Presentation at Adaptive Path's UX Week 2012, wherein I attempt to articulate a professional definition for "UX Design" that is substantially different from the workflows-and-wireframes with which it is typically associated.

1. UX is Strategy, Not Design
Peter Merholz
peterme@peterme.com
@peterme

2. Peter Merholz
peterme@peterme.com
@peterme

3. In order for UX to achieve it’s
potential, we need to
reframe it as a profession.
Peter Merholz
peterme@peterme.com
@peterme

4. But of course I’d say that,
because I’m of the prior
generation.

5. I’ve been geeking out about
user experience for a long time.

7. I invented the term because I thought
Human Interface and usability were too
narrow: I wanted to cover all aspects of
the person’s experience with a system,
including industrial design, graphics,
the interface, the physical interaction,
and the manual.
Don Norman, 1998 email

8. The Elements of User Experience Jesse James Garrett
jjg@jjg.net
A basic duality: The Web was originally conceived as a hypertextual information space; 30 March 2000
but the development of increasingly sophisticated front- and back-end technologies has
fostered its use as a remote software interface. This dual nature has led to much confusion,
as user experience practitioners have attempted to adapt their terminology to cases beyond
the scope of its original application. The goal of this document is to define some of these
terms within their appropriate contexts, and to clarify the underlying relationships among
these various elements.
Web as software interface Concrete Completion Web as hypertext system
Visual Design: visual treatment of text,
Visual Design: graphic treatment of interface
elements (the "look" in "look-and-feel") Visual Design graphic page elements and navigational
components
Interface Design: as in traditional HCI: Navigation Design: design of interface
design of interface elements to facilitate elements to facilitate the user's movement
user interaction with functionality
Interface Design Navigation Design through the information architecture
Information Design: in the Tuftean sense:
designing the presentation of information Information Design Information Design: in the Tuftean sense:
designing the presentation of information
to facilitate understanding to facilitate understanding
Interaction Design: development of Interaction Information Information Architecture: structural design
time
application flows to facilitate user tasks,
defining how the user interacts with
Design Architecture of the information space to facilitate
intuitive access to content
site functionality
Functional Specifications: "feature set":
detailed descriptions of functionality the site
Functional Content Content Requirements: definition of
content elements required in the site
must include in order to meet user needs Specifications Requirements in order to meet user needs
User Needs: externally derived goals User Needs: externally derived goals
for the site; identified through user research,
ethno/techno/psychographics, etc. User Needs for the site; identified through user research,
ethno/techno/psychographics, etc.
Site Objectives: business, creative, or other
internally derived goals for the site Site Objectives Site Objectives: business, creative, or other
internally derived goals for the site
task-oriented Abstract Conception information-oriented
This picture is incomplete: The model outlined here does not account for secondary considerations (such as those arising during technical or content development)
that may influence decisions during user experience development. Also, this model does not describe a development process, nor does it define roles within a
user experience development team. Rather, it seeks to define the key considerations that go into the development of user experience on the Web today.
© 2000 Jesse James Garrett http://www.jjg.net/ia/

9. Dan Saffer, 2009
(http://odannyboy.com/)

11. Such definitional struggles are
okay — it speaks to our field’s
dynamism.

12. As products have evolved into
services, UX has gotten muddy.

13. Many (most?) UX practitioners
have a design background,
and a bias towards execution
(in order to feel legitimate).

14. Though UX emerged from
design disciplines, it is not a
design discipline.

15. So, what is UX design?

16. 3 years ago, on this very stage...

18. Then what does a “UX
designer” do?

19. typography
instructional design
perception
architecture
industrial design
cognition
emotion
exhibit design
action fashion design
data visualization game design

20. typography
instructional design
perception
architecture
industrial design
cognition
emotion
Wait a minute! Do I have to
be good at all of that?!
exhibit design
action fashion design
data visualization game design

21. It’s been right in front of us for
quite a while, but we couldn’t
see it, because of our bias
towards design-as-execution.

22. And Jesse called it out, but so
far into a packed presentation
that it didn’t get the attention
it deserved...

23. Minute 37 of 40...

25. Aha! The practice of UX operates at
the level of coordination.

26. Coordination of what?

27. User experience arises from
the sum total of interactions
with a organization’s products
and services.

28. That includes business
development, marketing,
engineering, customer
service, retail, as well as
product and service design.

29. (Why do we continue to behave as if
design is the only organizational
practice concerned with a user’s or
customer’s experience?)

30. Just because UX emerged
from software and grew with
web doesn’t mean it has to
be digital.

31. UX is not a functional group in
an organization.

32. A “UX department” absolves
other departments from
concerning themselves with
UX.

33. The companies that deliver
the best UX often don’t have
the biggest UX groups.

34. UX is a mindset.
(it is a humanistic way of approaching problem solving)

35. UX is an outcome.
(this is why you can have a good or bad user experience)

36. You can’t “design
experience,” but UX benefits
from intent and a singular
vision.

37. UX Design is not all of these distinct disciplines.

38. UX Design is what’s left.

40. The challenge for a UX
designer is to identify where,
how, and what level to
engage.

41. May I suggest a model...

44. Interaction Information
Design Architecture
UX
Industrial Visual
Design Design
Sound
Architecture
Design

45. You could have started at a
specific discipline, but now
you’re overseeing many
factors.

46. UX is a leadership role.
(and not necessarily a management role.)

47. UX is a systems role.
(UX brings humanity into systems design and engineering)

48. UX is a synthetic role.

49. We use design approaches,
but not for ‘design’ outcomes.
These approaches drive
broader understanding.

50. So what does this person do?

51. Begin in free sites Attempt contact Find more leads Paid search Experience PeopleSmart within a funnel Try the trial membership and decide on a paid membership Use and decide on a renewal
Find out as much as possible from free sources Evaluate the search capabilities of PeopleSmart Determine the accuracy of the data by trying it out Add PeopleSmart to the “go to” tool box
Determine the accuracy of Leave no stone left Abandon the free
the data by trying it out unturned serach
Consider paid searches The Sleuth will ask herself: A Sleuth will use her own credit card or get permission to
and phone numbers
The Sleuth will see additional cross-sell offers such as
Bits and pieces of information acquired during the free With continued use, she becomes familiar with the site
site with a more rational mindset and take the time to read
eople who search for people for
Customer’s
Is this accurate?
Is it current?
Is it cost effective for Awesome! What’s this
I have to pay even Now I could just
me to keep searching
O
Ugh! Yet another more for what I really want?!
How can I tell? in all these various
I guess I’ll try
site I have to They have “trial membership” start my search
these...they’re a long
places? shot but maybe I’ll
learn to navigate.
newer data! all about? with PeopleSmart.
search for a person begins with get lucky.
Thinking
begin to search in free sites before
considering a paid search such as if Try to
if list another phone number report lists another
then
then phone number contact the
got out of the free search
person
the Sleuth will consider the costs report and start the free Send a registered letter
or make a phone call to
START
OVER
Try to
contact the
person
User insights
if
GOOGLE DATABASE Send a registered letter then if
additional data
Doing or make a phone call to
then list another phone number
lt s
su S for the free trial and might
Se
Add e re
ea
arch
rch
it i
“GO TO” TOOl bOx Of DaTabases START START
TOOl bOx Of lasT ResORT OVER OVER
Results con- Duplicate,
useless or
inaccurate
results
found
if ‘em yet?
then list another phone number
found found
‘em yet? ‘em yet?
START START
OVER OVER
Touchpoints Contact Report Order Receipt Background Order Receipt Credit card is Talk with Renewal notice
Look and feel of Search See the deal Report email
the site results offered email from trial ends staff
Excited
Feeling
Curious
Reassured
Unsure
Unsure
Goal: Find the current contact Concerned
information and whereabouts of a Betrayed
Frustrated
Business Business Development
Units
Marketing Marketing
Thank you
Search Optimization
User Experience
By: Analytics
Loretta Neal Member Services

52. Facilitation

53. Ideation

54. Ideation

55. Experience strategy and vision

56. Experience strategy and vision
Do more with less
Authentically digital
Pride in craftsmanship
Be fast and fluid
Win as one

57. [Image removed due to proprietary nature.]
Experience planning

58. Ongoing oversight and
orchestration

59. UX designers lead
organizations to ensure that
great experiences get out into
the world.

60. This doesn’t mean UX
designers can’t or shouldn’t
do the execution work. It’s
just a different kind of work.
(Directors can write, act, shoot, and edit, too.)

61. UX needs to stop selling itself short.

62. UX needs to
think and
act big.

63. UX needs to not let others
define what it does.

64. UX needs to lead, not follow.

65. Thank you for your
consideration.
Peter Merholz
peterme@peterme.com
@peterme