Designing holistic digital experiences that delight our users and meet our organizational objectives isn't easy, but it's not impossible. User journeys can help.
4. We live in a cross-platform culture.
People don’t think, “Is this task
appropriate for this device?”
We often use multiple devices, from
start to finish, during a single task.
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino
21. Every digital experience we design
is for people.
To design delightful experiences, we
must let our users decide what works
for them and their context.
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino
22. Journeys are also stories.
“Everything is a story. Everything is
about pacing.”
- Danny Yount
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino
23. But they have to be true stories.
“The shortest distance between a
human and the truth is a story.”
- Anthony DeMello
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino
25. user journeys
1
1
2
1
Define your purpose and goals
3
1
v
4
1
5
Consider their behavioral context
Know your audience
Map the their journey and attach to persona
Iterate, test, refine, repeat!
28. Defining your purpose, values, style,
and vision is the foundation for
everything else.
You can’t understand your users’
journeys without knowing why you exist
and what you stand for.
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino
29. Where a person is going says a lot about
their journey.
The person on the journey does not
decide what the destination is like, they
choose it because of what it already is.
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino
30. PURPOSE
VALUES
Why you’re in business.
It summarizes the difference
you’re trying to make in the
world and what drives you every
day.
The attitudes and beliefs at the
core of your company. What’s
truly important to your business,
and should be reflected in all of
your decisions and actions.
STYLE
VISION
Traits representing your core
characteristics and style of doing
business. Used as a source of
inspiration and guidance for
branding, site design, messaging,
and more.
What the future will look like once
your goals are achieved. It’s
important for this to be clear so
everyone is working towards a
common goal.
33. user journeys
1
1
2
1
Define your purpose and goals
3
1
v
4
1
5
Consider their behavioral context
Know your audience
Map their journey and attach to persona
Iterate, test, refine, repeat!
35. Personas should be grounded in
research and elevated by empathy.
They’re filters to help you to see through
your users’ eyes.
They speak to decision modes,
preferences, concerns, motivations, and
information needs.
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino
36. You are not your target audience.
Beware of biases.
Don’t assume you know what your users
want and why they choose to do
business with you.
Ask them.
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino
37. Capture the richness of the human
experience.
Have conversations, follow a directed
storytelling method, be curious,
document everything.
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino
39. Do your homework.
Qualitative research is only as good as
the questions you ask and the skill level
of the interviewer.
Use quantitative research to gather clues
and validate hunches, but be wary of
making broad assumptions.
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino
40.
41. user journeys
1
1
2
1
Define your purpose and goals
3
1
v
4
1
5
Consider their behavioral context
Know your audience
Map their journey and attach to persona
Iterate, test, refine, repeat!
43. Don’t be a heartless bastard.
“The number one practical competency
for success in life and work is empathy.”
- Peter Drucker
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino
47. user journeys
1
1
2
1
Define your purpose and goals
3
1
v
4
1
5
Consider their behavioral context
Know your audience
Map their journey and attach to persona
Iterate, test, refine, repeat!
49. A deep dive into data can be delightful.
Look for clues in your site metrics:
ü Entry pages
ü Exit pages
ü Devices
ü User flow
ü Traffic sources
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino
52. Invite everyone to the party.
The more skill sets and perspectives
represented, the better.
ü Marketing
ü Sales
ü Customer Service
ü Development
ü Executives, etc.
#CSAUSA
@rebekahcancino
54. Susan: the browsing buyer
Susan isn’t on a mission to buy a new
puppy, she’s just browsing the internet
and having fun looking at cuddly little
animals.
She switches modes when she finds a
pup on your doggy matchmaking site
she just can’t live without.
55. Susan: the browsing buyer
As a new user, Susan
comes to the site
through:
As a return user,
Susan comes to the
site through:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Image Search
Facebook/Pinterest
Individual dog listings
YouTube
Direct visit
Facebook/Pinterest
Breed hub page
Breed available
notification email
58. Susan: the browsing buyer
In charting out Susan’s journey we discover:
•
•
•
•
Potential points of friction
Gaps in information
Opportunities for microconversions
What metrics we’ll use to continuously
improve her experience
• Content prioritization
• And more!
60. These insights inform our
considerations for small screens.
• COPE (Create once, publish
everywhere)
• Interdigitation (Flexbox)
• Localized content
• CMS issues
• Metadata and markup
• And more!
61. user journeys
1
1
2
1
Define your purpose and goals
3
1
v
4
1
5
Consider their behavioral context
Know your audience
Map their journey and attach to persona
Iterate, test, refine, repeat!
63. Good: Metrics are about measurement
Better: Metrics are
about learning
64. Remember.
There’s no such thing as a “golden rule”
when it comes to measurement.
#CSAUSA
@rebekahcancino
65. Ask questions
You see a high amount of page views per visit with
a relatively low avg. time on site, and you wonder:
Are they having a hard time finding what they
need?
You formulate a hypothesis: Maybe our navigation is
unclear?
Which leads to an experiment: Let’s clarify the
navigation nomenclature and see if there’s an
improvement
67. Remember.
The digital work we do is never final. This
is an iterative process.
Plan for constant improvement,
adjustment, and learning.
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino
68. Don’t let your insight become an artifact.
Find ways to keep the understanding
you gained from charting user journeys
alive as you iterate.
Create accountability, buy-in, and a
shared sense of ownership.
#PHXDW
@rebekahcancino