Become a StickyNote Ninja

Become a Stickynote Ninja
The Problem-Solving
Power of Stickies * (also known as
Post-it® Notes)

simple tools that deliver great results

Kate Rutter <kate@adaptivepath.com>

ADAPTIVE PATH | UX WEEK 2008 | August 12, 2008 | 0

What we’re going to do in the next 3 hours

 Talk about why sticky notes + UX = 
 Learn 9 methods that will rock your work
 Experience 4 activities to get hands-on
with the methods
 Collect a bunch of tips and tricks to make
your sticky-life easy
 Learn from each other’s experiences
 Find out where to get more info and tools
 Get a trinket


don’t be shy...


the path of the
stickynote
ninja


simple tools
+ skilled practitioners
powerful weapons


Ninja
Secret

#1
Sticky notes
are the currency
of ideas.


Why stickies?

They stick on a The right size Easy to
variety of to hold 1 idea rearrange and
surfaces or problem move around

Familiar and
Ubiquitous approachable

Cheap Simple


I call this…

ne ss
ig ht
L

STICKIES


Why do they work so well in groups?

Enable people Help a group Allow a group
to externalize focus on one to visualize
their thoughts thing at a time patterns
& ideas

Engage the Clearly show
whole group relationships &
in the process agreements


Two major ideas…
Create  Generate new ideas
information  Probe problems
 Explore attributes

 Identify patterns
Reduce
 Prioritize
information  Make decisions
 Create plans

Ninja
Secret

#2
Ninjas don’t talk
about what they do…
they just do it.


methods


What goes on a sticky? Sticky
Ninja
 1 thought or idea per sticky Tip
 Make them as clear as possible
 Keep the corners clear in case
you need space for additional I am
notes one idea
 Be specific
for example…

Frequent
Lots of downtime
issues with due to
product server load


4 types of layouts

Lists Clusters Trees Maps


The joy of lists
Name Use it to…
Lists
Freelisting Collect information about a topic

Swap-Sort Order items by priority

Dot-Voting Identify top choices


Lovin’ the clusters
Clusters Name Use it to…

Loose Cluster Identify patterns in information


Cultivating the trees
Trees Name Use it to…

Top-Down Tree Examine a topic thoroughly

Bottom-Up Tree Identify the fundamental
nature of a topic


Charting the maps
Maps Name Use it to…

Information Map Understand complex
relationships

Process Map Understand complex
relationships

Action Plan Define what’s needed
to meet a goal


Getting started : setting the stage Sticky
Ninja
 Define what you’re there to do: Tip
ie: “Understand how people think
about mobile devices”
or “Gather ideas for new features”
 Write down the objective and display it where
everyone can see it and reference it.
 Briefly describe the process you plan to use, and ask people
if they have questions.
 Have enough stickies and markers to go around.


gathering ideas
methods to master


List : Freelisting

I am one
I Iam one
am one
thought
thought
thought


Lists from walk-by contributions


Data from research interview videos


Strategic sticking Sticky
Ninja
 Be aware of where you put the sticky stuff. Tip
 Top for columns (ie: bottom-up maps)
 Bottom for general clustering
 Be consistent - Don’t put them all catawampus.
It’s a big time-waster!
 Tip: fold down the edge of one of the top corners to
make a handle so they are easier to grab and move.


organizing stuff
methods to master


Cluster : Loose Cluster


Clustering activity


Clustering activity with zones


Data into information : Charmr


Clusters by topic


Don’t have a big wall for stickies?
Sticky
 Use a rolling whiteboard Ninja
Tip
 Use a window!
 Use the back of a door
 Use a wall in the bathroom
 Get large sheets of gatorboard or foam core


or you can use the side of a building...


Tree : Bottom-Up Tree


Three levels in bottom-up tree


A forest of task trees


Pen and sticky size Sticky
Ninja
 Use the right size pen for the right Tip
size sticky.

Fine point Sharpie

Super Sharpie

Chisel point Sharpie


lets get hands on…
activity 1
freelisting • clustering • bottom-up tree


The Scenario

You are a UX design team with the challenge of creating
the site for a new service: milkandcookiesnow.com
The big vision is to get milk and cookies to people who
need them, and deliver within the hour.
All the supply and delivery stuff is worked out and ready
to go. Now you need a web app for selection, ordering,
payment and delivery confirmation.
The product values are: user-centered, unique, fun,
personal, easy-to-use, quick, engaging,
has a sense of humor.
Take a minute to read the scenario and the user stories.

The 1st challenge : what will the product DO?

What features
and functionality
need to be built
for the site to be
successful?


Activity 1 : Freelisting
Idea 3 Idea 6
idea 1

What features
and functionality Idea 4
need to be built Idea 2
Idea 7
for the site to be
successful?
Idea 5

 Independently down your ideas. Don’t talk, just write.
 Write each idea on a sticky. Make as many as you can.
Aim for 10-15 per person.
 When you’re done, put the stickies on the sheet in the
middle of the table, spread out so that they are randomly
distributed.
5 minutes

Activity 1 : Clustering

What features Idea 5
idea 1
and functionality
Idea 3
need to be built
Idea 4 Idea 6
for the site to be Idea 2
successful?
Idea 7

 Group the stickies together…like with like.
 You can discuss groupings, but keep conversation to a
minimum. Focus on keeping things moving.
 When time is up, take a look at the groups and see
what you’ve got.

5 minutes

Activity 1 : Labeling
SuperGroup SuperGroup
I II
What features Group Group Group
and functionality 1 2 3
need to be built
for the site to be Idea Idea
idea 1 5 6
successful?
Idea Idea
4 2 Idea
7
Idea
3
 As a team, name the groups.
 Write the name on a different color of sticky and put it at
the top of the group.
 If you get to groups of groups, use the larger stickies.
 Take a look at what you’ve got. What’s surprising
about the patterns? 5 minutes

yea!


Stick ‘em when you need ‘em
Sticky
 Sticky-sessions are not just Ninja
Tip
a workshop technique
 Quick cluster = quick clarity
 Quick freelisting gets issues out, makes
ideas visible, and opens up topics for
discussion
 You can start a stickynote activity at any
time...just start “scribing” issues/topics as
they emerge


exploring and delving
methods to master


Tree : Top-Down Tree

?
Why is this happening?


activity 2
top-down tree


The 2nd challenge : why does the product MATTER?

What is the
deeper purpose
of a feature on
the site?


A quick example...
Why is this important?
Delivery
preferences

L1
 So that the milk & cookies get to the right place.
L
 so that the customer gets their order
1.2
L  so that the customer feels good about
1.3 the service
L  so that the customer trusts the service
1.4  so that the customer has a great day
L  so that the customer will tell their friends
1.5

L2
 So that the milk & cookies get there at
the right time.


ready?


Activity 2 : Top-down tree

Feature set 1
What is the
deeper purpose
of this feature on Reason
the site? Reason 5
Reason
1 Reason 3 Reason
2 4

 Pick a top-level feature from your clusters.
 Ask the question “Why is this feature needed/important?”
 Write your answer down on a sticky. One thought/idea per
note. Place the sticky below the one that prompted the
answer.
 Make about 5-7 of these. 4 minutes

Feature
set 1

What is the 5
1
purpose of this 2
3 4
feature on the
site? 1.1 1.2 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2
1.3

 Ask the question again, this time working through the
stickies you just made.
 Put the answer stickies below the one that prompted the
answer, so that a tree develops.
 Try to get down to 4 levels, each with 5-7 stickies.

7 minutes

Feature
set 1
What is the
deeper purpose 1 2
3 4 5

of this feature on
the site? 1.1 1.2 1.3 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2

 What new perspectives, insights and observations did you
uncover?
 How does this information impact the feature clusters you
created earlier?
 How would you add to, shift, adapt or change the original
clusters?
 What other top labels would be good to explore in this way?
4 minutes

yea!


making priorities
methods to master


Dot Voting

I am an
idea


Dot Voting

Vote again

Don’t include “no votes”


Dot Voting

Top priority

Important

Consider

Low priority


List : Swap Sort
What makes us
the most money?
$4k $2k
$6k $5k $1k $5k
$8k $3k
$7k $1k
$9k
?

$4k $2k $5k
$3k $5k
$6k $3k
$8k $1k

$9k
$7k
?

$5k
$3k $1k
$3k

? $1k


activity 3
dot-voting • swap-sort


The 3rd challenge : what do we do FIRST?

What do we
need to build first
for the site to be a
success?


Activity 3 : Dot-voting

What do we
need to build first
for the site to be
a success?

 Everyone gets 5 dots. Stick the dots on the features that
you feel are most needed for the site to be successful.
 Everyone votes at the same time.
 When you’re done, put the stickies in rows with the most
votes at the top and the sad dot-poor ones at the bottom.

3 minutes

Activity 3 : Swap-Sort
Criteria:
milkandcookiesnow.com
What do we needs to:
need to build first 1) Be a unique experience
for the site to be 2) Have a sense of humor
a success?

 Pick the 5 stickies with the most number of votes.
 Take 2 notes and compare them, based on the criteria.
Put the preferred one on the top.
 Compare another note with the top note, then the notes
under it. Put it in the list, based on its importance.
 Continue until all 5 notes are placed. 7 minutes

yea!


Explore the Sticky-note palette
Sticky
 Get to know your materials Ninja
Tip
 Use size and color in a meaningful way

5x8

4x6

3x4 4x4

3x3 3x5

2x2 2x3

1x2


...which opens up all kinds of opportunities...


making plans
methods to master


Map : Information Map


Map : Process Map


Site navigation brainstorm map


Workshop planning map


Making sense of legal stuff map


Map : Action Map

Now Later 2009


activity 4
action planning


The 4th challenge : who does what when?

Who does what
when to make the
site a reality?


Activity 4 : Action plan
task task
task

Who does what
when to make task
the site a reality? task
task

task

 Take the top feature from the ordered list of priorities.
 Freelist tasks that need to be done to build the feature.
 Don’t worry about what comes first, just brainstorm tasks.
 Aim for 10-15 tasks per person.

5 minutes


Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Who does what
when to make
the site a reality?
task task task
task

task task
 Make a set of large stickies for timing:
week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4
 Sort the task stickies underneath the timing stickies

5 minutes

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Who does what
when to make
the site a reality?

 Make a set of stickies for each role you need on the team
(designer, researcher, business owner, developer.) Place
these in a column down the left side of the map.
 Sort the task stickies to align horizontally with the role that
will do the task.
 Don’t worry about being tidy, and you can duplicate tasks.
5 minutes

yea!


Going green with stickynotes Sticky
Ninja
 Q: Are post-it notes recyclable? Tip
A: According to 3M, yes.
 Q: What about the news story about how stickies
gum up recycling process?
A: The stickies referred to in the article were items
coated with a permanent adhesive, like mailing labels.
 Q: Are stickies made from recycled paper?
A: Some are. You can get some sizes and colors as 30%
post-consumer waste recycled post-its.

You can learn more at:
 www.mmm.com/us/office/postit/faq.html


What else can we do? Sticky
Ninja
 Use notes twice: Once you’ve written on the Tip
front, fold up and use the note again as
a 1/2 note. This lets you write on the back, too.
 Don’t crinkle & toss. Slabs of notes are difficult to recycle.
Stick two stickynotes back to back to ensure you don’t
end up with big slabs.
 Unleash your inner pastel. Use the softer colors that are
more easily recycled. Many bright colors are not as easily
recycled, due to the ink.


capturing results


Capturing the results
Sticky
 Use digital photos to capture different states Ninja
Tip
 Be sure that the writing on the notes
is legible! (This is a common gotcha)
 Optimize the visuals in photoshop...
sharpen & auto-adjust are your friends
 Save as a pdf, and you can print the pages
at actual size to pin up in your work room


...or you can put them into a deck


you guys are experts…
activity 5
making awesome group experiences


The 5th challenge : make a map for success
How can we make our participatory activities
wildly successful?

What issues How can we
have you go from good
encountered? to great?

What
solutions have
you used?


Activity 5 : make a map for success
What issues
have you
encountered?

What
solutions
have you
How can we
used?
go from good
to great?

 Working as a group, freelist these three questions.
Aim for 10-15 stickies per person per question.
 Now as a team, cluster the stickies into 3 affinity diagrams.
Don’t forget to label the clusters.
 Take a look at what you’ve got.
What patterns have emerged?
20 minutes

yea!


tools & resources


9 great techniques
Name Type Use it to…

Freelisting List Collect information about a topic

Swap-Sort List Order items by priority

Dot Voting List Decide what to focus on

Loose Cluster Cluster Identify patterns in the information

Top-Down Tree Tree Examine a topic thoroughly

Bottom-Up Tree Tree Identify the fundamental nature
of a topic

Information Map Map Understand complex relationships

Process Map Map Understand complex relationships

Action Plan Map Define steps to meet a goal


Links & books

3M Post-it site  www.3m.com/us/office/postit
StickyNote Ninja  www.stickynoteninja.com
Wikipedia  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-it_note
The Grove Consultants  grove.com


Credits
Flickr Images
 Stickynote background by Tiago Pinhal
www.flickr.com/photos/tiagopinhal/387756816/

 IceBreakers picture by Arun Katiyar
www.flickr.com/photos/48889080879@N01/96243768/

 “To Do” artwork by Illegal Art | www.illegalart.org/projects_todo_pics_5.cfm
Photo by Amit Gupta | www.flickr.com/photos/superamit/1043379069/

 Stickynote colors image by GoBestArticles
www.gobestarticles.com/2008/05/12/post-it-art...

 Elvis image by Todd Coates at Capstrat
www.capstrat.com/elvis-spotted-in-the-conference-room/


Final
Ninja
Secret

walk softly…
and carry a big sticky!
www.stickynoteninja.com
Kate Rutter <kate@adaptivepath.com>


Become a StickyNote Ninja

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