This is my closing plenary from World Usability Day in Tallinn, Estonia on November 10, 2016. User experience has been around since the dawn of time. But for most people and their employers, UX is something that happens on a two-dimensional interface – a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone. As a result, our talents, as UX professionals, are limiting our career opportunities. Service design is part of UX. So is product design. As our discipline matures, we need to move beyond the digital interfaces and demonstrate how our skills can be applied to many other areas. And we need to adopt a clear, easy-to-understand definition of UX that relates to an understandable, easy-to-implement design process. I’d like to share this with you. I made my first product design improvement at the age of three (I will provide photographic proof). And I have been thinking about user experience throughout my life. I would like to share some stories with my friends in Estonia that I hope will help them grow their careers, strengthen their community, and enhance their national presence on the international scene.

1. A bigger view of UX
(doesn’t need a bigger screen)
Eric Reiss
@elreiss
World Usability Day
November 10, 2016
Tallinn, Estonia

2. A question…
Where does every successful
usability or UX project start?
Research!

3. “Usability isn’t sexy. I can’t sell
usability, but I can sell UX.”

4. “UX? It’s about graphic design.
Wireframes. That kind of stuff.”

5. “UX is supposed to lead to more revenue.
Everyone talks about it. But what IS it?”

8. An observation
and a story…

10. Content strategy
Abel
Bailie/Urbina
Bloomstein
Halvorson
Kissane
Lamm
McGrane
Nichols
Rach
Wachter-Boettcher
IA
Arango
Covert
Gilchrist/Mahon
Morville
Reiss
Resmini/Rosati
Rosenfeld
van Dijck
Wodtke
Wurman
Usability
Krug
Nielsen
Pearrow
Reiss
Snitker
Spool
Wroblewski
UX
Chandler
Cooper
Goodwin
Gothelf
Garrett
Norman
Shedroff
Saffer
Starmer
Unger
Marcom
Drucker
Godin
Kottler
Pepper
Peters
Rogers
Advertising
Caples
Hopkins
Ogilvy
Service
Beckwith
Crosby
Osterwalder
Polaine/Løvlie
Seybold
Schneider
Stickdorn
Tschohl
Underhill
Zemke

11. Reading books is good.
But don’t discount the value of
empirical experience and intuition.
And you gain experience everywhere!

14. And then there’s that story…

16. I hope to dispell some myths:
• UX is only something that happens on a
screen
• UX was invented in the ‘80s
• UX can be accomplished by a team of one
I also want to:
• Give you an actionable definition of UX
• Provide tips that can help promote our
talents to the business community
My goals, your take-aways

17. Let’s kill a few myths

18. UX is something on a screen
NO! It’s about optimizing
a series of interactions – and not
just on a screen.
Myth #1

19. The wedding at Cana

20. Battle of Lyndenisse - 1219

22. UX
ID SD IA CS

23. “UX is supposed to lead to more revenue.
Everyone talks about it. But what IS it?”

24. UX design represents the conscious
act of :
• coordinating interactions
we can control
• acknowledging interactions
we cannot control
• reducing negative interactions

25. There are three types of interaction:
• Active
(things we control)
• Passive
(things we don’t control)
• Secondary
(things that have indirect influence)

26. Active interaction

27. Active interaction

28. Passive interaction (partly)

29. Passive interaction

30. Secondary interaction

31. Secondary interaction

32. UX design represents the conscious
act of :
• coordinating interactions
we can control
• acknowledging interactions
we cannot control
• reducing negative interactions

33. Coordinating interactions

34. Coordinating interactions

35. Coordinating interactions

36. Reducing negative interactions

37. Reducing negative interactions

38. Reducing negative interactions

39. Reducing negative interactions

40. Can influence
Cannot influence
Business
critical
Screw
it
A simple decision model

41. Top tip: If the first question a company
asks you during an interview is
“Can you wireframe”
You don’t want the job!

42. UX is only about touchpoints
NO! It’s also how users get
from one touchpoint to the next.
Myth #2

44. What they found surprised them. While the company’s overall
customer-satisfaction metrics were strong, focus groups revealed
that a large number of customers left because of poor service and
shoddy treatment over time. “How can this be?” one executive
wondered. “We’ve measured customer satisfaction for years, and
our call centers, field services, and website experience each score
consistently over 90 percent. Our service is great!”
As company leaders probed further, however, they discovered a
more complex problem. Most customers weren’t fed up with any
one phone call, field visit, or other individual service interaction–
in fact, most customers didn’t much care about those singular
touchpoint events. What was driving them out the door was
something the company wasn’t examining or managing–the
customers’ cumulative experience across multiple touchpoints,
multiple channels, and over time.

45. UX is about making end users happy.
NO! It’s also about solving the
business goals of the stakeholders.
Myth #3

46. UX

47. Science Humanities
Business
We
are
here

48. “He hears only that
which he understands”
XML
„Es hört jeder doch nur,
was er versteht.“
Goethe
CMS UX
UCD
CMUxD CSS

49. Top tip: Read the key strategic documents
– business plan, marketing strategy, etc.
And don’t trust the client’s own research –
talk to a few users yourself!

50. UX is just another name for CX
NO! Customers and users are not
always the same.
Myth #4

54. Top tip: Don’t get drawn into semantic
arguments. Do the job – the definitions are
less important than you might think.

55. UX is all about process.
NO! It’s about achieving goals.
Myth #5

57. ag·ile
adj
1 : able to move quickly and easily
2 : mentally quick and resourceful

58. 1. What did you do yesterday?
2. What will you do today
3. What is blocking your progress?
The three Scrum questions

60. 1. What did you do yesterday?
I sailed west.
2. What will you do today?
Sail back to where I was yesterday.
3. What is blocking your progress?
These idiotic Scrum meetings!
The three Scrum questions

61. DWYNTDTGTSD
Do What You Need To Do To Get The Shit Done
Reiss’s Development Process

62. Reiss’s Integration Model (3:24 AM)
Figure out the business problem
Understand the opportunities
Channel your energy
Kiss some ass
Institutionalize the process
Take care of the business goals

63. UX is a new discipline.
NO! And the tools and techniques
have been around
since the dawn of time!
Myth #6

64. 50-year-old wearable

65. 150-year-old infographic

66. 170-year-old sitemap

67. 220-year-old SEO project

68. 250-year-old knowledge map

69. 300-year-old taxonomy

70. A 400-year-old content inventory

71. 650-year-old personas

72. 5000-year-old wireframe

73. 15000-year-old storyboard

74. IA and gestural interfaces - 1935
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kuCSRJcTgY
Gestural interfaces - 1935

75. • You represent Estonia’s future.
• You are unique!
• You can change the world!
Some of you will…and thank goodness for that!
A few parting words

76. Tänan!

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Denmark
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