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Creating the experiences�your users will connect with

What is User Experience (UX), and why is it important?

Paul Doncaster

uxworld0903@gmail.com

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It’s actually worse than it looks

37 different tabs, you could only have 5 available at a time (if you wanted to search wider, you had to replace what you had)
On each tab, you had to know which database you wanted, so if you didn’t have them memorized (40k)
If you wanted to search in one of these databases, you had to basically know coding
So this was primarily a tool for legal librarians –for lawyers was to make a request to the librarian, wait hours or maybe days until they could do the work, then receive it

And the DREAM EXPERIENCE was: putting the research in the power of the attorneys themselves, with a tool that cuts down on the mechanics of getting information, so they can devote more time to using their legal expertise, which is what their clients were paying for.

And at a time when iTunes and Facebook and many of the things we take for granted now were just coming into their own, leadership knew that the old rules didn’t apply: no matter how good the content or the technology behind it was, users were going to demand an overall experience that delighted and engaged them – which trust me when I tell you, is a tall order when it comes to doing legal research, which at it best is one of the most boring things on the planet . . .

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So there was user in mind (LAWYER) , there was a business vision, there was a technology team.

The VP said: “I want the users to fall in love with this. I want them to snuggle up to it at night and write poems to it.”

In order to achieve that, the business had to understand an awful lot about the lawyers and paralegals whose lives we wanted to change:

Their goals and objectives,

their needs and wants,

the things that made them worry,

the things that get in the way of being able to do their jobs effectively,

what processes they were expected to follow,

What artifacts they use to do their work,

what the differences were between attorneys who work for a corporation vs. those who work in a law firm,

how lawyers approach research tasks vs. how paralegals approach them, how lawyers who work alone work differently from those who work on a team, . . .

There was just a ton of stuff we needed to know and communicate back to the visual designers who had to create it for them,

the technologists who had to build it for them,

and the business people whose necks were on the line for creating value for the company.

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User Experience (UX)

“No product is an island. A product is more than the product.

It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences.

Think through all of the stages of a product or service — from initial intentions through final reflections, from first usage to help, service, and maintenance.

Make them all work together seamlessly.”

— Don Norman, inventor of the term “User Experience”

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User Experience (UX)

What is UX?
Four Phases of Creating Your Product’s UX

Discover
Define
Design
Deliver

Measuring UX
Two Examples
Questions/Discussion

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About me

2003-2007

2007-2010

In-house Video

Producer/Editor

Multimedia/IT Analyst

MS, Human Factors in Information Design

UX Manager - Research

1988-2000

2000-2006

Manager, UX/Research for IP

2010-2024

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About

Academia & Government

Life Sciences & Health

Intellectual Property

Our goal across Intellectual Property (IP) is to empower law firms and corporations to develop, protect, manage and unlock the full potential of their IP.

Our colleagues, both within IP and from other areas of the business, are at the heart of our success.

At Clarivate, we empower our Life Sciences & Healthcare customers to deliver treatments that improve patient lives and create a healthier tomorrow. Our market-leading intelligence solutions and transformative data technology equip our customers with the insight and foresight needed across all their initiatives from early-stage drug discovery right through commercialization and beyond.

Our goal across Academia & Government (A&G) is to help our customers educate the world.

Our team focuses on driving research excellence, empowering researchers to take today's global challenges and helping our customers improve operational efficiency and effectiveness.

We are proud that 99% of the world’s top 400 universities rely on our solutions to advance research, teaching and learning.

Research Discovery

Publishing

Libraries & Teaching

Biopharma Intelligence

MedTech Intelligence

Pharma/Drug Safety

Patents Research

Trademarks Research

IP Lifecycle Management

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What is UX?

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What is UX?

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https://sensible.com/

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What is UX?

Technology

Functionality, Engineering, Foundation, Objective, Backend, Performance, Feasibility, Realistic, Complex

Business

Vision, Goals, Paradigm, Pragmatic, Analytics, Demographics, Stakeholders, Budget

Design

Aesthetics, Creativity, Abstraction, Subjective, Experimental, Front End, �Visual, Explains

Effectiveness, Interaction, Usability, Elegance, Simplicity

Efficiency, Logic, Relevance, Concrete, �Goal Driven

Brand Equity, Image, Style, Mrktg, Advert, Trust, Communic.

UX

User Advocacy, Research, Stories, Validity

there’s the business aspect that finds the need, comes up with the idea, drive for profit
the technology team is responsible for building it, optimizing performance, running without errors,
there’s a design aspect that puts the face on it, aligns it with brand objectives (and by extension company objectives)

You must have all three to at least a satisfactory degree

Nailing the B & T but having poor technology means users can’t do what they want to do
Having good B & T but poor D means users won’t want to use the product; and
it doesn’t matter how good the T & D are, if you don’t have the right idea or solve the right problem, the effort is likely to fail

in each area there are areas of mutual interest overlap; for example, business and design come together when it comes to brand equity and image;

UX bridges all of these, attempts to tie them all together to form a whole, with a central focus on the user

Business (product) people see the user through a specific lens, technology does too, design does too. UX, when done well, is what provides the balance.

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What is UX?

Technology

Functionality, Engineering, Foundation, Objective, Backend, Performance, Feasibility, Realistic, Complex

Business

Vision, Goals, Paradigm, Pragmatic, Analytics, Demographics, Stakeholders, Budget

Design

Aesthetics, Creativity, Abstraction, Subjective, Experimental, Front End, �Visual, Explains

Effectiveness, Interaction, Usability, Elegance, Simplicity

Efficiency, Logic, Relevance, Concrete, �Goal Driven

Brand Equity, Image, Style, Mrktg, Advert, Trust, Communic.

UX

User Advocacy, Research, Stories, Validity

Identity & Perception?

Elegant Functionality?

Relevance & Purpose?

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Four Phases of Creating Your Product’s UX

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Definition > Discover

Research and Observation | Insight into the Person and the Problem

Create empathetic understanding of the problem you are trying to solve by gaining insights into users and their needs

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Definition > Discover: The Problem

Brainstorm and come to a common understanding of:

WHY is this important?
What Specific Problem(s) or Issue(s) being experienced today?
What are the most Important thing(s) that the business must consider?
Hypotheses that must be proved or disproved
Assumptions that must be validated or challenged
Who in this situation is being impacted now?
Who else do we want to impact when we address this situation?
Who are the competitors (direct or indirect)?

LONG TERM GOAL: If everything worked out perfectly, what would the situation look like for us in 2 years (2026)?
What are the CHALLENGES keeping us from getting to this goal?

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Definition > Discover: Persona/Profile

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Definition > Discover: Persona/Profile

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Definition > Discover: Persona/Profile

About Me (the Person)
Things that Identify	My History/Context
Title Role Description Observable Characteristics Demographics	Personal Background Educational Background Professional Background Technical Background & Expertise

About My Job
My Job Space	My Job Contexts
Artifacts Environment Business Opportunities Triggers	Tasks Processes Things I require to do my job Things I desire to do my job

About My Success
Fulfillment & Purpose	Achievement & Accomplishment
Interests Values Motivations Challenges	Goals Objectives Outcomes Threats

Take a Walk in My Shoes
Empathy Map	Pain Points
Says Thinks Does Feels	Interaction Pain Points Journey Pain Points Relationship Pain Points Frustrations

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Definition > Define the Solution

Synthesis & Problem Definition | Scope Down the Focus

Analyze the observations and pain points to synthesize to define the core problems identified

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Definition > Define the Solution: User Journey

Tasks	[Task 1]	[Task 2]	[Task 2]	[Task 3]	[Task 4]	[Task 5]	[…]
Processes Needs Wants
Triggers Artifacts Environments Bus Opps
Goals Objectives Outcomes Threats
Interests Values Motivations Challenges
Interaction PPs Relationship PPs Frustrations

Journey Maps are a UX visualization document that showcases the steps that a user takes in a process to accomplish a goal.

At a high level, journey maps are a combination of storytelling, visual design, and empathy.

When completed, your project team will have a complete idea of how your users interact with your website or application and have clear definitions of the pain points.

And by doing that, you will have uncovered where the opportunities are to relieve user pain and/or reduce repetitive tasks

All critical stakeholders are on the exact same page about the work being done

If it’s an existing product, map out the current state
As you compare the data about the user, you can then start identifying places where there are gaps and opportunities both for the users and for the business
You then map out a future state journey map, or a desired journey that you work towards

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Definition > Define: User Journey

Tasks	[Task 1]	[Task 2]	[Task 2]	[Task 3]	[Task 4]	[Task 5]	[…]
Processes Needs Wants
Triggers Artifacts Environments Bus Opps
Goals Objectives Outcomes Threats
Interests Values Motivations Challenges
Interaction PPs Relationship PPs Frustrations

Pain Points (to ease/soothe)

Repetitive Tasks (to minimize/alleviate)

Opportunities (to exploit)

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Execution > Design

Ideation | Design | Prototype | Test/Validate

Transfer the learnings into an experience that delights, inspires, meets needs challenges, fosters loyalty

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Execution > Design: Prototype

A prototype is “A simulation or sample version of a final product, which UX teams use for testing before launch.” Usually an MVP or Minimum Viable Product

Engineering is expensive, and making changes to a final product is often not as straightforward as teams anticipate. So, finding and fixing errors during the design process is critical.

The typical order is Design Jam (a team exercise to foster innovation and outside the box thinking, then pick a solution, then wireframe the basics, then mock-up, then prototype

Prototypes have four main qualities:

Representation — The prototype itself, i.e., paper and mobile, or HTML and desktop.
Precision — The fidelity of the prototype, meaning its level of detail—low-fidelity or high-fidelity.
Interactivity — The functionality available to the user during the testing phase, e.g., fully functional, partially functional, or view-only.
Evolution — The lifecycle of the prototype. Some are built quickly, tested, thrown away, and then replaced with an improved version (known as “rapid prototyping”). Others may be created and improved upon, ultimately evolving into the final product.

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Execution > Deliver

Implementation & Measurement | Feedback & Continuous Improvement

Build it, measure behaviors, respond to feedback

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Measuring the UX

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Let’s look at two experience measurements . . .

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One person’s experience

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Walkthrough: Zette

Issue	Success Criteria	P1	P2	P3	P4	P5
Motivation	User’s level of enthusiasm for the product	high	high	low	medium	high
Credits Model	Understands & accepts use of credits	!	ok	ok	!	ok
Content Sources	Understands & accepts available content providers	!	ok	!	!	!
Extension Model	Understands & accepts use of a browser extension	!	ok	!	ok	!
Extension Installation	Can easily install the extension	ok	!	ok	!	ok
Extension Pin	Can easily pin the extension	ok	!	ok	ok	ok
First Use	Does the user find desired content immediately?	!	ok	ok	ok	!
Provide Feedback	Does the site allow the user to provide feedback via a preferred means?	!	ok	!	ok	ok

FICTIONAL: what the company sets as success metrics

The more you test, the more you see patterns emerge – in this completely fictional case, it may be that the first thing you might want to address is your DESIGN

– not necessarily in the product itself, because the content sources are limited– but perhaps there’s a way in your DESIGN you can alleviate the pain point before it becomes an issue

Now imagine that you have a recording of a current or prospective user saying these things and having all stakeholders at the table listening.

There‘s not a UX researcher alive who doesn’t have at least one story about

a Business or Product person going crazy because the test participant doesn’t get the concept or the problem that the products meant to address,
or a Design person going crazy saying “the button is right in front of you, why can’t you see it”
Or a Tech person saying “It’s no problem, all we have to do is provide training or have them submit a ticket”

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Five Second Test

Show a page for 5 seconds
Take it away
Ask max. 4-5 questions:

What does the participant remember?
The product/service offered?
The name of the company?
Impressions/perceptions of the design?�

Compare results to business goals

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Five Second Test

“Based on what you saw, what product or service do you think this company offers?”
“What is the main thing you can recall about the page?”
“What was your impression of the design?”
“What was the name of the company or product?”

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Five Second Test

“Based on what you saw, what product or service do you think this company offers?”

13/26	Activewear/Accessories	"Hiking gear"
	Activewear/Accessories	"outdoor wear"
	Activewear/Accessories	"sporting goods"
	Activewear/Accessories	"Adventure Travel"
	Activewear/Accessories	"outdoor stuff"
	Activewear/Accessories	"Outdoor gear"
	Activewear/Accessories	"Something about outdoor leisure activities "
	Activewear/Accessories	"Outdoor activewear clothing"
	Activewear/Accessories	"Surfing"
	Activewear/Accessories	"Skateboards"
	Activewear/Accessories	"Activewear"
	Activity in the Abstract	"adventure?"
	Activity in the Abstract	"lifestyle "
9/26	Don’t Know	"No idea"
	Don’t Know	"I don’t know, I was focused on reading the title"
	Don’t Know	"I have no idea."
	Don’t Know	"Unsure and wouldn't hazard a guess"
	Don’t Know	"5 seconds wasn't enough. "
	Don’t Know	"Couldn’t tell, looking on my phone and wasn’t able to quickly read "
	Don’t Know	"No idea - the text was way too small to be able to tell on mobile "
	Don’t Know	"No idea"
	Don’t Know	"Not sure. All I saw was IAMBIG"
4/26	Other	"Software "
	Other	"Some meditation service "
	Other	"Freelance Services"
	Other	"magazine”

“Iambic is a next-gen shoe brand delivering precision-fit shoes at scale through merging AI, smartphone scanning, and streamlined manufacturing —making footwear finally inclusive.”

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Five Second Test

“What is the main thing you can recall about the page?”

Photo/Image 9/26

“Person jumping outside”
“a man jumping”
“picture of a man jumping”
“person jumping on the beach”
“jumping man”
"human“�

Title 12/26

“the big word IAMBIC”
“Iambic title”
“Unsure if it spelled ‘Lambic’ or ‘Iambic’ ”
“massive headline”
“huge word at the top”
"I am big “
“I am Bic”�

Red 16/26

“red” x7
“Red background (too much)”
"Red background” x3�

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Five Second Test

“What was your impression of the design?”

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Five Second Test

“What was the name of the company or product?”

14/26	Correct	"Iambic"
	Correct	"Iambic"
	Correct	"Iambic"
	Correct	"Iambic"
	Correct	"IAMBIC"
	Correct	"Iambic"
	Correct	"Iambic"
	Correct	"iambic"
	Pretty Sure	"Iambic (pentameter??)"
	Pretty Sure	"Iambic or maybe Hambic. Not sure. "
	Pretty Sure	"Iambic was title I thought "
	Pretty Sure	"Iambic" - spelling might be off here. Maybe it was "Lambic""
	Pretty Sure	"I am bic"
	Pretty Sure	"Lambic? iambic?"
6/26	Don’t Know	"?"
	Don’t Know	"?"
	Don’t Know	"Don’t know"
	Don’t Know	"I think it started with an i"
	Don’t Know	"No idea"
	Don’t Know	"No idea"
6/26	Incorrect	"I am big? "
	Incorrect	"IAMBIG"
	Incorrect	"maze"
	Incorrect	" I am big"
	Incorrect	"ombro?"
	Incorrect	"think big"

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Five Second Test: Iambic

	Finding	Insight	Recommendation
Product/Service Awareness	0 of 26 participants could correctly identify the product/service offered by the company	The purpose of a home/splash page is to announce to users what you can provide for them. Not doing so risks a “fly by” visit that will not create interest and conversion.	Consider a design that highlights more concretely a focus on footwear and advancements in how it can be manufactured and delivered
Memorability	Most memorable aspects of this design are: Color Size of company/product name Presence of a photo	Red is an attention-grabbing color. However, Visual dominance of this color risks minimizing critical aspects of the business There are cultural meanings associated with red (danger, urgency in Western cultures) that could be problematic	If there is a vested company identity interest in the use of red, consider using it as an accent color (less is more)
Visual Appeal	15 of 26 rate the design on the negative side of the scale; another 6 indicate a neutral reaction		Create 5-6 alternate designs and preference test each one for desirability and visual appeal.
Brand Equity	14 of 26 remembered the name of the company or were reasonably close	The design helps give prominence to the company name; however, the font leaves some ambiguity that can cause confusion	Consider using a font that more explicitly distinguishes between “I” and “L”; alternatively, consider using a lowercase “i” in this product name

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Accessibility

The usability of a product, service, environment or facility by people with the widest range of capabilities

Not just who they are from a persona/profile standpoint, but also from a capabilities and inclusiveness standpoint

Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them.

More specifically, people can:

perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web
contribute to the Web

Web accessibility also benefits people without disabilities, for example:

people using mobile phones, smart watches, smart TVs, and other devices with small screens, different input modes, etc.
older people with changing abilities due to ageing
people with “temporary disabilities” such as a broken arm or lost glasses
people with “situational limitations” such as in bright sunlight or in an environment where they cannot listen to audio
people using a slow Internet connection, or who have limited or expensive bandwidth

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Accessibility

www.w3.org/

www.section508.gov

WC3 standards

Particularly if you serve or plan to do any business with government agencies in the US and in EMEA –

you may be asked for what’s called a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template), which outlines how your product or service addresses accessibility issues. It can derail a contract or a sale.

The more extreme action that can be taken is of course a lawsuit . . . Plaintiffs filed 3,225 website accessibility lawsuits in federal court in 2022 – a 12% increase over 2021.

MOST FAMOUS The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), a US non-profit organization representing blind individuals notified Target Corporation in 2005 of their website’s inaccessibility to the blind and filed a lawsuit in 2006. Target settles for somewhere around $6 million

So if you take these things into account from the get-go and design/develop accordingly, you’re not only doing the right thing by being inclusive, but you’re heading off a lot of potential headaches

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What is UX?

Technology

Functionality, Engineering, Foundation, Objective, Backend, Performance, Feasibility, Realistic, Complex

Business

Vision, Goals, Paradigm, Pragmatic, Analytics, Demographics, Stakeholders, Budget

Design

Aesthetics, Creativity, Abstraction, Subjective, Experimental, Front End, �Visual, Explains

Effectiveness, Interaction, Usability, Elegance, Simplicity

Efficiency, Logic, Relevance, Concrete, �Goal Driven

Brand Equity, Image, Style, Mrktg, Advert, Trust, Communic.

UX

User Advocacy, Research, Stories, Validity

Identity & Perception?

Elegant Functionality?

Relevance & Purpose?

Solving the right problem?

Hypotheses not proven?

Assumptions not validated?

Differentiation from competitors?

Adoption?

Conversion Rate?

Completion of tasks?

Achievement of goals?

Easily remembered?

Good first impression?

Air of authenticity/reliability?

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questions/discussion

Paul Doncaster

uxworld0903@gmail.com

Steve Krug "Don't Make Me Think"

https://sensible.com/

Nielsen Norman Group

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/

Personas/Profiles

https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/personas.html

Journey Mapping

https://uxdesign.cc/ultimate-guide-to-customer-journey-mapping-ux-tools-series-b973ca442213

Design Thinking

https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/design-thinking-process/

https://hbr.org/2018/09/why-design-thinking-works

https://mural.co/

UX Research

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/

https://maze.co/

Accessibility

www.w3.org/

www.section508.gov

https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker