Download - 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
