1. User Experience Doesn’t
Happen on a Screen -
It Happens in the Mind
Psychology + User Experience + InnovationBrilliant Experience
John Whalen, PhD
Founder & CEO, Brilliant Experience
President, UXPA-DC

2. UX is all about listening
"Listening is a hugely powerful form of
attention. It's presence. And if you are really
listening, you are genuinely curious and you are
open to be surprised and changed by what
comes back at you.”
-Krista Tippett

3. About John
PhD Cognitive Science
Johns Hopkins University
Cognitive Neuroscience
Vision Science
Linguistics
John Whalen, PhD
CEO, UX Lead
Post Doc. at UCLA during
dot.com boom
Professor in Psychology
CEO, UX Lead
Brilliant Experience
President, UXPADC
User Insights
Strategy
User Experience

4. Brilliant Experience
Psychology + User Experience + Innovation

5. Brilliant Experience Psychology + Innovation + Design

6. We help companies to build
brilliant user experiences
by listening to users’ drives, wants and needs.
(Mom: That’s nice dear, but…)

7. What is user experience?

8. A responsive design?

9. What is User Experience?
The look and feel?

10. What is User Experience?
The interaction
design?

11. NO
UX doesn’t happen on a screen.

12. UX happens in the mind.

13. Vision / AttentionLanguage
MemoryEmotion
Wayfinding
Decision Making
UX is multi-dimensional and multi-sensory.

14. Introducing the Six Minds

16. Vision /
Attention
What is the user looking for? What is drawing
attention? A word? A shape? An image?

17. Wayfinding
Vision /
Attention
How do you maneuver and interact? How do you know
where you are? How do you go from place to place?

18. Wayfinding
Vision /
Attention
Memory
What is the person’s frame of reference? What are they
expecting? What do they associate with these ideas?

19. Language Wayfinding
Vision /
Attention
Memory
What words do they use? What is the meaning to
them? How expert are they? What is the right tone?

20. Language Wayfinding
Vision /
Attention
MemoryEmotion
What are they feeling at this moment? What life goals
are in play? What do they fear / strive for?

21. Language Wayfinding
Vision /
Attention
MemoryEmotion
Decision
Making
What is their decision making flow? What info do they
need at each stage? What is their “problem space”?

22. That is all well and good John but…

23. …how do you a digital user experience?
design
select
uncover
determine
evaluate
agree on

24. Ask the right questions and listen.
The UX will emerge from the
users’ words and behaviors.

25. How we listen to the Six Minds

26. Vision / Attention

27. We get both conscious and subconscious behavior.

28. We look at group behavior with rolling 5-second
snapshots of eye flow.

29. Conscious:
Seeking action near citation.

30. Subconscious: Doesn’t attend box,
doesn’t provide “affordance”.

31. Conscious:
Anticipating inline action.

32. Subconscious:
Not drawn to box despite color.
Strong bias for center column.

33. Vision: Observation Process
1. Traditional eye tracking data:
‣
What was looked at in first few seconds / rolling “5 second test”?
‣
What was drawing attention?
2. Going beyond eye tracking
‣
Eye tracking + verbalizations + interpretation = subconscious
“mind’s eye”.
Deliverable: Map of mind’s eye

34. Wayfinding
Ants meander from nest to food source but make a beeline
home and circle when close. Show wayfinding ability.

35. We can’t predict behavior - like the touch screen action by
the person in the lower right frame.

36. Users can have trouble understanding how to interact,
as is the case for the search interaction below.

37. They can also navigate and be surprised
- thinking they would get somewhere else.

38. Their pattern of scanning with their eyes can indicate
how they are navigating space.

39. Deliverable: Expected interactions and flow
Wayfinding: Observation Process
MEASUREMENT METHOD
Expected interactions Observe behavior: Clicks, swipes, etc.
Expected flow Discussion: Listen for surprise
Scan pattern
Eye tracking: Distinctive patterns of
scanning

40. Memory
Which is the real penny? We know generalities
about an idea, but not specifics.

41. Maybe we agree to have a drink after work.
Perhaps you’re thinking we’re going here.

42. But I was thinking here. What is different about the
experience? The bathrooms?!

43. Ecommerce Expectations
STAGE EXPECTATIONS
Cart Change cart, coupons
Shipping Pricing, box size, requires signature?
Billing Return policy
Those expectations can also apply to digital interactions,
like what you can do on an ecommerce site.

44. Figure 1: Cuisinart Corporate Store Figure 2: Cuisinart Web Store
ADD TO CART
What the…?
After clicking “Buy Now” would you expect to go to a
screen that says “Add to Cart”?

45. Memory: Observation Process
1. Ask questions that uncover expectations: “What’s about to happen?”
2. Use transcripts, inferences to determine mental models
Deliverable: Mental models

46. Emotion
Emotions can be nearly instantaneous, and may relate to a
moment, or fears / excitement about longer term goals.

47. This site balances family-friendly emotions and the thrill of
accomplishment, like the middle-right panel.

48. Emotion
Emotional content can apply to business too and are
thinking about what could be if they sell more.

49. Emotion: Observation Process
1. Use contextual inquiry to generate empathy
2. Probe for big goals, fears, not just immediate term tasks
Deliverable: Emotional map: goals, fears and elicitations of each

50. Language
Language is constantly in flux. What words are used by the
target audiences, and at what times (e.g., these texts)?

51. How many people know what a “Transient Ischemic
Attack” is? Might the term “Mini-stroke” be better?

52. When singles and those with small families talk about
weekends, very different words come out.

53. Kelly
Luxury
RoyalTreatmentW
Fl
DefineLuxury
Limo
Mass
ShoeSBestRest
Everyoneat
ExoticFoods
Pam
pered
First Class
Elite Status
Love
Lo
F
Aspire to do
C
Vacation
Sp
Life Style
CarsC-Class
MB SLK
Non-Travel
Crossfit
olunteer
Triathlon
Symphony
Opera
r with Friends
Movies
Brands
Virgin
Am
erica
RitzM
arriott
M
andarin
Shangri-La
MercedesnMarcusgammo
Services
eper
ner
tor
Lazy,SleepIn
Associations between words and their meanings can also
vary widely and must be tested.

54. Language: Observational Process
1. Record interviews, analyze transcripts for word usage
‣ How do words/ideas vary by group (e.g., novice/expert)
2. Probe for detailed meaning of terms
Deliverable: Word frequencies (Wordle) and associations

55. Decision Making
Sales can soar when the right decision making
information is presented to help the process.

56. If you had 100,000 devices connected to the internet, how
would you decide which ones to service first?

57. Summarizing data can make that decision easier
than just providing a giant list.

58. Observational Process
1. Ask: What is the flow of their decision making?
2. Observe: What do they need to know when?
3. Infer: What do they think the “problem space” is? Is that really it?
Deliverable: Definition of problem space and just-in-time assistance

59. Real-World Application

60. Emergent Process
INTELLIGENCE
‣ Team Landscape Session
(Goals & Drivers)
‣ Previous Research
Examination
‣ Expert Review
‣ Analytics
‣ Competitor Comparable
Review
‣ Stakeholder Interviews
(Business Strategy)
Formalized Questions

61. Emergent Process
INTELLIGENCE INSIGHTS
‣ Team Landscape Session
(Goals & Drivers)
‣ Previous Research
Examination
‣ Expert Review
‣ Analytics
‣ Competitor Comparable
Review
‣ Stakeholder Interviews
(Business Strategy)
‣ User Research/Testing:
‣ 1-on-1 in test facility or in
situ
‣ Remote moderator led
testing
‣ Focus groups
‣ Determine overlap of user
needs, project team
goals, stakeholder wants.
Formalized Questions Insights & Opportunities

62. Emergent Process
INTELLIGENCE INSIGHTS IDEATION
‣ Team Landscape Session
(Goals & Drivers)
‣ Previous Research
Examination
‣ Expert Review
‣ Analytics
‣ Competitor Comparable
Review
‣ Stakeholder Interviews
(Business Strategy)
‣ User Research/Testing:
‣ 1-on-1 in test facility or in
situ
‣ Remote moderator led
testing
‣ Focus groups
‣ Determine overlap of user
needs, project team
goals, stakeholder wants.
‣ Strategy Session / Design
Workshop
‣ Involves team members
from across organization
‣ Present them with
research findings
‣ Lead through design-
thinking process
‣ Sketch ideas together
Formalized Questions Insights & Opportunities Conceptual Directions

63. Emergent Process
INTELLIGENCE INSIGHTS IDEATION ILLUSTRATION
‣ Team Landscape Session
(Goals & Drivers)
‣ Previous Research
Examination
‣ Expert Review
‣ Analytics
‣ Competitor Comparable
Review
‣ Stakeholder Interviews
(Business Strategy)
‣ User Research/Testing:
‣ 1-on-1 in test facility or in
situ
‣ Remote moderator led
testing
‣ Focus groups
‣ Determine overlap of user
needs, project team
goals, stakeholder wants.
‣ Strategy Session / Design
Workshop
‣ Involves team members
from across organization
‣ Present them with
research findings
‣ Lead through design-
thinking process
‣ Sketch ideas together
‣ Sketch ideas
‣ Wireframe layout
‣ Build interactive prototype
‣ Usability testing, A/B
testing, test against
competitor sites
‣ Learn and refine
Formalized Questions Insights & Opportunities Conceptual Directions Validated Prototype

64. Emergent Process
INTELLIGENCE INSIGHTS IDEATION ILLUSTRATION
‣ Team Landscape Session
(Goals & Drivers)
‣ Previous Research
Examination
‣ Expert Review
‣ Analytics
‣ Competitor Comparable
Review
‣ Stakeholder Interviews
(Business Strategy)
‣ User Research/Testing:
‣ 1-on-1 in test facility or in
situ
‣ Remote moderator led
testing
‣ Focus groups
‣ Determine overlap of user
needs, project team
goals, stakeholder wants.
‣ Strategy Session / Design
Workshop
‣ Involves team members
from across organization
‣ Present them with
research findings
‣ Lead through design-
thinking process
‣ Sketch ideas together
‣ Sketch ideas
‣ Wireframe layout
‣ Build interactive prototype
‣ Usability testing, A/B
testing, test against
competitor sites
‣ Learn and refine
Formalized Questions Insights & Opportunities Conceptual Directions Validated Prototype

65. What we were told their clients needed:
“One comprehensive solution.”

66. This small business owner wants to get paid for managing
ponds. He doesn’t want a “comprehensive solution”.

67. She is worried about selling more ice cream online, and
wants one simple solution (not custom).

68. Stakeholders worked together to prioritize business goals
and target audiences to identify conceptual directions.

69. Many sketches were made to devise the optimal solution.

71. All “six minds” factored into the design.

72. Summary

73. UX happens in the mind.

74. UX is multi-dimensional and multi-sensory.
Language Wayfinding
Vision /
Attention
MemoryEmotion
Decision
Making

75. Ask the right questions and listen.
The UX will emerge from the
users’ words and behaviors.

76. Thank you!
Psychology + Innovation + DesignBrilliant Experience

77. John Whalen
jw@brilliantexperience.com
linkedin.com/in/johnwhalen
Psychology + Innovation + DesignBrilliant Experience