Five UX questionsin search of answers

Eric Reiss@elreiss

UX Camp Europe20 June 2015

Berlin, Germany

Stuff I think aboutStuff I want to share

“A man fallsinto a hole...”

“Why are companies doomedwithout a focus on UX?”

(Wait – do we really want to start here?)

“What is UX?”

UX – a bible story

UX – German uniforms

UX – backbone of an entire industry

The user experience ofUser Experience Camp Europe

Sorting out the paperwork

Czeching the pizza

”DB interrupts their regularlyscheduled programming...”

By first name...

Come rain or shine...

High degree of functionality

Fantastic presentations.And a sketchnote artist!

Lunch – proof of the pudding

Conceptual design

User testing

Proof of concept

Innovative sponsors(and not a lot of screenshots)

And Holger’s ongoing sensation:“UX – the musical”

(tough act to follow)

We all design UX.But there are no UX designers.

UX

IxD SD IA CS

How do we describe UX?

Content management

Knowledge management SEO

Scenarios

Content strategy

Sensemaking

Accessibility

Storytelling

Usability

Findability

Service designService designService designService design

Information architecture

U serU serU serU ser----centered designcentered designcentered designcentered design

Design thinking

Experience design

Proliferation of titles? Sure.Proliferation of ideas? Not so sure.

Webmaster WebmasterVisual designerCopywriter

DeveloperVisual designerInformation architectCopywriter

Front-end engineerFull-stack developerVisual designerUI designerInteraction designerUX strategistContent strategistInformation architectContent providersSEO consultantSocial media guruProduct managerProject managerToken baby boomer

1995 1998 2000 2015

Inspired by Lutz Schmitt

Down -and-dirty practicalities

Eric’s 1st Law of UX:

User experience is the sum ofa series of interactions between:• people• devices• events

Eric’s 2nd Law of UX:

UX design represents the consciousact of :• coordinating interactions

we can control• acknowledging interactions

we cannot control• reducing negative interactions

“Why are companies doomedwithout a focus on UX?”

A Tale of Two Pizzas

Nota bene� In a “me-too” world, UX is the key to

company/product/service differentiation� Higher product/service prices can be justified if

you provide better UX� Merely “making customers happy” cannot be

the goal. Increased conversions is the goal and UX helps make that happen

What you can do now� Do something quick and easy that makes your

client/company look good(show that positive change is not impossible)

� Seek champions within the organization� Make everyone feel that their contribution is

valuable

Berlin | 20 June 2015 | 01:35

Berlin | 20 June 2015 | 08:12

“When is a company ready to embrace UX?”

Let’s talk about auto safety...

From academia to reality� Safety depends on reducing:

� velocity of impact� crushing force� bending, folding, or torque of the body� deceleration rates during a collision

� Safety depends on reducing:� stress on the body� direct contact with hard, sharp objects

� Safety can be improved by:� adding seatbelts� airbags� crush zones to absorb impact

Nota bene� Most companies examine UX when all the tried-

and-true options have failed� Most companies ignore UX because the

definitions are too academic or confusing� No company will accept UX if they don’t

understand it.

Source: Renato Feijó

Source: Bogo Vatovic

What you can do now� Aggressively promote activites that are:

� understandable� actionable� measurable

� Get senior management involved� a company will never be truly ready to embrace UX

before its leadership is

� DON’T let yourself become the “UX team of one”

“Who are the people thatmake good UX designers”

You are!

Nota bene – three key skills� Curiosity

� You’ve got to be interested� You can’t fake this

� Empathy� This provides balance in UX� Both for users and stakeholders

� Understanding� A perception is always true� One insight is worth a 1000 data points� “Understanding” does not mean “agreeing”

What you can do now� Get out of the building and talk to users

� not just to discover a problem, but also tosee problems through someone else’s eyes

� you have to understand the context of UX

� Make sure you are always solving a real problem, not merely inventing one

� Don’t just ask what; ask why� Don’t argue, listen

“What are the ingredients of UX”

Let’s build an ark…

� Content, code� Strategy, visual design� IA, navigation� Metrics, testing,

best practices

Building requires four things� Basic materials� Shaping tools� Fastening techniques� Measurement tools

Nota bene – three key ingredients� Utility

� Stuff needs to work

� Relevancy� Stuff needs to provide value within a specific context

� Consistency� Stuff that looks the same should act the same� Stuff that looks different should act differently� Retroductive inference lowers the learning curve

What you can do now� Create a UX shortlist

� Focus on what is really important� Eliminate the “nice to haves” – think feng shui

� Keep users in the loop� Practice user-driven design

� Don’t succumb to “deliverables creep”� Communicate, don’t try and impress

“How do we measurethe results of our UX efforts?”

“Flying on time…”

Nota bene – three metrics� Conversions

� Has the business improved?

� Efficiency� Are we saving time and money?� Are we reducing effort and stress for our users?

� Satisfaction� Are the users truly better off than before?

What you can do now� Compare your work to current best practices

� Don’t reinvent the wheel – until you need to

� Make sure you measure things that are important� Don’t go for easy wins such as “likes” on Facebook

or time on page

� Talk to help-desk and call-center personnel� Insist on having influence regarding the questions

asked in all future customer-satisfaction surveys

Alfred Wegener and continental drift

What you can do now� Don’t let “UX” become a buzzword� Don’t think you need certification� Don’t be afraid to disagree with current practices� Pick your battles with care...but...� Don’t be afraid to fight for what is right

Vielen Dankmeine Freunde!

(und jetzt)

Eric Reiss can (usually) be found at:

The FatDUX Group ApSStrandøre 152100 CopenhagenDenmark

Office: (+45) 39 29 67 77Mobil: (+45) 20 12 88 44Twitter: @elreissinfo@fatdux.comwww.fatdux.com