User experience is a hot field, but still very new for many tech companies. Let’s face it, the companies who can devote the resources for a robust UX process are few and far between! Software developers often find themselves making design decisions by necessity, which ends up complicating the product lifecycle down the road. So what can developers learn right now to improve the usability and delight of their products? This talk was given to audiences of UXPALA members, USC students, and developers at SoCal Code Camp.

1. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA

2. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Anita Cheng
• Information Architect /
UX (Front-end) Developer @ City of LA
• Director of Marketing at UXPALA
• Live-tweeting fiend
• Former cancer scientist

3. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Science is like information architecture!
Theory!
Data!
Data!
Data!
Data!

4. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Science is like information architecture!
Theory!
Data!
Data!
Data!
Data!
Product!
Content!
Content!
Content!
Content!

5. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
My first web design books
All about usability + information architecture
Starting from scratch - a luxury!

6. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
– majority of companies out there
“This UX thing sounds great, but can we do it
without spending any time or money or effort?”

7. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
The reality - deadlines!
So what can devs learn right now to improve their
products?

8. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Today’s Agenda
1. What is UX anyway, and what does it have to do
with coding?
2. What can devs do to improve the UX without adding
to their already exhausting workload?
(Hint: Heuristics and design patterns! With bonus tips about
graphic design)
3. How to become part of a healthy UX process

9. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
What is user experience?
The gamut of behaviors and emotions one feels about
using a product, system, or service
© Dalton Reed, Flickr

10. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Stephen Anderson’s
UX Hierarchy of Needs

11. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Stephen Anderson’s
UX Hierarchy of Needs
$$$
$$$
$$$

12. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Stephen Anderson’s
UX Hierarchy of Needs
Development skill

13. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Jakob Nielsen’s
10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and
the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist
design
9. Help users recognize,
diagnose, and recover from
errors
10. Help and documentation

14. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Is your payment going through?

15. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Is your payment going through?
Show it!

16. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Jakob Nielsen’s
10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and
the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist
design
9. Help users recognize,
diagnose, and recover from
errors
10. Help and documentation

17. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
What am I downloading here?

18. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
What am I downloading here?
Use titles, not filenames
Microsoft SQL Server Express 2012, 64-bit
Microsoft SQL Server Express 2012 w/ Advanced Services, 64-bit
Microsoft SQL Server Express 2012 w/ Tools, 64-bit
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Local DB, 64-bit
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Management Studio Express, 64-bit
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 R2 Express, 64-bit
Download name

19. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Jakob Nielsen’s
10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and
the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist
design
9. Help users recognize,
diagnose, and recover from
errors
10. Help and documentation

20. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Undo all the things!
(Oh, if we had this in real life!)

21. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Jakob Nielsen’s
10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and
the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist
design
9. Help users recognize,
diagnose, and recover from
errors
10. Help and documentation

22. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Support user expectations
“View” is not the same as “Download”
“View” will open a new window

23. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Jakob Nielsen’s
10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and
the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist
design
9. Help users recognize,
diagnose, and recover from
errors
10. Help and documentation

24. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Ask before they do something potentially bad!

25. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Jakob Nielsen’s
10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and the
real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist design
9. Help users recognize,
diagnose, and recover from
errors
10. Help and documentation

26. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Why your users won’t remember what your icon is for
Remind them of what they’re doing on every screen
© Ryan Ritchie, Flickr

27. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Jakob Nielsen’s
10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and the
real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of
use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist design
9. Help users recognize,
diagnose, and recover from
errors
10. Help and documentation

28. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Personalization and Power Users

29. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Jakob Nielsen’s
10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and
the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist
design
9. Help users recognize,
diagnose, and recover from
errors
10. Help and documentation

30. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Make things relevant and clear
vs 500pxiTunes

31. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Jakob Nielsen’s
10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and
the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist
design
9. Help users recognize,
diagnose, and recover from
errors
10. Help and documentation

32. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
How can I fix this error?

33. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
How can I fix this error?
Oops! We’ve detected that you changed a title in your
UsefulLinks widget.
We can’t display page content until you reset the widget in
page editing.
OK
Oops! We’ve detected that you changed a title in your
UsefulLinks widget.
We can’t display page content until you reset the widget in
page editing.
OK

34. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
How can I fix this error?
Oops! We’ve detected that you changed a title in your
UsefulLinks widget.
We can’t display page content until you reset the widget in
page editing.
OK
Oops! We’ve detected that you changed a title in your
UsefulLinks widget.
We can’t display page content until you reset the widget in
page editing.
OK
We’ve detected that you changed a title in your UsefulLinks
widget.
We’ve refreshed the title change in this page.
Great!

35. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Jakob Nielsen’s
10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and
the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist
design
9. Help users recognize,
diagnose, and recover from
errors
10. Help and documentation

36. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Great example: Hubspot
• Clear, simple wording
• Screenshots

37. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Jakob Nielsen’s
10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and
the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist
design
9. Help users recognize,
diagnose, and recover from
errors
10. Help and documentation
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/

38. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA

39. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Interaction design

40. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Graphic design

41. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Let’s usabil-ify this sample
This is the honey badger. See the honey badger in action. Watch it run in slow motion.It’s pretty badass.
Look. It runs all over the place. “Whoa! Watch out!” says that bird. Ew, it’s got a snake! Oh! It’s chasing
a jackal! Oh my gosh! Oh, the honey badger is just crazy! The honey badger has been referred to by
the Guinness Book of World Records as the most fearless animal in the animal kingdom. It really doesn’t
give a shit. If it’s hungry, it’s hungry. The honey badger is really pretty badass. It has no regard for any
other animal whatsoever. Look at him, he’s just grunting, and eating snakes. Eew! What’s that? A
mouse? Oh that’s nasty. They’re so nasty. Oh look it’s chasing things and eating them. The honey
badgers have a fairly long body, but a distinctly thickset broad shoulders, and, you know, their skin is
loose, allowing them to move about freely, and they twist around. It’s running in slow-motion again. See?
At nighttime the honey badger goes hunting, because it’s hungry. Look! Here comes a fierce battle
between a king cobra and a honey badger. I wonder what will happen? Look at this, there’s the honey
badger just eating a mouse, and then look, “Get away from me!” says the snake, “Get away from me!”
Honey badger don’t care. Honey badger smacks the shit out of it. And the snake comes back and it
lashes at the honey badger. Now the honey badger is going to pass out for a few minutes, and then it’s
going to get right back up and start eating all over again, because it’s a hungry little bastard.Look at
this! Like nothing happened! The honey badger gets right back up and continues eating the cobra.How
disgusting.And of course, what does the honey badger have to eat for the next two weeks? Cobra.The
honey badger.

42. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Patterns (and breaking them)
Mindful contrast

43. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
How much contrast?
Mindful contrast, with purpose!

44. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Fonts! (pick two)
This is the honey badger
See the honey badger in action. It’s pretty badass. Look. It runs all over the place. “Whoa! Watch out!”
says that bird. Ew, it’s got a snake! Oh! It’s chasing a jackal! Oh my gosh! Oh, the honey badger is just
crazy! The honey badger has been referred to by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most
fearless animal in the animal kingdom. It really doesn’t give a shit. If it’s hungry, it’s hungry. The honey
badger is really pretty badass. It has no regard for any other animal whatsoever. Look at him, he’s just
grunting, and eating snakes. Eew! What’s that? A mouse? Oh that’s nasty. They’re so nasty. Oh look it’s
chasing things and eating them. The honey badgers have a fairly long body, but a distinctly thickset
broad shoulders, and, you know, their skin is loose, allowing them to move about freely, and they twist
around. It’s running in slow-motion again. See? At nighttime the honey badger goes hunting, because it’s
hungry. Look! Here comes a fierce battle between a king cobra and a honey badger. I wonder what will
happen? Look at this, there’s the honey badger just eating a mouse, and then look, “Get away from me!”
says the snake, “Get away from me!” Honey badger don’t care. Honey badger smacks the shit out of it.
And the snake comes back and it lashes at the honey badger. Now the honey badger is going to pass
out for a few minutes, and then it’s going to get right back up and start eating all over again, because it’s
a hungry little bastard.Look at this! Like nothing happened! The honey badger gets right back up and

45. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
FontSquirrel.com
FontPair.co

46. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
No Comic Sans!
(or Papyrus!)

47. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
A note about line length
?
?
?
?
This is the honey badger
See the honey badger in action. It’s pretty badass. Look. It runs all over the place. “Whoa! Watch out!”
says that bird. Ew, it’s got a snake! Oh! It’s chasing a jackal! Oh my gosh! Oh, the honey badger is just
crazy! The honey badger has been referred to by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most
fearless animal in the animal kingdom. It really doesn’t give a shit. If it’s hungry, it’s hungry. The honey
badger is really pretty badass. It has no regard for any other animal whatsoever. Look at him, he’s just
grunting, and eating snakes. Eew! What’s that? A mouse? Oh that’s nasty. They’re so nasty. Oh look it’s
chasing things and eating them. The honey badgers have a fairly long body, but a distinctly thickset
broad shoulders, and, you know, their skin is loose, allowing them to move about freely, and they twist
around. It’s running in slow-motion again. See? At nighttime the honey badger goes hunting, because it’s
hungry. Look! Here comes a fierce battle between a king cobra and a honey badger. I wonder what will
happen? Look at this, there’s the honey badger just eating a mouse, and then look, “Get away from me!”
says the snake, “Get away from me!” Honey badger don’t care. Honey badger smacks the shit out of it.
And the snake comes back and it lashes at the honey badger. Now the honey badger is going to pass
out for a few minutes, and then it’s going to get right back up and start eating all over again, because it’s
a hungry little bastard.Look at this! Like nothing happened! The honey badger gets right back up and

48. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
~12 words per line
This is the honey badger
See the honey badger in action. Watch it run in slow
motion.It’s pretty badass. Look. It runs all over the
place. “Whoa! Watch out!” says that bird. Ew, it’s got a
snake! Oh! It’s chasing a jackal! Oh my gosh! Oh, the
honey badger is just crazy! The honey badger has
been referred to by the Guinness Book of World
Records as the most fearless animal in the animal
kingdom. It really doesn’t give a shit. If it’s hungry, it’s
hungry. The honey badger is really pretty badass. It has
no regard for any other animal whatsoever. Look at him,
he’s just grunting, and eating snakes. Eew! What’s that?
A mouse? Oh that’s nasty. They’re so nasty. Oh look it’s
chasing things and eating them. The honey badgers
have a fairly long body, but a distinctly thickset broad
shoulders, and, you know, their skin is loose, allowing
them to move about freely, and they twist around. It’s
running in slow-motion again. See? At nighttime the
honey badger goes hunting, because it’s hungry. Look!
Here comes a fierce battle between a king cobra and a
honey badger. I wonder what will happen? Look at this,
there’s the honey badger just eating a mouse, and then
look, “Get away from me!” says the snake, “Get away
from me!” Honey badger don’t care. Honey badger
smacks the shit out of it. And the snake comes back
and it lashes at the honey badger. Now the honey

49. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Grids
This is the honey badger
It’s pretty badass. Look. It runs all over the place.
“Whoa! Watch out!” says that bird. Ew, it’s got a
snake! Oh! It’s chasing a jackal! Oh my gosh! Oh,
the honey badger is just crazy! The honey badger
has been referred to by the Guinness Book of World
Records as the most fearless animal in the animal
kingdom. It really doesn’t give a shit. If it’s hungry, it’s
hungry. The honey badger is really pretty badass. It
has no regard for any other animal whatsoever. Look
at him, he’s just grunting, and eating snakes. Eew!
What’s that? A mouse? Oh that’s nasty. They’re so
nasty. Oh look it’s chasing things and eating them.
The honey badgers have a fairly long body, but a
distinctly thickset broad shoulders, and, you know,
their skin is loose, allowing them to move about
freely, and they twist around. It’s running in slow-
motion again. See? At nighttime the honey badger
goes hunting, because it’s hungry. Look! Here
comes a fierce battle between a king cobra and a
honey badger. I wonder what will happen? Look at
this, there’s the honey badger just eating a mouse,
and then look, “Get away from me!” says the snake,
“Get away from me!” Honey badger don’t care.
Honey badger smacks the shit out of it. And the
snake comes back and it lashes at the honey
badger. Now the honey badger is going to pass out
for a few minutes, and then it’s going to get right
back up and start eating all over again, because it’s
a hungry little bastard.Look at this! Like nothing
happened! The honey badger gets right back up
and continues eating the cobra.How disgusting.And
of course, what does the honey badger have to eat
for the next two weeks? Cobra.The honey badger.
See the honey badger in action.

50. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
GetBootstrap.com
Foundation.Zurb.com

51. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Negative Space
This is the honey badger
It’s pretty badass. Look. It runs all over the place.“Whoa! Watch
out!” says that bird.
Ew, it’s got a snake! Oh! It’s chasing a jackal! Oh my gosh! Oh,
the honey badger is just crazy!
The honey badger has been referred to by the Guinness Book
of World Records as the most fearless animal in the animal
kingdom.
It really doesn’t give a shit. If it’s hungry, it’s hungry. The honey
badger is really pretty badass. It has no regard for any other animal
whatsoever. Look at him, he’s just grunting, and eating snakes. Eew!
What’s that? A mouse? Oh that’s nasty. They’re so nasty. Oh look it’s
chasing things and eating them.
The honey badgers have a fairly long body, but a distinctly
thickset broad shoulders, and, you know, their skin is loose, allowing
them to move about freely, and they twist around. It’s running in
slow-motion again. See?
At nighttime the honey badger goes hunting, because it’s
hungry.
Look! Here comes a fierce battle between a king cobra and a
honey badger. I wonder what will happen? Look at this, there’s the
honey badger just eating a mouse, and then look,
“Get away from me!” says the snake, “Get away from me!”
Honey badger don’t care. Honey badger smacks the shit out of it.
And the snake comes back and it lashes at the honey badger. Now
the honey badger is going to pass out for a few minutes, and then
it’s going to get right back up and start eating all over again,
because it’s a hungry little bastard.Look at this! Like nothing
happened! The honey badger gets right back up and continues
eating the cobra.How disgusting.And of course, what does the
honey badger have to eat for the next two weeks? Cobra.
The honey badger.
See the honey badger in action.

52. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Sizes
This is the honey badger
It’s pretty badass. Look. It runs all over the place.“Whoa! Watch
out!” says that bird.
Ew, it’s got a snake! Oh! It’s chasing a jackal! Oh my gosh! Oh,
the honey badger is just crazy!
The honey badger has been referred to by
the Guinness Book of World Records as the
most fearless animal in the animal kingdom.
It really doesn’t give a shit. If it’s hungry, it’s hungry. The honey
badger is really pretty badass. It has no regard for any other animal
whatsoever. Look at him, he’s just grunting, and eating snakes. Eew!
What’s that? A mouse? Oh that’s nasty. They’re so nasty. Oh look it’s
chasing things and eating them.
The honey badgers have a fairly long body, but a distinctly
thickset broad shoulders, and, you know, their skin is loose, allowing
them to move about freely, and they twist around. It’s running in
slow-motion again. See?
At nighttime the honey badger goes hunting, because it’s
hungry.
Look! Here comes a fierce battle between a king cobra and a
honey badger. I wonder what will happen? Look at this, there’s the
honey badger just eating a mouse, and then look,
“Get away from me!” says the snake, “Get away from me!”
Honey badger don’t care. Honey badger smacks the shit out of it.
And the snake comes back and it lashes at the honey badger. Now
the honey badger is going to pass out for a few minutes, and then
it’s going to get right back up and start eating all over again,
because it’s a hungry little bastard.Look at this! Like nothing
happened! The honey badger gets right back up and continues
eating the cobra.How disgusting.And of course, what does the
honey badger have to eat for the next two weeks? Cobra.
The honey badger.
See the honey badger in action.

53. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Cool Warm
Color

54. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Complementary colors

55. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Every movie poster ever!
tvtropes.org
Orange-blue

56. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Complementary call-to-actions
This is the honey badger
It’s pretty badass. Look. It runs all over the place.“Whoa! Watch
out!” says that bird.
Ew, it’s got a snake! Oh! It’s chasing a jackal! Oh my gosh! Oh,
the honey badger is just crazy!
The honey badger has been referred to by
the Guinness Book of World Records as the
most fearless animal in the animal kingdom.
It really doesn’t give a shit. If it’s hungry, it’s hungry. The honey
badger is really pretty badass. It has no regard for any other animal
whatsoever. Look at him, he’s just grunting, and eating snakes. Eew!
What’s that? A mouse? Oh that’s nasty. They’re so nasty. Oh look it’s
chasing things and eating them.
The honey badgers have a fairly long body, but a distinctly
thickset broad shoulders, and, you know, their skin is loose, allowing
them to move about freely, and they twist around. It’s running in
slow-motion again. See?
At nighttime the honey badger goes hunting, because it’s
hungry.
Look! Here comes a fierce battle between a king cobra and a
honey badger. I wonder what will happen? Look at this, there’s the
honey badger just eating a mouse, and then look,
“Get away from me!” says the snake, “Get away from me!”
Honey badger don’t care. Honey badger smacks the shit out of it.
And the snake comes back and it lashes at the honey badger. Now
the honey badger is going to pass out for a few minutes, and then
it’s going to get right back up and start eating all over again,
because it’s a hungry little bastard.Look at this! Like nothing
happened! The honey badger gets right back up and continues
eating the cobra.How disgusting.And of course, what does the
honey badger have to eat for the next two weeks? Cobra.
The honey badger.
See the honey badger in action.

57. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Paletton.com

58. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Not bad!
This is the honey badger
It’s pretty badass. Look. It runs all over the place.“Whoa! Watch
out!” says that bird.
Ew, it’s got a snake! Oh! It’s chasing a jackal! Oh my gosh! Oh,
the honey badger is just crazy!
The honey badger has been referred to by
the Guinness Book of World Records as the
most fearless animal in the animal kingdom.
It really doesn’t give a shit. If it’s hungry, it’s hungry. The honey
badger is really pretty badass. It has no regard for any other animal
whatsoever. Look at him, he’s just grunting, and eating snakes. Eew!
What’s that? A mouse? Oh that’s nasty. They’re so nasty. Oh look it’s
chasing things and eating them.
The honey badgers have a fairly long body, but a distinctly
thickset broad shoulders, and, you know, their skin is loose, allowing
them to move about freely, and they twist around. It’s running in
slow-motion again. See?
At nighttime the honey badger goes hunting, because it’s
hungry.
Look! Here comes a fierce battle between a king cobra and a
honey badger. I wonder what will happen? Look at this, there’s the
honey badger just eating a mouse, and then look,
“Get away from me!” says the snake, “Get away from me!”
Honey badger don’t care. Honey badger smacks the shit out of it.
And the snake comes back and it lashes at the honey badger. Now
the honey badger is going to pass out for a few minutes, and then
it’s going to get right back up and start eating all over again,
because it’s a hungry little bastard.Look at this! Like nothing
happened! The honey badger gets right back up and continues
eating the cobra.How disgusting.And of course, what does the
honey badger have to eat for the next two weeks? Cobra.
The honey badger.
See the honey badger in action.

59. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
DesignForHackers.com

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Universal rules
What about our product?

61. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
1. You are not the user

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Users
Devs

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Learn what tech stack your users are on
Google Analytics - free and fast
(Browser, OS, mobile, screen sizes)
(Internet Explorer versions)

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caniuse.com
IE8 or 9 = no CSS flexbox for me :(

65. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
1. You are not the user
2. People spend far more time on websites
and apps other than your own

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People know…

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Common design patterns

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Common design patterns
Account registration
Search barModule tabsModule tabs
Home link
Left
Navigation
In-page
navigation
Grid module

69. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Apple Developer Library
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/
UserExperience/Conceptual/MobileHIG/

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Android Developer Library
http://developer.android.com/design/index.html

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Windows Phone Developer Library
https://dev.windows.com/en-us/design

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iOS Android Windows
But the web is everybody!

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UI-patterns.com
https://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/
Yahoo! Design Pattern Library

74. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Learn the “why” of design patterns

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Technology doesn’t exist in a vacuum

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Product team

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Product team
(and companies!)

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Devs and their product team
“Help us, you’re our only hope!”

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Devs and their product team
“Make this exactly, as we decided without you!”

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Development needs to be considered from Day 1
Development skill

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Make friends!

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It can be hard!

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–Margaret Mead
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

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What we learned today
1. What is UX anyway, and what does it have to do with
coding?
The foundations of user experience are development-focused
2. What can devs do to improve the UX without adding to
their already exhausting workload?
Using Nielsen’s Usability Heuristics, graphic design principles,
and design patterns to improve usability as you code
3. How to become part of a healthy UX process
Make friends, find your allies, have a seat at the table

85. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Build a strong foundation for a delightful experience
User experience

86. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Questions?
design@anitacheng.com
@anitaycheng

87. #UXEmpathy @anitaycheng @UXSC_ @UXPALA
Workshop!
• Find design patterns in popular websites
• Printed list from Yahoo! Pattern Design Library
• Others:
• UI-Patterns: http://ui-patterns.com/patterns
• Google Web Fundamentals: https://
developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/
• Welie: http://www.welie.com/patterns/index.php
• Zurb: http://zurb.com/building-blocks