Pratt SCPS Design for the Web: The Basics of User Experience Design

What is UX?

“User experience (abbreviated as UX) is how a person feels when interfacing with a system. The system could be a website, a web application or desktop software and, in modern contexts, is generally denoted by some form of human-computer interaction (HCI).” –Jacob Gube

UX is relatively new, and the term “user experience” was coined by Dr. Donald Norman, from the Nielsen Norman Group, a cognitive science researcher who was also the first to describe the importance of user-centered design – the idea that design decisions should be based on the users needs' and wants.

User Experience encompasses many different factors. Some are controlled by designers and developers, and some are environmental or simply just the user's preference. These factors include: usability, accessibility, performance, design/aesthetics, utility, ergonomics, overall human interaction and marketing.1

Although they are related, it’s important to note that UX is not the same as usability. UX is the experience, emotion, intuition and connection a user feels when using a site or product. Whereas usability is more about the effectiveness of a site design and how user-friendly it is; it’s a key component of the overall user experience.

UX is NOT one size fits all, and it won’t work in every situation for every user. Why? Because everyone is different. What works for one user, might have the opposite effect on another. The best we can do is design for specific experiences and promote certain behaviors, but we can’t manufacture, impose or predict the actual experience itself…A design must be tailored to the goals, values, production process and products of its website.2

“In terms of design, user experience is just as important as visual identity…It doesn’t matter what your site or app looks like if people don’t know how to interact with it. And moreover, they need to enjoy that interaction.” –Carrie Cousins

“Experience design is the design of anything, independent of medium, or across media, with human experience as an explicit outcome, and human engagement as an explicit goal.” –Jesse James Garrett

Who Does UX?

User Researcher

Informs strategy by identifying user needs and behaviors through interviews, surveys, and existing data
Carries out user testing
Compares performance and measures success
Deliverable Examples: Usability test report, heuristic analysis, personas, user scenarios

Content Strategist

Determines content requirements
Informs content creation by establishing content level goals
Ensures content is right for both the business and the users
Deliverable Examples: Content Inventory, Content Gap Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Content Matrix, Content Plan

Information Architect (IA)

Defines the structure of a system
Defines how content is organized and discovered
Focuses on overall relationships between bodies of information
Deliverable Examples: Site map, wireframes, high-level flows

Interaction Designer (IxD)

Defines interactions, affordances, and feedback of a system
Focuses on how the user interacts with an interface to carry out their goal.
Deliverable Examples: Task flows, wireframes, prototypes, storyboards

What is an Affordance?

A potential action that is made possible by a given object or environment; especially, one that is made easily discoverable.3

To state it more simply, affordances are those design elements that help the user understand how to use the interface.

UX Process

There are many processes when executing good UX design, and you’ll find different opinions on which is best. Some of those processes are:

5D’s or Waterfall Process

1. DISCOVER

Gather information
Lead brainstorming
Define project scope
Do a competitive analysis
Define personas
Create user stories, use cases

2. DEFINE

Develop the interaction model
Define content & functionality requirements
Define the information architecture
Create a project plan

3. DESIGN

Sketch
Create paper prototypes
Evaluate usability of sketches
Create wireframes, more prototyping
Explore visual designs

4. DEVELOP

Architecture Design, UML diagram/Class diagram, Daily Scrum, Code iteration cycles, Interim installers, Release management, Unit testing, Code refactoring, Documentation
Deliverable: working system model and source code

5. DELIVER

Use cases, Test cases, Testing, Regression testing, Test reports, Build releases
Deliverable: Shippable release

The problem with the 5D model is that it suggests each of the steps are independent, like a waterfall. In reality, it is cyclical and therefore UX SHOULD BE ITERATIVE!

Lean UX – An Agile Process

Jeff Gothelf’s Lean UX Process

Lean UX vs Agile UX

Don’t let process become an obstacle. Be ready to adapt your process based on type of project, size of team, and your client. No mater what process you choose, UX designers perform various tasks during the process.

What does UX look like?

Research & Evaluation of current system
User Surveys
Usability Test Report
Features & Functionality Requirements
Experience Maps
Competitive Reviews or Analysis
Develop Personas or Archetypes
Social Strategy
Structure & Systems Diagrams
Sitemaps
Sketches
User Flows
Taks Flows
Wireframes: sketch, low/high-fidelity, annotated
Prototyping

“In the end deliverables are merely artifacts of the design process. They are not the final design, they are not the artifact of experience. The end user never interacts with them...they interact with the product or service that is actually delivered.”4

What the #$%@ is UX Design?

3 Ways Good Design Makes You Happy

UX Resources:
UX is NOT UI
Spectrum of UX
Jesse James Garrett
Adaptive Path
UX Myths
User Experience Professionals Association
Why User Experience Cannot be Designed
Lean UX Manifesto
25 UX Videos Worth Your Time
Agile vs Lean UX
Lean vs Agile US: Is There A Difference?
Nielsen Norman Group
UX Mastery Resources/Techniques
Video: User Interface Techniques

References:

Pratt SCPS Design for the Web

Pages

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

The Basics of User Experience Design