This is the second slide deck to my User experience class at Miami Ad School in SF. I run through the research process and the creation of personas.

1. The Human Centered
Design Process
POP 517: User Experience

2. What to do this week?
Market research vs Design research
Research Methods
Personas

3. Primary Goal
To generate
value (often
financial)
for the
organization
$
To generate
value (often
utility)
for the
end user
Market
Research
Design
Research

4. Process
Systematic
gathering of
theoretical data
that is then
analytically
processed
Cumulative
gathering of
human
experiences and
artifacts that is
then synthetically
processed
Market
Research
Design
Research

5. Primary Processing Tool
Logic Empathy
Market
Research
Design
Research

6. Common Communications Approaches
Reports and
presentations that
use words, charts
and graphics to
present linear
market analyses and
projections. data
reigns
Multimedia
presentations that
use words, photos,
drawings and stories
to present complex
human archetypes,
needs and patterns.
Data becomes
narrative
Market
Research
Design
Research

7. Enables Practitioners To
Make a sound
decision based
on identified
options
Develop a sound
solution that
meets identified
needs
Market
Research
Design
Research

8. Let’s begin the process
First steps: the strategy plane

9. Surface
Skeleton
Structure
Scope
Strategy

10. Stakeholder needs
and objectives

11. What do we want our
product to accomplish
and how will our
users interact with it

12. User Needs
&
Product Objectives

13. Product Objectives

14. Product Objectives

15. Clearly define
conditions for success

18. User Needs

19. User needs

20. Clearly define who
your users are

23. How do we go about this?

24. User Research

25. Design Research Toolkit
Stakeholder Interviews
Subject Matter Expert (SME) Interviews
Competitive Reviews
Literature Reviews
Depth Interviews (Customer&User)
Direct Observation (Ethnography)
Contextual Inquiry
Usability Testing
Co-design/Participatory Design
Group/Social Research
Longitudinal Research
Focus Groups
Quantitative Surveys
Remote ‘Testing’
Stats/Analytics

26. Market research
methods
surveys /
focus groups
clearly describe
what you need
Contextual
inquiry
studying user
behavior
can reveal
subtleties
Task
analysis
interviews /
observation
contextual
practices
User
testing
practical /
hands-on
tests
usability

27. Market research
methods
Quantitative
surveys / literature reviews / remote
testing tools / stats / analytics

28. Contextual
inquiry
Qualitative
interviews with users in the context
of their everyday lives in relation to
the product / ethnographic /
observational

29. Task
Analysis
Qualitative
closely examine the steps taken in
accomplishing tasks related to the
product / ethnographic / interviews
or stories

30. User
Testing
Qualitative
work with the user once your product
has been designed / tests usability

31. Card
Sorting
Qualitative
explore how users categorize or
group information elements /
post-its / index cards

32. Personas
Qualitative
also called model or user profiles

33. start with
single case analysis
(the story of each participant)

34. then move to
multiple case analysis
eg. affinity sorting

36. Janet
“I don’t have time to sort through a lot of
information. I need quick answers.”
Janet is frustrated with working in a corporate environment
and wants to start her own accounting practice.
Age: 42
Occupation: Accounting firm vice president
Family: Married, two children
Household Income: $180,000/year
Technical profile: Fairly comfortable with technology, Dell laptop
(about a year old) running Windows, Cable internet connection, 15-20
hours/week online
Internet use: 75% at home, news and information, shopping
Favorite sites:
WSJ.com salon.com travelocity.com

37. Frank
“This stuff is all new to me. I want a site
that will explain everything.”
Frank is interested in learning how he can turn his
hobby of making pots into a business.
Age: 37
Occupation: School bus driver
Family: Married, one child
Household Income: $60,000/year
Technical profile: Somewhat uncomfortable with technology, Apple
iMac (about two years old) running Windows, DSL internet connection,
8-10 hours/week online
Internet use: 100% at home, entertainment, shopping
Favorite sites:
ESPN.com moviefone.com eBay.com

38. Personas
Represent the range
of user needs
Always refer back to your personas
throughout the design process

39. Ready for the
assignment?

40. You have been grouped into teams. Each team has been assigned a
website. Over the next few weeks, we will follow the UX process to
redesign these sites.
First up...who are your users?
Use at least three research methods to get to know your users – who are
they? What are their needs? What behaviors are you trying to enhance?
What behaviors are you trying to dissuade?
Create at least five personas based on your research and come to class
prepared to share your insights.
Note: this task is an individual assignment, not a team assignment.
Website re-design projects:
Team A http://www.tripadvisor.com
Team B http://sfbay.craigslist.org
Team C http://www.ebay.com
Team D http://www.hotels.com
Team E http://www.recreation.gov
Team F https://www.wikipedia.org

41. https://sites.google.com/site/
usablepersonas/new-persona
http://boxesandarrows.com/making-
personas-more-powerful-details-to-
drive-strategic-and-tactical-design/
Familiarize yourselves with Adobe Muse