When we talk about UX, we often talk about it in terms of methods (like card sorting and usability testing) or products (like wireframes and sketches) or as a general effort to be more user-centered in the way interfaces are designed and services are provided. While this view of UX is accurate, it's also incomplete because it obscures the fact that doing good UX requires more than just figuring out how to apply the right method or design an intuitive interface. It also requires navigating a complex web of organizational factors, logistical constraints, and practical obstacles that threaten to derail any UX project before it even gets off the ground. In this interactive session, attendees will delve more deeply into to the more nitty-gritty aspects of getting UX work done. By the end of this talk, attendees will have a stronger grasp on the biggest barriers to doing good UX and get a head start on developing concrete strategies and practical solutions to overcome those barriers and design a more experience-centered organization.

1. NAVIGATING THE UX
OBSTACLE COURSE
A Practical Guide
Craig M. MacDonald, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Information, Pratt Institute
WNYLRC Regional Conference
April 21, 2017

2. WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE
DO USER EXPERIENCE?

3. IS THIS USER EXPERIENCE?

4. IS THIS USER EXPERIENCE?

5. IS THIS USER EXPERIENCE?

6. IS THIS USER EXPERIENCE?

7. IS THIS USER EXPERIENCE?

8. IS THIS USER EXPERIENCE?

9. IS THIS USER EXPERIENCE?

10. IS THIS USER EXPERIENCE?

11. IS THIS USER EXPERIENCE?

12. IS THIS USER EXPERIENCE?

13. IS THIS USER EXPERIENCE?

14. IS THIS USER EXPERIENCE?

15. IS THIS USER EXPERIENCE?

16. USER EXPERIENCE IS
EVERYTHING!

17. IF UX IS EVERYTHING,
IS EVERYONE A UX
DESIGNER?

18. YES! EVERYONE IS A DESIGNER
“When someone influences the experience of the
user, they, in that moment, become a user
experience designer. Their influence may not be
positive. Their knowledge of UX design
principles may be small, even non-existent. Yet,
because they affect the experience of the user,
they are a designer, albeit an unofficial one.”
-Jared Spool, UIE
Source: https://medium.com/ux-immersion-interactions/the-power-of-experience-mapping-212ba81e5ee

19. NO! EVERYONE IS NOT A DESIGNER
“If everyone who designs is a designer, then
everyone who counts change is an accountant.”
-Author Unknown

20. USER EXPERIENCE IS
EVERYTHING!

21. Making
decisions
that impact
the user
experience
Doing
“User
Experience”
≠

22. KNOW THE USER
Most people in most departments in most
organizations intuitively understand the
importance of considering user needs and
collecting user feedback when making decisions.
Libraries are pretty good at this!

23. Knowing UX
is an
important
concept
Doing UX
work is a
priority
≠

24. MAKING GOOD DECISIONS
Decisions that impact the user experience should
be informed by knowledge about users’ goals,
behaviors, expectations, etc.
Where does that knowledge come from?
Users
Usage data
Experts

25. DO YOU REALLY KNOW YOUR USERS?
1. Who are your target users?
If you think your target audience is “the general
population” then you’re probably not going to succeed.
2. What do you know about them?
If you think of your users in terms of broad demographics,
you don’t really know them.
3. How do you know what you know?
If you’re just guessing or making assumptions, you’re
taking a huge risk.

26. MAKING UX A PRIORITY
Collecting user feedback is complicated,
challenging, and time-consuming – and when it
comes down to it, “mission critical” work often
takes priority.
UX work becomes a “nice-to-have” instead of a
“must-have.”

27. LIBRARIANS KNOW UX IS IMPORTANT
Conversations about UX in the library
community intensified around 2007, when the
dual ideas of “user experience librarian” and
“design thinking for libraries” emerged.
Today, it’s common to see UX-centric themes or
UX-focused sessions at national and regional
conferences.
(like this one!)

28. METHODS MATTER
Librarians are great at sharing tips about using
specific methods to gather user feedback and
improve the library experience:
A/B testing
User surveys
Usability testing
Space assessments
Walkthroughs
etc.

29. ALL METHODS ARE BEST
SUITED FOR SPECIFIC
SITUATIONS

30. STEP 1:
CHOOSE THE RIGHT
METHOD

31. SELECTING THE RIGHT METHOD
Do you understand the context of the problem
you’re trying to solve?
Are you aware of the various methods that could
potentially solve this problem?
Do you know the strengths/weaknesses of each
method?
Do you know the logistical and/or technical
demands of each method?

32. SOME METHODS ARE
MORE COMPLICATED
THAN OTHERS

33. STEP 2:
IMPLEMENT THE METHOD
CORRECTLY

34. DOING THE METHOD RIGHT
How many users do I need to talk to?
Should I record my interactions?
Do we need IRB approval?
How much should we give as an incentive?
When is the best time to do it?
How many questions should I ask?
What software tool should we use?
Where should this button go?
What should this label be?
How deep should our information architecture be?
How many pages should we prototype?
Etc.

35. ANSWERING THESE
QUESTIONS IS CRITICAL!

36. BUT I’M NOT HERE TO
HELP YOU ANSWER THEM
(AT LEAST, NOT TODAY)

37. TIP #1:
SATISFICE

38. TIP #2:
DO IT

39. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE
NEXT STEP…

40. STEP 3:
MAKE LIBRARY
EXPERIENCES BETTER

41. Deciding
which
method to
use and how
to use it
Creating
positive
change
through UX
≠

42. IS THIS THE PATH TO UX?

43. IS THIS THE PATH TO UX?

44. IS THIS THE PATH TO UX?

45. DOING UX IS AN OBSTACLE
COURSE

46. OBSTACLE COURSE (NOUN)
A series of difficulties that have to be negotiated
in order to achieve a particular aim.
(Oxford English Dictionary)

47. SEQUENCE OF DIFFICULTIES
A constant stream of challenges arise,
some more predictable than others.

48. NEGOTIATION
Overcoming each challenge requires
its own unique approach; many
involve collaboration and teamwork.

49. A TARGET
There is an end goal: a better service,
product, space, experience, etc.

50. WHAT DO WE KNOW
ABOUT UX
LIBRARIANSHIP?

51. MY RESEARCH
Interviewed 16 librarians from:
1 Public library
2 Library consortia
8 Academic library (small or mid-sized)
5 Academic library (large)
Geographic representation:
• South: Texas (2), N. Carolina (2), Tennessee, Kentucky
• Midwest: Michigan (2), Illinois
• Northwest: Oregon
• Northeast: New York, New Jersey, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine

52. FINDING #1:
MOST UX LIBRARIANS ARE LIKE
UX RESEARCHERS, NOT UX
DESIGNERS

53. FINDING #2:
MOST UX LIBRARIANS HAVE
OTHER LIBRARY
RESPONSIBILITIES

54. FINDING #3:
MOST UX LIBRARIANS ARE
INTERNAL CONSULTANTS WITH
MINIMAL DECISION-MAKING
AUTHORITY

55. FINDING #4:
FEW UX LIBRARIANS ARE
FORMALLY TRAINED IN UX;
ON-THE-JOB TRAINING IS
COMMON

56. HOW DO UX LIBRARIANS
NAVIGATE THE OBSTACLE
COURSE?

57. PART I.
GETTING TO THE
STARTING LINE

58. DIY + TIRELESS ADVOCACY
You personally believe UX is important
and want to push your library to grow
and build a UX culture – however long
it may take.
Through persistence, hard work,
determination, and a little bit of luck, you
too can get your library invested in UX.

59. CHANGE THE PHILOSOPHY
The dean/director wants to make a
philosophical shift in how they make
decisions; e.g., make library “more self-
aware.”
The person in charge has an idea of what
benefits UX can bring and wants to start
changing the culture.

60. FOLLOW A TREND
Sometimes, the dean/director wants to
make it look like the library is “hip and
moving forward.”
The person in charge hears about UX and
wants to join the trend, without fully
understanding it.

61. GRAB AN OPPORTUNITY
Sometimes, staff departures can provide
an opportunity to revise roles and
responsibilities.
The conditions may be outside your control,
but look for opportunities to get UX into
the equation.

62. THINK STRATEGICALLY
Engage in purposeful strategic efforts to re-
organize the library around UX; set goals
to create a more cohesive vision and
promote “evidence-based practices.”
A multi-faceted effort by everyone in the library
to re-allocate resources and change the library
culture.

63. PART II.
KNOWING YOUR TEAM

64. A TEAM OF ONE
Sometimes, people are “siloed” and busy
doing their own work; UX work is hard for
them to understand and may be seen as a
distraction.
Being the only person “responsible” for UX can
be a huge burden, but it has to start somewhere.

65. OCCASIONAL ALLIES
Some of your colleagues will have no idea
what UX is, but others may be very open
and knowledgeable – target people who
have done a UX project, participated in a
UX study, or seem interested in the topic.
Knowing there are others who understand and
appreciate UX work is a huge morale boost.

66. HARD-EARNED PARTNERS
In some cases, a majority of your colleagues do
understand what UX is and you can count on
them to come to you (the UX expert) when
UX project opportunities arise.
But, getting to this point requires persistent
efforts to raise awareness and understanding
throughout the library.
Self-promotion – shameless or not – helps to
spread good will and find willing partners.

67. PART III.
NAVIGATING THE
OBSTACLES

68. CRACKING THE CULTURE
Sometimes there’s clash between
departments with different ways of
thinking/doing.
You may be “the only person in the
building” doing UX, which creates a
bottleneck that is hard to break
through.

69. FINDING ENOUGH RESOURCES
You will have other responsibilities
beyond UX and will feel crunched for
time: “I only have bandwidth for so
much.”
Usually, “UX stuff gets pushed aside” in
favor of day-to-day responsibilities of
running the library.

70. SCALING AND SCOPING THE WORK
UX work is time-consuming by nature, so
librarians are challenged to scale/scope
their work to make it more efficient and
productive.
Recruiting participants, transcribing audio,
analyzing qualitative data, brainstorming
ideas, getting feedback – it all takes time.

71. GAINING TRUST AND SUPPORT
Sometimes it’s hard to explain why UX
is important enough to put on other
people’s schedules.
May be a general fear of “assessment”
because people don’t always like
hearing the results.

72. OVERCOMING IMPOSTER SYNDROME
Not everyone is skilled in UX, so it
takes time to get everyone up to speed.
Not being formally trained in UX
means some projects are “a little half-
assed” and not implemented in the
most effective way.

73. TROUBLESHOOTING
Sometimes, technology doesn’t work
the way we want it to (or at all).
Some decisions happen outside the
library – with minimal advance warning
– and impact the work you do.

74. PART IV.
REAPING THE BENEFITS

75. MORE EMPATHETIC AND RESPONSIVE
A UX-focused library will be seen as
more responsive to user needs, and
library staff will be more aware of the
need to be user-focused in everything
they do.
It drives the adoption of an evidence-
based approach to decision-making.

76. IMPROVED PR AND OUTREACH
Having regular contact with users helps
people in the library build personal
connections with people outside the
library.
Showing evidence that you are responding
to user requests/feedback engenders
positive relationships with constituents.

77. A ‘BIG PICTURE’ VIEW
Having someone “looking over the whole
scheme of things” can help the library be
more consistent and aware of how well its
services are meeting users’ needs.
(As long as that person is respected,
valued, and listened to by the people who
make decisions.)

78. A BETTER WEBSITE!
Generally, focusing on UX should make
your library website – and hopefully all
of your digital interfaces – “much easier
to use” and “more user-centered.”
(Interestingly, no one provided data or
other measures to support this claim.)

79. OF COURSE, LIBRARIES
ARE DIFFERENT

80. BY TYPE, BY LOCATION,
AND BY SIZE

81. WHAT REALLY MATTERS?

82. SIDEBAR (1)
Evaluation Capacity
“The competencies and structures required to
conduct high quality evaluation studies (capacity
to do), as well as the organization’s ability to
integrate evaluation findings into its decision-
making process (capacity to use)”
-Bourgeois, Whynot, & Thériault (2015)

83. SIDEBAR (2)
Evaluation Capacity Building
“The intentional work to continuously create and
sustain overall organizational processes that make
quality evaluation and its uses routine”
-Stockdill, Baizerman, & Compton, 2002

84. MY CURRENT RESEARCH (1)
UX Capacity
(working definition)
The competencies and structures required to
regularly use UX research and design methods
(capacity to do), as well as the organization’s
ability to integrate UX design principles and UX
research findings into its decision-making process
(capacity to use).

85. MY CURRENT RESEARCH (2)
UX Capacity-Building
(working definition)
The intentional work to create/sustain processes
that make doing and using UX routine.

86. UX CAPACITY CONTINUUM
Low High
Too simple!
There’s a lot of room for growth
between low and high…

87. SIDEBAR (3)
Maturity Models
Also known as a “Stages of Growth” model.
They delineate a logical path from an initial state
of maturity to a high level of maturity.
Each stage represents an organization’s capability
with regard to a specific domain or set of
competencies.

88. MY CURRENT RESEARCH (3)
Creating and Validating a UX Maturity Model for
Libraries
Generally, it looks like there are six distinct stages of
UX maturity based on the following indicators:
• The extent of UX awareness
• The extent of UX knowledge, skills, and resources
• The extent that UX methods and techniques are
employed
• The extent that UX is incorporated into leadership and
strategy
• The extent that UX integrated with workflows and
processes

89. A PRELIMINARY UX MATURITY MODEL
Stage Description No. of
Libraries
0 Unrecognized Superficial understanding of UX; UX was an
afterthought and not part of decision-making.
2
1 Recognized One individual responsible for UX; UX projects were
ad-hoc; frustrated by lack of momentum and support.
3
2 Considered UX valued and understood; projects completed
regularly, but face bottlenecks due to resource
constraints
6
3 Implemented Dedicated UX departments/units; UX is prioritized
and valued by leadership; UX part of library decisions
but struggle to balance competing responsibilities
4
4 Integrated UX is core part of organizational strategy; UX librarian
empowered to make decisions but other librarians are
also encouraged to make UX decisions
1
5 Institutionalized Non-UX staff members make UX decisions; shared
understanding of UX standards and guidelines; UX
knowledge fully de-centralized and distributed.
0

90. MATURITY MODELS
CHART A PATH

91. STEP 1:
FIGURE OUT WHAT STAGE
YOUR LIBRARY IS IN

92. MY CURRENT RESEARCH (4)
How do you determine what stage of maturity
your library is in?
How can you determine your library’s UX
capacity?
Awareness of UX
Existence of UX knowledge, skills, and resources
Use of UX methods and techniques
Extent UX is incorporated into leadership decisions
and strategies
Extent UX is integrated with workflows and processes

93. STEP 2:
ENGAGE IN UX CAPACITY
BUILDING

94. MY CURRENT RESEARCH (5)
How can you build your library’s UX capacity?
What techniques and strategies are most effective
for overcoming organizational challenges to
doing quality UX work, both in general and at
specific stages?
Are there ways to accelerate the growth process?

95. SHAPING THE FUTURE OF
UX IN LIBRARIES

96. BE PATIENT
Moving from one stage of maturity to the next is a
multi-year process.
You’re not going to fix every UX problem and
have every one in the library championing UX in
6 months.
Building UX capacity is a long-term strategy.

97. BE SMART AND INCLUSIVE
Adding a UX librarian is a great start, but it’s only a
piece of the puzzle.
There must also be a commitment to invest
additional resources and alter organizational
strategies and decision-making processes.
“It’s kind of the ‘it takes a village’ kind of thing. If
everybody in a library can work closer together on
improving things … then maybe [having] a UX
librarian isn’t necessarily important.”

98. TOP-DOWN LEADERSHIP IS KEY
A UX librarian can be a great bottom-up advocate
for UX.
But growing UX capacity and doing more
impactful UX work also requires top-down
leadership that values and rewards the use of UX
methods.
Remember: saying UX is important and actually
prioritizing UX work are not the same thing.

99. HAVE A UX STRATEGY
UX is more than just a philosophy or staffing
structure – to persist, it must be clearly
articulated in the organization’s written strategy
and be supplemented by design principles and
guidelines.
(Note: This is not easy!)

100. ADVOCATE + TEACH
In addition to doing UX work, UX librarians need
to embrace a “dual strategy” of advocacy plus
education/training that empowers colleagues to
make more informed UX decisions.
Distributed knowledge is more effective and
reduces potential bottlenecks.
(And remember: everyone is a designer!)

101. LEARN AND IMPROVE
UX librarians must become more knowledgeable
of UX principles and techniques that are used in
the UX industry.
Learn from UX practitioners, not just fellow
librarians.
Go to a UX conference. Connect with UX
professionals. Read UX books and articles.

102. ON THAT NOTE…

103. UX professionals face the same challenges – learn from them!

104. SHARE YOUR SUCCESS STORIES
Libraries need to find and tell more UX success
stories, preferably with metrics or other data
demonstrating tangible benefits.
Specific, quantifiable impact measures can
convince libraries to invest the time/resources
necessary to build their UX capacity.

105. ONE LAST THOUGHT…

106. GROWING YOUR
LIBRARY’S UX CAPACITY
CAN SEEM LIKE A
DAUNTING TASK

108. Q&A
Craig M. MacDonald, PhD
cmacdona@pratt.edu
www.craigmacdonald.com

109. CITATION
MacDonald, C. M. (2017): “It Takes a Village”: On
UX Librarianship and Building UX Capacity in
Libraries, Journal of Library Administration,
57(2), 194-214.
http://bit.ly/libuxcapacity

110. I’M LOOKING FOR PARTNERS!
Grant proposal: Building UX Capacity in Libraries
Develop a partnership-based UX capacity-building
program specifically for libraries.
• Pair Pratt students & faculty (with UX expertise) with libraries
(in need of UX expertise)
• Transfer our expertise into your organization by engaging in
targeted UX capacity-building (e.g., training and on-going
mentorship)
If you and your library are interested in being a
partner, please contact me! (cmacdona@pratt.edu)