Experiences in user centred design at the University of Edinburgh (IWMW2012 workshop A2)

Experiences in
user centred design
Putting usability on the map at
the University of Edinburgh

Neil Allison
IWMW 2012

Neil Allison - #IWMW2012 - @usabilityed

Overview
• A quick intro – to UCD & to me

• Some things I’ve tried

• Some things I’ve learned

• How about you?


What is UCD?
• UPA definition
– …an approach to design that grounds the process
in information about the people who will use the
product…

• For me
– It’s about understanding your users
– It’s about communicating what you learn
– It’s not any one person’s responsibility

UCD is for everyone
• Jakob Nielsen: “Usability is like cookery”
– You don’t need to be a gourmet chef
– Article: http://bit.ly/cPjMhc

• Steve Krug: “It’s not rocket surgery”
– Free chapters: http://bit.ly/MG8Fh0

• Most practitioners aren’t specialists so dive in


About me
• I’m part of a small team managing the
University’s corporate CMS service
– I do web strategy, user experience, IA, staff training
– Also project managing website & CMS development

• I used to be:
– A website manager
– A student recruitment officer
– A teacher

• I was user testing before I knew what it was…

I see usability problems…

• Well, the no-brainers at least…


What works for me…
• Who I am and what I’ve done are a
big influence on my approach
– I’m more interested in people and processes
– I believe in education and empowerment

• Organisational culture influences approach too
– And likelihood of success

• So my caveat:
– What works for me may not for you…


I Elements of User Experience
• Illustrating the layer, the
process & the essence
of a user-centred design

• Depressing and
enlightening in equal
measure 

• http://bit.ly/LwyoL8


Things I’ve tried #1

Card sorting


Card sorting
• I’ve never managed to get it to work for me
– I’ve done open & closed, analogue & software

• Why?
– Wrong scale / scope / focus perhaps
– Prospective students often don’t know…
– The organisation is a difficult rock to move
– Analysis is painful
– Communicating the results is tricky


Communicating results

• Quotes, videos, personal accounts seem
to be more influential & immediate
than data
– Numbers add legitimacy

• Resources & alternatives:
http://bit.ly/Mhek0s


User testing
Accompanied surfing


User testing
• Quick, cheap, (almost) anyone can do it

• There’s a reason Nielsen & Krug bang on about
it…

• Video footage works great in presentations

• Remote user testing services have
amplified the impact


Quick and dirty testing
• I have and always will
– Taking whoever I can find
– Even one or two is better than none
– Grade findings accordingly

• I try to avoid giving interface feedback to colleagues
– I suggest tasks & scenarios for participants instead

• I encourage everyone to test
– With whatever you have
– Back of an envelope? Fine!


Prototypes don’t
have to be clever
or sophisticated…

…so long as you
can be when you
present or test them



Collaborative CMS design with
personas and prototyping


CMS management
• I’m the training & support lead

• We have a clunky CMS that continues
to be developed

• It wasn’t getting any less clunky
– Which wasn’t great for the user group, or the
people dealing with them on a daily basis…


Meet our CMS user group


Why turn to personas?
• Better shared understanding of users’
needs and behaviours

• Better communication across
development and support teams

• Building a shared vision of who
we’re working for and why

How we use them
• We’ve got to know them
– They’ve evolved as new data has come to light

• They’re referenced in meetings and
documentation

• We find ourselves saying things like:
“I doubt Annabel would want to do that…”
– And nobody says: “Who’s Annabel?”

Persona resources
• Tons of great articles: http://bit.ly/LvlFYT

• I especially like:
– Intro guides: http://bit.ly/LvlU6s
and http://bit.ly/LvlWv8
– 7 questions for your personas: http://bit.ly/Lvm0Lj
– Essence of successful personas:
http://bit.ly/Lvm7Xl


Collaboration early on
• We also began to prototype collaboratively

• Sort of an agile pre-BRD stage
– Moving into waterfall when we knew
exactly what we were doing

• Everyone has to sign off
– Developer, graphic designer, training & support
rep, user group rep, accessibility rep


Another way to think about it
Number Cost of
of options making
available changes

Maximum
benefit

Specification Development Deployment

Iterative testing
• Anytime, any place, anywhere…
– We meet CMS users most days so we grab 5
minutes here and there

• Nothing clever
– Mixing screengrabs, sketches & imagination

• Weekly meetings to run through findings


All paper based

Playing computer

Quick results
summary

Writing not typing

Top tips arising
• Trial the prototype activities before arranging
sessions with participants

• Make sure the participants are representative of
your target users
– Or make allowances with your results

• Talk through the full test with development team –
before and after sessions
– Looking at prototypes sometimes not enough

• Prototyping resources: http://bit.ly/MAwKcl

What has this achieved?
• We always get what we’re expecting
• No bugs to fix later
• Everything either comes in under budget,
or with bonus features
– The developer’s suggestions are
so much nearer to the mark too
• A happier user group who feel involved
• Real, measuable ROI
– Published by Nielsen: http://bit.ly/JBvJly

Where is this leading?
• We’re currently looking to the future of our
CMS and the University website

• The techniques we’ve found work so well on a
small scale are ramping up

• Our personas currently star in a suite of about
30 use cases identifying what we want in the
next phase of the CMS



Collaborative website design with
personas, user testing & analytics


Taking it out to the University
• Some units find it very hard to define their
objectives for the website

• Fewer can be clear about what is
driving their customers

• Still fewer can share this effectively among
content owners and stakeholders


What is your website for?
(A slide I roll out again and again…)

• Quick test…

• Write down the name of your most
important target audience

• List the top 3 things you want them
to do on your website


Prospective PG experience
enhancement project
• Personas
– Developed collaboratively
– Rooted in research data
• User testing
– Students playing persona roles
• Analytics
– Backing up the UT with big numbers
• Prototyping
– Communicating potential improvements
– Testing to justify change


What has this achieved?
• Group of central content providers with a
clearer vision and more defined responsibilities

• Schools with greater consensus on target
audiences
– Managers more focused – can’t be all things to
everyone
– Frontline workers given a voice

• Pilot schools site overhauls
– About to review effects of project
– Next step to promote case studies


Training & promotion


Empowering the community
• Doing UCD isn’t enough

• Talking about UCD isn’t enough

• Talking about what you’re doing is the key
– Again and again and again…


Training
• Writing for the web
– About 1300 attendees since 2007

• Usability testing training
– About 350 since 2008 (Impact survey: http://bit.ly/nQzZWC)

• Prototyping
– Supporting introduction of Balsamiq
to the University wiki service

• Analytics
– Getting 150+ with access to see beyond the ‘hits’


Prototyping for everyone
• Balsamiq
– Free to all UoE via our
wiki service
(bit.ly/UoE-Balsamiq)
– Relatively cheap,
big uptake

• It’s a great tool,
but there are others
• Visio (great resources: http://bit.ly/LvqFg6) or
presentation software is enough for most
• Has to be easy and quick to use
• Has to be accessible to stakeholders


Community
• We have a web publishing community
• We have a techie community
• We have a marketing community

• I want a user experience community
– Currently working on it

• I blog for the University community & for me
– Link to the blog and exploration goes further
– 50+ staff visitors most months, reading multiple
articles and coming back for more

Where has this got me?
• Influence in my team’s projects
– Processes embedded
– Supportive boss & colleagues engaged

• Some people turn to me
– And they’re not always
looking for a rubber stamp

• Some people avoid me 


So what have I learned?


It’s a constant effort
• Running usability tests is the easy bit

• How can you:
– Keep everyone on board?
– Justify time & expense?
– Report on progress regularly?
– Prioritise and keep improving?


Keeping everyone happy
• Uncovering problems is not a sign of failure
– Some stakeholders need regular reminders

• Involve key people from the start
– Agree key objectives
– Work together on ways to measure
– Personas are a good way to focus priorities

• I don’t always use personas, but I never start
without documented & signed off objectives
– Get in touch if you’d like an example

Why usability problems go unfixed

• Steve Krug & Caroline Jarrett: http://bit.ly/LvrGoq

Justifying the cost
• Your website should save you money
– Not be a drain on your resources

• What are usability issues costing you:
– Unnecessary or multiple enquiries?
– Unnecessary print costs?
– Lost or frustrated customers?
– Excessive time on task?

• Tie research focus to improving specifics

Prioritising
• When prioritising what to fix:
– Classify severity of usability issue
– How easy is it to fix?

• Give attention to the critical usability issues,
but don’t forget the ‘low hanging fruit’

• David Travis’ prioritising flowchart:
http://bit.ly/rz1j2C

Reporting
• Keep it light & • I like:
high level
– Videos & quotes carry
disproportionate weight

• Aim for regular sessions

• Set targets for improvement

Image: LouRosenfeld.com
• Back up with other data
where possible

Employ multiple techniques
• How many blind
men are there round
your elephant?


Thank you

Questions?
How about you?


Experiences in user centred design at the University of Edinburgh (IWMW2012 workshop A2)

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