Presentation on the activity theory underpinnings of Enterprise User Experience Design

1. Enterprise
UX

2. Current
State
• Consumer
UX:
adop4on
4pping
point
• Enterprise
UX:
– Adop4on
=
lukewarm
– Objec4ons
&
detractors
– A
fer4le
environment
primed
for
R&D
• Ecosystems,
Mindsets,
Mental
Models,
Ac4vity
Theory,
Consumeriza4on
of
IT

3. Ecosystems

4. UX
Ecosystems
• Interdependent
rela4onships
that
emerge
between
components
within
an
informa4on
environment.
– People
managing
informa4on,
sharing
data,
and
collabora4vely
building
knowledge
for
themselves
or
an
organiza4on.
– Their
goals
as
individuals
and
as
collaborators.
– Digital
and
analog
technologies
they
use
to
share
informa4on
and
interact
with
one
another
in
meaningful
ways.
– Informa2on
they
share
and
value
for
individual
and
collabora4ve
purposes
(uxmag.com/design-­‐for-­‐a-­‐thriving-­‐ux-­‐ecosystem).
• Missing:
– Doozers
– Systems
engineering
– Fit,
equilibrium,
waste
.
.
.

5. The
Business

6. Structure
• Historical
mindset
– Change
organiza4on's
focus
from
building
lots
of
func4ons
to
mee4ng
user
needs.
– Change
organiza4on's
focus
from
cool,
impressive
technology
to
soVware
that
is
simple,
prac4cal,
and
useful.
– Help
execu4ves
and
project
managers
focus
on
the
value
of
usability
(Schaffer).
• How
is
produc4vity/success
measured?
• Who
pays
for
projects?
– Different
funding
models
(Lund).

7. Org
Structure
Funding
Models

8. Mental
Models

9. Mental
Models
• Interac4on
&
nav
model:
page
based
vs.
RIA.
• Decision
making:
more
=
be[er?
• Data:
canned
reports
vs.
ad
hoc
interac4ons.
• Communica4on:
send
to
Outlook.
• Real
estate:
avoid
paging
or
scrolling
at
all
costs.

10. Ac4vity
Theory

11. Ac4vity
Theory
• Goals
and
tools
are
historically
shaped
and
mediated
by
consumer
and
producer.
• Tools
are
extensions
of
our
thinking
about
the
ac4vity
we
are
engaged
in.
– “Mind
and
body
are
profoundly
extended
and
transformed
by
ar4facts”
(Vygotsky
1929,
Leont'ev
1981).
• Ar4facts
in
everyday
prac4ce
• Important
concepts:
– Internaliza4on
&
externaliza4on
– Contradic4on
–
a
disrup4on/catalyst
that
spurs
innova4on

12. Internaliza4on,
Externaliza4on,
Etc.

13. Developments
• Consumeriza4on
of
IT
• BYOD
• Design-­‐savvy
workers
(consumers)
• Enterprise
UX
will
save
IT
– Data
visualiza4ons
– Communica4on
and
collabora4on
tools
– Robert
Fabricant
and
Greg
Petroff
-­‐
Harvard
Business
Review

14. Future
Research
• Have
we
been
measuring
the
wrong
thing?
• Can
do?
Will
do?
Want
to
do?
• Does
it
fit?
Are
they
using
it?
Are
they
using
it
for
it's
intended
purpose?
• Longitudintal
studies
to
assess
and
reassess
fit.
• Compe44ve
Analysis
ßà
Contextual
Inquiry
• Ways
to
combine
influence
bolstered
by
real
data.
• UX
as
systems
integrator;
managing
complexity

15. Conclusion
• Consumeriza4on
of
IT
is
going
to
break
down
barriers
to
enterprise
UX
adop4on.
• The
enterprise
is
tradi4onally
home
to
human
computer
interac4on
theory
and
prac4ce.
• Enterprise
is
ready
for
UX
research
due
to
exis4ng
infrastructure
to
handle
two
prime
areas:
data
visualiza4on
and
communica4on.
• UX
/HCI
should
lead
this
charge.

16. Ques4ons
• Thank
you