anatomy of a design decision - r2.key

Anatomy of a Design Decision

User Interface Engineering

Jared M. Spool (@jmspool)

Anatomy of a Design Decision User Interface Engineering - www.uie.com

© Copyright 2010, User Interface Engineering. All Rights Reserved. 1

Henry Gray

Gray’s AnatomyFirst Edition: 1858

anatomy |əˈnatəmē| (abbr.: anat.)

noun ( pl. -mies)

the branch of science concerned with the bodily structure of humans, animals, and

other living organisms, esp. as revealed by dissection and the separation of parts.

• the bodily structure of an organism : descriptions of the cat's anatomy and behavior.

• informal, humorous a person's body : he left dusty handprints on his lady customers'

anatomies.

• figurative a study of the structure or internal workings of something :

Machiavelli's anatomy of the art of war.

ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French anatomie or late Latin anatomia, from Greek, from ana- ‘up’ + tomia ‘cutting’ (from temnein ‘to cut’ ).

What are the internal workings

of how we make design decisions?



NYTimes.com

HavenWorks.com



Etsy.com

Arngren.net



NYTimes.com, HavenWorks.com, Etsy.com, Arngren.net

Celebrity

Death-Match:

37 Signals

VS

Don Norman



37 Signals vs. Norman

37 Signals:

“We’re not designing for others...we’re designing for ourselves”

Don Norman:

“I’ve tried their products and although they have admirable qualities, they have never quite met my needs: Close is not good enough. After reading the article, I understand why: the developers are arrogant and completely unsympathetic to the people who use their products.”



37Signals’ Highrise

Decision Style:

Self Design

When we design something for our own use

Works great when:

Our users are just like us

We regularly use it just like our users do



SolutionIP



American Airlines

Decision Style:

Unintentional Design

When the design just happens on its own

Works great when:

Our users will put up with whatever we give them

We don’t care about support costs or pain from frustration



LingsCars.com

UnintentionalDesign

SelfDesign

GeniusDesign

Design Decision Styles

Initial focus

on complexity

&

ease of use

Designing for

users beyond

ourselves



BrynMawrSchool.org

Chapin.edu



Imperial.ac.uk

New City Media



Decision Style:

Genius Design

When we’ve previously learned what users need

Works great when:

We already know their knowledge, previous experiences, and contexts

We solving the same design problems repeatedly

UnintentionalDesign

SelfDesign

GeniusDesign

Activity-Focused Design


Initial focus

on complexity

&

ease of use

Designing for

users beyond

ourselves

Designing

something we’ve

never designed b

efore



Lab Test Request System Users & Activities

Users: Doctors, nurses, lab technicians, managers

Activities:

Request a lab test

Get notified of new test

Find sample

Send back results

Get notified of results

Integrate results into patient’s chart



Decision Style:


When we’re designing for new activities unfamiliar to us

Works great when:

We can easily identify the users and their activities

We need to go beyond our own previous experiences

Innovations can come from removing complexity

Six Flags: Mike Kazarnowicz, Joe Rollerfan (Flickr)



Disney World, Joe Penniston (Flickr)

Joanna8555 (Flickr)



Six Flags = Activities

Disney = Experience



UnintentionalDesign

SelfDesign

GeniusDesign


Experience-Focused Design


Initial focus

on complexity

&

ease of use

Designing for

users beyond

ourselves

Designing

something we’ve

never designed b

efore

Need to fill in th

e

gaps between

the activities

Bestbuy.com

Activities

Experience



NeonatalIntensive Care

Unit

Users: Doctors, nurses, lab technicians, managers

Activities:Request a lab test

Get notified of new test

Find sample

Send back results

Get notified of results

Integrate results into patient’s chart

What’s it like to be an experienced nurse?

What’s it like to be a rotation resident?

What are the different contexts where test results are needed?

What does the total experience look like?

Improving NICU Quality of Care



Decision Style:


When we’re designing for the entire experience

Works great when:

We want to improve our users’ complete experiences, in between the specific activities

We can be pro-active about the designs

Game-changing innovations are the top priority

UnintentionalDesign

SelfDesign

GeniusDesign




Initial focus

on complexity

&

ease of use

Designing for

users beyond

ourselves

Designing

something we’ve

never designed b

efore

Need to fill in th

e

gaps between

the activities



Rule-basedDecisions

vs. InformedDecisions



Site Guidelines

Rule #17:

Always put

the search box

in the upper right



Wamu.com

WellsFargo.com



Amazon

Amazon (circa 2006)



Best Buy

Site



CityOfTucson.gov (circa 2006)

Site



Site

University of Miami



Site Guidelines

Rule #17:

Always put

the search box

in the upper right

Design style guides

andguidelines

never work!



Rule-baseddecisions

Informeddecisions

Prevents

thinking Requires

thinking

Fails on any

exception cases

Works with

normal and

exception cases

InformingDesign



Process

Methodology

Dogma

tsa.gov



redmaryland.blogspot.com



SAFE

?

BAD?

SAFE

?

BAD?

Instrument of Terrorism?

SAFE

?

BAD?



Dogma:An unquestioned faith independent of any supporting evidence

Process

Methodology

Dogma

Techniques

Tricks

Rule & faith-baseddecision makingInformed

decision making



Rule-baseddecisions

Informeddecisions

Style Guides

and Guidelines Design patterns

Salesforce.com



UnintentionalDesign

SelfDesign

GeniusDesign




Eating your owndog food

UsabilityTesting

FieldStudies

Personas&

Patterns

Useful Discoveries about Design Decision Styles

Every style has its purpose

UnintentionalDesign

SelfDesign

GeniusDesign



Initial focus

on complexity

&

ease of use

Designing for

users beyond

ourselves

Designing

something we’ve

never designed b

efore

Need to fill in th

e

gaps between

the activities





Great designers know which style they’re using

SelfDesign



GeniusDesign


Great designers use the same style for the entire project

Great teams ensure everyone uses the same style

The more advanced the style, the more expensive

Agencies can’t go beyond Genius Design

Activity-focused & Experienced-focused must be done in-house

The more advanced the style, the better the design


Great designers know which style they’re using



What kind of designer

do you aspire to be?



What kind of designer

do you aspire to be?

YvettesBridalFormal.com



GeorgeHutchins.com

Anatomy of aDesign Decision

You need to know which decision style you’re using

Unintended, Self, Genius, Activity-focused, or Experience-focused

Encourage informed decisions and avoid rule-based decisions

Techniques and tricks are more effective than methodologies and dogma

Choose the right techniques and tricks for your next decision style



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