The following posts have been tagged week 26

• ☞ Week 26 ☜

  The Distance between Maker and User

  

  Recently I was part of a user testing study in which I observed someone using the software I had designed. At one point the user did something he wasn’t supposed to do (in theory) and in an instant I saw the problem. The descriptive text I had written was on the wrong screen…instead of the previous screen it should have been on this screen. 
  
  The problem had existed for a while in the software. And, I had heard reports that this sort of thing was happening, but I hadn’t seen it myself and it wasn’t clear why. When I saw the person in action, it became clear immediately. The simple act of observation made the amorphous crystal clear. 

  Of course, I was reminded that I wasn’t doing enough user testing.  I was testing now and then but wasn’t testing regularly…only when I wanted to find something specific out. But regular testing provides insights like this…letting you know when something subtle is hurting the user experience. 

  Even more general, though, is this principle:

  As the distance between the maker and user increases, so does the difficulty of designing a great user experience. 
  
  In other words, the closer the designer and user are, the easier it is to design. When designers observe actual use, the problems jump out quickly. But as the layers between these two parties increases, so does the communication that must be done to have the same effect. Even if one person sits between the designer and user, the designer’s job is twice as hard. 

  Now think about all the layers we have to deal with. Management layers. Salesperson layers. Call-center layers. Support layers. All of these layers add friction between the maker and the user, reducing the communication between them to a game of telephone. As each layer is piled on, the job of the designer gets harder. And, not only that, but the job of each person in the chain is made more difficult as well.

  My takeaway from this experience is to make it a point to have regular, involved interaction with users even if there isn’t anything seriously wrong with the software. The increased interaction will not only find some smaller issues I will have overlooked, but it will lead to a more efficient design process as well. 

  July 3, 2010 by bokardo

  Tags:

  week 26

  bokardo
• ☞ Week 26 ☜

  Turn Your HiPPO Into A UX Hero

   

  An interesting story plays out in the lives of User Experience professionals working in large corporations across the globe each day. Just like in nature, where the king of the jungle rules by fear, respect, and sheer exertion of power, the business realm is often ruled by a similar creature—the HiPPO (“Highest Paid Person’s Opinion”). 

  The HiPPO is a force to be reckoned with, deriving his/her power from years of corporate ladder-climbing, having won many battles by sheer determination and intuition. The HiPPO did not achieve this status by accident. They are smart, adaptable business people, ripe with experience and success. Unfortunately, HiPPO’s often have the least contact with users and likely have minimal understanding of a customer’s wants, needs and expectations. 

  User experience designers are tasked with an incredibly diverse set of requirements, many of which are either ignored, “taken under advisement” or worse, acknowledged but dismissed by the HiPPO. These situations, while often frustrating, re-enforce the deep need for someone to come to the aid of those who can and will veto decisions based on a gut-feeling. It is a tenuous and often unspoken struggle against the uninformed, under-advised “hunch”-ers. It is an unfortunate battle. One that must be waged, not with blood or tears, but with data, research and education. 

  Everyone loves to be proven right. The HiPPO is no exception. One of the best things you can do to help change this creature’s behavior and potentially impact the overall culture of the company is to begin with data. The only thing better than having real, measurable data to justify design decisions is having brought this data to the HiPPO early on, helping them understand the various data points being measured and providing context in which to make decisions. Data reduces the opportunity for decisions based purely on “experience.”

  Data alone is not enough to counter the gravitational pull of the HiPPO’s self-confidence. Research is another key ingredient in turning the HiPPO into a hero. Data requires thoughtful analysis in order to provide meaningful insights. Gathering  internal and external benchmarks as well as competitor data can also help clarify and justify the motivation behind key decisions. Research creates the data-backed story that can guide a product to success.

  Finally, you must understand that the HiPPO has a fundamental belief that he/she is always right (and they often are). Unfortunately, this mindset stifles creative thinking and problem solving in others. The easiest way to combat this is by educating the HiPPO without them feeling like they are being told something they don’t know. Leverage ideas they have proposed in the past, strengths they possess or ways in which their expertise can be best utilized. If you can help to educate the HiPPO—giving them a window into the heart and mind of the customer—you will go a long way in helping them feel ownership of the ideas being proposed and at the same time give the user a voice they normally don’t have. 

  There can be little doubt that this will take more time and energy. But if you want to turn your HiPPO into a UX Hero, providing them with data, research and education gives them a chance to see how user-centric design thinking can create a more viable product. And hopefully, turn them into the champion of a new culture within the organization. 

  Good luck. It’s a jungle out there.

  July 3, 2010 by jbrewer

  Tags:

  week 26

  hippo

  jbrewer