the research & design feedback loop

virtuous cycles

Julie Stanford, Sliced Bread Design, Stanford University

You’ve sat through a lot or presentations about how we should all do more user research and if you do everything will be perfect.

UserResearch Design

reactive, fast solutions

interstitials clutter pop-ups text

fixing just one thing often breaks something else…

Result is a patchwork quilt with holes in it (some parts will keep you warm but not others and it is fugly as all hell)

Dean Bokhari http://www.meaningfulhq.com/mediagarbage.html

reactive design loop vs. thoughtful design loop

You’ve sat through a lot or presentations about how we should all do more user research and if you do everything will be perfect.

Cautionary Tale #1

poor communication between research and design

researcher… tests wrong use cases asks wrong questions needs more questions overlays assumptions

Breakdownoftrust->Lackofimpactondesign

designer doesn’t… communicate well engage with research believe results

breakdown of trust

even worse: "wrong prototype or wrong test

user research with no distinct goal

illusion of progress

Dean Bokhari http://www.meaningfulhq.com/mediagarbage.html

vanilla research loop vs. thoughtful research loop

how do you create a virtuous cycle?

https://www.labwater.com/images/simple-water-cycle.jpg

option 1 (simple yet hard): "

research & design = same person

•  difficult to find •  some people really awesome at one •  some companies have it siloed •  potentially expensive

option 2: "

follow a process

prerequisite: leave the building start with base user research* do 80/20 organization of use cases (Pareto Principle) *can be called needfinding, customer development, ethnographic research, etc. depending on the methodology.

the virtuous loop formula

1. question 2. mind meld 3. attend 4. evaluate findings 5. brainstorm 6. evaluate solutions

1. question

•  list all the questions that you have about the design right now

•  prioritize the questions based on the sorted use cases AND impact on your business

•  craft a study to answer the most burning 1-2 question (see Leah Buley’s session)

2. mind meld

•  researcher and designer should go over "each section/page of the prototype together and list what to cover"

•  pro tip: run a pilot together "(with lots of pauses)

• people responsible for product decisions should attend the research sessions

• I’m too busy is not an excuse

• set up a system in advance for attendees "to ask questions

3. attend & participate

4. evaluate findings

give each issue a severity rating

evaluation questions to ask •  What percent of my users will be affected by this issue?

•  Is this on the 80/20 path of use cases?

•  If people can’t find X, what’s the impact?

•  If people do X the wrong way, how easily can they recover?

•  How easily can this be learned?

•  What happens if we don’t fix it?

•  What is the most important issue that came up that is preventing us from making money?

big picture check

a larger issue to address? do smaller issues together suggest…

5. brainstorm •  create multiple solutions starting with critical problems •  brainstorm small and large fixes •  if stuck, try Crazy 8s

Crazy 8s: Folder a paper into 8 spaces, set a timer, and go!

6. evaluate solutions •  What impact does this solution have on the overall page? "

(i.e busy, patchworky, increase the cognitive load?)

•  How does this impact navigation to/from this area?

•  Will this work on subsequent use or is it only useful once?

•  How consistent is this change with the rest of the design?

•  Does this fix impede one of the 80/20 use cases?

•  Are there multiple fixes better solved by one big fix? "(i.e. is there a systemic issue here?)

•  How does this effect the overall experience?

can’t decide? take a sketch break

stop talking sketch quickly discuss this will save you "A LOT of time

the virtuous loop formula

1. question 2. mind meld 3. attend 4. evaluate findings 5. brainstorm 6. evaluate solutions

•  decide on the design changes •  do the #1 QUESTION step 2x

1. BEFORE you prototype to make sure you prototype the right thing

2. again AFTER you prototype

the virtuous loop formula

1. question 2. mind meld 3. attend 4. evaluate findings 5. brainstorm 6. evaluate solutions

thoughtful research"

virtuous cycle thoughtful design

Cheat Sheet http://bit.ly/2dp8goK

Cautionary Tale #1

julie@slicedbreaddesign.com