1. UX IN CONTEXT
Crafting a user-centric mobile content strategy
Anton Zadorozhnyy
June 2014

2. A TALE OF TWO TRAINS
BART CALTRAIN

3. A TALE OF TWO TRAINS
BART
~15 Min
Mix of seating and standing
Under & Above ground

4. A TALE OF TWO TRAINS
CALTRAIN
~45 min
Mostly seats, 2 levels
Above ground

7. Why do people favor phones on
BART, and tablets on Caltrain?

8. CONTEXT
The relevant constraints
of a situation or action

9. CONTEXT
The relevant constraints
of a situation or action

10. RELEVANT CONTRAINTS

11. RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
TIME

12. RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
TIME
ENVIRONMENT

13. RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX

14. TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS

15. Duration of availability How much time are your users able or
willing to devote to your app?
TIME

16. Duration of availability
Onboarding Complexity
How much time are your users able or
willing to devote to your app?
How long / difficult is it to set up your
app to its ideal state?
TIME

17. Duration of availability
Onboarding Complexity
Delay of reward
How much time are your users able or
willing to devote to your app?
How long / difficult is it to set up your
app to its ideal state?
How soon after the user launches it
does the app deliver value?
TIME

18. BART
CALTRAIN
~15 Min
~45 Min
Quick Browsing
Scanning a feed
Longform reading
Saved Articles
TIME

19. Mobile Content Consumption
Wakeup Commute Work & Breaks Home & Rest
COMMUTER
TIME

20. Mobile Content Consumption
Wakeup Commute Work & Breaks Home & Rest
DEVICE DOMINANCE
Mobile / Tablet Desktop / Mobile Multimedia
TIME

21. Mobile Content Consumption
Wakeup Commute Work & Breaks Home & Rest
MOTIVATIONS
Wakeup + Catchup Breaks + Entertainment Relax + Delve
TIME

22. RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX

23. TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS

24. Modes are correlated to time, but ultimately
driven by changes in environment.
ENVIRONMENT
Environment can be physical, social or mental.

25. BART
CALTRAIN
Almost entirely seating
Above ground only
Fewer seats, mostly standing room
Underground, no 4G signal or WiFi
ENVIRONMENT

26. Mobile Content Consumption
Wakeup Commute Work & Breaks Home & Rest
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSUMPTION MODES
Wakeup Commute Workday Snacking Rest & Delve
ENVIRONMENT

27. WAKEUP RITUAL
As part of waking up, many people read tidbits from around the
web and social media, looking to catch up on what they’ve
missed overnight
ENVIRONMENT
Positioning your content as ‘must-not-miss’ can leverage FOMO
(Fear of Missing Out) into driving engagement.

28. COMMUTE
Only applicable to those that use public transport.
Will they have signal? Sitting or standing? - Be mindful of how
rich your content is, and its impact on data usage.
Consider the saved article case - Pocket is successful because
of this use-case!
ENVIRONMENT

29. WORKDAY SNACKING
Quick, lightweight consumption throughout the workday,
either at their desk or on coffee breaks, etc.
Short, entertaining content is key. Be mindful of blatant
images or large words that betray non-work material.
ENVIRONMENT

30. REST & DELVE
Relaxed mode, usually while doing something else. Longer span
of time to devote to reading, but more distractions
This can mean more opportunity for richer, longer content, but
you must mitigate the distractions with place markers and
sticky content progress.
Heavy readers will often lie in bed and read on mobile to wind
down and fall asleep. Don’t forget Night Mode!
ENVIRONMENT

31. RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX

32. TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS

33. How do your users discover and engage with
the content in your app?
UX
What assumptions are you making about what
they know?

34. UX
MOBILE CONTENT UX PARADIGMS
FEED DIGEST LIST

35. UX
FEED
Endless - could keep scrolling forever
Immediately updated - implies timeliness
Redundant scroll for new content
Good for one-handed scroll

36. UX
DIGEST
Finite - has a (potentially satisfying) end
Picked for you by ________
How many digests are there?
More focus on each item

37. UX
LIST
Exponentially more dense than other 2
Requires user to curate (HUGE)
Horiz. scroll doesn’t fit mobile affordances
Emphasis on sources/categories rather
than content

38. UX
MOBILE CONTENT UX PARADIGMS
FEED DIGEST LIST

39. TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS

40. BACK TO THE TRAINS
BART CALTRAIN

41. CONTENT-CENTRIC AFFORDANCES
Easier to hold when standing
Not as WiFi dependent
Emails/Texts/Music
Sit-Down reading
Longer form reading
More potential with WiFi
Richer media

43. Your product does not exist in a vacuum, the
context in which it is experienced determines
its resonance with your user base.
TO SUM:
You must cater to the context via platform,
design and feature set.

44. THANK YOU!
Anton Zadorozhnyy
June 2014
azadorozhnyy@Linkedin.com