"It's not about the tools, it's about the thinking process that led to these tools..."

1. Critical Thinking
for UX Designers
(or Anyone really!)
Stephen P Anderson
. Russ Unger
@stephenanderson @russu

2. It’s not about the tools,
it’s about the thinking process
that led to these tools

3. A C T I V I T Y
It’s five years in the future. Your big idea failed.
Write THE OBITUARY for your big idea.

4. A C T I V I T Y
It’s five years in the future. Your big idea failed.
Write THE OBITUARY for your big idea.
It’s 2017.
“User Experience” is Dead.
What happened?
Write the obituary for
User Experience.

5. Critical
Thinking
Skills?

6. Houses, Walls, Windows
Image Source © Time Inc.

7. Henry Ford
“
If I would have asked people
what they wanted, they would
have said “a faster horse.”
Images Source © Time Inc.

8. The Limbic System
Images Source http://home.comcast.net/~momtofive/SIDWEBPAGE2.htm

9. Brains Are Wired 2-Dimensionally
Image Source © icanhascheezburger.com

10. Limbic Also Controls the Orgasms
Image Source © http://www.meh.ro/

11. My Wife
“
Really? An orgasm slide?
Those people had better
not think that’s me in the
picture...
Image Source Russ Unger

12. Dr. Steve Julius
“
With a bit of training and
through some basic brain-
stretching exercises, we can
be re ective. We can slow
down and nd alternative
solutions.
Image Source Steve’s Son Max

13. Let’s Try One
•Four Magic Seedlings
•Must be planted equal distances
apart from each other
•Yes. You have to plant four of
them to make the magic
Image Source © Russ Unger

14. Show Your Work
2’
Math Lesson:
A 2 + B2 = C2
2’
4+4=8
271
2’ 2’
284
2.8
Square Root of
8 = 2.82842712
2’ Image Source © Russ Unger

15. Solved!
2’
2’
2’
’ 2’
2
2’
Image Source © Russ Unger

16. DTCT
What It IS NOT: What It IS:
•Biased •Self-directed
•Partial •Self-monitored
•Uninformed •Self-corrective
•Prejudiced
Image Source © Time Inc.

17. ‘Z’-Shaped
Thinkers

18. Why ?

19. ‘T’ was taken...
T
empathy to see
patterns and branch
out into other areas
deep vertical
expertise

20. -Shaped
Thinkers?

21. V
-Shaped Thinkers?

22. iShaped Thinkers?

23. Z

24. “When everyone zigs, zag.”

26. X

27. Z

28. Z

29. Z

31. reliable, but
diminishing returns

32. reliable, but
diminishing returns
opportunity to
‘change the game’

33. ?

34. Nicholas
Negroponte

35. Nicholas
Negroponte
George Lucas

36. Dean Kamen

37. buckm inster
fuller

38. Geodesic Dome Housing

39. The Fuller Projection

40. The Dymaxion Car

41. The Dymaxion Bathroom / Fog Gun Shower

42. “When everyone zigs, zag.”

43. Cool...
But What does this have to
do with appl ication design
and development?

44. ‘Z’-Shaped Thinkers
approach challenges
(of all kinds!)
in different ways

45. Z
what happens
here?

46. ‘Z’-Shaped Thinkers...
reframe the
???
problem

47. A C T I V I T Y
You have 3 minutes.
Design a vase.
(example from Marc Rettig)

48. A C T I V I T Y
You have 3 minutes.
Design a vase.
Design a better way
for people to enjoy
flowers in their home.
(example from Marc Rettig)

49. ‘Z’-Shaped Thinkers...
reframe the
???
problem

50. ‘Z’-Shaped Thinkers...
reframe the
problem

51. A ROUGH DESIGN MATURITY CONTINUUM
DESIGN AS Design redefines the challenges facing the
organization.
FRAMING Framing sets the agenda, outlines the
boundaries and axes of interest, and moves
design from executing strategy to shaping
strategy. Disruptive innovation lives here.
Design finds new opportunities by solving
existing problems.
PROBLEM ?
Design process generates alternatives within
a problem space. Design also narrows down
SOLVING those options to a specific solution.
Design makes things work better.
FUNCTION This is the classic practice of design - but it's
still commonly limited to incremental
+ improvements through iteration over existing
AND FORM
solutions.
Design is the gateway to be hip and cool.
STYLE , Design is stylish, but too often is percieved
and practiced as a cosmetic afterthought.
Design value isn't recognized.
NO CONSCIOUS
DESIGN ? This attitude fosters design by default -
however things come out is fine, because
there are more important issues to deal with.
(Jess McMullin - Design Maturity Model - http://www.bplusd.org/2005/10/19/a-rough-design-maturity-model/ )

52. Design a vase. Design a better way
for people to enjoy
flowers in their home.

53. Design a vase. Design a better way
for people to enjoy
flowers in their home.
Design a better search Design a better way to learn
engine results page. about [topic]

54. Design a vase. Design a better way
for people to enjoy
flowers in their home.
Design a better search Design a better way to learn
engine results page. about [topic]
Product or Task Focused Experience Focused.

55. Framing the right problem is about:
Context
Current Desired
Problem(s) Outcome(s)

56. A C T I V I T Y
“Find the center”

57. A C T I V I T Y
“Strategy Canvas”

58. A C T I V I T Y
“Strategy Canvas”

59. A C T I V I T Y
“Strategy Canvas”

60. A C T I V I T Y

62. A B

63. A B
WRONG PROBLEM!

65. ! ?

66. ! ?
(RIGHT PROBLEM TO SOLVE)

68. “What’s the value of what I’m delivering?”

69. For the purpose of... I’ve used...
DESIGN RESEARCH
UNDERSTANDING Looks at People, the Activities, and
the Context of those Activities
PERSONAS
SCENARIOS
ALIGNMENT
EXPERIENCE MODELS
MENTAL MODELS
EXPLORATION STORIES
CLARIFICATION MOCKUPS
COMMUNICATION PRESENTATIONS /
INSPIRATION MODELS
PERSUASION PROTOTYPES
HUMILIATION &
GALVANIZATION EXPERT EVALUATIONS

70. ‘Z’-Shaped Thinkers...
explore many
perspectives

71. The Cotton Bowl
Image Source My Cousin

72. The Cotton Bowl
“
She focused so much on her business that she forgot
to focus on her business.
Image Source My Cousin

74. A C T I V I T Y
“role play the browser”

76. A C T I V I T Y
p!
Ask yourself
“can a five year old understand this?”

84. A C T I V I T Y
“Wear a different hat.”
How would these different brands respond to the same design challenge?

85. A C T I V I T Y
“Classical Invention”
(as a way to see something from 5 different perspectives)
Definition
-Genus
-Division Circumstance
-Possible and impossible
Comparison -Past fact and future fact
-Similarity
-Difference Testimony
-Degree -Authority
-Testimonial
Relationship -Statistics
-Cause and effect -Maxims
-Antecedent and consequence -Law
-Compliments -Precedents
-Contradictions

86. A C T I V I T Y
“Peaks & Valleys”
Draw the emotional peaks and valleys in your customer journey.
Where does the experience start? When does it end?

87. A C T I V I T Y
“Peaks & Valleys”
Draw the emotional peaks and valleys in your customer journey.
Where does the experience start? When does it end?

88. Ordering Pizza for Delivery
Browse Review Payment
Build Pizza Wait Eat!
Coupons Price Info

89. Ordering Pizza for Delivery
Browse Review Payment
Build Pizza Wait Eat!
Coupons Price Info

90. Ordering Pizza for Delivery
!
Eat!
Browse
Build Pizza Wait
Coupons
Review
Price
Payment
Info
"

91. ! !
! Wait Eat!
Build Pizza
Browse
Coupons
Review
Price
Payment
Info
"

92. ! !
! Wait Eat!
Build Pizza
Browse
Coupons
Review
Price
Payment
Info
"

93. ! !
! Wait Eat!
Build Pizza
Browse
Coupons
Review
Price
Payment
Info
"

94. ! !
! Wait Eat!
Build Pizza
Browse
Coupons
Review
Price
Payment
Info
"

95. ! !
! Wait Eat!
Build Pizza
Browse
Coupons
Review
Price
Payment
Info
"

96. A C T I V I T Y
“Peaks & Valleys”
Draw the emotional peaks and valleys in your customer journey.
Where does the experience start? When does it end?

97. A C T I V I T Y
“Reverse the Problem”
What’s the opposite of what you’re trying to do?
How would you design something with the
opposite goal?

98. Habit to develop:
{Training your mind differently
(Count squares for a week, etc.)}
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43130906@N04/4251109221/

99. Habit to develop:
Change your work context every 18 months.
(new job, new project or new role within your company)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43130906@N04/4251109221/

100. ‘Z’-Shaped Thinkers...
synthesize
information

101. News To Me
Images Source © Time Inc.

102. Deja vu?
Images Source © e Wachowski Brothers

103. Remember These?
Images Source © http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacksonboyle/1506260962/sizes/l/in/photostream/

104. Remember These?
“
When the cassette recorder was invented, the
music industry announced a moral panic over the
fact that people could simply steal music from the
radio, or copy it from each other.
- John Lanchester
Images Source © http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacksonboyle/1506260962/sizes/l/in/photostream/

105. Remember These?
Images Source Wikipedia

106. Meet the First Digital Audio Player
Images Source Kane Kramer http://www.kanekramer.com

107. Meet the First Digital Audio Player
1979
Images Source Kane Kramer http://www.kanekramer.com

108. Meet the First Digital Audio Player
Images Source Kane Kramer http://www.kanekramer.com

109. Meet the First Digital Audio Player
Images Source Kane Kramer http://www.kanekramer.com

110. The MP3 Player is an Application
Images Source © http://flickriver.com

111. The New Books

112. The New Books
Free?

113. Back to the Newspapers...

114. Back to the Newspapers...

115. Back to the Newspapers...

116. +
= Fog Gun Shower

118. +
Cooking

119. +
Cooking

121. +
Poetry

122. +
Poetry

124. +
Usability

125. +
Usability

126. Habit to develop:
Expose yourself: Learn from other disciplines
(film, restaurants, gardening, etc.)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43130906@N04/4251109221/

127. A C T I V I T Y
“Forced connections”

128. http://getmentalnotes.com/

129. Habit to develop:
Expose yourself! To other kinds of UIs–from games,
different industries, and other devices (kiosks, mobile,
medical, car dashboards, etc.)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43130906@N04/4251109221/

130. http://www.aaronjasinski.com/

131. 1
Categories
Bars... 5
3 color coding More
4 height
details on
click
2
Sub-Categories

132. 27
26
25
REGION 3
24
23
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
REGION 2
14
13
12
11
10
09
08
07
06
REGION 1
05
04
03
02
01

133. REGION 1 REGION 2 REGION 3
123.45
93.04
Supervisor: John Smith
Qtly Avg: $4.2m
Other: $55.3m
Q4 TODAY
07 Miami Branch
04
06
09
05
08
02
20
03
24
26
25
23
27
01
10
14
16
19
15
18
12
21
13
17
11

134. _
_
Navigation!
_
Activity Focused

135. Geographical Places
Building Interiors,
Caves, etc.

136. Geographical Places
Building Interiors,
Caves, etc.

137. Persistent Global
Controls
Geographical Places
Building Interiors,
Caves, etc.

138. Persistent Global
Controls
Geographical Places
Building Interiors,
Caves, etc.

139. Map, News,
Character Stats
Persistent Global
Controls
Geographical Places
Building Interiors,
Caves, etc.

140. Map, News,
Character Stats
Persistent Global
Controls
Geographical Places
Building Interiors,
Caves, etc.

141. Map, News,
Character Stats
Persistent Global
Controls
Geographical Places
Building Interiors,
Caves, etc.
Games

142. Map, News,
Character Stats
Persistent Global
Controls
Geographical Places
Building Interiors,
Caves, etc.
Games

143. Map, News,
Character Stats
Persistent Global
Controls
Geographical Places
Building Interiors,
Caves, etc.
Games

144. Map, News,
?
Character Stats
Persistent Global
Controls
Geographical Places
Building Interiors,
Caves, etc.
Games

145. Map, News,
Character Stats Global Popups,
Profile,
Navigation, News
Persistent Global Persistent Global
Controls Controls
Various
Geographical Places
Applications
Building Interiors, Plug-Ins, related
Caves, etc. tools
Context-Specific Tasks,
Games
Contextual Help

146. I have problems with
separate disciplines &
serialized workflows.

147. I have problems with
UX certifications.

148. “
Don’t worry about how we’re
going to do it, we just want to
see an impression of what these
scenes are going to look like on
the screen...
George Lucas,
speaking to Ralph
McQuarrie about
concept paintings
for Star Wars

149. “
We started out with almost no
experience in building models in
this quantity or this type...
Grant McCune

150. “
Everybody sort of cross-trained and
worked in different techniques. That
was different than the Hollywood
system that had very strict sort of
union rules. But there was no way
that this work could be done that way,
or that the Hollywood unions could
understand what we were doing…
Dennis Muren

151. “
We took the concept of motion
control... and we made it production
savvy, by tying it into a computer,
which at that point was custom built
microprocessors. There were no PCs...
We built them from scratch.
John Dykstra

152. “Broad and Deep Generalists”
People who are ...
Passionate
Curious
“Synthesizers”
VS.
Siloed Disciplines
Information Interaction Visual Usability/ Front-End Back-End
Researchers Human
Architects Designers Designers Developers Developers
Factors

153. A C T I V I T Y
Exercise
Estimate billable hours/roles for this project:
Web site for a non-profit organization
Accept Donations from any variety of Payment Types
Highlight “the Good” being done
Highlight the Board of Directors
Highlight Opportunities to help/join/volunteer/etc.
News / Events / Newsletter
Contact Info

154. ‘Z’-Shaped Thinkers...
embrace
constraints

155. A C T I V I T Y
Exercise
Estimate billable hours/roles for this project:
Web site for a non-profit organization
Accept Donations from any variety of Payment Types
Highlight “the Good” being done
Highlight the Board of Directors
Highlight Opportunities to help/join/volunteer/etc.
News / Events / Newsletter
Contact Info
New Twist:
How would you do this in x hours?!

156. e !
e !
r e
f iz
p r
es this have to
W hat do
ith Sta r Wars?
do w

157. “Graflex 3-Cell
Flashgun”
“Luke’s
Lightsaber”

158. “Denix C96 Mauser”
“Han Solo’s
Blaster”

161. “
Man built most nobly when
limitations were at their
greatest.
Frank Lloyd Wright:

162. why I stopped
wireframing...

163. “Abstraction”

164. A C T I V I T Y
Design for Mobile First.
introduces constraints and forces you to focus on the essential

165. A C T I V I T Y
Design Studio
introduces constraints and forces you to focus on the essential

166. task analysis grid

167. inspiration library

168. quantity over quality.

169. 6-8/5

171. Design Studio

173. A C T I V I T Y
“Design the Box”

176. Design the Box

177. Design the Box

178. Design the Box

179. A C T I V I T Y
What can you build and
launch in a weekend?
.. the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is that
product which has just those features (and no
more) that allows you to ship a product that
resonates with early adopters; some of whom
will pay you money or give you feedback.
-Eric Reis

180. ‘Z’-Shaped Thinkers...
challenge
assumptions

181. Fast Food: Good or Bad?

182. Build a tricycle
with wings!
*

183. Build a tricycle (SILLY REQUEST)
with wings!
*

184. Build a tricycle (SILLY REQUEST)
with wings!
*
B
What color
do you
want it?

185. Build a tricycle (SILLY REQUEST)
with wings!
*
B
B
What color
do you
want it?
We can try
out some
HTML5-coated
titanium!

186. Build a tricycle (SILLY REQUEST)
with wings!
*
B b
We can try Stop.
out some Why is this
HTML5-coated valuable? And
titanium! for whom?
B
What color
do you
want it?

187. A C T I V I T Y
“Ladders of Abstraction”
also known as...
Why?
Why?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?

188. A C T I V I T Y
“What if…?”

189. “We’ve tried that…”

190. ‘Z’-Shaped Thinkers...
appreciate
details

191. THINGS NOT BROKEN
modal transparent
confirmation messages
boxes

192. http://37signals.com/svn/archives2/the_long_road_to_simple_creating_debating_and_iterating_add_an_event.php

193. Habit to develop:
Take up a hobby where a subtle appreciation of details
is required (enjoying Wine, cheese, hot teas,
chocolate, jewelry, paper, etc.)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43130906@N04/4251109221/

194. ‘Z’-Shaped Thinkers...
reframe the problem
explore many perspectives
synthesize information
embrace constraints
challenge assumptions
appreciate details

195. ‘Z’-Shaped Thinkers...
reframe the problem
explore many perspectives
synthesize information
embrace constraints
challenge assumptions
appreciate details
in order to...
envision unseen
opportunities

196. Deborah
Adler

206. A C T I V I T Y
It’s five years in the future. Your big idea failed.
Write THE OBITUARY for your big idea.
It’s 2017.
“User Experience” is Dead.
What happened?
Write the obituary for
User Experience.

207. A C T I V I T Y
It’s 5 years in the future.
Write the press for your successful
product/service/company.

208. A C T I V I T Y
It’s 5 years in the future.
Write the press for your successful
product/service/company.
Be the press release for UX!

209. Z

210. Thank you!
slideshare.net/stephenpa
getmentalnotes.com
Stephen P Anderson
. Russ Unger
@stephenanderson @russu
www.poetpainter.com www.userglue.com