2. Or…The Mandolinist
needs new strings?
applying design thinking to
practice development
Jen Fabrizi
Boston UXPA Conference
May 29, 2013
2
3. applying design thinking to
practice development
Jen Fabrizi
Boston UXPA Conference
May 29, 2013
Or…The Mandolinist
needs new strings?
3
4. We will:
• speak a common language
• share a common view of what our work is and what it’s for
• learn from each other
• innovate based on multi-disciplinary collaboration
• value diversity of thought as the most valued form of diversity
A team of master practitioners, both in their own
practices and in playing together!!
Work will
be less about
fitting with the
latest process;
it will be more about
collectively solving
problems.
Sarah Bloomer & Jen Fabrizi Changing the UX Mindset 4
What’s up with the music?
5. family
learning
personas
scenarios
practice
qualitative
usability
team
human factors
richpictures
universal principles
design-thinking
diversity of thought
storyboards
multidisciplinary persuasion
ethics
plain language
taxonomy
metadata
music
art
collaboration
work
knowledge
quantitative
findability
methods
tools
sketching
collective intelligence
process
behavior
culture
5Senior Experience Design Architect
Knowledge & Innovation Team
MassMutual Financial Group
jennifer.fabrizi@gmail.com
www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferfabrizi
www.twitter.com/jenniferfabrizi
profiles
love
story-telling
empathy
innovation
possibilities
human-centered
research
change
exploration
ambiguity
5
7. http://www.tarrani.net/tzmodel/EvolutionOfProcessMaturity.jpg
Capability Maturity Model (CMM)
• Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University 1986
• CMM = a process maturity framework
• describes effective software process:
• process assessment & improvement
• capability evaluation
CMMI was initiated in April of 1998 as a unified (or integrated) CMM for software AND
system engineering.
Good concept for other contexts, too 7
8. 8
What does “maturity in UX” look like at a corporate level?
Buttiglieri, 2012
http://www.slideshare.net/UPABoston/ux-maturity-
modelbuttiglieri
10. feasibility
planning
business requirements
solutions architecture
technical design
development
testing
stakeholder research
user research; personas
scenarios & concept designs
ux architecture
ui design layout &
specifications
ui implementation
typical waterfall ux integration with waterfall
implementation
validation
validation
verification
verification
verification
unit test
systems test
integration testing
validation
validation
validation
formative
formative
summative
systems test
integration tes
What does this mean to a UX Manager / Lead?
This looks theoretical. What does it look like, practically?
10
11. Gate 1 Gate 2 Gate 3 Gate 4 Gate 5
Gating Model
•Scope Statement (I)
•Business Case (I)
•ROM (I)
Our Deliverables
•User Research Plan
•Scope Statement (I)
•Business Case (I, E)
•CBA (E)
•Origination Estimate (I)
•Risk Plan (E)
•Key Roles
•Architectural Conceptual
Solution Diagram (E)
Our Deliverables
•Existing knowledge
documentation
•Scope Statement (I)
•Business Case (I)
•CBA (E)
•Architecture Blueprint Sign-
off (E)
•Baseline Estimate (I)
•Resource Plan
•Benefit Realization /
Measurement Plan
•Project Charter Sign-off (E)
•Milestone Roadmap
•Risk Plan
Our Deliverables
•User Research
Summary
•Usability Study Plan
•High level wireframes
•Test Strategy (E)
•Version Readiness Plan
•Operational Readiness Plan
•Version Readiness Sign-off
Plan (E)
•SOX Testing Sign-off (E)
Our Deliverables
•Detailed Wireframes
•Usability Study Report(s)
•Benefits Realization
Results (I, E)
Origination Planning Execution Implementation
provided by AJ Siegel, Director PI Usability Research at Travelers
www.linkedin.com/in/ajsiegel
11
12. So far, we’ve talked about PROCESS.
Is this enough?
12
14. consider developing the practice of user experience
Individuals practicing their craft to achieve
higher levels of mastery...
I have to
practice!
I have to
practice!
I have to
practice!
I have to
practice!
I have to
practice!
15. understand the work of UX practitioners as we would for any
other
use personas to
model attitudes,
behaviors,
motivations, etc,
of the UX
practitioners your
organization
needs
Fabrizi, 2013 15
16. represent practitioners’ pain points, motivation and the like in
scenarios
use scenarios &
storyboards to reflect
what you’ve learned
about practitioners’
pain points, key
tasks, barriers to
successful
interactions with
other roles, etc.
also work in cultural
elements, for
example:
deadline pressure
from external
management not
aligned to agile
framework
Fabrizi, 2013 16
17. use storyboards to convey (& validate) the scenarios
Fabrizi, 2013
1. 2.
3. 4. 5.
6. 7.
17
18. adapted from Laurel, B. (Ed.). (2003). Design Research: Methods and Perspectives (First Edition.). The MIT Press.
a sample of
knowledge flows
map knowledge flows for stakeholders at the methodology level
18
19. decompose & analyze sub-capabilities
VISUAL
DESIGN
INTERACTION
DESIGN
INFORMATION
ARCHITECTURE
USER / USABILITY
RESEARCH
Values
(what design is about as a
value system)
aesthetics
affect
culture
emotion
interactivity
experience
transparency
behavior
findability
information
user-centered taxonomy
experience
human system requirements and
limitations, user motivations
Methods
(what design is as activity)
creating image and form designing for usability, user
experience, and process
efficiency
designing for information
hierarchy, and findability
field research methods, usability
improvements/recommendations
Deliverables
(what designs are as
artifacts/representations)
sketches, look and feel, visual
artifacts, appearance
prototypes
wireframes and application
structure, story boards,
prototypes
site maps and structure,
wireframes, taxonomy and
nomenclature
personas, scenarios, usability
scripts, ethnographies of the
workplace, user motivations
Mind sets
(what they think about)
appearance, emotion interactivity, user intent findability, content
presentation
usability, value
Knowledge set
(what they know about)
visual form cognition, behavior information hierarchy foundational human factors
(psychology and sociology)
Skill sets
(the skills they possess)
drawing, sketching,
brainstorming, illustrating
processes: contextual design,
interaction design, formative
evaluations, iterative design,
participatory design
classifications and affinity
diagramming, site mapping,
wireframing, card sorting
Formative and summative usability
studies, large scale measurements,
field methods, ethnographic
research
Tool sets
(the tools they use)
image and illustration tools,
photography, video, cultural
artifacts
rapid field work, low- and high-
fidelity wireframes and
prototypes
card sorting tools, low-fidelity
wireframes
usability lab, specialized recording
software, note taking tools
Value to the
organization
persuasive technology, visual
expression of brand values
support of lived work (as in
CSCW), adoption, satisfaction
effective delivery of content,
satisfaction
usable solutions, customer-
experience based differentiation
(P.S. These sub-capabilities are needed
regardless of the process used.)
Adapted from Blevis, E., & Stolterman, E. (2009)
19
20. Business
Analyst
Test Mgr /
Engineer
Architect Designer/
Developer
Project
Manager
Common Goal but
still focused on
individual practice
learning to collaborate by following a process
Ideas
Plan Req
Arch
&
Des
Dev Test
A team practicing and developing through
on-the-job experience and exposure.
User Exp
Designer
Fabrizi, 2013
21. Product Owner
Business Analyst
Testers
Architect / Tech Designer
DevelopersScrum Master
UX Architect
Enterprise
Architect
Business Analyst
Scrum Team
pigs
Product Owner +
“Cabinet” of Advisors
chickens
How best to
facilitate this
team to co-
design?
I understand
how the
features fit
together
Here’s the
structure of
the design.
Here’s what
we know
about users.
UI Designer
Now I see
how the
business
vision is going
to work!
rich picture
Monk & Howard (1998)
wrote about the rich
picture: a tool for
reasoning about the
work context.
Use this to model
complex work
relationships &
collaboration touch-
points.
This is a sample of a UX
practitioner in the
context of an agile
project.
Fabrizi, 2013 21
22. Competitors
Product
Owner
Business Analyst
Testers
Architect /
Tech Designer
Developers
UX Architect
Enterprise
Architect
Business
Analyst
Senior
Leadership
Teams
Customers
Which
company
do I trust?
What are people
like me doing and
saying?
What do
customers
want?
What are our
competitors
doing?
Will it be on
time and on
$$??
Gotta block
for my
team!!
Do they get
what I want?
Let’s visualize it
together!
What do I
want?
They want
what, when?
Scrum Master
External
Pressures
In-Group
Pressures
Internal Pressures
Scrum Team
The
Enterprise
PO Cabinet
LEGEND
Mental
Models
Ideas
22
rich picture can tell the big-picture story, too
Fabrizi, 2013
24. taxonomy frameworks: connections among multiple practices
project management
business analysis
user experience
test engineering
enables knowledge
sharing, collaboration,
social aspects of work,
etc.
24
25. the user experience practice: a unified story
operations,
sponsorship,
funding &
infrastructure
sub-
capabilities
processes,
methodologies
user experience
capability
meta-model
taxonomies /
ontology
knowledge
in-flows &
out-flows
practitioner
DNA
Fabrizi, 2013
25
26. What is the primary goal of process optimization?
error elimination
26
27. Why do many large companies
buy their innovation? Because their dominant
culture of 99% defect-free operational excellence
squashes any attempts at innovation just like a
Sumo wrestler sitting on a small gymnast. They
cannot accept failures. The reality is that failures
are a necessary part of innovation.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/darden/2012/06/20/creating-an-innovation-culture-accepting-failure-is-necessary/
“
“
27
30. The User-Centered Design Process
Menu 1 Menu 2 Our Company
Work > Professional Practices > User Experience Community of Practice
Photos from ABC Co’s World Usability Day
2012: The Face of Finance
read more
Welcome to the User Experience Community
Please join in the discussions, learn something new, and help us spread the
word!
Jessie’s UX Employee Blog
UX CMM & the SDLC
2 comments
A review of assessment methods
12 comments
Review of the latest UX books
0 comments
Identify need
for user-
centered design
System satisfies
User
Requirements
Specify context for use
Specify User
Requirements
Create design solutions
Evaluate
Designs
User Experience Team
ABC Co. Intranet
Testimonials
“The UX Research & Design team is an
invaluable partner in helping projects
succeed. We can now measure user
adoption and satisfaction.”
expand V
UX Design Methods
+ Research & Ideation
- Interaction Design & Information
Architecture
+ Tools
+ Templates
+ Samples
+ Usability Testing
+ Visual Design
Wikki
Glossary of Terms
2012 Showcase Project
Guidelines for UX Agile
UX Discussion Boards
31. ABC Co. Intranet Menu 1 Menu 2 Our Company
Work > Professional Practices > User Experience Community of Practice > UX Team
Retail User Experience Team
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod
tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
• Ut enim ad minim veniam,
• quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea
commodo consequat
• Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum
dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia
deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Team Roster
Jessica Beecher, Director
Ninetta Cardarelli, Senior UX Consultant
Emily Axelrod, UX Consultant
Peter Barnes, Senior Usability Analyst
Maddie Jones, Junior Analyst
expand V
Usability Lab Calendar
News from the Field
<< < 2012 > >>
Product Strategy Department
Request Lab Services
UXPA RSS Feed
Drumroll, please… We’re really excited to begin sharing details about the first
of UXPA’s two 2013 conference events! Washington, DC will be the location for
the … expand V
Team Documents
- Project Documents
- ABC Redesign 2012 Project
Usability Findings
Personas
Scenarios
Storyboards
Wireframes
+ Annual Benefits
+ Sales Illustration
+ Showcase Project
- Operations
+ Templates for Deliverables
+ Groundwork Templates
+ Incoming Project Requests
+ Status Reports
Wikki
Glossary of Terms
Guidelines for UX Agile
32. future of enterprise User Experience?
INNOVATION
inside-
out
culture change
collective
intelligence
capability
design
practice
design
user-experience
research
market
research
collective
intelligence
global forces
DESIGN THINKING
VALUE ECOSYSTEM
organization
users/customers
outside-
in
internal
(organizational)
external
32
33. Ambidextrous organizations
have built-in capabilities for
efficiency, consistency and
reliability on the one hand,
and experimentation,
improvisation and luck on the
other.
Tushman, Michael L. & O`Reilly Charles A. 2004
33
35. We will:
• speak a common language
• share a common view of what our work is and what it’s for
• learn from each other
• innovate based on multi-disciplinary collaboration
• value diversity of thought as the most valued form of diversity
A team of master practitioners, both in their own
practices and in playing together!!
Work will
be less about
fitting with the
latest process;
it will be more about
collectively solving
problems.
Sarah Bloomer & Jen Fabrizi Changing the UX Mindset 35
high performing teams
36. WRAP UP
MANY THANKS TO
3RD STRING TRIO
thank you
Aldo Fabrizi on mandolins
Peter Barnes on guitars
Karen Axelrod on accordion
https://www.facebook.com/3rdStringTrio
3rd String Trio
old-world café music from
France, Italy, Spain, England,
Scotland, Ireland, Germany,
South America
37. References & Resources
About CMM / CMMI
CMMI Institute, Carnegie Mellon | www.cmmiinstitue.com
downloadble resources including CMMI models
Software Engineering Institute | Carnegie Mellon
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/?location=secondary-nav&source=652373
Background on the CMM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capability_Maturity_Model
Dymond, K. M. (1995). A Guide to the Cmm: Understanding the Capability Maturity Model for Software. Process Inc U.S.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0964600803/ref=nosim/lindazaratesc-20/
User Experience Capability Maturity Models (UX CMMs)
Rich Buttiglieri’s presentation to UXPA Boston on UX Maturity Models
http://www.slideshare.net/UPABoston/ux-maturity-modelbuttiglieri
Rich references other exemplars of UXMMs.
A nice example from Johnny Holland with 6 levels of maturity:
http://johnnyholland.org/2010/04/planning-your-ux-strategy
A cute version:
http://www.tarrani.net/tzmodel/EvolutionOfProcessMaturity.jpg
Process Models for Agile
http://www.agile-training-courses.com/scrum.html
http://agileproductdesign.com/useful_papers/miller_customer_input_in_agile_projects.pdf
37
38. References & Resources, continued
UX DISCIPLINES
Blevis, E., & Stolterman, E. (2009). FEATURE: Transcending disciplinary boundaries in interaction design. interactions, 16(5), 48–51.
doi:10.1145/1572626.1572636
In their article the authors discuss the nature of multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and “transdisciplinary” work in the user experience
domains. I have adapted and expanded their model to apply to a Capability Model framework. A framework should lead toward
multidisciplinary work but degrees of mastery in each capability need to be achieved first. Also, as a framework, the attributes are not
to be considered absolute or definitive; put another way, there is considerable overlap (“transdisciplinary” thinking).
Also read: http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2007/11/the-five-competencies-of-user-experience-design.php
Ling, B. (n.d.). Design Management vs. Design Thinking. Design Sojourn. Retrieved May 26, 2013, from
http://www.designsojourn.com/design-management-vs-design-thinking/
FROM KNOWLEDGE & CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Craig, W., Fisher, M., Garcia-Miller, S., Kaylor, C., Porter, J., & Reed, L. (2009). Generalized Criteria and Evaluation Method for Center of
Excellence: A Preliminary Report. Software Engineering Institute. Retrieved from http://repository.cmu.edu/sei/278
And read more about Communities of Practice:
http://www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm
Iqbal, M. (n.d.). Customer Experience and Organisational Change: Reflections on the Limits and Folly of Outside-In. CUSTOMER +
LEADERSHIP BLOG. Retrieved May 26, 2013, from http://thecustomerblog.co.uk/2013/04/16/customer-experience-and-
organisational-change-reflections-on-the-limits-and-folly-of-outside-in/
MODELING COMPLEX WORK RELATIONSHIPS
Monk, A., & Howard, S. (1998). Methods & tools: the rich picture: a tool for reasoning about work context. interactions, 5(2),
21–30. doi:10.1145/274430.274434
POWER OF NETWORKS
http://www.thersa.org/events/rsaanimate/animate/rsa-animate-the-power-of-networks
38
