This talk was originally given at the Internet Summit in Raleigh, NC on November 7, 2012. In this presentation, we tackle several topics: - ux trends - ux tools - ux as a philosophy - ux as a discipline

1. +
Current UX Trends and Tools
Ben Snyder / Little Wing Marketing / Wilmington, NC
abetteruserexperience.com
@BUXofficial

2. A Bit About Myself
 Owner of Little Wing Marketing:
littlewingmarketing.com
 Co-Editor of A Better User Experience:
abetteruserexperience.com
 Worked on projects for: Sony, RCA, Warner Bros. Records,
Universal Records, MTV, Harmonix, Burton, Ubisoft, Pantene
 Radiohead, Dave Matthews Band, Christina Aguilera, Foo
Fighters, Pink, Busta Rhymes, Mariah Carey, Brooks & Dunn,
Martina McBride, Etta James, and dozens more

3. Today’s Agenda
 UX trends
 Find out if you’re a UX hater (like Abby Covert)
 UX as a philosophy
 UX as a discipline
 How UX impacts the design process
 28 UX tools for creating, testing & and iterating websites
 6 Things Your Homepage Must Do (to Keep from Sucking)

4. Trends in UX
 UX is becoming better known in business, even among small
businesses
 While this is true, there’s still a lot of FUD about UX
 Because this is hard, UX is still routinely tacked on, not baked in
 We’re finding smarter metrics
 More data, more granularity, and more real time data
 Flexibility Through Standardization

5. Abby Covert aka Abby the IA
Independent Information
Architect
http://abbytheia.wordpress.com
@Abby_the_IA
Her diverse portfolio includes work for
among others: Herman Miller, Kraft Foods,
Sharpie, JELL-O, Prismacolor, Expo
Markers, Valspar, KMART, Taco Bell, KFC,
State Farm and The United States Postal
Service, BlueCross BlueShield, JSTOR,
Fidelity Investments, Bank of America, The
Hartford Insurance.

6. “There’s no such thing
as a UX designer.”
– Abby Covert
Independent Information Architect

7. UX Is Your Own Shiny Silo

8. “If you work for a company
that wants UX but you never
get to talk to a user, you’re
making shit up.”
– Abby Covert
Independent Information Architect

9. “UX” As a Term Lacks Specificity
UX is not a thing. You can’t call a guy to come
preform UX on your website to make it
perform better.
UX encompasses a wide group of activity and
thus has come to be a catch all term.
Why the UX grouping in the first place?

10. UX is a philosophy.
UX philosophy says that business goals
can best be achieved by creating an
experience that satisfies the users needs.

11. UX Includes These Disciplines
 Business
 Information Architecture
 Interaction Design
 Graphic Design
 Programming
 Marketing
 User Testing
 Data & Analytics

12. Creating a better user
experience is a result,
not a tool.

13. UX is a discipline.
UX doesn’t live in its own silo. It informs
all of the other silos. The philosophy of UX
affects all of the other disciplines involved
throughout the design process.

14. Peter Morville's UX Honeycomb
The Seven Stations of UX

15. Peter Morville's UX Honeycomb
Associate the Area
 Business
 Information Architecture
 Interaction Design
 Graphic Design
 Programming
 Marketing
 User Testing
 Data & Analytics

16. A Typical Design Process
 Define the Needs/Goals
 Write the specs
 Create the Information Architecture
 Create the Interaction Design
 Create the Visual Design
 Coding, QA, testing

17. Ways to Involve the User
 Best practices
 3rd party research
 Analytics/Observation
 Talk to them

18. UX Tools
 Like the term UX, it’s an umbrella term and refers to a wide
variety of tools used in the design process.
 These tools can be neatly divided into three groups:
 Design & collaboration tools
 Testing tools
 Analytics tools
For a complete list of tools visit

19. Step 1: Define the Needs & Goals
Testing Tools
 Are you solving the right problem?

20. Step 1: Define the Needs & Goals
Testing Tools

21. Step 1: Define the Needs & Goals
Testing Tools

22. Step 1: Define the Needs & Goals
Testing Tools

23. Step 1: Define the Needs & Goals
Testing Tools

24. Step 2: Write Out the Specs
3rd Party Research

25. Step 2: Write Out the Specs
Design & Collaboration Tools
www.workflowly.com

26. Step 2: Write Out the Specs
Design & Collaboration Tools
www.exobrain.com

27. Step 3: Information Architecture
Design & Collaboration Tools

28. Step 3: Information Architecture
Design & Collaboration Tools

29. Step 3: Information Architecture
Design & Collaboration Tools

30. Step 3: Information Architecture
Design & Collaboration Tools

31. Step 3: Information Architecture
Design & Collaboration Tools

32. Step 3: Information Architecture
Design & Collaboration Tools

33. Step 3: Information Architecture
Design & Collaboration Tools

34. Step 3: Information Architecture
Design & Collaboration & Testing Tools

35. Step 3: Information Architecture
Testing Tools

36. Step 3: Information Architecture
Testing Tools

37. Step 3: Information Architecture
Testing Tools

38. Step 3: Information Architecture
Testing Tools

39. Step 3: Information Architecture
Testing Tools

40. Step 3: Information Architecture
Testing Tools

41. Step 3: Information Architecture
Testing Tools

42. Step 3: Information Architecture
Testing Tools

43. Step 3: Information Architecture
Testing Tools

44. Step 3: Information Architecture
Testing Tools

45. Step 3: Information Architecture
Testing Tools

46. Step 4: Interaction Design
3rd Party Research
interaction-design.org

47. Step 4: Interaction Design
3rd Party Research

48. Step 4: Interaction Design
Tools

49. Step 5: Create the Visual Design
3rd Party Research
 “The Principles of Great Graphic Design,” Matt Ward and
Alexander
 “Visible vs. Invisible Design”, Francisco Inchauste,
 “Designing Mobile User Experiences,” Mike Rundle,
 “Sketching, Wireframing and Prototyping,” Janko
Jovanovic,
 “Red Flags in Web Development,” Christian Heilmann,
 “The Future of Web Typography,” Vivien Anayian,
 “Game Design Techniques Applied to UX Design,”
Christoph Kolb,
 “When They Click: Psychology of Web Design,” Susan
Weinschenk,
 “Design Patterns on E-Commerce Websites (A Study),”
Steven Bradley

50. Step 5: Create the Visual Design
Testing Tools

51. Step 6: Coding, Testing & QA
User Testing Tools

52. Step 6: Coding, Testing & QA
User Testing Tools

53. Step 6: Coding, Testing & QA
User Testing Tools

54. Step 6: Coding, Testing & QA
User Testing Tools

55. Step 6: Coding, Testing & QA
User Testing Tools

56. Step 6: Coding, Testing & QA
User Testing Tools

57. Step 6: Coding, Testing & QA
User Testing Tools

58. A Typical User Centered Design
Process
 Define the Needs/Goals
 Write the specs
 Create the Information Architecture
 Create the Interaction Design
 Create the Visual Design
 Coding, QA, testing
 Ongoing Data Collection, Analysis, & Iteration

59. Step 7: Data Collection & Analysis
Analytics Tools

60. Step 7: Data Collection & Analysis
Smarter Metrics With Event Tracking

61. Step 7: Data Collection & Analysis
Smarter Metrics With A/B Testing

62. Step 7: Data Collection & Analysis
Smarter Metrics With A/B Testing

63. Step 7: Data Collection & Analysis
Analytics Tools

64. Step 7: Data Collection & Analysis
Analytics Tools

65. Step 7: Data Collection & Analysis
Analytics Tools

66. Step 7: Data Collection & Analysis
Analytics Tools

67. Step 7: Data Collection & Analysis
Analytics Tools

68. Step 7: Data Collection & Analysis
Analytics Tools

69. 6 Things Your Homepage Must Do
(To Keep From Sucking)
 Needs to speak the users language
 Needs to communicate who the customer is
 Needs to communicate the core benefits
 Needs to show passion for the product
 Needs to build trust
 Needs to push user into the sales funnel

70. Needs to speak the users language
Bad!

71. Needs to speak the users language
Good!

72. Needs to communicate who the
customer is
Bad!

73. Needs to communicate who the
customer is
Good!

74. Needs to communicate your core
benefits
Bad!

75. Needs to communicate your core
benefits
Good!

76. Needs to show passion for the
product
Bad!

77. Needs to show passion for the
product
Good!

78. It needs to build trust
Bad!

79. It needs to build trust
Good!

80. It must drive the user into the sales
funnel
Bad!

81. It must drive the user into the sales
funnel
Good!

82. 6 Things Your Homepage Must Do
(To Keep From Sucking)
 Needs to speak the users language
 Needs to communicate who the customer is
 Needs to communicate the core benefits
 Needs to show passion for the product
 Needs to build trust
 Needs to push user into the sales funnel

83. Trends in UX
 UX is becoming better known in business, even among small
businesses
 While this is true, there’s still a lot of FUD about UX
 Because this is hard, UX is still routinely tacked on, not baked in
 We’re finding smarter metrics
 More data, more granularity, and more real time data
 Flexibility Through Standardization

84. Thanks for coming!
Ben Snyder
Little Wing Marketing
littlewingmarketing.com
abetteruserexperience.com
@littlewingowl
@BUXofficial
(732) 300-9700
ben@littlewingmarketing.com
Find a complete list of UX Tools at UXpuppy.com!