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The User Experience Design Sprint

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How a User Experience Designer and a Librarian Reimagined and

Prototyped Three Websites in Three Months

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About Us

How we met and how this project was born…

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Aurelia Engstrom

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  • Completed her MI
  • Looking for work in User Experience Design

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Graham Lavender

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  • Recently started at the Michener Institute
  • Wanted a more user-centred website

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Agenda

  • Developing a Project Plan

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  • The Discovery Phase

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  • Engaging Users

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  • Stakeholder engagement and relationship building

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  • Concluding remarks

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BUT FIRST…

A quick survey of your own experiences…

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How many want to redesign their website?

How many of you are in the middle of a project to redesign their website?

How many of you think your website has some room for improvement?

How of you think your website is 100% optimal just as it is?

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DEVELOPING A PROJECT PLAN

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WHY DEVELOP A PROJECT PLAN?

Accountability! Easy to see who is responsible for which deliverable

Transparency! Essential for project deliverables and outcomes

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Organization! Timelines and project deliverables are all in the same place

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Project plan example

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THE DISCOVERY PHASE

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IF YOU’RE REDESIGNING A WEBSITE...

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Chances are someone has already done it!

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There is no need to “re-invent the wheel”

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Credit: Jake Fleming, https://dribbble.com/jakefleminghttps://dribbble.com/jakefleming

This is your chance to learn from others strengths and weaknesses!

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LEARN FROM YOUR PEER INSTITUTIONS

Opportunity to engage stakeholders

  • Who do they see as a peer institution?

Opportunity to see what is working and what isn’t

  • What do you love about your competitors’ sites? What do you hate?

Opportunity to research information architecture best practices

  • Find out what the experts are saying to help inform your redesign decisions

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USE YOUR COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS TO INFORM YOUR DESIGN

This report helps you think about the experience you want your users to have

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What are we missing?

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Our Users!

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Why ask them?

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Source: MMK, http://www.architecturendesign.net/funny-design-fails-show-why-you-need-a-designer/ , 2015; photo uncredited

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HOW DID WE GET USER FEEDBACK AND INSIGHT?

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WE ASKED THEM!

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CARD SORTING

Has anyone here done any card sorting?

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Source: http://www.doctordisruption.com/design/design-methods-15-card-sort/

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We learned what language Michener students were using

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We learned how they understood terms on the library website

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CARDSORTING HIGHLIGHTS

Library Catalogue

Library Resources vs. Library Services

Resource Guide vs. Subject Guide

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WHY CARD SORTING?

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  • Inexpensive

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  • Easy to do when you and your users are pressed for time!

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  • It tells you a lot about how your users see information

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INTERVIEWS: ALL THEY COST IS TIME

Know the purpose of your interview

  • What are you trying to learn?

Design your Questions Carefully

  • Don’t ask leading questions

Talk less!

  • Let your users lead you through the interview

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HOW DID WE USE THIS INFORMATION?

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Analyzed it to better understand user needs

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Incorporated it into the design direction

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Created Personas to help stakeholders understand the users

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Image of Persona

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Sketch the persona and name them

(stick figures are fine!)

Demographic Information

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A list of more detailed demographics and basic information (job, married, etc)

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Their Behaviours

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Identify the persona’s behaviours and beliefs

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Their Goals/Needs

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Identify the needs and goals of personas.

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Personas helped us remind stakeholders who we were designing for.

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STAKEHOLDER

ENGAGEMENT

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STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

The Spirit of Agile UX

  • Involve your stakeholders in the design process
  • Get everyone on the same page
  • Determine your Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

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Aurelia’s Wall for capturing stakeholder feedback

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Incorporate feedback and iterate again!

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RESOURCES

WEBSITES

Nielsen-Norman Group, https://www.nngroup.com/

Smashing Magazine, https://www.smashingmagazine.com/

UX Matters, http://www.uxmatters.com/

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BOOKS

Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think.

Don Norman, The Design of Everyday Things: revised and expanded edition

Carol Barnum, Usability Testing Essentials: Ready, Set, Test!

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TOOLS WE LOVE

Low Tech:

  • Pencils and Paper for sketching
  • Cue cards for card sorting
  • White boards for thinking and drawing
  • Sticky notes for capturing feedback, affinity diagraming, etc.

Wireframing:

  • Balsamiq: an inexpensive wireframing tool that is extremely easy to use
  • InVision: upload your sketches/wires and share links with stakeholders. It is free for one project

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MORE TOOLS WE LOVE

Persona Creation

  • Xtensio: a free tool for creating in-depth personas

Research:

  • Google Trends: see what language people are using online

A few extra tools worth noting:

  • Axure: great program for creating prototypes; can be pricey
  • Sketch: Mac only tool; easy to learn and inexpensive
  • JIRA for Cloud: if you want to make your project plan digital, this is a good way to do it. It also works with InVision!

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THANKS!

Any questions?

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