User Experience is Everything (and Vice Versa): Lessons for Libraries and Information Organizations

Everything is User Experience (and Vice Versa)

Craig M. MacDonald, Ph.D. School of Information & Library Science

Pratt Institute

TCLC 2014 Spring Meeting | April 25, 2014 2

Q: Is your library doing “User Experience” right now?

Let’s think for a second

TCLC 2014 Spring Meeting | April 25, 2014

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What does my library’s UX look

like?

"Thinking about small" by Freddie Alequin is licensed under CC BY-‐SA 2.0

UX of your library website (desktop)


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UX of your library website (mobile)


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UX of your library services


6 "Getting help at the Reference Desk" by Escondido Public Library is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐SA 2.0

UX of your library spaces


7 "Bild 438" by library_mistress is licensed under CC BY-‐SA 2.0

Conclusion: Everything* is UX UX exists wherever and whenever a user

interacts with your organization. – Through the digital tools and devices they use

– Through their interactions with staff and with your policies/procedures

– Through the physical spaces they navigate


8 *This is an oversimplification, but “Lots of Things are UX but Some Things Aren’t” isn’t nearly as catchy.


Q: Is your library doing “User Experience” right now?

A: Yes. All libraries do UX. A better question is:

are you doing great UX?

A (not so brief) history lesson


10 "How Did We Get Here? Billboard, Banksville Road" by michaelgoodin is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐ND 2.0

Pre-recorded history Pre-‐historic tools weren’t

really designed– they were created and used. –  If it worked, it worked. If it didn’t, it was thrown out or tweaked until it did.

Formal evaluation wasn’t necessary because the user, designer and evaluator were the same person.


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Medieval and Industrial Age Technology became more

complex and powerful, but design and evaluation stayed (roughly) the same. –  If it worked, it worked. If it

didn’t, it was thrown out or tweaked until it did.

For most of human history, evaluation wasn’t necessary because people could shape and tweak technology to fit their needs.


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1940s to 1950s Early computers were incredibly

complex to operate; users were highly trained engineers. –  They were primarily used to

perform large, complex calculations (e.g., census).

Since computers offered an alternative to hand calculations, they had to be evaluated to make sure they were functional. –  Evaluation was about system

reliability; how long it would function without failure.


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1950s to 1960s (1) Computers began to shrink and

became slightly less complicated. –  New input methods: magnetic

tape, punch cards, light guns, and, eventually, keyboards.

The development of programming languages meant that computers were no longer just machines: you could tell them what you wanted to do. –  User shifted from engineers to

programmers and computer scientists.


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1950s to 1960s (2) Motivated by the economic

impacts of using computers, evaluation was used to determine whether computers were actually providing a benefit.

Now, the focus of evaluation was system performance. –  How quickly the system could

process large amounts of data. •  Other variables: Processing speed,

throughput, turnaround, availability.


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1960s to 1970s (1) Large-‐scale batch-‐processing

machines were slowly replaced by time-‐sharing systems. –  TSS were more expensive but

also more efficient.

For the first time, people were using computers for non-‐programming tasks (e.g., text editing). –  Thus, users were no longer

trained experts; they were non-‐specialists.


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1960s to 1970s (2) With these users, evaluation became

necessary to determine whether using a computer would actually save time.

Thus, evaluators began to focus on user performance: task completion time, error rate, ease of learning, etc.

Q: if we need to study users, how do we do it? –  A: laboratory-‐based user studies

One of the first lab-‐based user studies was a comparison of user performance with several different input devices. –  Guess which one was the best?


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1980s to 2000s (1) The GUI interface, pioneered by

Xerox and perfected and marketed by Apple, revolutionized the computer industry. –  It led to an increase in the

number of novice users who were using computers to complete everyday work tasks.

These users weren’t willing to read user manuals or sit through training sessions. –  Computer systems had to be

used by anyone with minimal training and support.


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1980s to 2000s (2) Evaluation efforts began to

focus on usability. –  Included learnability and ease of use in addition to speed and efficiency.

The process of user-‐centered design was developed as a way of engineering usability into computer systems. –  Usability evaluation was a core feature of this process.


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1980s to 2000s (3) Formal methods of usability

evaluation were created in the early 1980s. –  E.g., usability testing with “think aloud”

In the 1990s, the rise of the Web increased the visibility of usability testing but also added more challenges. –  New “discount” methods: walkthroughs and expert reviews.


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2000s to present (1) Personal computing, social

computing, mobile computing, and cloud computing have changed how, where, and why we use computers.

We’re not just interested in task-‐based performance issues anymore; the emotional side of using computers is paramount.


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2000s to present (2) Evaluation is slowly shifting

from usability to user experience. –  But, nobody really knows how to do UX evaluation well.

Many challenges of evaluating UX, but any evaluation is incomplete if it doesn’t explore emotion in some way.


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Reliability System

Performance User

Performance Usability User

Experience

The Path to User Experience

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010


What this history tells us: 1.  UX is not just the new buzzword

for usability; it represents a new design paradigm.

2.  As technology gets more complex, designing and evaluating also get more complex.


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What is User Experience? UX as a product UX as a process


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UX as a product


26 "Me & My Mac" by Martin Gommel is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐ND 2.0

“People think it’s this veneer – that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

-‐ Steve Jobs

UX as a product?


27 "Computer Time" by Thomas Hawk is licensed under CC BY-‐NC 2.0

“To use something is to engage with it through our senses, our minds, our hearts, and our bodies…to create a holistic, cohesive, experience.”

-‐Jesse James Garret

UX as a(n) product outcome UX is not technically a product – it is an outcome.

You can’t design a user experience. You design for a user experience.


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This is a product


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This is an outcome


30 "GORE-‐TEX® Experience Tour: All-‐out trail running in the Dolomites!" by GORE-‐TEX® Products is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐ND 2.0

This is a product


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This is an outcome


32 EP goes mobile -‐ check it out!" by European Parliament is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐ND 2.0

So what is an experience?


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“An experience emerges from the integration of perception, action, motivation, and cognition into an inseparable, meaningful whole.”

-‐ Marc Hassenzahl

"The 21st Century Concert Experience" by Al Case is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐ND 2.0

User Experience


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“User Experience is just a sub-‐category of experience, focusing on a particular mediator -‐ namely interactive products...[Experience Design] is the question of how to deliberately create and shape experiences.”

-‐ Marc Hassenzahl

"79-‐365 I am a computer geek!" by Bram Cymet is licensed under CC BY-‐NC 2.0

Experience is experiential


35 "Fondue enchaînée" by Alexandre Duret-‐Lutz is licensed under CC BY-‐SA 2.0

“You can't experience the experience until you experience it.”

-‐ Bill Moggridge

UX is not just usability


36 "Tricycle" by Aslak Raanes is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“If ease of user was the only valid criterion, people would stick to tricycles and never try bicycles.”

-‐ Douglas Engelbart

UX vs. Usability Usability Effectiveness Efficiency Learnability Error prevention Memorability

User Experience Satisfaction Enjoyment

Pleasure Fun

Value


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www.bluehaired.com

Where usability is narrow and focused, UX is broad and holistic.

UX vs. and Usability


38 Levels of Processing and the Stages of the Action Cycle. From Don Norman.

“Emotion and cognition are tightly intertwined...All three levels work together to determine a person's cognitive and emotional state.”

-‐ Don Norman

UX is cognitive and emotional


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“Usability allows people to easily accomplish their goals. UX design covers more than that, it’s about giving people a delightful and meaningful experience.”

-‐ UXMyths.com

The UX Honeycomb from Peter Morville.

UX is contextual


40 Model of UX from the user’s perspective. From Hassenzahl, M. “The Thing and I: Understanding the relationship between user and product.”

If UX is contextual…


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Context Context

Context Context Context Context

Context Context Context

Context

Context

Context Context

…then what are we designing?


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User Task

Tool

Environment Diagram adapted from Shackel, 1991.

“We can design the product or service...[but] we can shape neither our users’ expectations nor the situation in which they use what we have designed.”

-‐ Helge Fredheim


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So, UX is a holistic, multi-faceted outcome resulting from a user’s interaction with a product, service, or space.

We can’t design the experience. we can design the product, service, or space.

Conclusion: UX is Everything* UX is defined by:

– The user(s): their needs, behaviors, backgrounds, expectations, etc.

– The task(s): what users are trying to do

– The environment: where, why, and how users are trying to complete their task

– The tool: what users need to use to complete the task(s).


44 *This is also an oversimplification, but “UX is Lots of Things but Not Quite Everything” isn’t nearly as catchy.

Can’t be designed

Can be designed

Great* (outcome) UX is: *This will vary, but these are a

solid foundation


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Usable

Useful

Desirable

easy to learn and use

meets users needs

appealing and memorable

UX as a process


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UX as a process = pleasure?


47 "macbook maya1" by taminator is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐ND 2.0

“[User Experience is] designing for pleasure rather than absence of pain.”

-‐ Marc Hassenzahl & Noam Tractinsky

UX as a process = design

Design is devising courses of action aimed at changing

existing situations into preferred ones.

Herb Simon TCLC 2014 Spring Meeting | April 25, 2014

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UX is Human-Centered


49 "Belgiump" by Éole Wind is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐SA 2.0

“An approach that puts human needs, capabilities, and behavior first, then designs to accommodate those needs, capabilities, and ways of behaving.”

-‐ Don Norman

Human-Centered Design (HCD)


50 "One Click Or Two?" by Alan is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐SA 2.0

“[HCD] is the process of ensuring that people's needs are met, that the resulting product is understandable and usable, that it accomplishes the desired tasks, and that the experience of use is positive and enjoyable.”

-‐ Don Norman

Why is this so complicated?


51 "If You're Not Confused" by Brian Talbot is licensed under CC BY-‐NC 2.0

Because understanding people is hard…

…and designing for people is even harder

Designing for you


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YOU

SOURCE: Danielle Gobert Cooley. Introduction to User Experience Methods. http://www.slideshare.net/dgcooley/introduction-‐to-‐ux-‐methods

Designing for your users


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YOU

NOT YOU

SOURCE: Danielle Gobert Cooley. Introduction to User Experience Methods. http://www.slideshare.net/dgcooley/introduction-‐to-‐ux-‐methods

Principles of HCD 1.   Early focus on users

– Start with thorough understanding of your users and their needs, behaviors, contexts

2.   Evaluation – Regularly assess your design to see whether it is meeting your users’ needs

3.   Iteration – Continuously update/revise the design based on evaluation results


54 Source: Gould & Lewis, 1985

Norman’s HCD Process


55 The iterative cycle of Human-‐Centered Design. From Don Norman.

“Make observations on the intended target population, generate ideas, produce prototypes and test them. Repeat until satisfied.”

-‐ Don Norman

Another HCD Process (in progress)


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Sketching Wireframing Prototyping

Creation Sketch/Make

Critiques Inspection Methods

Field Methods User Testing

Assessment Evaluate/Measure

Communicate

Prepare

Communicate Discovery Understand/Learn

Content Audits Site Maps

Competitive Reviews User Research

Personas Card Sorting

Communicate (if necessary)

Talk to your users inside


57 "Library" by Saint Louis University Madrid Campus is licensed under CC BY-‐ND 2.0

Talk to your users outside


58 "Things to Come" by Ahd Photography is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐ND 2.0

Sketch, sketch, sketch


59 "Sketching" by Nathanael Boehm is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐ND 2.0

Make/test prototypes


60 "Paper-‐based prototyping" by Samuel Mann is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Test, test, and test some more


61 "it's only money, right?" by ~lauren is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐ND 2.0

“If you don’t have user-‐testing as an integral part of your design process you are going to throw buckets of money down the drain.”

-‐ Bruce Tognazzini

Can you do UX alone? Kind of. What you can do alone:

– Talk to users, gather data, sketch ideas, make prototypes, test prototypes

What you can’t do alone: – Change anything


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More cooks in the kitchen


63 "macbook maya1" by taminator is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐ND 2.0

“Great design requires great designers, but that isn’t enough…the hardest part of producing a product is coordinating all the many, separate disciplines, each with different goals and priorities.”

-‐ Don Norman

Multi-disciplinary by default


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Collaboration is key


65 "soccer practice" by woodleywonderworks is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“You have to sell your design because you need to communicate all of the factors that went into the design process...A sure-‐fire method for getting everybody to understand a project in the same way is to have everybody working together throughout the project.”

-‐ Adrian Howard

Great (process) UX is:


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Iterative

Collaborative

Creative

build, test, refine, repeat

be open and communicative

go outside your comfort zone

Bringing it all together In the end, your UX outcome matters much more than your UX process. – A good UX process does not guarantee a good UX outcome, but it does increase your chances.

But still: it’s the outcome that matters most.


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Users are demanding


68 "/ponder" by hobvias sudoneighm is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“I bet a lot of people worked really hard on this website, so I’ll cut them some slack if something doesn’t work exactly the way I want it to work.”

-‐ Nobody, ever

Users are fickle


69 "Pensativa // Thoughtful" by David Cornejo is licensed under CC BY-‐NC-‐SA 2.0

“My library doesn’t provide a great user experience, but that’s OK – I’ll still keep coming back to it because there’s no where else I can go to get what I need.”

-‐ Nobody, ever

So, what can you do? Think critically about your library’s website, services,

and spaces. –  Are they all usable, useful and desirable? If you’re not sure, test them.

Talk to your colleagues and supervisors about the importance of UX. –  If you have poor UX, your users will leave (and probably won’t come back).

Plan collaborative brainstorming sessions –  Get people together and test out new ideas through sketching and paper prototyping.

Network with other library and UX professionals. –  Tweet #libux, check out the Weave journal of library UX


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Q: How do you do great UX?

A: Go do it.

Thank you. Craig M. MacDonald, Ph.D.

[email protected] @CraigMMacDonald

www.craigmacdonald.com