Developers often struggle with user experience (UX) design because their technical mindset does not always align with how users think and behave. They may focus too much on execution and technical requirements rather than usability. Understanding user needs through research methods like interviews is important for designing products that meet business goals and satisfy customers. The workshop aimed to get developers doing hands-on user research exercises to better understand UX design processes. Participants conducted speed interviews with each other about a travel app concept to generate insights for creating user personas.
3. Keep it casual
This isn’t a lecture hall (P.S. I
hated school)
You’re not here to be shiny -
get your hands dirty!
Listen + Experiment
Before we begin
4. Before we begin
Move quick
With limited resources
Groups of ~ 4
Overview of methods + a few exercises
I startups
5. Hello, I’m Mel
That’s me! I just climbed a mountain in this photo
(And I’m crying on the inside because that was 1.5 bitches to climb)
But most days I run Melewi - a remote
UX & UI product design studio
I do design, and I’m a digital nomad
= @thedesignnomad
6. 5 years old next Feb (yay!)
Clients in 5 continents (> 25 countries)
Keep it lean, 80/20 rule
Keep it agile, respond to feedback
Team of 9 people from 8 countries
Melewi
T H E T R A V E L L I N G D E S I G N S T U D I O
We design awesome products for
users and businesses around the world
7. Melewi
T H E T R A V E L L I N G D E S I G N S T U D I O
Clients
Press
19. U S E R E X P E R I E N C E
The experience a
user has interacting
with your brand at
one touchpoint
UX ≠ UI
02
01
20. UX ≠ UI
User Research
User Testing
Data Analytics
Site Mapping
User Satisfaction
Sketching
Prototyping
Collaboration
Output Devices
Action Buttons
User Controls
Tools
Input Devices
Content
Visual Design
The pretty stuff
02
U S E R E X P E R I E N C E U S E R I N T E R FA C E
21. U S E R E X P E R I E N C E
The experience a
user has interacting
with your brand at
one touchpoint
A series of methods
& tools you use to
test and validate
assumptions
03
UX ≠ UI
02
01
25. When asked:
“What do developers struggle with when they think about UX?”Pretty
Visual aesthetics
Focused too
much on
executing
Effort efficiency
Business
requirements /
Validation
Focus &
Priorities
Assuming it will
work
Prioritizing
features / what
to display
Understanding
users (empathy)
Designing
intuitively for
non-techies
Used to different
interfaces
Thinking
structurely
"Make it not look
retarded or
incredibly generic"
"recognize it's
important but don't
know how to make
things visually
pleasing"
"get lost in
beautiful code
structure and
amazing
architecture yet
forget what's the
goal"
"solving the
problem in an
efficient way
according to the
constraints"
"battle between
'my api is set up
this way' and
'humans want to
do this'"
"why put extra
effort into
something that
already "works"
technically"
"(not) knowing
your customer and
coding...to fit their
needs as close as
possible
(increases)
changes"
"I'll think about
(UX) later. Just get
to work and build it
right"
"fundamental
different way of
thinking about a
problem"
"It makes sense to
me"
"look at any linux
app and you'll see
what i mean"
"what, a human
does not like
command lines?"
"they have a
technical structure
they work with...
but those are often
not representative
of how a user
thinks"
Carl 1 1 1 1 1
Andrew 1 1 1
Thomas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Zenos 1 1 1 1 1 1
Phil 1 1
Florian 1 1 1
Scott 1 1 1 1
Rico 1 1 1 1
Cate 1 1
4 3 2 1 3 2 2 3 7 1 2
TOTAL 4
When asked: "What do devs struggle with when they think about UX?"
Effort + Execution Not Aligned with the Business How Users Think + Behave
"think like normal people"
"relating to how non-technical people
think"
5 6 15
26. Pretty
Visual aesthetics
Focused too
much on
executing
Effort efficiency
Business
requirements /
Validation
Focus &
Priorities
Assuming it will
work
Prioritizing
features / what
to display
Understanding
users (empathy)
Designing
intuitively for
non-techies
Used to different
interfaces
Thinking
structurely
"Make it not look
retarded or
incredibly generic"
"recognize it's
important but don't
know how to make
things visually
pleasing"
"get lost in
beautiful code
structure and
amazing
architecture yet
forget what's the
goal"
"solving the
problem in an
efficient way
according to the
constraints"
"battle between
'my api is set up
this way' and
'humans want to
do this'"
"why put extra
effort into
something that
already "works"
technically"
"(not) knowing
your customer and
coding...to fit their
needs as close as
possible
(increases)
changes"
"I'll think about
(UX) later. Just get
to work and build it
right"
"fundamental
different way of
thinking about a
problem"
"It makes sense to
me"
"look at any linux
app and you'll see
what i mean"
"what, a human
does not like
command lines?"
"they have a
technical structure
they work with...
but those are often
not representative
of how a user
thinks"
Carl 1 1 1 1 1
Andrew 1 1 1
Thomas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Zenos 1 1 1 1 1 1
Phil 1 1
Florian 1 1 1
Scott 1 1 1 1
Rico 1 1 1 1
Cate 1 1
4 3 2 1 3 2 2 3 7 1 2
TOTAL 4
When asked: "What do devs struggle with when they think about UX?"
Effort + Execution Not Aligned with the Business How Users Think + Behave
"think like normal people"
"relating to how non-technical people
think"
5 6 15
When asked:
“What do developers struggle with when they think about UX?”
27. Pretty
Visual aesthetics
Focused too
much on
executing
Effort efficiency
Business
requirements /
Validation
Focus &
Priorities
Assuming it will
work
Prioritizing
features / what
to display
Understanding
users (empathy)
Designing
intuitively for
non-techies
Used to different
interfaces
Thinking
structurely
"Make it not look
retarded or
incredibly generic"
"recognize it's
important but don't
know how to make
things visually
pleasing"
"get lost in
beautiful code
structure and
amazing
architecture yet
forget what's the
goal"
"solving the
problem in an
efficient way
according to the
constraints"
"battle between
'my api is set up
this way' and
'humans want to
do this'"
"why put extra
effort into
something that
already "works"
technically"
"(not) knowing
your customer and
coding...to fit their
needs as close as
possible
(increases)
changes"
"I'll think about
(UX) later. Just get
to work and build it
right"
"fundamental
different way of
thinking about a
problem"
"It makes sense to
me"
"look at any linux
app and you'll see
what i mean"
"what, a human
does not like
command lines?"
"they have a
technical structure
they work with...
but those are often
not representative
of how a user
thinks"
Carl 1 1 1 1 1
Andrew 1 1 1
Thomas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Zenos 1 1 1 1 1 1
Phil 1 1
Florian 1 1 1
Scott 1 1 1 1
Rico 1 1 1 1
Cate 1 1
4 3 2 1 3 2 2 3 7 1 2
TOTAL 4
When asked: "What do devs struggle with when they think about UX?"
Effort + Execution Not Aligned with the Business How Users Think + Behave
"think like normal people"
"relating to how non-technical people
think"
5 6 15
When asked:
“What do developers struggle with when they think about UX?”
Not Aligned with the Business How Users Think + BehaveEffort + ExecutionPretty
28. Not Aligned with
the Business
How Users
Think + Behave
Effort +
Execution
Pretty
29. Not Aligned with
the Business
How Users
Think + Behave
Effort +
Execution
Pretty
M Y G O A L
Get you to try things across
these areas to get you
familiar with the process
30. Not Aligned with
the Business
How Users
Think + Behave
Effort +
Execution
Pretty
M Y G O A L
Get you to try things across
these areas to get you
familiar with the process
40. Business viability = $$$
User satisfaction
Creates
profit
Funds
everything
UI
Tech scope
41. Know who you’re targeting inside and out
What do they like and value? How do they think and behave?
You cannot target everyone!
It’s never a one-size-fits-all
Decide, design and build accordingly
Does your target audience segment even exist?
42. USABILITY.GOV
“User research focuses on understanding user
behaviours, needs, and motivations through
observation techniques, task analysis, and
other feedback methodologies
a bunch of different ways
43. User Interviews
A qualitative question and
answer discussion conducted
with one participant
Contextual Interviews
A specific “interview" method
to collect observational data
in a specific context
Surveys
A list of quantitative and or
qualitative questions that can be
filled at scale and anonymously
I N S I G H T S
E F F O R T
I N S I G H T S
E F F O R T
I N S I G H T S
E F F O R T
44. I N S I G H T S
E F F O R T
e.g. We believe that new mothers are lacking a
support system that will help them feel less
stressed and enjoy having a child more.
Step 1: Create your hypothesis
I want to know if new mothers are lacking a
support system
Step 2: Identify what you want to know
I want to know if new mothers feel less stressed
when talking to other new mothers
I want to know what would help new mothers
enjoy having their child more.
User Interviews
A qualitative question and
answer discussion conducted
with one participant
45. I N S I G H T S
E F F O R T
Step 3: Frame your questions
I want to know if new mothers are lacking a
support system
I want to know if new mothers feel less stressed
when talking to other new mothers
I want to know what would help new mothers
enjoy having their child more.
How has your experience as a new mother been like?
What is your support system like?
Tell me about any friends you have who are also new mothers?
Do you talk to them often? (Why / why not?)
If you had a magic wand, what would you
wish to change in your daily life?
User Interviews
A qualitative question and
answer discussion conducted
with one participant
46. I N S I G H T S
E F F O R T
Step 4: Make sure you’ve good questions
Make sure it’s not leading
Try to make it open-ended
How little support do you think you receive?
Do you feel you have enough support?
Tell me about your support system
Try to bank it off past behaviours
Have you ever any sought help when you were struggling?
Do you think you will seek help if you’re struggling?
User Interviews
A qualitative question and
answer discussion conducted
with one participant
47. W O R K S H O P M I N I P R O J E C T
For this workshop, you’ll be working on
A Travel App
Travelling is fun but there are parts that really
suck. What is a product you can build for a
segment of people that they will love?
48. E X E R C I S E
Speed User Interviewing! 30M I N U T E S
1. Individually, come
up with a short list of
interview questions
2. Everyone, get up!
Stand in 2 rows
facing each other
54. E X E R C I S E
Speed User Interviewing! 30M I N U T E S
1. Individually, come
up with a short list of
interview questions
2. Everyone, get up!
Stand in 2 rows
facing each other
3. You have 2.5 minutes to
ask your questions before
answering questions of 2.5
minutes. Repeat 5 times!
55. Now you have some insights!
We’ll turn it into a User Persona later
56. Representative snapshot of your target audience
It should not represent one sole user
Are there outliers?
Perhaps a different demographic is a better fit for your product.
Have you been talking to the wrong people?
Turn your research into something concise and human
57. No. Gender Age City Occupation User since… Other products used Income
1 Male 31 Singapore UX Designer 2015 Invision, Atomic 60k
2 Female 28 Singapore UI Designer 2015 Invision 79k
3 Male 45 New York City
Marketing
Manager
2016 Marvel 150k
4 Female 28 Kuala Lumpur
Interaction
Designer
N.A. Invision 79k
5 Male 31 London
Product
Manager
2015 Marvel 60k
6 Male 31 Kuala Lumpur UX Designer 2014 Invision 60k
You’ve found some of the answers provided seem
very different from the rest.
Who might it have come from?
58. Leia Organa
“Darth Vader destroyed Alderaan (my home planet),
and is taking over The Galaxy. I will not sit still for this!
I need to defeat him. But how?!
If only there was a way to destroy the Death Star and
defeat the Empire once and for all…”
N A M E
Q U O T E
A G E T E C H - S A V V Y F R U S T R AT I O N ( S ) G O A L ( S )
/ 5
21 5
The Empire destroyed
her home planet
She doesn’t know how to
destroy the Death Star
# K E Y W O R D
Bold
Leader
Courageous
Princess
* because she’s
from the future To defeat the Empire
To restore democracy
within the Galactic
senate
62. Business viability = $$$
User satisfaction
Creates
profit
Funds
everything
UI
Tech scope
Remember this?
63. Different business models = Different goals
Different goals = Different Designs!
What does the business need the user to do?
What does the user want from the business?
How do I marry the two needs?
66. 01Advertising /
Affiliate
Scroll, scroll, scroll, - it never stops
Insane amount of content
On a timeline > always showing you
new stuff > keeps you coming back
Keeps you browsing
Higher the chance of clicking on an ad
68. 022-sided
Marketplace
2 users = 2 sides to design for
Can your user be both? How
will they access the platform?
Reviews + accountability
How will they interact with
each other?
77. 04People like to window shop
People get tempted ;)
Find a reason to keep them
coming back
eCommerce
78. E X E R C I S E
Match ‘em up: find a team 20M I N U T E S
1. In 5 minutes, from
talking to users, come
up with a product idea.
It can be something as
simple as “marketplace
for locals to give tours”
4. Stand up, and
find other people
with similar ideas!
5. Get into
groups of ~ 4
2. Write it on a
post it (clearly!)
point
3. Stick it on
your forehead point
79. E X E R C I S E
Match ‘em up: find a team 20M I N U T E S
6. Now that you have your group,
agree on one final idea and come
up with its:
Business model
Product 1-line description
User persona
7. Present it
to everyone!
80. 3T H R E E
So… what’s the plan?
W I R E F R A M I N G & D E S I G N I N G F E A T U R E S
81.
82. Page skeletons / blueprints
Figure out what your pages / screens are
Start sketching
Continue sketching
Fill in important text - e.g. Headers, call-to-actions
83. Don’t start with a program (e.g. Illustrator)
Even the playing ground > even my grandma can sketch
Share ideas quickly
Don’t be afraid to re-do or edit
Paper can be passed around, scribbled on, cut up
Can be taken with you (unlike a whiteboard)
84. Too tempting to start building
No! It’s got to work / function right first
Puts your thoughts + ideas down onto something you can test
And with it, you go out and get results!
88. 1
Slider will start at
a min hour set
2
If no. of Amenities
increase, this
design won’t work
3
If user wants to create
a template with this
Tech + Handdrawn
89. E X E R C I S E
Wireframing ain’t that tough 20M I N U T E S
1. Individually, get a
few sheets of paper
+ markets
2. Sketch out your
product as a mobile app
Aim for about 5 - 7
screens
3. Review your
wireframes within
the team
4. Resketch the ideas
into one cohesive
set of wireframes
90. 4F O U R
Making s*** look nice
U I D E S I G N & P R O T O T Y P I N G
91.
92. It doesn’t have to look AMAZING
It just has to look presentable!
Do NOT jump straight into coding
Sketch and test before working on the UI
Start and maintain a stylesheet for consistency
Use design tools to help you!
93. Simple UI & Prototyping
20% off, 1st Year
D E V F S T A S
30% off, Pro Plan
B I T . L Y / 2 G J 3 I F I
A T O M I C . I O
M A R V E L A P P. C O M
94. Colors Photos Fonts
C O L O U R C O . D E
K U L E R . A D O B E . C O M S T O C K S N A P. I O
S T O C K S Y . C O M
F O N T F L A M E . C O M
F O N T P A I R . C O
95. UI Frameworks F O U N D A T I O N
. Z U R B . C O M
S E M A N T I C
- U I . C O M
G E T B O O T S
T R A P. C O M
97. 5F I V E
You want me to talk to people?!
U S A B I L I T Y T E S T I N G
98.
99. Find people who are your users
Having an incentive usually helps (Starbucks gift card)
All you need are results from 5 people
Put yourself out there! Cafes, coworking
space, friends, limitless possibilities
Observing people using your product
100. Don’t ask questions, give tasks instead
Person A: Give tasks + Interact
Person B: Observe + Notes
Approx. 3 to 5 things to do
Humans feel obliged to please
101. Resist the urge to help them
Or to guide them
Or to correct them
No! Learn from where they struggle
Deduce patterns from multiple tests
102. Usability Testing Process
Task Scenario 1 Task Scenario 2 Task Scenario 3
01. Task Scenarios
Setting the context and
creating a task for the user to
attempt to accomplish
e.g. Purchase a pair of shoes for
your best friend’s birthday
Note-taker
Interviewer
2. Set the Roles 3. The Rest
30M I N U T E S
5I N T E R V I E W E E S
1D E V I C E
103. 1. Be specific about what
you’ve observed
“User couldn’t purchase item”
“User couldn’t find the checkout
button on the cart page”
2. Organise and group your
notes to your task scenarios
3. Number and label your
screens for accuracy
4. Create a hypothesis of what the
problem is from the comments
Task Scenario 1
1A 1B 1C 1D
point
point
point
point
Cohesive and
concise summary
of the problem
Sorting Your Results
Task Scenario 1 Task Scenario 2 Task Scenario 3
104. Task Scenario User 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Task Scenario 1 Good Good Good Good Good Great Good Good Great
Task Scenario 2 Poor Bad Average Poor Bad Poor Poor Poor Bad
Task Scenario 3 Good Great Great Good Great Good Great Good Good
Task Scenario 4 Great Good Good Great Average Good Great Average Great
Task Scenario 5 Average Great Average Good Great Good Great Good Good
Task Scenario 6 Great Good Great Great Good Good Great Great Great
What can you tell from this table?
105. Task Scenario User 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Task Scenario 1 Good Good Good Good Poor Great Average Good Great
Task Scenario 2 Great Good Average Good Bad Good Good Great Great
Task Scenario 3 Good Great Great Good Bad Good Great Good Good
Task Scenario 4 Great Average Good Great Average Good Great Average Great
Task Scenario 5 Average Great Average Good Bad Good Great Good Good
Task Scenario 6 Great Good Great Great Poor Good Great Great Great
What can you tell from this table?
106. Task Scenario User 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Task Scenario 1 Good Bad Average Bad Poor Good Average Good Poor
Task Scenario 2 Poor Bad Average Poor Bad Average Poor Poor Bad
Task Scenario 3 Poor Good Bad Average Bad Poor Poor Good Poor
Task Scenario 4 Great Good Good Good Good Great Great Good Great
Task Scenario 5 Average Bad Poor Bad Bad Average Poor Poor Bad
Task Scenario 6 Poor Bad Bad Average Good Poor Bad Poor Poor
What can you tell from this table?
107. 5M I N U T E S
E X E R C I S E
Usability Testing Prep
As a team, come up with
a set of task scenarios
Make sure they will help
you find out what you
want to find out
Task Scenario 1 Task Scenario 2 Task Scenario 3
108. E X E R C I S E
Drunk User Testing
HEUSERISDRUNK.COM
THIS IS OPTIONAL
“Your website should be so simple,
a drunk person could use it.
109. 30M I N U T E S
1. I need 3 volunteers:
Like alcohol
Is not driving home
Is not a crazy drunk
HEUSERISDRUNK.COM
THIS IS OPTIONAL
2. Pick a table (and
choice of alcohol - if
available)
3. SHOTS SHOTS
SHOTS SHOTS (but
only the amount you’re
comfortable with)
4. You’re going
to test things!!!
E X E R C I S E
Drunk User Testing
110. 30M I N U T E S
5. Drunk people
stay at your table
HEUSERISDRUNK.COM
THIS IS OPTIONAL
6. Teams rotate!
7. Each team gets 5
minutes to test your
paper prototype with
your drunk user
*Please don't
make them puke
8. Tap on the prototype
and shift them over to
the right screen to
continue
E X E R C I S E
Drunk User Testing
111. 30M I N U T E S
1. Half the team stay at
your table. You will
be the testers!
HEUSERISDRUNK.COM
2. The other half,
you will be the
users.
3. Roam around to
another group to test
their paper prototype
E X E R C I S E
Sober User Testing
112. E X E R C I S E
Results Sorting: Quick Version
2. Write down the user
info for each participant,
and set aside
1
2
3
4
5
3. Write down observations
from each participant according
to their colour (1 point, 1 post it)
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
1. Get a different
coloured post-it for
each participant
10M I N U T E S
113. E X E R C I S E
Results Sorting: Quick Version
4. Start grouping
similar points
together into piles
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point point
point
pointpoint
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
10M I N U T E S
114. E X E R C I S E
Results Sorting: Quick Version
4. Start grouping
similar points
together into piles
5. Label each pile
with their
problem or issue
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point point
point
pointpoint
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
Unclear what the steps
are to create an account
Didn’t like having so
many steps to sign up
Couldn’t figure out how
to check out their cart
Couldn’t find
delivery information
Got stuck at adding
product to cart
Could not navigate to
the products section
Wanted more
product information
Did not have a credit
card; could not checkout
10M I N U T E S
115. E X E R C I S E
Results Sorting: Quick Version
4. Start grouping
similar points
together into piles
5. Label each pile
with their
problem or issue
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point point
point
pointpoint
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
Unclear what the steps
are to create an account
Didn’t like having so
many steps to sign up
Couldn’t figure out how
to check out their cart
Couldn’t find
delivery information
Got stuck at adding
product to cart
Could not navigate to
the products section
Wanted more
product information
Did not have a credit
card; could not checkout
This will give you a quick
idea on which problems
were faced by the
majority of participants,
and which were outliers
You can also quickly look
over demographic traits
via post-it colours to see if
there are any correlations
10M I N U T E S
116. point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
pointpoint
point
point
point
point
point point
point
point
Unclear what the steps
are to create an account
Didn’t like having so
many steps to sign up
Couldn’t figure out how
to check out their cart
Couldn’t find
delivery information
Got stuck at adding
product to cart
Could not navigate to
the products section
Wanted more
product information
Did not have a credit
card; could not checkout
E X E R C I S E
Results Sorting: Quick Version 30M I N U T E S
Present your findings!