redesign must die (updated feb 2014)
DESCRIPTION
A radically updated version of a talk I initially gave in 2009 or thereabouts. Presented at InControl, Orlando, FL, USA, Feb 18, 2014.TRANSCRIPT
Redesign Must Die
Louis Rosenfeld • Rosenfeld Media
Orlando, Florida • 18 February 2014
1998: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Before the redesign
Before the redesign
Before the redesign
Before the redesign
A Ribbon Cutting
After the redesign
After the redesign
After the redesign
After the redesign
1998
1998 2000
1998 2000
2003
1998 2000
2003 2005
1998 2000
2003 2005
2007
1998 2000
2003 2005
2007 2010
And now
And now
And now
And now
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.”
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.”
individualvanity
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.”
& organizational stupidity
individualvanity
Who’s to blame?
Who’s to blame?
Attempting the impossible “boil the ocean” in no time at great cost
Believing the unbelievable unwarranted claims from agencies and software vendors
Becoming irresponsible unwarranted declarations of victory at the expense of our teams and users
Misdiagnostics
1993: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Entity consisting of many diverse and autonomous components or parts (called agents) which are interrelated, interdependent, linked through many (dense) interconnections, and behave as a unified whole in learning from experience and in adjusting (not just reacting) to changes in the environment.
Complex Adaptive Systems
Examples of CAS
Examples of CAS
Examples of CAS
Your site is a moving target built on moving targets
Your site is a moving target built on moving targets
Control this?
So who’s to blame?
So who’s to blame?
No one and everyone
How to stop playing God in 5 easy steps
1. Swap control for prioritization
2. Embrace evolution over revolution
3. Emphasize process over projects
4. Use anchors to counterbalance reaction
5. Sneak in governance at the grass roots
1. Swap controlfor prioritization
A little goes a long wayA handful of queries/tasks/ways to navigate/features/ documents meet the needs of your most important audiences
A little goes a long wayA handful of queries/tasks/ways to navigate/features/ documents meet the needs of your most important audiences
A little goes a long wayA handful of queries/tasks/ways to navigate/features/ documents meet the needs of your most important audiences
A little goes a long wayA handful of queries/tasks/ways to navigate/features/ documents meet the needs of your most important audiences
A little goes a long wayA handful of queries/tasks/ways to navigate/features/ documents meet the needs of your most important audiences
(and the tail is quite long)
(and the tail is quite long)
(and the tail is quite long)
(and the tail is quite long)
(and the tail is quite long)
Zipf in text
Zipf is The Truth
Not just search queries, but...
• Documents
• Features
• Audience segments
• and more...
George Zipf, your portfolio manager
layer information architecture
usability content strategy
0
1
2
3
4
indexed by search engine
leave it alone leave it alone
tagged by users squeaky wheel issues addressed
refresh annually
tagged by experts (non-topical tags)
test with a service (e.g., UserTesting.com)
refresh monthly
tagged by experts (topical tags)
“traditional” lab-based user testing
titled according to guidelines
deep links to support contextual navigation
A/B testing structured according to schema
Each layer iscumulative
Prioritize each step...
...into a report card...
...then rinseand repeat
More here:http://tinyurl.com/84yxpoo
2. Embrace evolution over revolution
What do they want and when do they want it?
Closer look
IRS before taxes due
IRS before taxes due
IRS after taxes due
3. Emphasizeprocess over projects
Keeping design and research “regular”...
Example: the rolling content inventory
Moving from process to cadence
Cadence in text
WeeklyWeeklyWeekly
Call center data trend analysis 2 – 4 hours behavioral/quantitative
Task analysis 4 – 6 hours behavioral/quantitative
QuarterlyQuarterlyQuarterly
Exploratory analysis of site analytics data 8 – 10 hours behavioral/qualitative
User survey 16 – 24 hours attitudinal/quantitative
AnnuallyAnnuallyAnnually
Net Promoter Score study 3 – 4 days attitudinal/quantitative
Field study 4 – 5 days behavioral/qualitative
4. Use anchors to counterbalance reaction
pace layering
Anchors are familiar beasts
• Charter statement
• Mission statement
• Vision statement
• Values statement
http://www.gogamestorm.com/
Ultimately you’re flying the airplane while fixing it5. Sneak in governance at the grass roots
Ultimately you’re flying the airplane while fixing it5. Sneak in governance at the grass roots
Buy candy for strangers
Develop a pidgin
Dave Gray’s boundary matrix: http://bit.ly/gWoZQm
KPI
goals
segments
personas
It ain’t easy, but...
1. Swap control for prioritization
2. Embrace evolution over revolution
3. Emphasize process over projects
4. Use anchors to counterbalance reaction
5. Sneak in governance at the grass roots
Say hello
Lou Rosenfeld
Rosenfeld Media
www.louisrosenfeld.com • @louisrosenfeldwww.rosenfeldmedia.com • @rosenfeldmedia