1. Working titles
Design lessons learned in the trenches
A (semi-organized) brain dump of current design challenges
Stuff we got right and wrong (and what we’re doing about it)
Credit: Flickr user ‘justin0842’

2. Ground rules
Ask questions anytime... yell out if I don’t see your hand
It’s more important to elaborate than to cover everything
You can DM me @dburka with specific things to cover
via istockphoto.com

3. Today’s agenda
Credit: Flickr user S.O.F.T.

4. Today’s agenda
1. Get the basics out of the way
Credit: Flickr user S.O.F.T.

5. Today’s agenda
1. Get the basics out of the way
2. Designing for engagement
Credit: Flickr user S.O.F.T.

6. Today’s agenda
1. Get the basics out of the way
2. Designing for engagement
3. Positive behaviors by design
Credit: Flickr user S.O.F.T.

7. Today’s agenda
1. Get the basics out of the way
2. Designing for engagement
3. Positive behaviors by design
4. Handling (lots of) user feedback
Credit: Flickr user S.O.F.T.

8. Today’s agenda
1. Get the basics out of the way
2. Designing for engagement
3. Positive behaviors by design
4. Handling (lots of) user feedback
5. Iterative design strategies + a case study
Credit: Flickr user S.O.F.T.

9. Today’s agenda
1. Get the basics out of the way
2. Designing for engagement
3. Positive behaviors by design
4. Handling (lots of) user feedback
5. Iterative design strategies + a case study
+ Your suggestions
Credit: Flickr user S.O.F.T.

10. Challenge
Encouraging people
to participate

11. Joshua Porter (bokardo)
“You probably have a community
whether you know it or not.”
Via ChinPosin.com

12. How do your people participate?
Different sites have different issues

13. Reduce the barrier to entry
Simplify sign-up, not just registration
Credit: Flickr user ‘notsogoodphotography’

17. E-commerce example

18. E-commerce example

19. Dip a toe in the water
Get going quickly and get invested quickly
Credit: Flickr user ‘notsogoodphotography’

24. Start simple
Easier to grok, more engaging

34. Show, don’t tell
Showing is much more enticing (usually)

46. Credit: Flickr user ‘inoxkrow’
Increase benefit
Go beyond altruistic motivations

51. Challenge
Promoting positive
participation

52. Personal profiles
Encourage trust and connections
Credit: Flickr user ‘mrclean’

61. Focus on tension points
Copy and design can go a long way
Credit: Flickr user ‘sarahkim’

66. Avoid negative competition
‘King of the hill’ contests don’t scale
Credit: Flickr user ‘cmichel67’

68. Cons
Digg top users list

69. • Too basic, too static
Cons
Digg top users list

70. • Too basic, too static
• Frustrating to climb ladder once others established
Cons
Digg top users list

71. • Too basic, too static
• Frustrating to climb ladder once others established
Cons
Digg top users list
• Taps into negative self-interest as well

72. • Too basic, too static
• Frustrating to climb ladder once others established
Cons
Digg top users list
• Taps into negative self-interest as well
• Cutthroats climb ladder at any cost

73. • Too basic, too static
• Frustrating to climb ladder once others established
Cons
Digg top users list
• Taps into negative self-interest as well
• Cutthroats climb ladder at any cost
• Creates very influential users

74. Prostop users list
Digg

75. • Easy to understand: simple sum
Prostop users list
Digg

76. • Easy to understand: simple sum
• Fantastic incentive to participate at the beginning
Prostop users list
Digg

77. • Easy to understand: simple sum
• Fantastic incentive to participate at the beginning
Prostop users list
Digg • Taps into peoples’ self-interest in a positive way

78. • Easy to understand: simple sum
• Fantastic incentive to participate at the beginning
Prostop users list
Digg • Taps into peoples’ self-interest in a positive way
• Healthy competition when benefit is low

79. • Easy to understand: simple sum
• Fantastic incentive to participate at the beginning
Prostop users list
Digg • Taps into peoples’ self-interest in a positive way
• Healthy competition when benefit is low
• Creates recognizable ‘celebrity’ contributors

80. Digg top users list
Possible improvements?

81. Keep it positive
Seems simple, but it’s difficult to stay focused on it

82. Focus on the individual
Award individuals for personal accomplishments

83. Self-policing
Empower users to take care of issues themselves

84. Challenge
Handling (lots of)
user feedback

85. Mozilla.org
Public site redesign in 2004

88. I don't like it a bit. What was wrong with the current one?

89. I don't like it a bit. What was wrong with the current one?
Looks like your average small company website.

90. I don't like it a bit. What was wrong with the current one?
Looks like your average small company website.
Keep the old colors and ditch the new ones. It's too depressing.

91. I don't like it a bit. What was wrong with the current one?
Looks like your average small company website.
Keep the old colors and ditch the new ones. It's too depressing.
IMHO the current design looks MUCH better than this mess.

93. Feedback is more than
‘Good’ or ‘Bad’

95. Feedback isn’t binary

96. Feedback isn’t binary
• Much more than a simple “it’s good” or “it sucks”

97. Feedback isn’t binary
• Much more than a simple “it’s good” or “it sucks”
• Many factors:

98. Feedback isn’t binary
• Much more than a simple “it’s good” or “it sucks”
• Many factors:
• Timing

99. Feedback isn’t binary
• Much more than a simple “it’s good” or “it sucks”
• Many factors:
• Timing
• User type

100. Feedback isn’t binary
• Much more than a simple “it’s good” or “it sucks”
• Many factors:
• Timing
• User type
• Setting

101. Feedback isn’t binary
• Much more than a simple “it’s good” or “it sucks”
• Many factors:
• Timing
• User type
• Setting
• Community type

102. Feedback isn’t binary
• Much more than a simple “it’s good” or “it sucks”
• Many factors:
• Timing
• User type
• Setting
• Community type
• Etc...

103. Collecting feedback
How do you collect feedback?

104. Off the top of my head
Collecting feedback
Feedback at Digg, Pownce, silverorange
Email Twitter, blogs, etc
Comments!
Press Focus groups
Phone
Stats Forums
Conferences Parties!
Townhalls Internal conversations Task analysis

105. Established vs Young
Experiences with the Digg and Pownce communities
via AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker

106. Young vs Established

107. Young vs Established
• Pownce was relatively young

108. Young vs Established
• Pownce was relatively young
• ~270,000 users

109. Young vs Established
• Pownce was relatively young
• ~270,000 users
• Just over a year and a half old

110. Young vs Established
• Pownce was relatively young
• ~270,000 users
• Just over a year and a half old
• Digg is relatively old

111. Young vs Established
• Pownce was relatively young
• ~270,000 users
• Just over a year and a half old
• Digg is relatively old
• ~3+ million users and 30+ million uniques/month

112. Young vs Established
• Pownce was relatively young
• ~270,000 users
• Just over a year and a half old
• Digg is relatively old
• ~3+ million users and 30+ million uniques/month
• Almost 4 years old

113. Young vs Established

114. Young vs Established
• Feedback has less volume

115. Young vs Established
• Feedback has less volume
• Less feedback is easier to parse

116. Young vs Established
• Feedback has less volume
• Less feedback is easier to parse
• Less feedback makes it harder to find patterns

117. Young vs Established
• Feedback has less volume
• Less feedback is easier to parse
• Less feedback makes it harder to find patterns
• People feel connected to the site’s growth

118. Young vs Established
• Feedback has less volume
• Less feedback is easier to parse
• Less feedback makes it harder to find patterns
• People feel connected to the site’s growth
• Positive, energetic, forgiving

119. Young vs Established
• Feedback has less volume
• Less feedback is easier to parse
• Less feedback makes it harder to find patterns
• People feel connected to the site’s growth
• Positive, energetic, forgiving
• Nimble and responsive site

120. Young vs Established

121. Young vs Established
• Feedback has more volume

122. Young vs Established
• Feedback has more volume
• Difficult to parse and handle

123. Young vs Established
• Feedback has more volume
• Difficult to parse and handle
• Patterns are less prone to error

124. Young vs Established
• Feedback has more volume
• Difficult to parse and handle
• Patterns are less prone to error
• People have invested themselves

125. Young vs Established
• Feedback has more volume
• Difficult to parse and handle
• Patterns are less prone to error
• People have invested themselves
• Patterns and familiarities have formed

126. Young vs Established
• Feedback has more volume
• Difficult to parse and handle
• Patterns are less prone to error
• People have invested themselves
• Patterns and familiarities have formed
• Self aware communities and cliques exist

127. Young vs Established
• Feedback has more volume
• Difficult to parse and handle
• Patterns are less prone to error
• People have invested themselves
• Patterns and familiarities have formed
• Self aware communities and cliques exist
• Expectations of performance have been created

128. Young vs Established
• Feedback has more volume
• Difficult to parse and handle
• Patterns are less prone to error
• People have invested themselves
• Patterns and familiarities have formed
• Self aware communities and cliques exist
• Expectations of performance have been created
• And, your business may be slower too...

129. Types of feedback
a
Types of feedback
• Different types require different responses, carry
different weights

130. Types of feedback
a
Positive feedback
“
The new stuff looks great!! Now I know what
you’ve been working so hard on!!! Dad
“
Wow, this is so much better than the old
design. Now that I’ve had a chance to use it, I
love it. Thanks.

131. Types of feedback
a
Bug reports
“
When I select a username I get a 404 error.
Can you guys look into it?
“
The thing jumps around after I click on the
other thing. It’s annoying. Please fix it, thanks.

132. Types of feedback
a
Negative feedback
“ I want it to be like it was before...
“ I hate it! (the designer should be fired!!)
“ It doesn’t do something I need...
“ It would be easy just to...
“ It’s ok, but what took so long?

133. Types of feedback
a
Expert feedback
“ I am going to both share my opinion on
what the problems are and actually
address them...

134. Types of feedback
a
Implicit feedback

135. Types of feedback
a
Implicit feedback
• Observing user behavior

136. Types of feedback
a
Implicit feedback
• Observing user behavior
• Objective metrics

137. Types of feedback
a
Implicit feedback
• Observing user behavior
• Objective metrics
• Speaks for the non-commenters

138. Types of feedback
a
Implicit feedback
• Observing user behavior
• Objective metrics
• Speaks for the non-commenters
• People don’t do what they say

139. Types of feedback
a
Implicit feedback
• Observing user behavior
• Objective metrics
• Speaks for the non-commenters
• People don’t do what they say
• Digg commenters are typical of this: “That’s why
I never come here anymore”!!

140. Reacting to feedback
b
Reacting to feedback

141. Reacting to feedback
b
Reacting to feedback
• First step: Don’t do anything!

142. Reacting to feedback
b
Reacting to feedback
• First step: Don’t do anything!
• Immediate reaction will be to go back to the old way

143. Reacting to feedback
b
Reacting to feedback
• First step: Don’t do anything!
• Immediate reaction will be to go back to the old way
• Hesitate to create a ‘back’ switch

144. Reacting to feedback
b
Reacting to feedback
• First step: Don’t do anything!
• Immediate reaction will be to go back to the old way
• Hesitate to create a ‘back’ switch
• Don’t paint yourself into corners

145. Reacting to feedback
b
Reacting to feedback
• First step: Don’t do anything!
• Immediate reaction will be to go back to the old way
• Hesitate to create a ‘back’ switch
• Don’t paint yourself into corners
• Don’t end up implementing a patchy fix instead
of seeing the problem

146. Reacting to feedback
b
Reacting to feedback

147. Reacting to feedback
b
Reacting to feedback
• Wait for a period and then collect the feedback

148. Reacting to feedback
b
Reacting to feedback
• Wait for a period and then collect the feedback
• Identify themes and strong ideas

149. Reacting to feedback
b
Reacting to feedback
• Wait for a period and then collect the feedback
• Identify themes and strong ideas
• Try to make quantifiable judgements

150. Reacting to feedback
b
Reacting to feedback
• Wait for a period and then collect the feedback
• Identify themes and strong ideas
• Try to make quantifiable judgements
• Cherry pick great ideas (especially from experts!)

151. Reacting to feedback
b
Reacting to feedback
• Wait for a period and then collect the feedback
• Identify themes and strong ideas
• Try to make quantifiable judgements
• Cherry pick great ideas (especially from experts!)
• Take implicit feedback seriously... could be the
opposite of the explicit feedback

152. c Extreme feedback
Handling the extremes
Riots, petitions, mass-defection threats, etc.

153. c Extreme feedback
Handling the extremes
Riots, petitions, mass-defection threats, etc.
• Take feedback seriously, but don’t sway your vision and
don’t panic

154. c Extreme feedback
Handling the extremes
Riots, petitions, mass-defection threats, etc.
• Take feedback seriously, but don’t sway your vision and
don’t panic
• BE AS HONEST AS YOU CAN BE

155. c Extreme feedback
Handling the extremes
Riots, petitions, mass-defection threats, etc.
• Take feedback seriously, but don’t sway your vision and
don’t panic
• BE AS HONEST AS YOU CAN BE
• You don’t have to go into technical specifics, but...

156. c Extreme feedback
Handling the extremes
Riots, petitions, mass-defection threats, etc.
• Take feedback seriously, but don’t sway your vision and
don’t panic
• BE AS HONEST AS YOU CAN BE
• You don’t have to go into technical specifics, but...
• Don’t be unnecessarily vague

157. c Extreme feedback
Handling the extremes
Riots, petitions, mass-defection threats, etc.
• Take feedback seriously, but don’t sway your vision and
don’t panic
• BE AS HONEST AS YOU CAN BE
• You don’t have to go into technical specifics, but...
• Don’t be unnecessarily vague
• Try (key word!) to get out in front of issues...

158. Challenge
Managing change
Iterative design strategies

159. Credit: Martin_Heigan
Your design sucks
Trust me, you can do better

160. In-n-Out
Contract work In-house work
VS
Credit: Mark Trammell aka chasingfun

161. Handling feedback
What do people want and why do they want it?
Credit: Flickr user ‘notsogoodphotography’

162. Desire paths
Don’t try to predict everything
Credit: Phil Gyford

164. Adapt to Scale
It’s a great problem to have

168. Subtraction is iteration too
Try to remove as much as you add
Credit: Rev Dan Catt

171. Credit:
kimballhoman + (flickr)
Realign, don’t redesign
Cameron Moll is clever

173. “Every time I hear a designer say the word
innovation I reach for my revolver....
so I can shoot them in the face”
Stuart Butterfield, Flickr
March, 2008

174. Adapt to survive
If iterative design isn’t instinctual, be convincing

175. A case study
Digg comments

176. Step 1
Get it out there

177. Step 2
Add sophistication

179. by dburka 20 minutes ago
Of course, what McCain is trying to avoid anyone noticing is that the problem isn't regulators failing to do
their job; it's that that man he tapped to write his economic policy - Phil Gramm - removed oversight of the
instruments that are laying waste to the finance sector from the regulators' job descriptions.
Reply to this comment
by marktrammell 16 minutes ago
We all know McCain is incompetent when it comes to the economy, and that Phil Gramm sold out the
finance sector. You would think they would have brought in someone with substance when Phil hit the road.
5 Replies to this comment
by dburka 14 minutes ago
We all know McCain is incompetent when it comes to the economy, and that Phil Gramm sold out the
finance sector. You would think they would have brought in someone with substance when Phil hit the road.
Step 3
5 Replies to this comment
by kurtwilms 12 minutes ago
Start revising
We all know McCain is incompetent when it comes to the economy, and that Phil Gramm sold out
the finance sector. You would think they would have brought in someone with substance when
Phil hit the road.
Reply to this comment
by kevinrose 10 minutes ago

180. Set goals
Add multiple levels of nesting
Reduce complexity of nesting
Discourage top-posting
Increase participation
Improve quality of discussions
Address scaling issues
Make things feel simpler & improve interactions

181. by dburka 20 minutes ago
Of course, what McCain is trying to avoid anyone noticing is that the problem isn't regulators failing to do
their job; it's that that man he tapped to write his economic policy - Phil Gramm - removed oversight of the
instruments that are laying waste to the finance sector from the regulators' job descriptions.
Reply to this comment
by marktrammell 16 minutes ago
We all know McCain is incompetent when it comes to the economy, and that Phil Gramm sold out the
finance sector. You would think they would have brought in someone with substance when Phil hit the road.
5 Replies to this comment
by dburka 14 minutes ago
We all know McCain is incompetent when it comes to the economy, and that Phil Gramm sold out the
finance sector. You would think they would have brought in someone with substance when Phil hit the road.
5 Replies to this comment
by kurtwilms 12 minutes ago
We all know McCain is incompetent when it comes to the economy, and that Phil Gramm sold out
the finance sector. You would think they would have brought in someone with substance when
Phil hit the road.
Reply to this comment
by kevinrose 10 minutes ago

184. Measure success
Add multiple levels of nesting
Reduce complexity of nesting
Discourage top-posting
Increase participation
Improve quality of discussions
Address scaling issues
Make things feel simpler & improve interactions

185. Measure success
Add multiple levels of nesting
Reduce complexity of nesting
Discourage top-posting
Increase participation
Improve quality of discussions
Address scaling issues
Make things feel simpler & improve interactions

186. Measure success
Add multiple levels of nesting
Reduce complexity of nesting
Discourage top-posting
Increase participation
Improve quality of discussions
Address scaling issues
Make things feel simpler & improve interactions

187. Measure success
Add multiple levels of nesting
Reduce complexity of nesting
Discourage top-posting
Increase participation
Improve quality of discussions
Address scaling issues
Make things feel simpler & improve interactions

188. Measure success
Add multiple levels of nesting
Reduce complexity of nesting
Discourage top-posting
Increase participation
Improve quality of discussions
Address scaling issues
Make things feel simpler & improve interactions

189. Measure success
Add multiple levels of nesting
Reduce complexity of nesting
Discourage top-posting
Increase participation
Improve quality of discussions
Address scaling issues
Make things feel simpler & improve interactions

190. Measure success
Add multiple levels of nesting
Reduce complexity of nesting
Discourage top-posting
Increase participation
Improve quality of discussions
Address scaling issues
Make things feel simpler & improve interactions

191. Measure success
Add multiple levels of nesting
Reduce complexity of nesting
Discourage top-posting
Increase participation
Improve quality of discussions
Address scaling issues
Make things feel simpler & improve interactions

192. One long year...
( I’m sorry )
Credit: Flickr user xjrlokix

193. Then we got it right
Well... sort of

194. Gather feedback
Explicit and implicit

195. Set new goals
(Idea is to avoid feature creep and gauge success)
Make things feel simpler & improve interactions
Improve performance
Add most requested functionality

196. Create some comps
Somewhere to start discussion

197. User test #1
Focus group novices and experts

198. Ask for more feedback
Really? Yes.

199. Create refined comps
In this case html/css/js comps

200. Implement
Work closely with the development team

201. User test #2
Perform task analysis

202. Things we didn’t do
Set a public timeline
Try to get it perfect
Include everything people wanted

203. Launch it!
Start gathering feedback again...

204. Summing up...
Credit: Flickr user ‘ucumari’

205. Summing up...
Feedback, feedback, and more feedback
Credit: Flickr user ‘ucumari’

206. Summing up...
Feedback, feedback, and more feedback
Follow how people actually use your system
Credit: Flickr user ‘ucumari’

207. Summing up...
Feedback, feedback, and more feedback
Follow how people actually use your system
Subtraction is iteration too
Credit: Flickr user ‘ucumari’

208. Summing up...
Feedback, feedback, and more feedback
Follow how people actually use your system
Subtraction is iteration too
Measurable goals are crucial
Credit: Flickr user ‘ucumari’

209. Summing up...
Feedback, feedback, and more feedback
Follow how people actually use your system
Subtraction is iteration too
Measurable goals are crucial
Avoid concrete timelines and avoid bloat
Credit: Flickr user ‘ucumari’

210. Summing up...
Feedback, feedback, and more feedback
Follow how people actually use your system
Subtraction is iteration too
Measurable goals are crucial
Avoid concrete timelines and avoid bloat
Leave time to iterate, in fact plan for it
Credit: Flickr user ‘ucumari’

211. Homework: Read Stewart Brand’s
How Buildings Learn: What happens after they’re built

212. I’m dburka
digg flickr twitter dopplr clustershot last.fm
weblog: deltatangobravo.com email: daniel@digg.com