The document provides an overview of user experience (UX), emphasizing its importance in meeting both user and organizational goals through various design processes and elements. It outlines the roles and tasks of a UX team, the significance of strategy, and how UX integrates within an agile framework to create high-quality products. The text highlights the necessity for a well-defined UX strategy that aligns business objectives with user needs to ensure successful product adoption.

1. user experiencewhat it is, how it works and why it matters 11.18.09

2. our topicsWhat is user experience (UX)?What can UX do for MoM?What processes ensure good UX?What does a UX team do?How does UX fit into the agile environment?4

3. what is user experience?it’s more than usability.User experience simply refers to the way a product behaves and is used in the real world. A positive user experience is one in which the goals of both the user and the organization that created the product are met. Usability is one attribute of a successful user experience, but usability alone does not make an experience positive for the user. Jesse James Garrett Author of The Elements of User Experience

4. what is user experience?it’s the sum of a simple equation. Business goals+ Customer goals+ User interface+ Interaction w/ back end system= User Experience

5. what is user experience?it’s the combined result of all our efforts + processes.PM+ businessanalysisvisual designapplicationarchitectureuser experiencesystem designinteractiondesignInformationarchitecture

6. what is user experience?there are five elements of user experience.concreteSurface plane: on the surface you see a series of screens made up of images + text. Some are things you can click on to perform a function (e.g. save). Skeleton plane: placement of buttons, tabs, images and text. The skeleton is designed to optimize the arrangement of these elements for maximum effect and efficiency – so you can find that save button when you need it. Structure plane: if skeleton defines the placement of UI items, the structure defines how users got to that screen and where they could go when finished. If skeleton shows navigation category arrangement, structure defines what those categories actually are.Scope plane: the number and variety of features + functions expressed in the structure plane – what’s included – is defined by the scope plane.Strategy plane: scope is determined by strategy. It incorporates what both the product owners (clients) and the end-users want out of the product.abstractdiagram courtesy of Jesse James Garrett, Elements of User Experience

7. what is user experience?the five planes encompass the interface (task oriented)…concreteVisual design : graphic treatment of interface elements (the "look" in "look-and-feel")Interface design: facilitate user interaction with functionalityinformation design: presentation of information to facilitate understandingInteraction design: application flows to facilitate user tasks, defining how the user interacts with site functionalityFunctional specifications: "feature set”: detailed functionality the site or app must include in order to meet user needsUser needs: external; identified through user research, ethnographics, etc.site objectives: business, creative, or other internal site or app goalsabstractdiagram courtesy of Jesse James Garrett, Elements of User Experience

8. what is user experience?…and the system (information oriented).concretecompletionVisual design : graphic treatment of interface elements (the "look" in "look-and-feel")Visual design : visual treatment of text, graphic page elements and navigational componentsInterface design: facilitate user interaction with functionalityinformation design: presentation of information to facilitate understandingNavigation design: facilitate user’s movement through the information architecture information design: presentation of information to facilitate understandingInteraction design: application flows to facilitate user tasks, defining how the user interacts with site functionalityInformation architecture: structural design of the information space to facilitate intuitive access to contentFunctional specifications: "feature set”: detailed functionality the site or app must include in order to meet user needsContent requirements: definition of content elements required in the site in order to meet user needsUser needs: external; identified through user research, ethnographics, etc.site objectives: business, creative, or other internal site or app goalsUser needs: external; identified through user research, ethnographics, etc.site objectives: business, creative, or other internal site or app goalsabstractconceptiondiagram courtesy of Jesse James Garrett, Elements of User Experience

9. why is UX important for MoM?because the MoM mission is essentially:4 Understand the users’ needs – and our clients’ business goals – and evaluate our designs and products against both4 Ensure that the products we design meet or exceed our user’s expectations in order to increase product adoption and reduce support intervention4 Create high quality products that are implemented per business requirements and design specifications using best practices

10. why is UX important for MoM?A UX team brings multiple disciplines to bear:4 User researchers4 Interaction designers4 Visual designers4 Information architects4 Front-end developers4 Writers4 User testing moderatorsAll work together, and with back-end teams, with extensive brainstorming, problem-solving and the same commitment as other project teams to stick to schedules and meet budgets.

11. what processes ensure good UX?UX strategy = design strategy = business strategyWhat’s worth doing?What are we creating?What value does it provide?How do we deliver it?focusdefinitionvaluescope

12. what processes ensure good UX?focus: do we have an achievable mandate?UX efforts must address theseUX efforts should accommodatetheseimportanceUnwise use of time to address theseviability | feasibility

13. what processes ensure good UX?definition: do we have clear vision, obvious requirements + team alignment?ClientProject ManagerTeam Lead

14. what processes ensure good UX?value: how have we framed the value of the offering?Who is the target audience?What experiences are compelling to them?How is the offering different from competitors and substitutes?

15. what processes ensure good UX?scope: what do we build first and what comes next?Symptoms we haven’t clarified scopeTOO BIGTOO SMALLUnrealistic delivery expectationsTrouble creating a timely release (e.g. Vista vs. Mac OS X)Battling “can’t we also have _____ ?”Nervous designers + developersUnclear path to the full visionUnremarkable, unimpressive, watered-down releases

16. what does a UX team do?in every project we:Analyze4Work with product management at the beginning. Understand business objectives, the behavior and thinking of the users, and the competition.Design4Produce architecture, wireframes, design treatments until the product takes form.Implement4Rapid iteration: constantly refine the prototype in response to targeted inquiry into what aspects of the experience need work (through client reviews + feedback, internal analysis and user testing).

17. what processes ensure good UX?UX team deliverables:Analysis + research4 Personas4 Qualitative user research and reports4 Concept maps4 Competitive analysis4 ScorecardsInfo. architecture (IA)4 Functional specs4 Use cases + task flow diagrams4 UI specs + guidelines4 Storyboards4 IA maps

18. sample concept map

19. sample information architecture mapping

20. sample wireframe

21. what processes ensure good UX?UX team deliverables:Prototyping4 Flat wireframes4 Grey-screen prototypes4 Paper prototypesVisual design4 Polished visual design + screen layout4 Icons + graphic Components (assets)4 CSS/XHTML

22. what processes ensure good UX?UX team deliverables:Technical communications4 Content4 Help4 User guides + reference manuals4 Videos, flash demos, training materials4 Localization (languages/locations)

23. how does UX fit in an agile environment?UX leverages agile in several ways:4 User research and testing can be utilized to prioritize features in the product backlog – and to iteratively refine designs to achieve better usability4 When UX is integrated in the planning phases of a project (post-win) – and early into the agile process –release schedules and budgets are not impacted or affected4 Create high quality products that are implemented per the design specifications using best practices

24. how does UX fit in an agile environment?here’s how we do it:

25. how does UX fit in an agile environment?how we make agile work for UX:Early-stage UX planning4 High-level design4 UX requirements4 Detailed design + specEmbed a designer on the team4 No surprises4 Designer iterates as development progresses

26. how does UX fit in an agile environment?how we make agile work for UX:UX + development follow same schedule4 Designers are one iteration ahead of developers4 Hand off detailed designs or CSS/XHTML prototypes for developers to follow4 Front-end development is part of UX teamBacklog contains UX design features

27. key takeawayUX is the combined result of all our efforts + processes.PM+ businessanalysisvisual designapplicationarchitectureuser experiencesystem designinteractiondesignInformationarchitecture