Post on 13-Aug-2015
transcript
A history of User Experience and the research behind it
My name is Arthur Hayden. I am an intern for the User Research group at EBSCO Information Services in Ipswich, MA. To gain a better understanding of our department
and the field of user experience design as a whole, I have created this presentation. Thank you to the rest of the User Research team for giving me this opportunity.
EBSCO Information Services – July 2015
History
A breakdown of major historical
events and developments for
our field
Techniques
Details about some of the most
common techniques used in
User Research
Leaders
Bios and assorted wisdom from a few of today’s top User
Research minds
Definitions
Definitions of some of the key terms and phrases pertaining to
User Research
Conclusion
Takeaways from the presentation,
acknowledgements, Q&A
DefinitionsKey terms and phrases
Usability
The effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which specified users achieve specified
goals in particular environments.
Simplified by Jakob Nielsen:“How easy and pleasant [the product] is to use.”
User Research (UR)Any number of investigative techniques used to add context and insight to the
design process. The term User Testing is also often used as these techniques are used on
“finished” products.
User Experience (UX)All aspects of the user’s interaction with a product, service, or company that make up
the user’s perceptions of the whole.
UX DesignThe process of enhancing user satisfaction
by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction between the user and the product.
History of User Experience/ResearchUX through the ages
Circa 1430 – Da Vinci’s Kitchen Nightmare
In an early example of UX design, Leonardo created working conveyor belts, a giant oven, and a primitive sprinkler system for a feast hosted by the Duke of Milan. All of these innovations failed, but only because of poor execution: a good lesson!
Early to Mid 1900s – Efficiency in Engineering
Mechanical engineers such as Fredrick Winslow Taylor and Henry Ford created a framework for the relationship between workers and their tools: early examples of documented research on the relationship between users and their tools/products.
1955 – Dreyfuss Designing for People
Henry Dreyfuss, an industrial designer, authors Designing for People, elaborating on some of the key principles of usability for consumer products.
1966 – Disney Designs for Happiness
Walt Disney emphasizes the use of the latest technologies to improve people’s lives, inspiring many user experience designers today. Design for utility AND joy!
2007 – The Birth of the iPhone
Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone, which proves far easier and more fun to use than any other cellphone on the market at the time. Apple’s success through superior user experience instantly made UX (and, therefore, user research) more important for tech companies.
2015 – Responsive Web Design
As smartphones become even more influential in our lives, tech products and websites are facing the challenge of transitioning to mobile devices. Google and other tech giants have all emphasized the growing importance of RWD.
1995 – The First UX Professional
Don Norman, of the Nielsen Norman Group, joined Apple in 1995 as a “User Experience Architect”, taking the place of what many consider to be the first dedicated UX position.
QuestionnairesResearchers invite people to say who they are, what they do, and where they go. Generally speaking, this is the easiest method of gathering raw data.
Card SortingThis is a reliable, inexpensive method for
finding patterns in how users would expect to find content or functionality. Works by forcing
participants to classify things on the fly.
Contextual InquiryResearchers observe what people do as
they go about their day, utilizing the product. This strategy focuses on users’ actual activities to get as accurate data
as possible from users.
Non-Directed InterviewsResearchers set up some rough guidelines and converse with their audience, generally letting the audience control the conversation.
Common User Research TechniquesDifferent ways we collect data
Thought LeadersWhat the best, contemporary UX minds are saying
Jakob Nielsen
HCI specialist: co-founder of NNG;
extensive experience with pioneer tech
companies; godfather of usability
Janice Fraser
Interaction designer and experienced start-
up consultant; co-founder of Adaptive
Path; CEO of LUXr
Richard Anderson
Longtime UX consultant; started the Experience Center at Viant; worked for the
UX department of Yahoo!
The field of User Experience/Design is a vast and expanded landscape and it would be impossible to summarize all contemporarydevelopments and schools of thought through three individuals; however, these three User Experience professionals have very
different backgrounds and present three unique perspectives into the most important features of User Experience and where they believe User Research is headed.
Jakob NielsenHuman-Computer Interaction Specialist, Michael Jordan of tech usability
Jakob’s Law of the Web User Experience“Users spend most of their time on other websites.”Users form their expectations for your site/product based on what’s commonly done elsewhere. If you deviate from that norm, the innovation must offer significant improvement or users will leave.
User Research and Usability Design are EssentialWith the number of websites increasing at an exponential rate, those that do not meet basic usability standards will lose customers to competitors. Additionally, intranets with poor usability significantly hinder employee productivity.
Prioritize Testing Over SurveyingWhile it is easier – and oftentimes very useful – to simply ask users questions about your products, this is no substitute for watching what users actually do with the product. What users say can be misleading, even if they firmly believe in what they tell you. Simple observation eliminates bias.
Janice FraserInteraction designer, start-up wizard
Two Types of Research MethodsFraser breaks down the types of user research methods into two groups.
She also talks about the plethora of new tools available for product testing such as Usertesting.com.
Generative Testing
Generate new ideas
Few, long conversations
Produces qualitative data
Creates Empathy
More participants
Quantitative data
Analytically focused
Richard AndersonUser Experience Expert, Organizational Strategy Consultant, has
exactly one usable headshot on the internet
Design-led vs. Research-led
Anderson talks about UX researchers in two different
categories: those who design with people and those who design for people. He doesn’t say that one
mindset is necessarily better than the other, only that transitioning between the two entails major
cultural change for the company.
Should we call it User Research?
The term can imply that our department only does research with users when in
reailty we also study people who are not yet users of EBSCO products. Anderson argues that this phrase can prevent UX teams from being involved early in the
design process.Yahoo! merged their UX research group and the market research group to form
the Customer Insights department.
Is Usabilityoutdated?
Some UX experts believe that modern computing is minimizing
the importance of usability studies. Anderson argues that
more emphasis should be placed on ”social user research” which
relies on huge amounts of what he calls ”casual data” from Twitter,
Facebook, etc...
Anderson has 20+ years of experience working with different companies to move user experience into a position of greater influence. He has written and published numerous
articles and teachers numerous courses across the country.
A few of the key arguments that he makes on User Experience:
ConclusionWhat have we learned
Definitions
• UX encompasses everything• User Research investigates UX• Usability is a part of UX
Techniques
• Interviews & questionnaires are easy• Contextual inquiry generally provides
deeper insight• Growing number of testing resources
User Research in ActionUsability Testing of Fruit
Thought Leaders
• Nielsen: Use usability!• Fraser: Generative vs. Testing• Anderson: Culture matters
History• UX is still relatively new• Lessons from Da Vinci• Apple was important