the usability of usability

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The Usability of Usability ANDREW CHAK FEBRUARY 2014

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Sometimes, they just don’t get it. We’re just trying to do the right thing here. Isn’t our success dependent on our users being able to shop, buy, apply or contact us through our web site or app? So if we’re dependent on our users, shouldn’t we at least involve them somehow in the design process? Not so easy. For some of “those” people, design is easy. Don’t we already know what the problem is and what design we can use to fix it? Can’t we just leverage best practices? Why do we even need to test the design if we’re experts? No one ever says these things, right? In the real world, user-centered design and usability is ironically, not that easy to adapt. It’s counterintuitive because it’s such hard work to make things easy. What we have to do is to make what we do easy to understand and easy to choose. This session may not change your reality, but by sharing in some lessons learned, hopefully you’ll have the tools to help change some minds.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: The Usability of Usability

The Usability of UsabilityANDREW CHAKFEBRUARY 2014

Page 2: The Usability of Usability

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

Page 3: The Usability of Usability

Why are we here?

Page 4: The Usability of Usability

Why are we here?

Page 5: The Usability of Usability

About today

I share

You share

Page 6: The Usability of Usability

Pick a partner…

“Hi there… I’m…”

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

recently?”

Page 7: The Usability of Usability

Now pick a role…

ListenersGet a pen &

paperClose your

eyes

TappersKeep eyes

openRead

instructions

Page 8: The Usability of Usability

The Mystery Song

“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”

Page 9: The Usability of Usability

Instructions

ListenersWrite down song names until you are

correct

TappersWhen

prompted, start tapping the song

Page 10: The Usability of Usability

So… how was that?

Page 11: The Usability of Usability

The Problem

We know everything,they don’t

Page 12: The Usability of Usability

What we do

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

even notice

Page 13: The Usability of Usability

In other words…

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

Page 14: The Usability of Usability

Great designs are deceptively easy

Page 15: The Usability of Usability

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

Page 16: The Usability of Usability

When it comes to our work…

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

Page 17: The Usability of Usability

So…

What are the recurring issues you encounter about our

practiceover and over again?

Page 18: The Usability of Usability

For me, there are 5…

Page 19: The Usability of Usability

#1Defining solutions before problems

Page 20: The Usability of Usability

Bertrand Russell

“The greatest challenge to

any thinker is stating the problem in a way

that will allow a solution.”

Page 21: The Usability of Usability

Ever get requirements like this?

“We just need to add this button”

Page 22: The Usability of Usability

Ever get requirements like this?

“We just need to improve the functionality”

Page 23: The Usability of Usability

Ever get requirements like this?

“We just need to redesign it”

Page 24: The Usability of Usability

“Delivers hot and cold water”

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

Page 25: The Usability of Usability

“Delivers water at a desired temperature”

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

Page 26: The Usability of Usability

“Help to wash hands clean”

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

Page 27: The Usability of Usability

The most important question you can ask is…

“Why?”

Page 28: The Usability of Usability

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

Page 29: The Usability of Usability

So…

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

with it?

Page 30: The Usability of Usability

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

Page 31: The Usability of Usability

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?”

Page 32: The Usability of Usability

Who we often design for

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

Page 33: The Usability of Usability

Our self-image isn’t often accurate

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

Page 34: The Usability of Usability

The compromise: Design for everybody

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

Page 35: The Usability of Usability

What do you get when you design for everybody?

32 flavours of vanilla

Page 36: The Usability of Usability

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

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

Page 37: The Usability of Usability

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

Page 38: The Usability of Usability

So…

Any examples of “extra” designers in

your work?

Page 39: The Usability of Usability

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

Page 40: The Usability of Usability

Sabre Reservation System

LGAFrom: DTWTo: Search

50%+ selected first result

92% selected in first screen

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

Page 41: The Usability of Usability

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)

Page 42: The Usability of Usability

How do you increase return completion rates?

Page 43: The Usability of Usability

How do you increase return completion rates?

Page 44: The Usability of Usability

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”

Page 45: The Usability of Usability

So…

What are some of your learnings on the

“little things” that have made a big

difference?

Page 46: The Usability of Usability

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

Page 47: The Usability of Usability

A common usability testing question

“Isn’t it the same thing as a focus

group?”

Page 48: The Usability of Usability

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

Page 49: The Usability of Usability

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?

Page 50: The Usability of Usability

Remember what we did in the beginning?

“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”

We can’t “undo” our knowledge

Page 51: The Usability of Usability

“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

Page 52: The Usability of Usability

So…

What’s your tip for selling user research?

Page 53: The Usability of Usability

#5The use of foul language

Page 54: The Usability of Usability

There is one thing that is true across all UX practitioners

We’re anal about definitions of

artefacts

Page 55: The Usability of Usability

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

Page 56: The Usability of Usability

The #1 tip for clarity

Always show don’t just tell

Page 57: The Usability of Usability

So…

What UX words are in your “foul” language?

Page 58: The Usability of Usability

In closing…

Usability is like oxygen – you don’t

notice it until it’s missing