why design matters
DESCRIPTION
This presentation was given at Microsoft's Silicon Valley campus for Incubation Week on June 23rd, 2008.TRANSCRIPT
Why Design Matters
Will TschumyUser Experience Evangelist
www.ux-strategy.com415.420.3746
Maybe you’ve noticed recently that Design seems like it’s the new
Maybe you’ve noticed recently that Design seems like it’s the newBlack
Why?
“I thought design was just about making it pretty”
Turns out, No
Turns out, NoDesign makes business sense
The proof is in the returns
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Year 1Year 3
Year 5
Design Organizations
S&P 500
Stock performance of 63 “Design Oriented Companies” versus the S&P 500 over 1, 3 and 5 years
Courtesy, Peer Research 2007, Fast Company, October 2007
A Valuable Investment• “Every $1 invested in usability returns
between $10 and $100” -- IBM, Cost-Justifying Ease of Use
• Investing 10% of a total project budget yields:Metric ReturnSales/ Conversion rate 100%Visitors/ Traffic
150%
User Performance / Productivity 161%
Use of (Key) Features 202%
Jakob Nielson, Return on Investment for Usability
Tales from my own career• A mid-western utility was able to cut average customer
support call cost from ~$10 to less that $1.00 per incident as a result of redesigning their web presence
• A major eCommerce retailer saw a 45% increase in average order size as a result of redesigning their shopping experience
• The same retailer saw a 10% conversion increase as a result of better organizing product information
• Implementation / customization costs for an Enterprise Software Vendor were cut by 40% as a result of a better “out-of-the-box” experience
It also turns out, our old measures of our customers weren’t so good…
“In business after business, our research has shown that 60-80% of customers who defected said on a survey just prior that they were ‘satisfied’ or very ‘satisfied’…”
--Frederick F. Reichheld, The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value
“Brands have run out of juice. More and more people in the world have grown to expect great performances from products, services and experiences.”
--Kevin Roberts, CEO Saatchi & Saatchi Lovemarks
So what is Design?
So what is Design?Design is a process that balancesconflicting sets of constraints
A Model…
The Experience Preference Model™
Rejection
• Negative Differentiation
• Warns against• War Stories
Acceptance
• No Differentiation
• Commodity Zone
• Who?
Preference
• Positive Differentiation
• Willing to recommend
• Personal Identification
“It’s not the function of the business, but the effect of business that creates the value…
The world has changed from making and selling product to sensing and responding to how the customer feels”
‐‐ Lou Carbone, CEO Experience EngineeringClued In: How to Keep Customers Coming Back Again and Again
How your users feel is the new
How your users feel is the new Black
The User Experience Lifecycle
Attract
Orient
InteractRetain
Advocate
How do users find you?
Do they know what to do?
Do you make them feel good?
Will they use you again?
Will they tell their friends?
Put a different way
Put a different wayAdvocacy is the key indicator of long term customer value and retention
How do I do it?
Maslow’s Hierarchy
Self‐Actualization
Esteem
Love / Belonging
Safety
Physiological
A Design View of Maslow
Desirable
Efficient
Usable
Useful
Functional
Courtesy of Rob Girling, Artefact Group
So if I’m desirable, I’m all set?
So if I’m desirable, I’m all set?Not exactly. There are other considerations…
So if I’m desirable, I’m all set?Not exactly. There are other considerations…Design is a process that balances
conflicting sets of constraints
What’s Viable?
What’sPossible?
What’sDesirable?
For every problem, 3 Constraints
Larry Keeley, Doblin Group, among others
What’sPossible?
What’sDesirable?
Business: What can I bear?• How much can we sell it for?
• How much can it cost?• Is there acceptable ROI/NPV?
What’s Viable?
For every problem, 3 Constraints
Larry Keeley, Doblin Group, among others
What’s Viable?
What’sDesirable?
Technology: What can I do?• With my technology?• Within regulatory constraints?• Within business constraints?
What’sPossible?
For every problem, 3 Constraints
Larry Keeley, Doblin Group, among others
What’s Viable?
What’sPossible?
Design: What should I do?• Who are my users?• What are their needs?• What is their mental model?
What’sDesirable?
For every problem, 3 Constraints
Larry Keeley, Doblin Group, among others
What was the first MP3 player in the US market?
Diamond Rio PMP300Introduced November 1998
So why do most of us have…
Apple iPodIntroduced October, 2001
Why didn’t the Diamond Rio win?• It had better battery life• More storage• Could play more formats• It was the first on the market by almost 2
years• It was more functional
It solved the wrong problemIt balanced the wrong constraints
Different Scales of Problems
Pattern Optimizing
Pattern Breaking
• Incremental Refinements
• Evolutionary
• New Mode of Interaction
• Revolutionary
A less Abstract view
Existing Market, Offering or Activity
New Market, Offering or Activity
Existing CustomersPattern
Optimizing?
New Customers ?PatternBreaking
So what’s different?
Apple iPodOctober, 2001
Apple iPod & iTunesOctober, 2001
The Results• Apple is no longer “Apple Computer”• #1 Music retailer in the world (surpassing
WalMart stores)• Controls approximately 80% of the MP3
player market• Just sold their 5 Billionth sold
So what skills do I need?
4 key Skill Areas• Effective Brainstorming• Solving the Right Problem• User Research• Prototyping & Evaluation
Brainstorming is a free-for-all
Brainstorming is a free-for-allThis is why most brainstorming fails
Dr. Min Basadur
Author of The Power of Innovation, and Simplex: A Flight to Creativity
GK Van Patter
Elizabeth Pastor
Brainstorming is a process
Brainstorming is a processit takes skill
Brainstorming is a processit takes skillit must be explicitly described
Brainstorming is a processit takes skillit must be explicitly described and must be managed
Two Key Concepts
• No Judgement• No Logic• Relax• Quantity• Stream of Options• Radical Options• Think in Pictures• Be impractical!• Build on ideas
• Judgement on Explicit Criteria
• Yes Logic• Clarify Meanings• Avoid Tribal Language• Use Relevant Criteria• Consider Risky Options• Modify & Refine• Move Towards Action
Diverge<
Converge>
The Most Critical Brainstorming Skill
Diverge<
Converge>
Deferral of Judgment
Separate divergent and convergent
thinking
Quick Exercise 1: Build a better…• I need two vict… err volunteers
• Person 1: Start coming up with ideas to improve a cell phone
• Person 2: Begin each of your replies with “but…”
Ouch! Phrases that kill• A good idea, but…• Against company policy.• Alright in theory• Be practical• Costs too much• Don't start anything yet• It needs more study• It's not budgeted• It's not good enough• It's not part of your job• Let's make a survey first• Let's sit on it for a while• That's not our problem
• The boss won't go for it• The old timers won't use it• Too hard to administer• We've been doing it this
way for a long time and it works
• Why hasn't someone else suggested it before if it's a good idea?
• Ahead of the time• Let's discuss it• Let's for a committee• We've never done it that
way• Who else has tried it?
Quick Exercise 2: Build a better…• I need two more vict… err volunteers
• Person 1: Start coming up with ideas to improve a cell phone
• Person 2: Begin each of your replies with “and…”
Other tools for Brainstorming• Explore Tangents• Invert• Break apart• Combine• Build on other ideas• Transpose structures• Look for parallels
Quick Exercise 3: Add a line…
…And make 6
Great. Now I can solve my problem.
Great. Now I can solve my problem.What problem?
Great. Now I can solve my problem.What problem?Are you sure?
Solving the right problemStart with our brainstorming skills
“Fuzzy Situation” Problem
Problem Solution
Solution Action
The process is cyclical
Solving the right problem: A Tale of two products
Colgate‐ Palmolive’s iPod
“A better striped green bar…”• Dial spent 3 years looking for a better
striped green bar• They tested dozens of different
formulations, but never found one that consumers preferred to Irish Spring
• By the end of 3 years, the team was ready to quit
What if that’s the wrong question?
Challenge MappingA tool for Problem Definition1. Ask “Why” or “What’s stopping us” from
solving the challenge2. Answer the question in a complete,
simple statement3. Reframe the statement into a new
challenge: “How might we…”
The most powerful tools available
Challenge Mapping
Why?
How Might We make a better green striped bar?
Challenge Mapping
Why?
How Might We make a better green striped bar?
How Might We regain market share?
Check the relationship by asking “What’s Stopping Us?”
Challenge Mapping
How Might We make a better green striped bar?
How Might We regain market share?
How Might We make a more refreshing
bar?
Why?
What’s Stopping?
Why?
What’s Stopping?
Dial’s iPod‐killer
User Research: Knowing who you’re designing for
Two basic categories of researchQualitative• Low number of participants• Open ended questions• Can be time intensive• Direct observation• Good at helping to frame
unbounded questions• Not statistically significant• Targets unknown unknowns• Good for Pattern Breaking
problems
Quantitative• High number of participants• Closed questions• Tend to be faster• Indirect study• Good at investigating
specific areas or comparisons
• Statistically relevant• Targets known unknowns• Good for Pattern Optimizing
problems
Qualitative: Immersive research
Intercept interviews on the street…to get quick reactions to questions
Camera studies allow people to interpret their
environment and activities when we can’t be there
What People Say and Make
Semi-structured interviews in customers’ workplaces to gather information on their daily activities and needs
• Ethnography is the study of customers in the natural context of their everyday lives.
• We may meet participants at their workplace, on the street, or in their home, combining interviews with observation of what they normally do.
• This research captures what people actually do, not what they say they do, or what they think they do.
• Understanding of their social environment reveals unmet user needs, motivations, beliefs, frustrations, and decision-making processes.
Qualitative: Ethnography
• In order to validate the hypotheses we form based on ethnographic research and/or benchmark and comparative usability tests, we may conduct online or phone surveys, or focus groups
• Both surveys and focus groups provide self-reported qualitative and/or quantitative data that informs market/user segmentation as well as the business strategy
online focus phonesurveys surveysgroups
Quantitative: Surveys & Focus Groups
I’ve done my research, now what?
I’ve done my research, now what?Find a big, big wall or whiteboard
Playing with Post-its1. As you write and place post-it notes,
patterns begin to emerge2. Move the post-its into related groups3. These groups will become the basis of
your personas
Persona? What’s a persona?
A Persona is…• A research-based fictional proxy for a
specific segment of your user population• Unique representation of user needs• Stand-in for your users during design time• Not a marketing segment• Not a creative writing exercise (GIGO)
Some challenges with Personas• The “Magic happens here” moment• Tends to be limited to the design team• Personas are great for teams that have
bought in. For teams that are new to this process, other methods may be preferable
• The Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology (IID) has created an alternative method called Elito
More information is available at: http://trex.id.iit.edu/ideas/elito/ElitoPrototype.html
Elito: Process & FrameworkA cross-disciplinary process where the team records their findings in a common format:
• Observation: What objective reality did I observe: Photos, Videos, Audio recordings
• Insight: What “ah-ha” moment did I derive from this? How do I understand the problem space more deeply as a result
• Value: Why is this insight / observation important to the user? • Design Concept: What is starting point for my solution as a
result of these?• Metaphor: What is the simple, compelling narrative that
explains the above?
Elito benefits• Democratizes the design and research
process. With training, any member of the team can easily work with the framework
• Provides ‘traceability’ for the design solution. In the event scope changes, Elitoprovides guidance on what elements are impacted
Prototyping: Build to Think
Courtesy, IDEO
Courtesy, IDEO
“…’demo or die!’ … it’s not enough to have brilliant ideas; you have to be able to demonstrate them. You have to get people to want to play with them.”
--Michael SchrageSerious Play
“In the real world, prototypes quickly become tools for negotiating trade-offs… What features must be sacrificed to reduce costs 20%?... Should we ship with 85% finished…or wait 10 weeks to get quality to 98%?”
--Michael SchrageSerious Play
A Prototype is…• An abstraction that explores a specific
aspect of your design• A communication medium that clarifies
concepts• An ambiguity reduction machine• Iterative• Of different levels of detail, depending on
where you are in the design process
Rough sketches - or paper-base prototypes - shared with customers early in the design process to get their feedback on various homepage concepts. The team was able to “test” the concepts while exploring their needs and expectations in greater depth.
Prototypes can be valuable at any level of detail, depending on where you are in the process
Scenario outlines the major features of the business or application
Profiles are based off of user research, and are consistent with both the value map and the business model
Light-weight prototypes allow for testing the interaction design of
applications
Because prototypes are tools for evaluating concepts, the value of a prototype is directly proportional to the time it take to go from N to N+1
R.I.T.E: Rapid Iterative Testing & Evaluation
Testing Hierarchies
Site Map 1. My Tools
Added by Chris
electronic messagingmanager selectionportfolio management toolsresearch datainvestment managementinvestment mgmt. Firms
Chris McNiellie-- BellSouth/Atlanta-- Aug. 14 2000
3. Communication
global market informationspeaker eventsannual reportwhite paperschairman’s viewpointpublicationsexecutive speechespress releasesmarket datawebcasts (llive & archived)chat rooms/disc. Forumsexternal news feedindustry newsPresident/CEOs viewpoint
2. Industry watch
product informationproduct demosonline product traininghelpFAQSTT associated websites
3. Customerservice
account maintenanceaccount reportingportfolio accounting
1. Accounting2. Performance &
analytics
analysispoliicy monitoringERPrivate EdgeSecurities Lendingfundamental dataaccount information downloadsperformance & analytics
equity executionfixed income executioncredit servicestrusts & investmentscustodysecurities lendingbrokerage servicescurrency managementtrade order management toolscorporate trustcurrency executionasset servicingcash management
4. Servicesoffered
Respondents can work as teams, discussing individual views of the information hierarchy aloud.
Card sorting is useful in early stages of development to prioritize and cluster potential content offerings, find new content areas of value, and identify new areas of functionality.
This technique helps identify a user-centric view of the information architecture and nomenclature.
Users make word-to-image associations when describing their collage to the group / facilitator, and articulate what a product / brand / interface SHOULD be as well as what it SHOULD NOT be.
Users can voice tacit perceptions that would otherwise not emerge in a focus group setting through non-verbal exercises. Collaging helps to elicit metaphorical associations or attitudes users have with specific topic areas.
Testing concepts
Testing InteractionsHTML-based prototype (without final visual design) test the navigation and site functionality. Testing highlighted opportunities to streamline the site structure and overall user experience.
Usability testing identifies quick fixes that could be made before launch and those that would be addressed in subsequent launches.
Collaborative sessions with constituents co-design possible screens. Constituents provide immediate input and feedback -developing and revising paper-based prototypes on the fly.
One final thought
One final thoughtStay focused, and remember…
“A Designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”
Antoine de Saint-Exupery Author: The Little Prince
Thank You!
Will TschumyUser Experience Evangelist
www.ux-strategy.com415.420.3746