Lean UX NYC: Getting Buy-in For UX Research
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The document provides guidance on conducting user research to gain buy-in from stakeholders. It discusses techniques like usability testing, field studies, and analyzing findings with stakeholders. The key points covered include: - Planning the first 90 days of research and choosing an initial project to demonstrate value. - Creating a study plan and getting stakeholders involved in planning research activities. - Conducting usability tests, field studies, and other quick techniques to engage stakeholders. - Analyzing findings with stakeholders using methods like a rolling observations list, the KJ technique, and journey mapping. The overall aim is to effectively communicate research results and address stakeholders' concerns to gain their support for continued user research.
Lean UX NYC: Getting Buy-in For UX Research
- 1. GETTING BUY-IN FOR UX RESEARCH CHRISTINE PERFETTI & EZRA GILDESGAME ACQUIA THE LOGISTICS Ask questions as they occur to you The schedule You’ll be working in groups of 2 Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 1
- 2. EXERCISE CONDUCT A USABILITY TEST USABILITY TEST A usability test involves putting your users in front of the product and observing what they do Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 2
- 3. One person is the user ‣ Think aloud as you work One person is the observer ‣ Observe silently and take notes After we perform the task, we’ll ask you to switch roles and do another EXPLORATION: USABILITY TEST ‣ We’re evaluating the design, not you ‣ The answer is somewhere on the site ‣ If you experience problems, it’s not your fault ‣ You’re helping the observers learn more about the design problems AS THE USER Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 3
- 4. Take notes as the user works ‣ Was the user successful? ‣ How did the user go about performing the task? ‣ What obstacles did the user encounter? ‣ What confusion did they experience? ‣ Note things that worked well When you complete a task, say, “Got it!” AS THE OBSERVER ‣ How many users found the answer? ‣ What helped users succeed? ‣ What obstacles prevented them from finding what they wanted? ‣ What do you expect will happen? DISCUSSION Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 4
- 5. Planning your research program ‣ The first 90 days ‣ How to choose your first project ‣ Identifying your allies and champions Involving stakeholders in planning ‣ Planning and running usability tests ‣ Quick testing techniques for buy-in WHAT WE’LL COVER Analyzing the data ‣ Rolling list of observations ‣ KJ technique ‣ Journey maps Communicating results effectively ‣ Weekly research days ‣ Formal and informal reporting strategies ‣ Effective communication techniques DISCUSSION What prevents you from getting buy-in for your research? Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 5
- 6. THE FIRST 90 DAYS Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 6
- 7. Text THE FIRST 90 DAYS Meet with all stakeholders Know your audience Write a study plan Conduct your first usability test Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 7
- 8. ‣ Meet with all of your product stakeholders to understand their priorities ‣ Treat these meetings just like any other research project ‣ Who are your users? ‣ What are their main goals? ‣ What challenges do they face today? ‣ What do they currently know about their users? ‣ What do they know about the product? What are the areas of risk? KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE What are all of the components of your product? Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 8
- 9. PRODUCT COMPONENTS Who is on the product team? Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 9
- 10. ‣ Interview anyone who has knowledge of the product or the business ‣ The product team includes: ‣ Engineering ‣ Product Management ‣ UX ‣ Marketing ‣ Sales ‣ Support ‣ Legal THE PRODUCT TEAM ‣ What is your role with respect to the product? ‣ What did you do before this? ‣ Who is the product for? ‣ How would you describe the client onboarding process? ‣ Is there anything that concerns you about the product? ‣ What should the user research accomplish for the business? ‣ How will you define success for the research? ‣ How would you like to be involved in the research? GENERAL QUESTIONS Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 10
- 11. QUESTIONS: SPECIFIC TO AUDIENCE Sales ‣ Why do customers buy the product? ‣ Why do you win/lose sales? ‣ Who are the users today? ‣ How should they be different in 5 years? ‣ What do customers complain about most?Who Support ‣ Who typically contacts you? ‣ Why do they contact? ‣ What are the top problems for customers? ‣ What areas of the product cause problems? ‣ How can we best reduce calls? The research team is at your service Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 11
- 12. SELLING THE VALUE: FRAME BENEFITS IN THEIR TERMS Sales ‣ Increase win rates ‣ Make selling easier Product ‣ Research can inform debate about product strategy ‣ Come armed with great data & insights Support ‣ Decrease # of tickets ‣ Decrease ticket response time Finance and leadership ‣ Increase renewals ‣ Improve win/growth rate ‣ Improve margins Identify your Executive Champion ‣ Who drives the product and business decisions? ‣ What leader most values and understands user research and design? Conduct a research project to: ‣ Answer the Executive Champion’s questions ‣ Focus on their risks and concerns ‣ Accomplish a quick win CHOOSE YOUR FIRST PROJECT Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 12
- 13. CREATE A STUDY PLAN THE STUDY PLAN Serves as a blueprint for the test Provides a systematic approach to testing Facilitates buy-in from stakeholders Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 13
- 14. ‣ Study goals ‣ Research questions and issues to explore ‣ User characteristics ‣ Schedule ‣ Task list ‣ Data to collect ‣ Reporting strategy THE TOPICS THE PLANNING MEETING At the beginning of the project, we hold a planning meeting with all product team members and stakeholders to discuss: ‣ An overview of the testing process ‣ Project scope ‣ Issues (risks and concerns) with the design ‣ Number of users to test ‣ Testing schedule GOAL: No surprises! Avoid the game of telephone Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 14
- 15. MEETING ATTENDEES ‣ Product and Design ‣ Marketing and Engineering ‣ Anyone involved in design decisions PROJECT SCOPE What are you testing? ‣ Complete working prototype ‣ Prototype with only some screens ‣ Paper mockup ‣ Just the navigation Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 15
- 16. ‣ What do you want to learn? ‣ Most studies aren’t purely exploratory ‣ The issues and research questions will drive the tasks and recruitment ‣ Work with the team to outline the research questions ‣ Vague statement: Will this work for users? ‣ Ask increasingly specific questions RISKS AND CONCERNS ‣ What are you hoping to learn from the study? ‣ What areas of the design are you most concerned about? ‣ Why are you concerned? ‣ Are you worried about a specific group of users? ‣ What are the greatest risks for the organization? QUESTIONS TO ASK Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 16
- 17. ‣ What do you want to learn? ‣ What areas are you most concerned about? ‣ Is our mortgage application too long? ‣ Will users know all fields are required? ‣ Will they use account lookup? (It will be hard to build.) ‣ Do our users understand what “conforming” means? EXAMPLE: MORTGAGE APPLICATION TECHNIQUES FOR BUY-IN Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 17
- 18. THE EXCUSES Not enough time No resources and staff No money No buy-in from management Unsure where to start Testing is too scientific We already know the product TECHNIQUES FOR STAKEHOLDER BUY-IN First Click Test 5 Second Test Comprehension Test Ethnographic Interviews Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 18
- 19. Quick and dirty technique for measuring content pages Takes less than 10 minutes to run Measures if content pages quickly convey their purpose 5 SECOND PAGE TESTS You want to post pictures online from your last vacation You are concerned that the upload process will be difficult How confident are you that you can upload photos quickly and easily? SHARING PICTURES Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 19
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- 21. You want to post pictures online from your last vacation You are concerned that the upload process will be difficult How confident are you that you can upload photos quickly and easily? SHARING PICTURES Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 21
- 22. You want to post pictures online from your last vacation You are concerned that the upload process will be difficult How confident are you that you can upload photos quickly and easily? SHARING PICTURES Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 22
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- 24. Useful method to assess where users first click on your site’s home or entry page Provide users with a specific task to complete when they arrive at the site By observing where users first click, it’s a clear indicator whether they’ll succeed FIRST CLICK TEST Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 24
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- 26. Pages containing complex content Such as policies or procedures How your product works User comprehension is imperative to their success Questions determine if users understand content COMPREHENSION TEST Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 26
- 27. Excellent technique for understanding users’ goals ETHNOGRAPHIC INTERVIEWS Context of use Pain points Workarounds Motivations Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 27
- 28. With a field study is, we learn about: ‣ How technology fits into users’ life ‣ Tasks that users haven’t talked about ‣ Pain points and user frustration ‣ Evidence of technology that isn’t working for the user “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” - Henry Ford (maybe) FIELD STUDIES VISIT USERS IN THEIR NATURAL SETTING Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 28
- 29. ‣ Typically takes at least two hours at the users’ site ‣ If it’s not possible to visit users onsite, we use a remote meeting tool, such as GoToMeeting or WebEx ‣ Equipment ‣ Digital recorder or audio recorder ‣ When approaching the interview, take the mindset of an apprentice ‣ The user is the expert INTERVIEW LOGISTICS ‣ Purpose of interview or site visit ‣ Demographics and background ‣ Overview of work process ‣ What is your typical workday? ‣ Can you give an overview of your work? ‣ Who do you interact with? ‣ What are the most important and frequent tasks? RECOMMENDED TOPICS ‣ Current behavior relevant to project without focusing on technology ‣ Overview of technology and software user works with ‣ How does technology support your work? ‣ What are you trying to accomplish by performing the tasks? (Goals) ‣ Follow up on key user feedback ‣ Closing Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 29
- 30. Avoid leading questions ‣ Users like to respond, “yes” Avoid: ‣ Do you like this feature? ‣ Are you confused by this content? BEWARE: LEADING QUESTIONS ‣ What activities waste your time or drive you crazy? ‣ How did you learn about the product? ‣ What kind of training did you receive? ‣ What are you most important activities? ‣ Who do you provide information to? What information do you collect? SAMPLE QUESTIONS ‣ What are your most important and frequent activities with the product? ‣ What are the two things you like best about the product? ‣ What are the two things you would like to see improved? ‣ Are there any activities you currently perform that you’d like to see automated? ‣ What shortcuts help you? Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 30
- 31. ‣ Understanding of work environment ‣ Tasks that users haven’t talked about ‣ “Cheat sheets” ‣ Evidence of technology that isn’t working for the user WHAT TO OBSERVE ‣ Product pain points that were previously unknown ‣ Customers successfully using product in unexpected ways ‣ Customer needs that were previously unknown ‣ Examples that help tell the story (supplementing data) ‣ Identify clients who want to continue to partner WHAT STAKEHOLDERS LEARN Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 31
- 32. ANALYZING DATA WITH STAKEHOLDERS ANALYZING DATA The KJ Method Rolling list of observations Journey mapping Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 32
- 33. ‣ Gather all observations ‣ Identify problems ‣ Prioritize problems based on importance and frequency ‣ Iterate on the design ANALYZE DATA ROLLING LIST: OBSERVATIONS Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 33
- 34. ‣ Named after Kawakita Jiro ‣ Consensus method for grouping and prioritizing usability findings ‣ Quickly determines most important observations ‣ Captures everyone’s perspective and observation THE KJ: METHOD FOR PRIORITIZING DATA ‣ Call together the group ‣ Only invite members of the team who observed a test session ‣ KJ takes one hour STEP 1: ORGANIZE GROUP Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 34
- 35. ‣ Every KJ has a focus question that drives the prioritization exercise: ‣ What are the biggest usability problems we observed in the test? ‣ What needs to be fixed in the product to improve the user experience? STEP 2: DETERMINE FOCUS QUESTION KJ EXERCISE What are the biggest problems that need to be fixed with the airline experience? Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 35
- 36. STEP 3: LIST USABILITY PROBLEMS OBSERVED STEP 4: PUT OBSERVATIONS ON WALL Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 36
- 37. STEP 5: GROUP NOTES STEP 6: NAME EACH GROUP Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 37
- 38. STEP 7: CHOOSE AND RANK GROUPS STEP 8: VOTING Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 38
- 39. STEP 9: ORDER GROUPS AND DISCUSS ‣ We order the groups based on number of votes, highest numbers at the top ‣ Participants combine groups and discuss identified priorities ‣ Everyone is involved ‣ Writing down observations lets all team members contribute ‣ Prevents too much influence from select team members ‣ Identifies top priorities METHOD ADVANTAGES Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 39
- 40. ‣ Up-front study planning ‣ Focus question: What are your research questions? ‣ Brainstorming sessions with stakeholders? ‣ Focus question: What are the biggest user problems we should address? ‣ Usability test debriefs ‣ Focus question: What are the biggest problems we observed in the tests? ‣ Immediately following field studies ‣ Focus question: What are the biggest pain points you observed? What solutions could help? WHEN TO USE THE KJ METHOD JOURNEY MAPPING Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 40
- 41. ‣ Excellent technique for identifying pain points in the user journey ‣ Clearly communicates the opportunities for improvements and innovation ‣ Prioritizes the areas of the product that need the most attention ‣ Go from abstract to actionable “World-class product” “Delight users” “Leading user experience” JOURNEY MAPPING Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 41
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- 48. Carbonite.com Journey Map Mapping out the current experience Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 48
- 49. Task profile: Well performing areas Task profile: Areas to improve Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 49
- 50. Q1 Update: 11 Critical Tasks Tested Q1 2013 compared to Q4 2012 Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 50
- 51. CREATIVE BRIEF Benefits ‣ Helps people to fully articulate their ideas ‣ Shared understanding of goals and risks (and even disagreement) ‣ Help establish a shared understanding before starting a project Components: ‣ Product statement ‣ Business problem ‣ Success criteria ‣ Risks ‣ Personas ‣ Deadlines and milestones ‣ Inspiration COMMUNICATING RESEARCH Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 51
- 52. COMMUNICATING RESULTS Formal methods Informal methods Involve stakeholders ‣ Communicate the results quickly ‣ Debrief often ‣ Report to stakeholders and project team when they need it ‣ Don’t report too much information ‣ Determine best delivery method considering the needs of your different audiences ‣ No surprises! SUCCESS FACTORS Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 52
- 53. Informal ‣ Emails or internet dashboard with short memos of findings and recommendations ‣ Working meetings with project teams ‣ Integration with existing problem/bug reporting strategy Formal ‣ Presentations and workshops ‣ Usability reports METHODS: COMMUNICATING RESULTS ‣ Effective communication tool for sharing test results immediately ‣ After each day of tests, send a short email to design team with major observations from the day EMAIL / INTERNET DASHBOARD Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 53
- 54. INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS ` INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS ` ` Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 54
- 55. ‣ When quick changes are required after a round of tests, schedule a one-hour meeting to share and prioritize the test results ‣ Review the usability test observations ‣ Determine next steps and short-term fixes WORKING MEETING ‣ Most organizations already have a method for collecting problem or bug reports ‣ Merge usability problems with other bugs ‣ Prevents having two tracking systems ‣ Helps determine relative importance of a problem INTEGRATE WITH BUG TRACKING Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 55
- 56. ‣ 1-2 hour presentation with design team, engineers, marketing, and key stakeholders ‣ Share most important usability findings based on prioritization of problems ‣ Effective communication technique ‣ People often ignore written communications ‣ Active involvement with design team and stakeholders PRESENTATIONS/ WORKSHOPS EXECUTING ON UX IMPROVEMENTS: MORE THAN BUY-IN ‣ Nobody says, “Let’s have a poor UX” ‣ “Experience Rot” as a risk ‣ It’s about the ideas, not the people ‣ Encourage open discussion of data ‣ Avoid sacrificing long-term quality for short-term goals ‣ Document commitment to UX and get buy-in for when things deviate ‣ Eat vegetables, floss daily, follow through on UX goals Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 56
- 57. INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS URTH AND SURF WEEKLY RESEARCH Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 57
- 58. INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 58
- 59. QUESTIONS? Lean UX NYC Perfetti & Gildesgame, © 2014 59