Slides from presentation I gave at the Research Rewind meetup in Philly in 2018 that is about using story methods for design research.

1. Story-Driven Design Research
Joel Eden, PhD
Wondertron
@joeleden

2. My background
+ Lots of “UX” jobs

3. Now...
+
=

4. Represen5ng experiences
Story as a language for experiences
Tac5cal methods for story-driven design research
Topics

5. Represen5ng experiences

6. Let’s sketch…get out your paper and pencil

7. Let’s sketch …get out your paper and pencil
Draw: Your phone

8. Let’s sketch …get out your paper and pencil
Draw: Your phone
Draw: Your phone’s user interface

9. Let’s sketch …get out your paper and pencil
Draw: Your phone
Draw: Your phone’s user interface
Draw: Your phone’s user experience

10. Problem!
If we can’t represent experiences
very well, how can we noLce good
and bad ones?
How can we improve them?

11. Story as a language for experiences

12. The Power of Story
“We know these characters aren’t real, but we have real feelings about them.
We know these characters aren’t real, and yet we also know that they are.”
-Mac BarneU, from Ted talk
“Drama is anLcipaLon, mingled with uncertainty.”
-Andrew Stanton, quoLng William Archer in his Ted talk

13. RepresenLng Experiences – leverage story methods

14. Represent products/services as experienLal stories
After a long meeting, Anne pulls out her personal assistant to note
a couple of items she needs to follow up on, confirm the location of
her next meeting, and see if anything important has come up in the
last couple of hours.
The PA shows her the subject and location of her next
meeting, which is in 25 minutes. There’s also an indication that she
has three messages marked urgent (including one from her boss),
one message from a client whose messages she’s told the PA are
top priority, and a dozen others that can probably wait.
NarraLve Scenarios
Storyboards
Product as a person

15. Hyper-real (Disney/Pixar trick)àbelievable futures

16. Many Story RepresentaLons – anyone can do this
After a long meeting, Anne pulls out
her personal assistant to note a
couple of items she needs to follow
up on, confirm the location of her
next meeting, and see if anything
important has come up in the last
couple of hours.
The PA shows her the subject and
location of her next
meeting, which is in 25 minutes.

17. Story vs Plot (UX = Story...UI = Plot?)
“Story is about how what happens affects
someone, in pursuit of a decepLvely
difficult goal and how that person changes
internally as a result.” –Lisa Cron
“User experience is about how someone
feels when interacLng with your product
or service.” –Tomer Sharon

18. Kurt Vonnegut on the Shape of Stories (4 min. video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ

19. Kurt Vonnegut's Shape of Stories – emoLonal story arcs

20. What Is (today’s world) – the shape of UX

21. What Could Be (possible design futures)

22. What Is and What Could Be

23. Story = The Lifecycle of a Desire (Need)
“Thinking of a story as populated by characters who possess desires is less helpful
than thinking of stories as the lifecycle of a desire itself...and the ways in which
desires express themselves through one or more characters.”
-ScoU McCloud (Understanding Comics), on Data Stories podcast
Analogous to Richard Dawkins’ “selfish gene” theory.
Takeaway for UX:
People don’t possess needs; needs emerge at the intersecLon of people, place,
space, culture, Lme, etc.
The “user” is not the unit of analysis...the emergent need is...”selfish needs.”
Look for stories that show the arc of that need/desire.
Could span weeks before and weeks aJer that finger tap on the mobile screen.

24. Some references (story, story art, story for UX):

25. Before we get into the hands on stuff...
Who would like to ask the first
ques5on?

26. Tac5cal methods for story-driven
design research
(things you can try tomorrow at work)

27. Let’s try it now (post-it note story arcs):
Form a group
“Interview” group member(s) – How did they get
to the event tonight?
What is? As you do this, map out an experience
arc of how they felt at each step (and why)
What might be? Can you noLce obvious areas to
focus improvements on?

28. What is...
Problem
Happy point
SituaLon
/ Context
InciLng incident
Problem
Problem
Happy moment

29. What could be...
Problem
Happy point
SituaLon
/ Context
InciLng incident
Problem
Problem
Happy moment
Opportunity