Which would you rather have: A rich design or a fast user experience? Users want both, but sometimes the interplay between design and performance feels like a fixed sum game: One side’s gain is the other side’s loss. Design and performance are indeed connected, but it’s more like the yin and yang. They aren’t opposing forces, but instead complement each other. Users want an experience that is rich and fast. The trick for us as designers and developers is figuring out how to do that.
The answer is to adopt an approach that considers both design and performance from the outset. With this approach, designs are conceived by teams of designers and developers working together. Developers benefit by participating in the product definition process. Designers benefit from understanding more about how designs are implemented. There’s an emphasis on early prototyping and tracking performance from the get-go.
With new metrics that focus on what a user actually sees as the page loads, we can now bridge the technical and language gaps that have hindered the seamless creation of great user experiences. In this presentation, Steve Souders, former Chief Performance Yahoo! and Google head performance engineer, explains how promoting a process that brings design and performance together at the beginning of a project helps deliver a web experience that is both fast and rich.
17. Speed is more important
than design embellishment.
People are filling
small gaps in their
day with news. It
must load fast on all
touchpoints.
The design should
feel light and nimble,
always fresh and up
to date. Never
heavy, slow to load
or clogged up with
content.
Users expect sites
to render in under 2
seconds.
DAN/TBWA
This talk is about creating better websites by bringing designers & developers closer together
Perhaps your experience with bringing designers & developers is a bit like this - but without the pillows.
Certainly, navigating between design and implementation often feels like a fixed sum game.
One side’s win is the other side’s loss.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/timdorr/4396870234/in/photolist-7Gx7ku-7GtaDx-7Gx4Ub-7Gta8t-7GtadX-7GvYZ1-3nArNu-3nArUy-3nApNY-3nvYmr-3nAq8N-3nApG1-3nAq2q-3nvYJg-3nw1xc-3nAtnq-3nvVBg-3nAtad-3nAtUo-3nw1jX-3nvZti-3nvXm6-3nAr7d-3nAqfL-3nAuPb-3nAsRf-3nAssL-3nvZHt-3nAroy-3nArvb-3nAqUE-3nAph1-3nvXf4-3nArGG-3nvVb8-3nAscS-3nAtAW-3nAueq-3nvYwD-3nArZN-3nAr27-3nAqs5-oM1oiq-bCU3k4-3sZr4-682gYi-6eDdv3-qSGcRS-aFFtxX-7QzWQc
But really, they’re both after the same thing: creating a great user experience!
Design & development ARE connected, but they’re more like the yin and the yang.
They aren't opposing forces, but instead complement each other.
Users want an experience that is rich and fast. The trick is figuring out how to deliver that.
Similar to DevOps from Velocity.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/easyflow/3377137372/in/photolist-69qHhq-5JUiYP-55ZfsE-dYmwEQ-5Ca1VD-7zq7En-kVv8dK-mqM9Jp-5J3uv9-f4JB8M-qZznd-f4MRgN-f4xAET-bpDYeX-GroML-7qoFXr-55nSfk-rbJwH-6RFZt1-6qnVXy-jtkLG-cEGq9-4xp87D-eeUgzz-c7QHf-6qk9JT-7PjaWF-4gf1tv-7sK9B3-4VtxzW-6qvWgT-8UB4U-8t9NNr-bDvQY-972WQq-6Fkgen-4RSnyY-8T7px8-6rWXPz-6rWU3n-5fgGGe-Hq1J7-cvqi-7Hs86U-9Vo8SK-gzpzde-666Ch9-4CzyT6-3hx5nr-dReBgT
A lot of the thinking behind Design+Performance came from long discussions with my business partner Mark Zeman.
He has a lengthy career as a designer and creative director, but sadly can’t be here today.
So I’m going to borrow from Yemeni Perez-Cruz to represent designers.
two minutes is slow
but we know good performance is key to great user experiences
but we know good performance is key to great user experiences
and now Google is even demanding that your websites be quick if you don’t want to get demoted in their search results
so where are we?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jronaldlee/5775587577/in/photolist-9NnoYa-nYYp6g-63bGJj-KrzjB-6nYgX1-8KY39y-kz3M7y-fo68C6-5onBza-apBT72-6g9eSA-9WNvKw-4Gb2FP-2V7jsj-6G7Ynq-2tbdKU-9Kip9s-4TL5Sc-iJQYR-gi6ri6-pfx24Z-BgDwR-9NgMy1-of8g8U-49queL-atRJTH-ax64Nq-fSUV1Q-4qvBPj-4Se4NE-aegPJ4-ptxVJE-ptM5zP-ptMNBV-q95ZVa-kcfpje-mPZDqk-7FPG6G-cqvvXs-rwFCJA-bVYoNj-6McJox-CXYYb-5bMxiG-49mrhe-6q5uNW-7DpdiH-6MgWby-5n89ro-dVXS9w
It is possible to bring design and performance closer together. Here’s how…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/easyflow/3377137372/in/photolist-69qHhq-5JUiYP-55ZfsE-dYmwEQ-5Ca1VD-7zq7En-kVv8dK-mqM9Jp-5J3uv9-f4JB8M-qZznd-f4MRgN-f4xAET-bpDYeX-GroML-7qoFXr-55nSfk-rbJwH-6RFZt1-6qnVXy-jtkLG-cEGq9-4xp87D-eeUgzz-c7QHf-6qk9JT-7PjaWF-4gf1tv-7sK9B3-4VtxzW-6qvWgT-8UB4U-8t9NNr-bDvQY-972WQq-6Fkgen-4RSnyY-8T7px8-6rWXPz-6rWU3n-5fgGGe-Hq1J7-cvqi-7Hs86U-9Vo8SK-gzpzde-666Ch9-4CzyT6-3hx5nr-dReBgT
None of this works unless you have the right people in the room the whole way through the process.
It’s hard to create this relationship halfway through the process
bring designers & developers together from the get go
With everyone gathered together, discuss project goals and capture guiding principles.
Make sure performance is addressed.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nihaogirl/4922776916/in/photolist-ndeSfc-51eh43-51a5LR-74FetH-4TeuNB-df5nYf-5Vo2Wn-5Nmjzn-51a5zV-51egkE-51a546-8v1w55-5t8PLi-9Zxguz-7wK1Le-6RAgsL
Here is an example of a principle from the design of a news website. The research showed that users consume news in small quick chunks and so it was more important that it loaded extremely fast than be visually rich with lots of brand assets. People are waiting at the bus stop and they have less than a minute to scan a few articles on their phone - it has to be fast.
There is even a specific mention for when the site should be loaded and that was used as a performance budget.
Here is an example of a principle from the design of a news website. The research showed that users consume news in small quick chunks and so it was more important that it loaded extremely fast than be visually rich with lots of brand assets. People are waiting at the bus stop and they have less than a minute to scan a few articles on their phone - it has to be fast.
There is even a specific mention for when the site should be loaded and that was used as a performance budget.
It means all the knowledge is in one room, everybody is working on the prototype from day one. Designers are not working in photoshop to create full layouts - they are creating individual assets that go into a prototype. Developers are working with existing data sources and manipulating real content. Researchers are capturing users needs and gauging reactions to each prototype. Team members have a specialisation but are expected to contribute to all aspects of the project.
Everybody is contributing to the prototype and the conversions are all embodied in one place. So every one has a shared vision and can see how well the project principles and performance principles are being met.
Here's a moment that I love - the client is in the room, the developer is experimenting with changing layout and the designer is consulting on the various options they are playing with. All the discussion revolves around the prototype on screen.
And by having a prototype from day one we can immediately assess it's performance and ensure it's delivering the user experience we need.
But one of the challenges with performance is that it is invisible. How do we monitor and make visible the performance all the way through the process - for everybody, not just this small interdisciplinary team, but also the wider organisation we need to have conversations with.
But one of the challenges with performance is that it is invisible. How do we monitor and make visible the performance all the way through the process - for everybody, not just this small interdisciplinary team, but also the wider organisation we need to have conversations with.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/josterpi/3174097491/in/photolist-5Qu5AP-h4vYQc-qDkDsE-6tDQ53-ap4pYT-6VrZjk-md5yR5-5PondA-5PVcKC-bvavRn-bxsk7Z-QudsT-6S1ivp-9hwNYa-8UjqcP-ap7amu-9zgR8a-qf1yJ9-qgz457-4JXfm4-99eAKF-6cyvEr-mFUttz-e2FfcF-37ddmA-wBwq6-63iZnr-wBwiC-9XMHpn-ph8ANF-9XQzJE-ZsAKM-iyQpBa-7jgbx4-6QJSTZ-7jk5tw-wBwgS-wBwca-bA44J-8Mdwca-qMZeNs-7P5RjE-6o8M7d-9hP5RB-4zySd-aAqBn3-NGjcd-cH8cQU-8USCg9-8KMjFj
But what exactly should we be measuring?
We know page load time is NOT necessarily correlate to UX.
examples of how onload does NOT correlate to UX
Amazon: http://www.webpagetest.org/result/150420_GV_E3/
Gmail: http://www.webpagetest.org/result/150420_S9_704a92a60b0b134daec3d42d649c3010/
We need metrics that more accurately measure the UX. They won’t be perfect until human brains fire JavaScript events.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/goincase/2220266628/in/photolist-4ocrV7-9VVXjZ-8fy57p-9VXuKx-feNNWa-ff47y9-feNNTF-nLarQF-9VW2PP-9VYLNQ-9W1j4A-nJm5dy-9VYN9m-9VRLJ4-8hYyha-9VYV3J-GnW5B-zyZxy-oagedz-9tDdWs-eizvPP-bqgVNX-9VYoh3-9VVxfr-9VW2fT-8c4wFn-9VVZXv-8hYt5H-8hYAMX-c2Ygh-jsLvXT-jsMYFD-84vT4z-8twLz9-jsNznU-8pghjG-7BGCEF-8P8gMg-8PbmJq-8Pbmww-993hrU-6jcP8W-6j8C1g-6jcMT5-6j8AEM-6j8Amc-6j8zUr-zyZuG-9VXtkD-as27uZ
We need metrics that focus on what the user sees!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cataniamichele/2855661699/sizes/l
It's the price we pay to download huge images, right?????
NO! Hero images are typically download quickly but are delayed by JS & CSS.
"sweater" image finishes downloading at 2057.
500 ms before hero is rendered
https://speedcurve.com/test/150427_9S_16/hja21ghdsja6743ghjfdskjhs2133j/
"Evening" image finishes downloading at 618ms.
2697 ms before hero is rendered
https://speedcurve.com/test/150427_YF_132/hja21ghdsja6743ghjfdskjhs2133j/
"paris" bed image finishes downloading at 712 ms.
~700 ms before hero is rendered
sync scripts at bottom get promoted
https://speedcurve.com/test/150427_6A_PR/hja21ghdsja6743ghjfdskjhs2133j/
Notice these are BLOCKING scripts!
The rule "put scripts at the bottom" stopped mattering with IE8.
"paris" bed image finishes downloading at 712 ms.
~700 ms before hero is rendered
sync scripts at bottom get promoted
https://speedcurve.com/test/150427_6A_PR/
How do we know when the image rendered? Filmstrips!!
too early
It's not wrong, it's just answering a different question: "When did it finish downloading?"
too early
too early
too early
The only that works!
Those previous tests covered other slow (blocking) assets.
What if the image itself is slow?
And this brings us back to where we started - defining (and measuring) what matters most to the UX.
Because that’s what unites the entire team - creating a fantastic UX - which also means a FAST UX.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/img/1/8/1/6/4/9/i/1/3/8/o/P1100045.JPG
flickr.com/photos/myklroventine/4062102754/
"thank you" by nj dodge: http://flickr.com/photos/nj_dodge/187190601/
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge