User Experience Matters: Making Sure Web Experiences Don't Suck

User
Experience
Matters
#effectiveui

Making Sure Digital Experiences Don't Suck
Anthony Franco EFFECTIVEUI, President & Founder
Elaine Hamann TIAA-CREF, Vice President, Digital Strategy & Experience
Tony Hoskins POP, Principal
Mindy Nies, EXPERIAN CONSUMER DIRECT, Lead User Experience Architect
Mike Downey MICROSOFT, Principal Evangelist, Media Platform
Thursday, November 10, 2011

Framing UX

“When we use the term ‘user experience’,
what are we really talking about?”

Anthony Franco EffectiveUI President & Founder
@anthonyfranco


Tool

Capability
Need

http://worrydream.com/ABriefRantOnTheFutureOfInteractionDesign/


business
Tool

user
user Capability
Need


The tech industry, a love story


Imagine you are
Dr. Min Kao
CEO of Garmin


$97.99


"For you to sleep well at night, the
aesthetic, the quality, has to be
carried all the way through."
Steve Jobs


The design industry – a tragic comedy


“Design is not just what it looks like
and feels like...
...design is how it works”

Steve Jobs


Customer-Centric
Product Design

Ethnographic Research

Elaine Hamann
ehamann@tiaa-cref.org


Our Customers

The Eager Maximizer Distracted and Distressed Comfortable and Controlling

“It seems like no “I’m kicking myself “I think of money as a
options exist for not doing it. I serious game. I don’t
between having a never saved a listen to anyone – I
financial advisor penny until I was know what I want to
and being totally 38 years old.” do, and I do it.”
self-service.”

MINDSET MINDSET MINDSET
• Uses all available avenues to learn as much as • Harbors significant misconceptions about financial • Comfortable with numbers and calculations.
possible. Knows that knowledge is power. planning, due largely to media messages. Actively tests hypotheses instead of merely
• Focuses on highly strategic long-term goals. • Operates on a tactical day-to-day level and not a gathering and aggregating information.
strategic long-term level. • Somewhat preoccupied with lifestyle decisions.

GOALS GOALS GOALS
• My primary goal is to maintain and maybe even • My biggest concern is paying off debt and • My goal is to exercise absolute freedom of choice
exceed my current standard of living in retirement. rehabilitating my credit score. and control over my life.
• I want to plan correctly so I can pay for the kids’ • Someday I would like to buy a condo or house, • To achieve absolute freedom, I need to
educations, afford necessary home repairs, and maybe even own a business. accumulate wealth while minimizing the resultant
evade potential devastation from unexpected life tax burden.
events.

OBSTACLES OBSTACLES OBSTACLES
• Sometimes I wonder if my job—given its moderate • My entire paycheck is used to pay bills and debt— • I have a lot of fun with investing, but sometimes I
salary—will prevent me from realizing true there’s nothing left to save. wonder if I’m spending too much time on it. Is it an
financial health in retirement. • I don’t have the time or the educational foundation addiction?
• I worry about whether or not I’m planning correctly to learn about financial planning.
for unexpected life events. I would like to consult • I don’t like to talk about finances because it just
an expert for added security. makes me feel badly about myself.


Experience Challenge

How to make a complex tool (retirement
income planner) about a topic that causes
anxiety (I need to start withdrawing my
retirement savings. What are my income
options?) easy to use


The Customer’s Perspective
Our Customers Our Employees

“I want to help the
“I had to figure out what I
customer find the right
was going to get on a option”
monthly basis from TIAA-
CREF.”

+
50 page
printed report

11/09/11 43


How We Conducted Our Research

• 1-on-1 interviews to capture feedback on
the existing tool. Discussed individual
goals and plans for retirement income.
• Developed composite customer profiles to
direct our design process


Meet Marilyn
“I’m planning for me.
I worked hard for my Product Opportunities
money, but I can’t take •Make financial terms &
it with me.” concepts easy to
understand. Offer more
info.
- Age 59 •Lead her through the
-Executive assistant at a university process.
-Offered an early retirement option
-Had to quickly decide what to do. •Provide quick access to
- Wanted to illustrate a single an advisor for
lifetime annuity with a guarantee assistance.


Customer-Centric Design Approach

Design Principles:
• Reduce Barriers
• Guide Me
• Know Me
• Help Me


Understanding Users

Gaining insights through Social Channels

Tony Hoskins, Principal
POP Agency
@pop_agency


Specifically…


Reality Check #1

$10,000+

Reality Check #2

2 weeks

Reality Check #3

1 in 4 mobile apps,
once downloaded, is
never used again.*
*Localytics


The Challenge

How do you inexpensively and
quickly concept a mobile
experience that people will
embrace?


Solicit input

“SFC is going mobile and we want the best supporters in the
world to help us design the best soccer apps in the world.
Our first step is to see what ideas you, the supporters, have.
What do you want to see in Sounders FC mobile apps? Post
any feedback you have here throughout the week.”


Recruit discussion groups


The Results

A team is something that you watch.
A club is something you are part of.*

*The Seattle Times


The Results


The Results

*App Store


Our cost


Things to keep in mind

• Build an audience NOW
• Create an exchange
• Don’t neglect research best-practices
• Look for input everywhere
• Experiment!


Form + Behavior

Why interaction design and visual design
are both critical to the digital experience.

Mindy Nies, Lead User Experience Architect
Experian Consumer Direct
@mnies


Tech Talk

Delivering content to multiple screens

Mike Downey
Principal Evangelist, Media Platform
Microsoft Corporation
miked@microsoft.com | @mdowney

Multi-screen


Five
Guidelines


1. Focus
• Know your audience
• Figure out what matters most and do that
really well
• Put more wood behind the arrow
• Your content doesn’t have to be
everywhere
• If the experience isn’t tailored to the device
don’t waste your time
• Apps are not micro sites


2. Know the technology
• Each platform provides options – know
what those options are
– Example: iOS and Android allow both native
and Webkit (HTML/JS) development
• Look for commonalities
• Invest wisely


3. The great equalizer


4. Use frameworks
• Maximize code re-use
• Frameworks are designed to make things
easier for you and the good ones reach
across platforms
• jQuery, PhoneGap, Corona SDK, Sencha
Touch, MMP Player Framework, JWPlayer,
VideoJS


5. Understand User Interaction
• Design for touch
• Consider screen size and resolution
• Make layouts fluid and dynamic
• Consider where and when users interact
• Plan ahead


Thank you

Questions?
@anthonyfranco
@mnies
@pop_agency
@mdowney


User Experience Matters: Making Sure Web Experiences Don't Suck

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