An intro to what people (and myself) think UX is. Also who is "doing" UX and how you can do it better. Originally presented at Product Camp Nashville - Sep 2018
2. Who are we?
Mike G -
Psychology > Computer Science > Front End Dev >
Front End Design & User Testing > Strategy,
Innovation & User Research
Mike R -
Front end design and dev > User interface design
> Product design and strategy > User testing >
Information architecture
3. UX defined
(noun) short for user experience — Google
"User experience" encompasses all aspects
of the end-user's interaction with the
company, its services, and its products.—
Nielsen Norman Group (NNG)
:(
ok
4. user interface
user experience
web app design
design solutions
solving problems
user research
business research
easy to use
fun to interact with
design
voice of the customer
the journey
context
images
What do normal people think
UX is?
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-H2TFYT3HL/
5. What do normal people think
UX is?
feedback
testing
customer experience
IA
layout
interaction design
usability
satisfaction
brand perception
technical constraints
user needs
graphics
strategy
form & function
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-H2TFYT3HL/
6. What do normal people think
UX is?
frictionless
completing a task
i have no idea
couldn’t have told you
evolution
process flow
responsiveness
abnormal conditions
information
improving experiences
habits & needs of people
delightful
make life easier
expectations
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-H2TFYT3HL/
7. What do normal people think
UX is?
anticipation
understanding
task/objective/job
data
goals
how something works
architecture
blueprint
schematic
navigate
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-H2TFYT3HL/
8. holistic process of your audience interacting
with your product
designing useful products
the way a person feels when interacting with a
product
human + system interaction
What do normal people think
UX is?
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-H2TFYT3HL/
9. Simply:
UX is the set of thoughts, actions, and emotions
a person has while interacting with a thing.
What do I think UX is?
ALL OF THE
ABOVE!
10. Who is ‘doing’ UX?
UX Designers
Sales
Digital Strategists
UI Designers
Communications
Interaction Designers
Product Designers
Full stack developers
Market researchers
Customer Insights
Education managers
Developers
Designers
Product owners
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-H2TFYT3HL/
11. Who is ‘doing’ UX?
Process Designers
Portfolio Managers
Digital Solutioners
Customer experience
Agile developers
Directors of product
Researchers
Head of product design
Mobile app designers
Brand stewards
Customer service
IT Managers
Programmers
…
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-H2TFYT3HL/
13. How can you ‘do UX’ better?
• ask questions all along - challenge
everything! - leadership MUST understand &
support this
• Talk to YOUR customers & prospects - have
them use prototypes - prototype with a
purpose
14. How can you ‘do UX’ better?
• find out if your interface is needed (can you
automate?)
• find out if the interface is usable, desirable
and even delightful
15. How can you ‘do UX’ better?
Iterate over and over and over and over and
over and over and over and over and over and
over and over and over and over and over …
Obsess over your customers. Focus isn’t enough.
16. So, what is the goal of “UX”?
Create products that get used by the customer.
They won’t come just because you build it.
Its a form of Risk Mitigation! Don’t guess,
know!
17. Qualifying experiences
Bad experiences are caused by unmet
expectations.
Good experiences are caused by meeting
expectations.
Great experiences are caused by exceeding
expectations.
18. What is design and research?
Design is a way to solve a problem. Its great
if you know what the problem is. If you don’t,
research is a great way to find out.
Then usability testing will help you know if
your design solution solves the problem.
19. Things you never want to say to a
UX Designer:
1. It’s only for our internal people.
2. It’s MVP. We will design it in the next iteration.
3. The customer will figure it out.
4. It makes sense to me.
5. That’s how we’ve always done it, no one ever complained.
6. Were doing this because it’s on our roadmap.
7. Some people will use it, that’s who it’s for.
8. We need to do this to get this client, we will make it
right later.
9. Our customer is (fill in the blank). Implication that there
is only one persona.
10. We will do research after we figure out whether people
like it.
20. (s0me) Resources
• Nielsen/Norman Group
• A List Apart / An Event Apart
• Boxes and Arrows
• Twitter/Medium
• Pinterest for ideation
• Comparative/Competitive analysis
• Nashville UX Slack
• Webaim (accessibility)
• Invision blog
• Smashing magazine
• LukeW - form design/usability testing
• UIpatterns
There are thousands more
21. (s0me) Tools
• UserTesting.com
• validately.com
• Axure
• Sketch
• Invision
• Your brain
• Photoshop
• Illustrator
• Napkins and sharpies
• Whiteboards
• Your arm
There are hundreds more
• Adobe XD
• Paper and pencil
• Balsamiq
• Mike Rapp
• Mike Gallers
• TheUserIsDrunk
•
24. Notes
POs have to be incentivezed/motivated not JUST by releasing stuff
quickly, but by releasing QUALITY stuff.
HAS to come from top of the house and trickle down.
Say NO more! build rapport. know your internal clients, train
them, teach them.
Interview the company! What do THEY think they’re hiring you for
vs what you think you’re being hired for vs what you actually end
up doing. Do you want to fight and sell UX? or do you want to go
into a place where they already know and support what you do
25. Notes (cont.)
UX thinking is cultural, not just a checkbox
design systems, pattern libraries can be your friend
don’t ask a Sr UX architect to do UI design
don’t lie! communicate! be open! don’t be afraid!
CEOs are like scarlet witch. they can suspend and shape reality at
their whim.
Use case studies for a “UX” portfolio vs just visual samples for a
Visual Designer
26. Notes (cont.)
Conversations with people are THE MOST IMPORTANT thing! its not
just photoshop and sketch and envision.
VERY Hard to ‘do UX’ if you’re an introvert.
be prepared to present/sell your own work. justify every character
and pixel that is visual.
there’s an art to presenting. take an improv class. know your
audience. LEARN. PRACTICE
house metaphor - architect, electrician, city planner, brick layer,
roofer
27. Notes (cont.)
Its okay not to know things!! Not knowing things is where i want
to spend most of my time.
Very few people question things and challenge. Most are doers.
humans don’t always want a better way to do things, they want to
do things the way they know how to do things.
define “good”, “better”
Try to know as fast as you can. be honest about what you don’t
know!
Don’t wait for acceptance criteria!