doors for UX.
UX STRAT Online 2021 Presentation by Jos-Marien Jansen, PhilipsUX STRAT
These slides are for the following session presented at the UX STRAT Online 2021 Conference:
"Mixed Methods in UX Research in the Fields of Design, Data, and AI"
Jos-Marien Jansen
Philips: Sr. Design Researcher
Insight Types That Influence Enterprise Decision Makers (Christian Rohrer a...Rosenfeld Media
Christian Rohrer: "Insight Types That Influence Enterprise Decision Makers"
Enterprise UX 2015 • May 13, 2015 • San Antonio, TX, USA
http://enterpriseux.net
Andy Kirk's Webinar for Tableau (July 2016)Andy Kirk
These are the slides from the talk given by Andy Kirk (@visualisingdata) on a webinar hosted by Tableau Software on 20th July 2016. The title is 'Bringing Method to the Madness' and concerns a demonstration of a data visualisation design workflow.
Emotion Economy: Ethnography as Corporate StrategyKelly Goto
Today’s consumer is hungry for something much deeper than a viral video. They’re looking for authentic connection. In this emerging Emotion Economy, brands must build products and services that address people’s unspoken feelings, wishes, and needs. And business as usual won’t cut it. To succeed, companies must connect at an emotional level with their customers.
Originally presented at Enterprise UX, 2015 by Rosenfeld Media
EuroIA 2017 - Exploring a transition from graphical to linguistic user interf...Jen Williams
This is a talk I gave at Euro IA 2017 in Stockholm. Conversational interfaces have created a new paradigm that will alter how we interact with our environment and how we design information spaces. This is about how designers can transition from designing for screens to designing for conversational interfaces – both chatbots and voice. The talk offers an exploration of the possibilities and how we can take advantage of them now, and in the future.
Here's the links to the videos in the presentation:
Setting a timer with Alexa:
https://youtu.be/fMKJBFtnjLs
Adding items to a shopping list with Alexa:
https://youtu.be/i2m7XHbzac4
Playing music with Google Home:
https://youtu.be/aD_UIeRNCRE
Checking my calendar with Google Home:
https://youtu.be/8R4GTd5RPZE
Playing The Higher Lower Game with Alexa:
https://youtu.be/HzxdGFL0TCM
ResearchOps Berlin Meetup #2 - UX Maturity - How to Grow User Research in you...ResearchOps Meetup Berlin
In our spring edition of ResearchOps Berlin we will likewise talk about growing and maturing.
Our host FlixBus will give us insights into how they started UX in their organization and how they accelerated research in terms of such as their team set-up or research methods. Luky Primadani, Katja Borchert, Carolina Schomer and Pietro Romeo will provide us with use cases and how they see the next steps in becoming more UX mature.
UX STRAT Europe 2017: Judith Yaaquobi: “Cultural Dimensions in International ...UX STRAT
UX STRAT Europe 2017 presentation by Judith Yaaquobi, Senior Product Owner, Booking.com: “Cultural Dimensions in International Product Development at Booking.com”
Mental Modeling For Content Work: Contextual Inquiry, Personas and PlanningDaniel Eizans
Slides from my Confab 2014 workshop: Mental Modeling For Content Work.
Anyone working in content strategy knows that dealing with messy web content is a difficult task. Creating effective, engaging content that’s relevant to potential users and customers while supporting a good information architecture is even more difficult.
Take some of the guesswork out of content by investing more time in the upfront planning and inquiry, getting to the bottom of who your users really are. Spend a day with Daniel Eizans and learn how to conduct contextual inquiry, develop more relevant personas, and mental model your way to a better content strategy.
Daniel will bring real, field-tested examples of personas and mental models that have impacted organizational content strategy and take attendees through a series of hands-on exercises that will immediately add value to content planning and production.
You will:
Learn about the fundamentals of contextual inquiry and how to conduct this type of research when creating personas
Understand how to create more effective personas for content creators and content planners
Plan content with others using a modified mental modeling technique driven by inquiry and persona data
Receive tools and templates for bringing this technique to your clients or organization.
Presentation to the STLX conference on 25 September 2017 with Martha Valenta and Tara Nesbitt.
Takeaway: UX Research is still a thing. An important, valuable thing. You should go do some.
User experience doesn't happen on a screen: It happens in the mind.John Whalen
User experience is a vital component of mission-critical projects. The vast majority of experience is digital. We spend insane amounts of time and money designing UX for websites, apps and products to impress users. But the truth is UX isn’t a singular experience we can define. And it doesn’t happen on a screen – it happens in the mind. More specifically, the six minds.
Discover how UX is truly a collection of experiences occurring across six brain concentrations, each with their own processing styles and ideal states. And how, using psychological principles, you can uncover the conscious and subconscious needs of these six minds to appeal to users on cognitive and emotional levels.
Visual design principles & practices for web and mobile appsTania Schlatter
These slides are from a one-day class designed to help product teams bridge the gap between applications that look great or are highly functional.
This class, given with the Boston UXPA, provides guidelines and examples about how to make visual design decisions that reinforce usability best practices and create interfaces that people value. Participants learn the characteristics of “visually usable” apps to know what to shoot for, and get an introduction to the visual design “tools” for digital apps – layout, type, color, imagery, and controls and affordances – and how to use them to create appealing applications people can easily understand and use.
An overview of how UX Research is conducted in entrepreneurial Lean UX organizations. Principles and practices of Lean/Agile UX teams in high-tech, mostly Silicon Valley, settings.
Presented by Susan Wilhite to startupUCLA, an accelerator for UCLA students, on June 7, 2012 on the campus. Watch the startupUCLA web site for a video of the live presentation.
Extracts from a workshop at GOVIS 2007 (www.govis.org.nz)
This one-day intensive workshop taught attendees how to incorporate user goals and agency needs into the web design process.
Workshop presenters: Zef Fugaz, Bob Medcalf, Elyssa Timmer
Feedback from the workshop attendees:
http://www.zefamedia.com/usability/feedback-from-power-to-the-people/
Designing the Next Generation of Search User Experience - Duane Degler and Li...UXPA International
Search applications aren’t "just like Google" anymore – even Google is no longer the simple application it once was. Design is coming to the forefront of effective search applications, to help make sense of mobile search, data search, semantic search, enterprise search, federated search, and embedded search within websites and applications. So what do we need to know about designing for search? We need to understand our users’ mental models for how they perceive seeking within an information environment. We need to understand how to provide powerful user control over results and yet keep it extremely simple. We need to know how to test for effective comprehension as well as task execution. And we need to know how to get the most out of the new available technologies and data. This course is a deep dive into the essentials for a new generation of search designs.
Understanding Users Through Ethnography and Modeling - STC Summit 2010Jim Jarrett
90 minute training for experienced practitioners in best practices for analyzing and modeling qualitative user research, including KJ Analysis, personas, and scenarios. Tips and tricks and techniques included. Presented at the STC Summit 2010 on 3 May 2010.
Andy Kirk's Webinar for Tableau (July 2016)Andy Kirk
These are the slides from the talk given by Andy Kirk (@visualisingdata) on a webinar hosted by Tableau Software on 20th July 2016. The title is 'Bringing Method to the Madness' and concerns a demonstration of a data visualisation design workflow.
Emotion Economy: Ethnography as Corporate StrategyKelly Goto
Today’s consumer is hungry for something much deeper than a viral video. They’re looking for authentic connection. In this emerging Emotion Economy, brands must build products and services that address people’s unspoken feelings, wishes, and needs. And business as usual won’t cut it. To succeed, companies must connect at an emotional level with their customers.
Originally presented at Enterprise UX, 2015 by Rosenfeld Media
EuroIA 2017 - Exploring a transition from graphical to linguistic user interf...Jen Williams
This is a talk I gave at Euro IA 2017 in Stockholm. Conversational interfaces have created a new paradigm that will alter how we interact with our environment and how we design information spaces. This is about how designers can transition from designing for screens to designing for conversational interfaces – both chatbots and voice. The talk offers an exploration of the possibilities and how we can take advantage of them now, and in the future.
Here's the links to the videos in the presentation:
Setting a timer with Alexa:
https://youtu.be/fMKJBFtnjLs
Adding items to a shopping list with Alexa:
https://youtu.be/i2m7XHbzac4
Playing music with Google Home:
https://youtu.be/aD_UIeRNCRE
Checking my calendar with Google Home:
https://youtu.be/8R4GTd5RPZE
Playing The Higher Lower Game with Alexa:
https://youtu.be/HzxdGFL0TCM
ResearchOps Berlin Meetup #2 - UX Maturity - How to Grow User Research in you...ResearchOps Meetup Berlin
In our spring edition of ResearchOps Berlin we will likewise talk about growing and maturing.
Our host FlixBus will give us insights into how they started UX in their organization and how they accelerated research in terms of such as their team set-up or research methods. Luky Primadani, Katja Borchert, Carolina Schomer and Pietro Romeo will provide us with use cases and how they see the next steps in becoming more UX mature.
UX STRAT Europe 2017: Judith Yaaquobi: “Cultural Dimensions in International ...UX STRAT
UX STRAT Europe 2017 presentation by Judith Yaaquobi, Senior Product Owner, Booking.com: “Cultural Dimensions in International Product Development at Booking.com”
Mental Modeling For Content Work: Contextual Inquiry, Personas and PlanningDaniel Eizans
Slides from my Confab 2014 workshop: Mental Modeling For Content Work.
Anyone working in content strategy knows that dealing with messy web content is a difficult task. Creating effective, engaging content that’s relevant to potential users and customers while supporting a good information architecture is even more difficult.
Take some of the guesswork out of content by investing more time in the upfront planning and inquiry, getting to the bottom of who your users really are. Spend a day with Daniel Eizans and learn how to conduct contextual inquiry, develop more relevant personas, and mental model your way to a better content strategy.
Daniel will bring real, field-tested examples of personas and mental models that have impacted organizational content strategy and take attendees through a series of hands-on exercises that will immediately add value to content planning and production.
You will:
Learn about the fundamentals of contextual inquiry and how to conduct this type of research when creating personas
Understand how to create more effective personas for content creators and content planners
Plan content with others using a modified mental modeling technique driven by inquiry and persona data
Receive tools and templates for bringing this technique to your clients or organization.
Presentation to the STLX conference on 25 September 2017 with Martha Valenta and Tara Nesbitt.
Takeaway: UX Research is still a thing. An important, valuable thing. You should go do some.
User experience doesn't happen on a screen: It happens in the mind.John Whalen
User experience is a vital component of mission-critical projects. The vast majority of experience is digital. We spend insane amounts of time and money designing UX for websites, apps and products to impress users. But the truth is UX isn’t a singular experience we can define. And it doesn’t happen on a screen – it happens in the mind. More specifically, the six minds.
Discover how UX is truly a collection of experiences occurring across six brain concentrations, each with their own processing styles and ideal states. And how, using psychological principles, you can uncover the conscious and subconscious needs of these six minds to appeal to users on cognitive and emotional levels.
Visual design principles & practices for web and mobile appsTania Schlatter
These slides are from a one-day class designed to help product teams bridge the gap between applications that look great or are highly functional.
This class, given with the Boston UXPA, provides guidelines and examples about how to make visual design decisions that reinforce usability best practices and create interfaces that people value. Participants learn the characteristics of “visually usable” apps to know what to shoot for, and get an introduction to the visual design “tools” for digital apps – layout, type, color, imagery, and controls and affordances – and how to use them to create appealing applications people can easily understand and use.
An overview of how UX Research is conducted in entrepreneurial Lean UX organizations. Principles and practices of Lean/Agile UX teams in high-tech, mostly Silicon Valley, settings.
Presented by Susan Wilhite to startupUCLA, an accelerator for UCLA students, on June 7, 2012 on the campus. Watch the startupUCLA web site for a video of the live presentation.
Extracts from a workshop at GOVIS 2007 (www.govis.org.nz)
This one-day intensive workshop taught attendees how to incorporate user goals and agency needs into the web design process.
Workshop presenters: Zef Fugaz, Bob Medcalf, Elyssa Timmer
Feedback from the workshop attendees:
http://www.zefamedia.com/usability/feedback-from-power-to-the-people/
Designing the Next Generation of Search User Experience - Duane Degler and Li...UXPA International
Search applications aren’t "just like Google" anymore – even Google is no longer the simple application it once was. Design is coming to the forefront of effective search applications, to help make sense of mobile search, data search, semantic search, enterprise search, federated search, and embedded search within websites and applications. So what do we need to know about designing for search? We need to understand our users’ mental models for how they perceive seeking within an information environment. We need to understand how to provide powerful user control over results and yet keep it extremely simple. We need to know how to test for effective comprehension as well as task execution. And we need to know how to get the most out of the new available technologies and data. This course is a deep dive into the essentials for a new generation of search designs.
Understanding Users Through Ethnography and Modeling - STC Summit 2010Jim Jarrett
90 minute training for experienced practitioners in best practices for analyzing and modeling qualitative user research, including KJ Analysis, personas, and scenarios. Tips and tricks and techniques included. Presented at the STC Summit 2010 on 3 May 2010.
This is an introduction workshop to Designing Interactions / Experiences module I’m teaching at Köln International School of Design of the Cologne University of Applied Sciences, which I’m honored to give by invitation of Professor Philipp Heidkamp.
Introduction to Information Architecture & Design - 2/13/16Robert Stribley
Introduction to Information Architecture & Design - Workshop as presented by Robert Stribley at SVA's School of Continuing Education, February 13th, 2016
Slides form 2012 covering - Getting the right insights at the right time, Research in a vacuum, Going leaner, Going Deeper, Socialising findings, Forensics over proof, Focus on impact, Focus on extremes and finally the experience design framework
Presented to the internal creative group at frog design in SF as a way to inform and inspire the team. This deck presents a new way to think about contextual inquiry, participatory design and the future of design research. For, With, and Through Design is a new lens from which to understand the design work that is being conducted at frog and elsewhere.
Deck I created for IEM 628: Product and Process Design and Development, Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management at Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
Topic assigned: Comprehensive Guide to Product Concept and Design
I used JUUL to illustrate the basic concepts of product design.
Last slide includes references used for this deck. Some text in slide 17 are not visible due to animation, sorry about that.
Storytelling For The Web: Integrate Storytelling in your Design ProcessChiara Aliotta
In this slides I explain how I have used storytelling techniques to elevate websites and brands and create memorable user experiences. You can discover practical tips as I showcase the elements of good storytelling and its applied to some examples of diverse brands/projects..
Book Formatting: Quality Control Checks for DesignersConfidence Ago
This presentation was made to help designers who work in publishing houses or format books for printing ensure quality.
Quality control is vital to every industry. This is why every department in a company need create a method they use in ensuring quality. This, perhaps, will not only improve the quality of products and bring errors to the barest minimum, but take it to a near perfect finish.
It is beyond a moot point that a good book will somewhat be judged by its cover, but the content of the book remains king. No matter how beautiful the cover, if the quality of writing or presentation is off, that will be a reason for readers not to come back to the book or recommend it.
So, this presentation points designers to some important things that may be missed by an editor that they could eventually discover and call the attention of the editor.
Technoblade The Legacy of a Minecraft Legend.Techno Merch
Technoblade, born Alex on June 1, 1999, was a legendary Minecraft YouTuber known for his sharp wit and exceptional PvP skills. Starting his channel in 2013, he gained nearly 11 million subscribers. His private battle with metastatic sarcoma ended in June 2022, but his enduring legacy continues to inspire millions.
Can AI do good? at 'offtheCanvas' India HCI preludeAlan Dix
Invited talk at 'offtheCanvas' IndiaHCI prelude, 29th June 2024.
https://www.alandix.com/academic/talks/offtheCanvas-IndiaHCI2024/
The world is being changed fundamentally by AI and we are constantly faced with newspaper headlines about its harmful effects. However, there is also the potential to both ameliorate theses harms and use the new abilities of AI to transform society for the good. Can you make the difference?
Maximize Your Content with Beautiful Assets : Content & Asset for Landing Page pmgdscunsri
Figma is a cloud-based design tool widely used by designers for prototyping, UI/UX design, and real-time collaboration. With features such as precision pen tools, grid system, and reusable components, Figma makes it easy for teams to work together on design projects. Its flexibility and accessibility make Figma a top choice in the digital age.
Fonts play a crucial role in both User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design. They affect readability, accessibility, aesthetics, and overall user perception.
Ethnography in Software Design *UPDATED for Big Design 2015*
1. Ethnography in Software Design
An Anthropologist’s Point of View
Big Design - Dallas, September 2015
: https://www.flickr.com/photos/101187156@N03/14366224997/
@Kel_Moran#bigd15
8. DistillMeaningfromObservation
BuildtheBacklog
CONTACT BUILDING & EVOLVINGFOCUSED INNOVATION
Only a subset of these activities will be appropriate for any given project.
Qualitative Research
Quantitative Research
Affinity Diagramming
Construct themes from qualitative
data.
Analysis & Synthesis Opportunities
Ideation & Iteration
Validation & Evaluation
Approach Planning Design Research Experience Strategy & Strategic Ideation PlanningDefinition
IdentifyChallengesinContext
SettheStage
REVEALING REALITY
Foundational Analysis
Heuristic Evaluation
Identify inital breakdowns and
opportunities
Digital Marketing SWOT
Analysis
Identify strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities & theats.
Stakeholder Interviews
Understand staheholders’ business
goals & strategy.
Technical Organization
Capability Aanalysis
Analyze existing skills and toolsets.
Scenario-based System
Walkthroughs
Demo of existing solution.
Metrics Evaluation
Establish quantitative baseline of
engagement & conversion data.
Content Inventory
Catalog the content of the site or
application.
Competitive Analysis
Evaluate competitors and
comparables on specific axes.
User Experience
Data
Technology
Enterprise Architecture
Capability Assesment
Review existing enterprise
technology infrastructure.
Solution(s) Architecture
Assessment
Review existing application(s)
architecture.
RFP Request
Deliver proposal to defined scope
document and existing
requirements.
Project Approach
Asses a possible project and plan
high level approach.
Align & Assess Workshop
Assess readiness across core
capabilities.
Backlog Grooming
Reprioritize backlog, add new
stories.
Zero Feature Release
Demonstrate CI, automated
testing, core solution setup.
High Level Technical
Architecture
Describe high level architecture,
including packaged components.
Development
Infrastructure
Configuration
Continuous integration setup.
Technical Package
Identification & Evaluation
Perform product evaluations for
package solution components.
Architecture Spikes &
Proofs of Concept
Prove candidate architectures via
top bottom spikes.
Existing Research Review
Market research, website feedback,
corporate strategy, etc.
BringtheSolutionintoFocus
Research Plan
Design activities to meet research
goals.
Contextual Inquiries
Observe & document user in
context & environment.
User Journals & Diaries
User document their experiences
over time.
Participatory Design
Co-creation explorations with
users.
Card Sort
Explore users’ mental models for
content and labeling.
Surveys
Solicit structured feedback from
users.
User Workflow Modeling
Visually document workflows &
work systems.
Ideation Workshops
Immerse stakeholders in data and
brainstorm opportunities.
Persona Development
Create customer types to
document observed behaviors and
values.
Consolidated Workflow
Diagram
Aggregate individual user workflows
into one diagram.
Current Journey Map
Visualize the user’s perspective of
the current experience.
Quantitative Data
Visualization
Present quantitative data visually.
Opportunities Generation &
Evaluation
Opportunities & prototype choice.
Opportunities Matrix
Prioritize in three dimensions,
including user experience impact.
Marketing Opportunities
Strategic planning of owned,
earned & paid online tactics.
Engagement Plan
Develop the strategic and tactical
plan to achieve the client’s goal.
Experience-Driven
Roadmap
Plan how great UX can be achieved
through the design.
Design Principals
Articulate design principals to
guide the design and development
process.
Requirements & User
Stories Definition
Write user stories based on
detailed user scenarios.
Application & Navigation
Framework
Validated navigation and
framework.
Wireframed Key Workflows
Validated wireframes of key
workflows.
Visual Design Language
Visual design language defined.
Information Architecture
Map the product from the users’
point of view.
Storyboards
Illustrate graphical representations
of scenarios.
Qualitative & Quantitative
Data Synthesis
Analyze validation data..
User Scenarios
Write detailed narratives for user
experience flows.
Future Journey Map
Visualize the user’s future,
improved experience.
Concept Validation
Validate design prototypes through
user feedback.
Application & Navigation
Framework Concepts
Create models for the navigation &
framework of the application or
site.
Workflow Concepts
Draw high-level wireframes for key
workflows.
Visual Exploration
Explore different visual treatments
and styles of the application or site.
KANO Feature Prioritization
Prioritize features with users
through KANO analysis.
we make software make sense.
TM
16. “Anthropology demands the
open-mindedness with which one
must look and listen, record in
astonishment, and wonder that
which one would not have been
able to guess"
– Margaret Mead
@Kel_Moran
27. 6
Ethnographic Research…
Utilizes key informants who can
act as guides and help provide
access to the community
(Also offer “reality checks”)
@Kel_Moran
31. “Never theorize before you have
data. Invariably you end up
twisting facts to suit theories
instead of theories to suit facts.”
- Sherlock Holmes
(Arthur Conan Doyle)
@Kel_Moran
37. Texas BONUS!
In 1919 James Edwin
Pearce, chairman of the
Department of
Institutional History at the
University of Texas,
changed its name to the
Department of
Anthropology - making it
one of the first such
departments of its type.
@Kel_Moran
39. @Kel_Moran
1
Design Ethnography…
Is a way “…to increase the success
probability of a new product or service
or, more appropriately, to reduce the
probability of failure specifically due to a
lack of understanding the basic
behaviors and frameworks of
consumers.”
Salvator, Tony; Genevieve Bell; and Ken Anderson (1999) “Design Ethnography,”
Design Management Journal (pp. 35-41). p.37
40. 1
Design Ethnography…
Is a way “…to increase the success
probability of a new product or service
or, more appropriately, to reduce the
probability of failure specifically due to a
lack of understanding the basic
behaviors and frameworks of
consumers.”
Salvator, Tony; Genevieve Bell; and Ken Anderson (1999) “Design Ethnography,”
Design Management Journal (pp. 35-41). p.37 @Kel_Moran
47. 3
Qualitative research, done in the context
(environment) of the intended users,
seeking to discover and understand
their problems from their viewpoint,
with the designer’s viewpoint used to
ideate potential solutions.
@Kel_Moran
49. Discovery Phase
• Designer pairs with a Researcher
• Researcher leads with a background in the social
sciences
• Designer assists
Researcher Designer
@Kel_Moran
50. Design Phase
• Roles switch, and the Researcher assists the Designer
ResearcherDesigner
@Kel_Moran
51. After Detailed Design
• Designer typically is embedded into the Development
Phase
• Researcher comes back on board for user testing
Designer
Developer (x N)
Researcher @Kel_Moran
52. Provides continuity and keeps the
user’s voice present
User Focused Innovation
Discovery Design Build
@Kel_Moran
56. The Client and the Product
Vendor of accounting software
• Customer feedback of “too many clicks” and “hard to use”
• Sales were lagging
Used in organizations with large, multi-
functional accounting departments
• Needed to be customizable
• Should fit within a suite of other enterprise products
@Kel_Moran
57. Research Basics
Who
• Nineteen users at six user sites, plus three users inside the client
company
Where
• Seven locations across four states
• 2-4 users at each location
@Kel_Moran
62. Contextual Learnings
• 5 out of 6 of the client-user groups observed used two monitors
• adding machines still in use
• typically in either a cube or an open workspace
• paper everywhere - post its galore!
• User observed walking to a locked room (with a broken ankle)
to look up reference numbers
@Kel_Moran
64. Contextual Learnings
With a lot on their minds, Excel is king
• High cognitive load
• High use of Excel quick keys
• Importing data of multiple types into Excel as images
• Highlighting and/or circling important data
http://icons8.com
@Kel_Moran
66. Contextual Learnings (continued)
Attachments and cover sheets
• Manager preference for a single attachment
• Printing out documents from multiple sources to scan
them into one attachment
• Making a Custom “cover sheet” in Excel to sum up the
work
@Kel_Moran
67. “I look at this as
basically
just a holding station.”
@Kel_Moran
68. Contextual Learnings (continued)
“Roles” as defined in the software did not match the
work-based roles of the users
• In several locations a “reconciler” also held the role of
“administrator,” but juggling these in the software was
cumbersome
• The administrator role could become overwhelming
Assumed User Role with Linear Workflow
Observed Interrupted User/Admin Workflow
Start
Administrative Work
Start End
User Work
End
User WorkUser Work
Interruption
@Kel_Moran
69. “I have to change gear…
to move to that other role.”
@Kel_Moran
70. “Soon I won’t have any
accounting work. It will all
be [administrative] work.”
@Kel_Moran
71. Contextual Learnings (continued)
The problem goes beyond the system
• Lack of technical support
• The “real work” was done outside the system
@Kel_Moran
72. Now what do we do
with all that data?
@Kel_Moran
73.
74. Synthesizing the Data - Major Themes
1. Learning, training, &
support
2. Don’t make it hard on us
3. We know who we are and
what we need
4. We need an agile, smart
workflow and tracking
system
5. Don’t add to our cognitive
load
6. Be our partner
7. We have a lot going on
besides what you do for us
8. Collaboration, teamwork,
communication, & working
with others
@Kel_Moran
75. Users viewed the system
as supplementary, and
part of a larger process.
Organize the
system’s
workstream to
match the user’s
view.
Cover sheets were
created and
standardized by each
accounting group.
Renaming the
“account home
page” the “cover
sheet” and
emphasizing its
similarities to the
Excel-made
coversheets.
High use of Excel.
Bringing in more
Excel patterns.
Observations Lead to Design Ideas
@Kel_Moran
76. Observations Lead to Design Ideas (continued)
Uploading and viewing
attachments was a
common problem; and it
didn’t match the rest of
the experience.
Making both
uploading and
viewing
attachments
easier and more
consistent with
the rest of the UI.
Inconsistent UI was
jarring to navigate.
Overall more
consistent UI.
Users had to scan the
page to find the most
relevant information on
each screen.
Putting the
information the
users needed
most to keep in
mind in a
prominent, and
persistent, place
on every screen.
@Kel_Moran
82. Three Pages Tested
Two Versions Each
• Dashboard
• List Page - results of search
• Refined filtering
• Account Details - account home; i.e. cover sheet
@Kel_Moran
(revised and re-tested for a total of three testing rounds)
83. User-Led Validation and Changes
• Most users don’t need the 6-currency view panel
• Changed the default to 3 currencies
• Accountants need to be sure their entries save
• Ties back to the generative research
• Added a “save” confirmation button instead of auto-saving
• Attaching files to the cover page was validated as
preferable to using a separate attachments page
@Kel_Moran
85. Start Small - Start Anywhere!
Does not need to cover 7 regions across a continent
(seeing a few users makes a difference)
Get into the environment
(try Skype if needed)
Don’t go in with solutions in mind
(don’t be too sure you know the problems already either)
@Kel_Moran
87. How to Observe
The physical environment
- open? cramped? hot? cold?
Lighting, noise
- pleasant? distracting? manipulated by the user?
People
- who interacts with whom?
Artifacts
- equipment, paper notes, binders…
Document it all
- notes, yes, but also photographs and audio/video if permitted.
@Kel_Moran
88. How to Ask Questions
You are not an expert in their work/play
- even if you think you are
Rephrase what they say and ask if you got it right
- let them correct you even if you know you did
Avoid leading questions
- ask them to describe instead
Take note of their ideas and ask “What problem does this solve?”
- they’re not the experts at finding solutions, but they tried their best
@Kel_Moran
89.
90. Honor the Idea of Reciprocity
Your users (research participants) are giving
you something, so be sure to give
something back.
@Kel_Moran
97. How Tos
Brian A. Hoey. "A Simple Introduction to the Practice of Ethnography and Guide to Ethnographic
Fieldnotes" Marshall University Digital Scholar (2014): 1-10.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/brian_hoey/12
Methods of Discovery a Guide to Research Writing http://methodsofdiscovery.net/?q=node/19
Ethnography https://www.academia.edu/1022047/
Picken_F._2009_What_is_Ethnography_in_M._Walter_Ed_Social_Research_Methods_Melbourne_OUP
What is Ethnography? http://www.cusag.umd.edu/documents/workingpapers/epiontattrib.pdf
Articles
Horace Miner’s (1956) article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”
Available at: https://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/miner.html or at: http://www.sfu.ca/~palys/Miner-1956-
BodyRitualAmongTheNacirema.pdf
Salvador, Tony; Genevieve Bell; and Ken Anderson. "Design Ethnography," Design Management Journal. (1999) (pp.
35-41). p.37
Books
Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays. Basic Books, Inc. (1973) 470pp.