the usability of usability

The Usability of UsabilityANDREW CHAKFEBRUARY 2014

About Me• 19 years spanning

visual design, front end coding, information architecture, usability research, and digital strategy

• AVP, Digital Customer Experience at TD

• Klick Health, OnX, Immersant

• Connect with me on LinkedIn if you’re interested in a contract UX position

• I’m an avid runner and overshare about it on Twitter @andrewchak

Why are we here?

Why are we here?

About today

I share

You share

Pick a partner…

“Hi there… I’m…”

“What’s the best thing that has happened to you

recently?”

Now pick a role…

ListenersGet a pen &

paperClose your

eyes

TappersKeep eyes

openRead

instructions

The Mystery Song

“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”

Instructions

ListenersWrite down song names until you are

correct

TappersWhen

prompted, start tapping the song

So… how was that?

The Problem

We know everything,they don’t

What we do

Our job is to do the hard work to make something so easy that people don’t

even notice

In other words…

It’s hard to be easy but most people don’t know that

Great designs are deceptively easy

Great designs are deceptively easy

• Weather• Stock Quotes• Time• Sport Scores• Sunrise & Sunset

• Calculator• Book Search• Earthquakes• Unit Conversion• Synonym Search

• Local Search• Movie Showtimes• Flight Tracking• Poison Control• Currency

Conversion

When it comes to our work…

• It’s like we get challenged with the same questions over and over and over again…

So…

What are the recurring issues you encounter about our

practiceover and over again?

For me, there are 5…

#1Defining solutions before problems

Bertrand Russell

“The greatest challenge to

any thinker is stating the problem in a way

that will allow a solution.”

Ever get requirements like this?

“We just need to add this button”

Ever get requirements like this?

“We just need to improve the functionality”

Ever get requirements like this?

“We just need to redesign it”

“Delivers hot and cold water”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwichary/2508045324/

“Delivers water at a desired temperature”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vimages/2302862517/

“Help to wash hands clean”

http://www.us.kohler.com/

The most important question you can ask is…

“Why?”

How to have great problems• Identify your users

unmet needs through customer journies – low points, break points

• Diary studies conducted over time

• Summative usability test of existing experience

• Base problems on direct observation or feedback

• Don’t take users feedback at face value – ask the “why?” behind their feedback too

• Define problems based on desired customer behaviours or responses

• The right problem statement = innovation

So…

What are your examples of “poor” requirements and how did you deal

with it?

#2Everyone’s a user so everyone’s a designer

A rhetorical question

“Why is that when people watch a movie, they

don’t necessarily think they can be a director,

but when they use a web site, they think they can

be a designer?”

Who we often design for

http://www.flickr.com/photos/markjsebastian/290368272/

Our self-image isn’t often accurate

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oter/3104958433/

The compromise: Design for everybody

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamescridland/613445810/

What do you get when you design for everybody?

32 flavours of vanilla

The Paradox: Designing for a specific somebody is much better than a generic anybody

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24143601@N08/3205140655/

Designing for a specific, more “difficult” user• The user that isn’t motivated

• The user that doesn’t know much

• The user that is a newbie

• Designing for someone specific & more “difficult”:• Makes design decisions easier – gives us the

courage to make tradeoffs

• Hones us in on creating a robust solution

So…

Any examples of “extra” designers in

your work?

#3Thinking that the little design details are simply “cosmetic”

Sabre Reservation System

LGAFrom: DTWTo: Search

50%+ selected first result

92% selected in first screen

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabre_(computer_system)

Sabre Reservation System

• In 1981, New York Air added a flight from La Guardia to Detroit which competed with AA

• 8 flights / day

• Guess where they put the New York Air flight search results?

LGAFrom: DTWTo: Search

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabre_(computer_system)

How do you increase return completion rates?

How do you increase return completion rates?

Every little thing matters in context• Some things that worked well for certain

products didn’t work at all for others

• Sometimes it’s better to have more clicks – there is no such thing as a 3-click rule

• Be suspicious of “best practices”

• The only correct answer is “it depends”

So…

What are some of your learnings on the

“little things” that have made a big

difference?

#4Lack of time, money, or desire to do user research

A common usability testing question

“Isn’t it the same thing as a focus

group?”

Do you wash your hands every time you use a public bathroom?

96%88% 89%

66%

Claimed Observed Claimed Observed

Women Men

Source: Harris Interactive – Hand Washing Survey, 2007

Analogies for explaining usability testing• The Hockey Team• Imagine assembling a

new team of hockey players

• Each player is like an element of the experience

• You would want to have them practice against other teams to see how they work together and identify strengths and weaknesses

• The Flight Simulator• Suppose you had a

student pilot

• Would you allow that student to fly a jumbo jet before at least trying it out in a simulator?

• Wouldn’t testing in a simulator be much more cheaper than making a mistake in the real thing?

Remember what we did in the beginning?

“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”

We can’t “undo” our knowledge

“Your first usability test”• The intent of this test is to find out where

the gaps are in the experience – it’s perfectly OK for us to find mistakes as that is what this test is for

• Your role is to listen and observe – please make note of what users struggle with and try to identify what the real issue is

• You’ll be given an opportunity to ask your questions at a prescribed time so please don’t yell at the participants if they don’t navigate through the experience with flying colours

So…

What’s your tip for selling user research?

#5The use of foul language

There is one thing that is true across all UX practitioners

We’re anal about definitions of

artefacts

We (and our stakeholders) are often confused about these terms• User Experience

• Information Architecture

• Wireframes

• Mockups

• Lorem Ipsum

• Usability Test / UAT / Focus Groups

• Business Requirements Document

• Use Cases

• Creative Brief / Experience Brief

• Vision / Demo / Prototype

The #1 tip for clarity

Always show don’t just tell

So…

What UX words are in your “foul” language?

In closing…

Usability is like oxygen – you don’t

notice it until it’s missing