When we received a future business process description using a conventional process diagram in order to represent an overview of the requirements for a financial advisory tool, we felt that business analysts did not want us - the user experience specialists - to start with "our" work. We convinced them to use a series of 3 workshops implementing scenario-based development (tell the story of the process from the users' perspective) and a special design-studio technique (visually brainstorm on most difficult design challenges) to their project procedure. The result was a more qualified future business process, a deeper understanding of the context of use and a tangible paper prototype, ready to be tested by and with users.

1. Deeper Business Analysis by UX methods
or: How to be a unicorn
Dr. Susanne Schmidt-Rauch

2. Once upon a time…

5. Nice idea,
let’s do it
differently!

6. User Experience is not about asking
people what they want!
It is about doing everything (possible) to learn
about the user, the context of use and the
occurring problems in order to solve them
effectively to the users’ satisfaction and delight.

7. Be a Ford or be a Jobs?
Lightsaber No. 1: CRITICAL THINKING!!!

8. The project 8

9. simplified process
Starting point: first artefact is a process definition based on epics
9
Define Goals for
financial decisions
Elicit financial demands
based on assets
Explain possiblities
to close gaps
Define next steps

10. When I say «user scenario» – is this your association?
10
Financial Advisory System
Define Goals
Client
Advisor
Elicit
Demands
Explain
possibilities
Define
next steps
Pricing Service
CRM

11. Tell a real story
11
… you need a topic,
a protagonist,
a trigger,
and an expected outcome Marc

12. 12
Collect cohesive scenario steps:
Marc clicks on the
retirement calculator
Following inputs:
- male/female → male
- …
- Years until «normal» retirement →
automatically calculated from date of
birth
- Net income (gross income is
automatically calculated)
- …
Following results:
- He does not have the same when
retired
- There is an annual gap of 24’930 EUR
Caution:
do not show numbers more precise than
they are
Marc feels alarmed and wants
to talk about that
Example

13. 13

14. 14
«Marc disagrees
because his wife…»
«Our Marc would
not understand….
«Marc
would not feel
good about the
outcome if …»
Allow this

15. Avoid that
15
«I was an advisor
for 20 years, we
never…»
«Me as a
customer,
I would think it is
easy to…»
«I was an advisor
for 20 years, we
always…»

16. User representatives ≠ users!

17. Bias: High subjectivity
Bias: Occupational Blindness
Bias: Extrapolation error
Bias: Group think over time
User representatives ≠ users!

18. User representatives ≠ users!
Lightsaber No. 2: Know whom to ask!

19. 19
Collect design challenges of the
scenario steps:
How can we help the advisor
to derive a financial goal?
How might we map goals to
actions/to-dos?
How might we explain which
goals one can have?
Example

20. Brainstorm the challenges
20

21. At this point you have economized weeks of
work and lot’s of «cloudy» discussions!
Lightsaber No. 3: Visualize early and cohesive!

22. Now the magic happens?
If you mean Hard Work, YES! → Prototyping 22

23. Ready to test?!
Don’t be afraid, be curious!
Lightsaber No. 4: Aim at testable artefacts!

24. 24
User
Observer: can be in a
different room with a
group of observers
Facilitator

25. Why it works
… when you follow a testing strategy 25
Identified
Usability
Flaws
No. of
Participants
1 2 3 4 5 6
85 %

26. What is a testing strategy?
26
Idea /
Vision
Conceptual
Design
Visual
Design
Implementation Operation
Contextual
Inquiry
Walkthrough /
User Testing
5-seconds-Test Beta-Testing Piloting
Continuous
Discovery
Exemplary Strategy

27. Let’s summarize…

28. The Plan
UX is more than nicely painted images! 28
Tell a story:
Define a user
scenario
Analyze
the story:
Find Design
Challenges
Brainstorm
solution
candidates:
Design Studio
Give it a feeling:
Cohesive
Prototype
Learn for next
steps:
Test with users

29. How to convince teams to apply UX methods early?
29
Convinced hero
approach
Don’t-talk-but-do
approach
External prophet
approach

30. Early user interventions are pretty useful…
30
Cost of
Change
1 EUR 1 EUR
3-8
EUR
7-78
EUR
29-
>1500
EUR
Idea /
Vision
Conceptual
Design
Visual
Design
Implementation Operation
Repu-
tation!
Product
Maturity

31. Final Lightsaber: Be projectable!

32. Take aways
• UX-methods including tests are useful,
especially early in the process
• Always aim at testable artefacts
• If your project is staffed with user
representatives: beware! They are not
representative at all.
• Don’t-talk-but-do, but be projectable
32

33. Thank you.
Happy to discuss…
Dr. Susanne Schmidt-Rauch
susanne.schmidt@evux.ch