ux techniques

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Introduction to User Experience Techniques

4ORCE Digital

Jake Truemper @trump29

...all aspects of the end-user's interaction with the company, its services, and its products.

- Nielsen Norman Group

UX TECHNIQUES

“User Experience” Encompasses...

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UX TECHNIQUES

Technique Overview

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Usability Testinge.g. Lab Usability Testing

Interaction Designe.g. Low-Fidelity Prototyping

Field Studiese.g. Contextual Inquiry

Information Architecturee.g. Card Sorting

Opinion-Based Feedbacke.g. User Diaries

Visual Testinge.g. Moodboard Testing

Ideation Sessions & Consensus Buildinge.g. Persona Development

Expert Feedbacke.g. Expert Review

Post-Release Testinge.g. A/B Testing

UX TECHNIQUES

Usability Testing

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UX TECHNIQUES

The most established of user testing techniques, lab usability testing is an observation-based study in which representative users perform task-based testing on a site or product.

Lab Usability Testing

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UX TECHNIQUES

Unmoderated usability testing is conducted remotely without a facilitator. Modern tools collect user feedback by recording online behavior as users complete relevant tasks.

Unmoderated Usability Testing

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UX TECHNIQUES

Additional Usability Testing Variations> Remote Testing

> Competitor Testing

> Comparative Testing

> Open Web Testing

> Accessiblity Testing

> Mobile Testing / Other Device Testing

> Document / Collateral Testing

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UX TECHNIQUES

Interaction Design

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UX TECHNIQUES

Traditionally, low-fidelity prototyping used hand-drawn prototypes. Now, with tools that emulate the rough “sketchy” style of a hand-drawn prototype, pen and paper are less frequently used. Hand-drawn or not, low-fidelity prototypes are raw images with little to no visual branding applied.

Low-Fidelity Prototyping

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> Mid-Fidelity Prototyping

> High-Fidelity Prototyping

> Wireframing (Skeletal Wireframes, Functional Spec Wireframes)

UX TECHNIQUES

Additional IXD Technique Variations

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UX TECHNIQUES

Information Architecture

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UX TECHNIQUES

Card Sorting is a technique for improving the findability of content within a system. During a card sort users are given a series or “cards,” each labeled with a piece of content and are asked to sort them into intuitive categories. Maybe be an open card sort or closed (users provide category names or not).

Card Sorting

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> Tree Testing

> Story Boarding

> Mindmapping/Process Flow Diagraming

> Free Listing

UX TECHNIQUES

Additional IA Technique Variations

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UX TECHNIQUES

Field Studies

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UX TECHNIQUES

An end user tests an interface, product, or service within the environment which they will use it. CI typically begins with an interview phase where the UX pro asks prepared questions. The user is then asked to act as a mentor, teaching the UX professional how they interact with a system.

Contextual Inquiry

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> Overt or Covert Field Studies

> User Interviews

> True Intent Studies

UX TECHNIQUES

Additional Field Study Variations

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UX TECHNIQUES

Visual Testing

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UX TECHNIQUES

Moodboards are visual representations of brand attitudes that are tested with users prior to the creation of full visual design comps. Moodboards include imagery style, color palettes, typography, textures, etc., creating the overall feel of the site without layout or interaction design.

Moodboard Testing

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> Preference Testing

> Icon Testing

UX TECHNIQUES

Additional Visual Testing Variations

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UX TECHNIQUES

Ideation & Concensus Building

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UX TECHNIQUES

Persona development distills user findings down to fictional characters whose demographic information, needs and desires represent larger user segments.

Persona Development

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> Ideation Sessions

> UX Illustration/Whiteboarding

> Co-Design

> Workshops

UX TECHNIQUES

Additional Ideation & Consensus Building Technique Variations

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UX TECHNIQUES

User Opinion Studies

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UX TECHNIQUES

Users keep a journal of their interactions with a system over an extended period of time.

User Diaries

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> Focus Groups

> Surveys

UX TECHNIQUES

Additional User Opinion Techniques

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UX TECHNIQUES

Expert Feedback

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UX TECHNIQUES

An evaluator provides insights on the usability of the interface based on best practices — a quick and dirty means of getting usability feedback. Often a precursor to other user-centered design activities.

Expert Review

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> Heuristic Analysis

> Content Inventory/Audit

> Accessibility Review

> Brand Analysis

> Competitor Analysis

UX TECHNIQUES

Additional Expert Feedback Variations

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UX TECHNIQUES

Post-Release Testing

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UX TECHNIQUES

A/B testing compares two or more versions of a page on your live site by randomly dividing users between the pages and evaluating analytics data.

A/B Testing

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> Analytics

> Summative Usability Testing

UX TECHNIQUES

Additional Post-Release Techniques

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UX TECHNIQUES

General Tactics

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> Iterative Testing and Design

> Fidelity Shift

> Guerrilla/Discount/Lean UX

> Eye Tracking

UX TECHNIQUES

General Tactics

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UX TECHNIQUES

Questions?Jake Truemper@trump29

4ORCEdigital.com

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