CONVERGED MOBILE EXPERIENCESThoughts on the future of Mobile Information Architecture and Interaction Design

Continuous

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Rod FarmerDirector, Research & Strategy@rodfarmer

Oliver WeidlichDirector, Design & Innovation@oliverw

Brought!to!you!by!the!Guys!at

Our discussion today

•Update on Mobile IA

•The convergence myth

•The importance of continuity

•Continuous mobile experiences

Mobile IA Update:

What’s new in the world of mobile IA

83% of respondents used their mobile phone for a purpose other than voice and SMS (texting), compared to 77%

last year.

Aust. Mobile Phone Lifestyle Index 2010 www.aimia.com.au/ampli

Aust. Mobile Phone Lifestyle Index 2010 www.aimia.com.au/ampli

Surfacing Content

Fresh content at the top level for quick reference

Surfacing Content

Provide insight into what information is changing

App Switching

Simpler Approach for easier access to a broader market?

App Switching

Little windows of content to switch between

App Switching

Cards of content to switch between, showcases relevant content

Engagement vs Clarity

What compromises to the clarity of the IA are worth the engagement

New Approaches to Mobile IA

What compromises to the clarity of the IA are worth the engagement

Mobile Complexity

Bigger screen = more rope to hang yourself

Skip the 1st level IA?

Gestures can accelerate us through UI

Search as a Faster Method

Use the mobile capabilities to acquire content cues for search

Physical Ways to Change IA

The portable nature of mobile allows other methods of interaction

Information Visualisation

Can we make IA easier through richer UIs

Myth:

Mobile convergence

What is Convergence?

Well, there are different perspectives

Technology view

Behaviourist view

Social interaction view

Examples - Some pitfalls

•Technology :: Digital TV/Mobile TV/IPTV

•Behaviourist :: Optus Web and Mobile

•Social :: Twitter

So I can’t help feeling we’re getting this...

The desire for a one-stop design rendered “appropriately” for other devices....

What happened to empathy in design?

Most convergence conversations forget about real people, behaviour, needs and context

Forget convergence:

Design for situations, not features

Not everything fits in the same box. Frame and understand the design problem

Mobile interaction is situational

Interaction between people, place and platforms lies at the very heart of mobile

Create meaningful connections

A sense of belonging, respect, loyalty and place over time and context

Seek value in interaction

Value is created at the point where the service is both consumed and produced

Too often we forget about context

Our environment shapes our perception, needs and behaviours

Mobile interaction mostly opportunistic

Handful of minutes, handful of sites, not planned, just-in-time

Convergence: Flawed concept or interpretation?

A bit of both

It’s about the relationships between things.

We seek greater meaning in connected, not converged experiences

IA: From cognitive to social construct

Socio Technical

Service-Oriented

Activity-Centred

UCD

Properties of social systems

Non-linear and non-deterministicInformation flow and interaction cannot be modelled either linearly or discretely. The inputs to the system do not necessarily equate to the outputs of the system, and at no time can be certain of all systems states.

Q0 QF linear

Q0 QF

prob(X)

prob(Y)

prob(...)

prob(...)

prob(...)

prob(...) non-linear

Properties of social systems

Incomplete and inaccessible knowledgeActors in the system do not possess complete or accessible knowledge of the entire system. Actors have limited perception of their environment, and hence always model their knowledge based on directly observed and assumed (sometimes culturally) behaviour.

Strong emergence

Properties of social systems

Non-reductionistIt is impossible to reduce a complex system to it’s constituent parts. New systems qualities (information, structures/rules, behaviours) are created as a result of interaction between layers in the systems. These qualities are irreducible to specific systems layer qualities. This implies emergence ....

Layer A :: properties {a1, a2, ..., an}

Layer B :: properties {b1, b2, ..., bn}

Layer C :: properties {c1, c2, ..., cn}

ee

e

ee

e

ee

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ee

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weak emergence

A Change:

The importance of continuity

We fashion our world based on Continuity

Forget “It’s OK to fail” ... we are always wrong

Fallibilism in Information Architecture

Making sense of noise

Biological arguments

Looking at the bigger picture

•Focus on continuity: Flow, Touch points, Journeys

•Need to describe the relationships between channels, devices and user stories

•Need to model the intra AND inter-action experiences

•Create different channel ‘lens’ to content structure and hierarchy

EnterAnticipate Engage ReflectExit

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Touchpoints CarOffice Walk-In Line Order Pay Sit WorkDrink Pack Up Walk Out Car

1.a Discussing with team the local places to grab a coffee.

1.b Decid-ing to go to Starbucks and work on de-sign reports.

1.c Hoping to find a close parking spot.

1.d Hoping Starbucks is not overly crowded and will have avail-able seating.

2.a Notice that there are a couple of people in line.

2.b Notice the narrow, con-fined layout.

2.c Enjoy the aroma of roasted coffee and mixed sweet, robust smells.

2.d The light-ing is pleasant, not overly bright and not too dim.

2.e The music seems ethnic, extended vocals, soft in style, volume too load and but my taste.

1.e Consider-ing alternative places just in case..

3.a The wait-ing line occu-pies the main traffic way.

3.b The menus across the counter are hard to read while in line.

baseline

3.c The line moves slow, people who just ordered are still in the same area. Becomes crowded.

3.d The order-ing process seems too slow. Inconsis-tent structure of service.

4.a The Barista acknowledges me with a smile.

4.b I can see the menu bet-ter now, but I feel rushed to order a drink.

4.c I feel forced to make a quick beverage se-lection. I play it safe by having what I always get.

4.d The baris-ta confirms my selection and asks my name to write on the cup.

4.e He writes down my name and some code on the cup and hands it off to another barista who will make it when he is finished with other orders.

2.f The room climate seems intentionally cold.

5.a The barista tells me the total and I pay with my credit card. He asks me if I want my receipt, I decline.

5.b My inter-action ends with him say-ing thank you. He doesn’t use my name.

5.c Now I move to the left of where i paid. Once again I feel crowded and out of place. People are walking by me. There isn’t a designated waiting ,sitting area.

5.d As I stand, the drinker maker shouts finished orders and places them on a drink stand. He screams Grande Chai.

5.e Confu-sion. Is this my drink? Why did he not call out my name or name and drink? I pick up the drink and see that it has Eric writ-ten on it.

6.a Grab my drink and look for a place to sit.

6.b I need, most im-portantly, an outlet and a workspace.

6.c I notice that there are only a few locations in the seating ar-eas that have outlets. This is discouraging.

6.d Most places are occupied. No outlets are available.

6.e The work-spaces seem small and impractical. Most are just have a small round wooden table with two wooden chairs.

6.f I find an empty reclined cushioned armchair. Next to it is a small wooden table shared by another person sitting in the other arm chair.

6.g The chair is comfortable and I continue to sit in it.

7.a The cub is hot, steaming, but withstand-ing in my hand.

7.b Smells roasty and sweet.

7.c First sip is too hot, but flavorful. I’m happy with the taste and my choice.

7.d The continued sips remain satisfying.

8.a I place my drink on the table next me and place my bag on the floor.

8.b I remove my computer and accesso-ries and now am shifting my coffee to find room for all of my things on this little cof-fee table.

8.c The table is too low to work from there, so I place my laptop in my lap. My drink remains on the table, my bag on the floor.

8.d I’m feel-ing crowded. I have no room to use my wire-less mouse. I now use the surface of the arm chair as my mouse pad. Not very effective.

8.e The crowd talking doesn’t bother me after awhile, but the music is way too loud and beginning to become a distraction.

8.f I enjoy the free wireless and the unlim-ited use. The signal strength is adequate.

8.g The music is really both-ering me. I put my head-phones on and play my mp3 songs.

8.h The bat-tery use on my computer is a concern now. I will begin looking for another table to work at.

8.i The air conditioning seems inten-tion. It’s cold outside and cold inside. I slip my jacket on.

8.j I continually finding myself people watch-ing while I work. There are interesting people here, so I’m not too bothered. I never like feel-ing alone. any

9.a The barista walks by me and makes an announce-ment to the tore that it will be closing shorty -10 pm.

9.b I would like to continue to work. I feel 10pm closing time is much too early, especially in a college town.

9.c I stand up and walk around until I find a hidden trash can to throw my cup into.

10.a I pack my things up and head out the door.

10.b The re-maining staff tell me to have a good night.

11.a I head to my car and wish that I could have stayed longer to work. I know that once I get home, I will be in the wrong mind state to continue working.

11.b The cof-fee was very good, but I was disap-pointed in the environment. Distracting music, small workspace, lack of power outlets.

Date: 3/22/10Eric - Repeat CustomerPurpose: To work/drink coffee

Ambience

Aroma

Audible Sensations

Second guessing

Worrying

Cold, draftySlightly crowded

Greeting

Unwilling to try something new, risk

Feeling rushed

Lack of personal spaceUnstructured

Fake

Factory line

Quick, convenient

Impersonal

Polite

FeedbackConfusingInconsistent

Loud

Lack of seatingLack of outlets

Not large work spaces

Sofa chair is comfortable

Uncomfortable wooden chairs

Tasty drink

Flavorable

Appropriate temperature

Not large work spaces

Furniture not ideal for computer work

Crowd conversation noise

Loud musicDistractingRepeating, not my taste

Blasting air conditioning

Free Wi-Fi

People watching

Closing time

Good byes

Annoyed about closing time

Good drink

Annoyed about where I sat

Back hurts

Starbucks Experience Map

A few examples

Story-driven customer journey maps

A few examples

Task-based emotion mapping

A few examples

Process-driven customer journeys

A few examples

Service/system blueprinting

We tend to overlook the environment

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No discussion of ecosystem or channels

Relationship to mobile?

Simply focusing on product IA and mobile UI can’t be what it’s about anymore

Types of:

Continuous mobile experiences

Unified Continuous Experiences

Evernote

Multi-targeted Continuous Experiences

Instapaper

Distributed Continuous Experiences

WEB APP

MW

PC

SMS

Our approach:

Just the basics

High-level approach: Create a communicable vision

• Business requirements workshop

• Cross-channel concept workshop (journeys, touchpoints)

• User Research+Market/Materials Analysis

• Experience Theming

• User Story Mapping

• Storyboarding

• Content audit and classification. Map against channel themes and journeys

• Concept sketches for primary channels - walkthrough across interfaces

“Stay connected, safe and in-control with <service name was here>”

Experience Theme and Attributes

Trusted. Transparent. Just-in-time. Reliable. Open. Integrated

Visioning

Create a leading Portal?

Data revenueCampaigns for off-deck products

Editorialise mobile web

Promote high data usage apps, e.g. Yahoo

Repeat usage

Traffic view

Promote high-daily usage products

Self-care

Social networking Updates

Fast

Takes me to my preferred tab/place

Reliability

Ease of navigationConsistent footers

Consistent home navigation

Consistent designs

Penetration

Event-based products

Australian Idol

Tennis

World Cup

Mobile TV

Retail/Point of Sale

Packs/Bundles

Great experience

Easy to useAccess basic content super easy

Straight to most important content

Device customisation

Onboarding/Welcome messaging approach

Help accessible on Portal, not website

Sharing, Recommending, EndorsingEmail

Favourites

Vote

Relevance

Personalise (preferences) Usage based

Most relevant content, not everything Just essentials

Location recognition

"It knows me"

Most important features up front

Device aware

Pre/Post paid aware

Roaming/Non-Roaming

ProfilingAdaption

Marcomms

Content revenue

Content teasers

Cross-promotionMusic download, has tones/ringtone download

Content bundles

Apps

Sales/Special deals

Event-based

Time-based

Token-based

Loyalty rewardsPoints

Credit-backs

Contracted packs

Subscriptions

Asset icons

Clear pricingGlobal

Product based

Increase perception of value

Quality of designVisuals

UX

Service integration

FreshRotation

Just-in-time

Tone of voice

Brand perception

Friendlier than Telstra

Easier to get in contactClick to cal

More supportMobile Help

FAQ

TransparencyCRM microblog

Handset tutorialsTether?

Innovation

Content creation

Mass personalisation

Flickr

Contacts

Messaging

Voice messaging

Interactive and responsive PortalWeb 2.0

"Not a mobile design"

Personalisation Portal like m.netvibes.com

User Story Mapping

User Story Map // Key User and Design Goals

File: User Story Map - Project Play.numbers! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Page 1! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Wednesday, 6 October 2010

Activity/Goal: Find what’s on TV Authenticate valid metro user Sign-up/upgrade/cancel for the service

Schedule a recording Play shows that I am recording or have recorded

Manage my recordings Set flags for TV shows Recommend TV shows Share with my friends Set and receive notifications

Scenario/Context: Web: Sitting a PC with time to browse large amounts of TV information and promotionsiPhone: Out and about - need to get to most time critical information asap

Web: Sitting a PC with access to Optus account informationiPhone: Unlikely to have access to records. Out and about

Users: Web and iPhone Web and iPhone Web and iPhone

Influencers: Quickly see what’s on now. 1-click record. What’s available to me. Browse by different time increments. Search for specific shows. What’s recommended/popular. Show descriptions.

Service address?Authenticate once. Know Optus credentials. Service/Account billing? Promotion of relevant content. Fresh. Simple. Easy to locate on Optus

1-click simplicity. Sufficient capacity. Value for money. Ability to experience service before paying (30 day).

Pain points: No show descriptions. (iPhone) large amounts of TV info (channels/shows). Not VOD. Schedules may change. Regions and timezones.

Don’t know Optus credentials. Billing information. Address matching.

Simplicity. How do we define a service/account? Billing accounts? Costs. Storage. Expiry. Subscription period. Overage (paid). Zero rating. Service guarantee (remittance). T&Cs. Ease of upgrade/downgrade. Clarity on rolling subscription (part thereof?). Optus customers only

Sufficient recording time? Max channels to record? Time management. Unable to record from past. Record repeats?

User Stories Find a specific show I want to authenticate with geo-location (determine in Sydney)

I want to purchase some storage

I want to record a single show

I want to start playing a show that I have just started recording

I want to delete specific shows I have recorded

I want to set a reminder alert for a show

I want to see shows that are similar to the ones I have recorded or favourited

I want to tell my friends that the TV show is about to start

I want to receive reminders when my show is about to start

What’s on Now/Next I want to remember my authentication and credentials

I want to see plan details I want to record a recurring show (series - mini-series, etc.)

I want to play a show that has finished recording

I want to delete all shows I have recorded

I want to set a reminder alert for a series (recurring eps)

I want to see shows that others are recording

I want to tell my friends about this app I want to receive reminders when my show is about to expire

What’s on at a specific time I want to authenticate only once I want to try the service before I buy

I want to edit a scheduled recording

I want to flag how much I have watched so that I can continue watching the rest on a different device/time

I want to prioritise which shows get recorded

I want to remove reminders (single and recurring)

I want to receive editorial recommendations

I want to recommend this show to my friends

I want to receive alerts when I’m about to run out of storage

What’s on at a specific block of time

I want to confirm my home address (account vs actual information)

I want to upgrade to larger plan when needed (e..g run out of storage)

I want to remove/delete a scheduled recording

I want to be able to specify if and when a show is removed after I have watched it

I want to see the show description I want to set a show/series as a favourite

I want to indicate whether I like a show - so that others receive the recommendation

I want to send a link to my friends so they can download this app

I want to receive reminders when a favourite is about to begin

What’s on specific day I want to be able to (forcibly) re-authenticate so I can update my location

I want to be told which plan is best based on my usage

I want to record a specific time period

I want to specify the streaming quality of the video

I want to see which shows I have already watched

I want to remove shows/series from my favourites

I want to hear about important/new shows (editorial)

I want to send a reminder email to my friends

I want to receive alerts when I’m out of storage

What’s on a specific channel I want to downgrade when I need to

I want to record a show at different levels of quality (short vs long-play // storage)

I want to pause, stop, rewind, fastforward a show

I want to be able to sort/browse my saved shows (date, show, watched, duration, ..)

I want the ability to autorecord things in my favourites

I want to rate a TV show I want to comment on a show or series

Discover things I’d like (usage based recommendations)

I want to cancel when I need to

I want to autorecord shows that are in my Favourites

I want to watch a video in full screen I want to rate/comment on my recording

I want to share my favourites with my friends

I want to see real-time feed of comments about a show

I want to receive alerts when an autorecord has begun

Find out about a show I want to keep my stored content when I upgrade

I want to record without ads

I want to adjust the volume I want to see when my recording expires

I want to post details about shows (in my favourites) to Facebook etc.

I want to integrate my comments with Facebook and Twitter (social networks...)

I want to receive alerts when my recording fails (and why)

Genre based TV Guide (discover by type of show)

I want to be told when I need to purchase a plan

I want to set priorities for what shows can be overwritten or must be kept

I want to see captioning for the show I want to schedule a deletion I want to receive alerts for all critical product outages

I want to filter channels from the TV guide

I want to temporarily suspend my service for a month

I want to stop a recording and delete it in progress

I want to start watching the show again from the start

I want to undelete a show I have deleted in that session

I want to receive confirmation when my account is upgraded/downgraded/cancelled/suspended/barred

I want to filter channels by classification

I want to purchase storage above and beyond my plan

I want to be alerted if I don’t have enough space to record

I want to flag specific time(s) during a video (highlight)

I want to be alerted if I am about to delete a show

I want to receive notifications about popular/editorial recommendations

Filter by language (ESL) I want to manage my subscriptions alongside all my other Optus subscriptions

I want to know how much time/capacity this recording will take

I want to be able to jump to a specific time during a video

I want to receive notifications when new functionality/features becomes available

I want to see how much storage I have left

I want to be able to record multiple shows at the same time

I want to watch the video in place in Portrait mode

I want to receive notifications about shows/series I might be interested in based on my usage (recordings and favourites)

I want to see my usage history

I want to see the duration of the video (current and total)

I want to be able to scrub forward in the video timeline

I want to step forward at specific increments (e.g. 5 mins chapter marks) [Mobile Web]

I want to step forward specific frames in a show

Experience Theme: Take your (personal) TV with you on the go and never miss your favourite shows.

Before // Jason is out with his mates at the pub on a Thursday night. He remembersthat his favourite show is on TV and that he’s going to miss it. He gets home laterthat evening and asks his partner about the episode and what happened.He waits another 2 days to be able to watch it on catch-up TV, but then forgetsas he’s too busy.

After // Jason is out with his mates at the pub on a Thursday night. He remembersthat his favourite show is on TV and that he’s going to miss it. He pulls out his mobile phone and accesses his Optus TV & Video app. He goes to his favouritesand selects record. He sets a reminder so that he receives an update when the show can be watched at home or on his mobile. He sends an SMS to his partner and tells her they can watch it together on the PC when he gets home.

1

2

3

4

Must have

Should have

Nice to have

Some day

Future // TBD

Assumed linear sequence of goals

Channel // PCTime to plan and manage. An enhanced and personalised viewing experience.Discovery of new and related TV content. An integrated experience (social networking, related news, etc.). Recommendations and rating.

Channel // MobileUsage based recommendations. Recording. Viewing schedules and receivingnotifications. Freeing me up for other things. Watch back. Basic management (delete).Subscription upgrade/downgrade. Authentication.

Concepting

Rod FarmerDirector, Research and StrategyE: rodf@mobileexperience.com.auT: @rodfarmer

Oliver WeidlichDirector, Design and InnovationE: oliverw@mobileexperience.com.auT: @oliverw

Mobile Experience