attitude adjustmentvaluing developers in ux and usability
DESCRIPTION
You've been tasked a project and you're part of a team. They're talking UX, persona's, testing, requirements and research. Where do you fit in and become an invaluable part of the development process? What IS the UX process? In this session you'll learn how, as a developer both back and front end, you ARE a valued and integral part of a successful product working within a UX/UI team and workflow. We'll briefly take a project or premise through a stepped iteration. We'll look at the team structure, why it flows the way it does and the advantage of working within a UX team. From a developer’s point of view, we'll discuss where you fit in and what part in the collaboration UX process you play. This is a participatory session so be prepared to raise your hand and collaborate!TRANSCRIPT
Marcella Missirian
11/16/14
SoCalCodeCamp.com
Attitude Adjustment
Valuing Developers in UX and Usability
Marcella Missirian
UX Director
President, UXPALA
Entrepreneur, visual designer, developer, user experience evangelist
and cook. Marcella grew up in the LA area and is the rare Los Angeles
native as well as worldwide traveler.
Marcella has a background in economics, business and political
science but spent most of her higher education years immersed in art,
visual and performance experiences and as well as being a
professional pastry chef.
Marcella's work has been seen and used globally and has inspired an
entire generation of designers and continues to set the standard for
usability and user experience that is not only functional but is rich in
emotional experience as well as delightful!
Marcella is a digital expert, entrepreneur, innovator and thinker and is
the Executive Director of UXPA (User Experience Professional
Association of Los Angeles) and active participant at many design, ux
and technology events throughout the world.
Everyone is welcome to UXPA of LA events. If you're in the
Technology, UX, design or the like field, join our meetup page to get
updates on events, forum discussion on issues and resources related
to your field.
UXPALA — http://www.meetup.com/UXPALA/
@Marcella_UX
www.linkedin.com/in/marcellamissirian/
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 2
Today we’ll talk about
you, the developer and
your valuable and integral
role working within a
UX/UI team and workflow.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 3
You’re on a new project and the teams talking UX, persona's, testing, prototypes, iterations, and
research. Where do you fit in and become an invaluable part of the development process? What
IS the UX process?
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 4
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 5
LET’S START WITH – WHAT IS UX AND USABILITY?
Wikipedia User Experience:
User Experience (UX) involves a person's behaviors, attitudes, and emotions
about using a particular product, system or service.
Marcella’s definition:
UX is the study of the human and everything that is not human and how we
relate and use those objects around us.
Wikipedia Usability:
Ease of use and learnability of a human-made object.
Marcella’s definition:
Usability means structuring things so you don't leave your users angry,
frustrated, and complaining about you on Facebook or Twitter.
UX WORKFLOW BASICS
• Idea – Let’s make a new widget
• Persona Development • (testing)
• Prototyping• (testing)
• User Journey• (testing)
• Wire Framing• (testing)
• Back/Front End Development• (testing)
• User Interface• (testing)
• Release• (testing)
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 6
The cycle of development keeps turning around and if you’re doing it right,
you’re always improving.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 7
THE IMPORTANT OF UX AND USABILITY
What is the first thing people will do when a site is
difficult to use?
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 8
DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?
1. “It’s hard to use & ugly!”
2. “I just don’t understand
how to use this!”
3. “The performance of this
application sucks!”
4. “Was this application
designed for me or an
engineer?”
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 9
SO WHERE DO YOU START?
• Who are your users?
• What do you want them to do on your site?
• What do they want to do on your site?
• How tech-savvy are your users?
• Where will your users go if your site isn't
working for them?
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 10
BUILDING THE PROJECT-
REQUIREMENTS AND IDEATION• Requirements — Create a script/list of the
most common procedures or tasks on your
site.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 11
BUILDING THE PROJECT-PERSONA
DEVELOPMENT• Create Personas — an aggregate user based
on common traits in a group of users. On
average there are at least 3 persona’s per
project/product.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 12
BUILDING THE PROJECT-STRATEGY
• Strategy — Identify success criteria.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 13
BUILDING THE PROJECT-TESTING
• Testing — Sit down with users individually and
give them one task at a time. Ask them neutral
questions and tasks. Record each session for
review.
• What to test? Old design
Competitor's websites
Sites popular with your users
Proposed site
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 14
BUILDING THE PROJECT-PROTOTYPING
• Mock-up the project or product.
• Use paper and pencil, clay, PowerPoint,
Word, use anything that quick and you feel
comfortable using.
• Test the prototype. Draw screens for each
swipe or tap or touch.
• Test on family and friends.
• Make adjustments.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 15
BUILDING THE PROJECT-USER JOURNEY
AND EXPERIENCE MAPPING• Story board your product.
Where does the user start?
Do they login?
Do they get to their home page?
How do they find information?
What’s the end result?
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 16
BUILDING THE PROJECT-WIREFRAMING
• Create skeleton layouts that show function
and form but no graphics
• Test these layouts
with people that fit
your persona
development
• Adjust, tweek, test,
adjust, tweek, test
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 17
BUILDING THE PROJECT-DEVELOPMENT
• Based on: Persona characteristics and behavior
User Journey
Experience Mapping
Testing through each step
Strategy
Success indicators
Back and front end coding begins
User Interface Design begins
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 18
BUILDING THE PROJECT-TESTING,
TESTING, TESTING• When development is in process, do more
testing
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 19
BUILDING THE PROJECT-RELEASE
• Nothing will ever be perfect.
• MVP = Most Viable Product
• If you think you’re done, you would be wrong
• Iterative process means you keep going and
changing things based on user feedback and
testing
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 20
CASE STUDY-MOBILE APP
• Working with a developer, Jon, who didn’t
want to be involved.
• Very grouchy
• Just tell him what we wanted done
• Jon didn’t like meetings and thought they
were useless
• Jon didn’t understand all the post-its and
white boards and didn’t read any of the notes.
• Jon didn’t care what a persona was.
• BUT – he would have all changes completed
very quickly
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 21
CASE STUDY-MOBILE APP
• The team wanted Jon’s input
• When they showed him wireframes and
designs and explained to him function he
would sigh, grumble and respond with
“That can’t be done.”
“This language is limited and that stuff would
break so I don’t think you should build it.”
“I know what I’m doing and I know what
people like to use.”
• BUT – again, he would have all changes
completed very quickly regardless of the
complaining. 11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 22
CASE STUDY-MOBILE APP
• Without Jon’s participation and input, the
project dragged on and he was doing more
work than necessary.
• The team was frustrated and felt the process
was not moving forward and they were getting
resentful of Jon.
• Jon was frustrated and felt like he wasn’t
being listened to.
• BUT Jon worked really fast.
• But now the costs were going up because of
re-work.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 23
CASE STUDY-MOBILE APP
• The UX process at it’s fundamental core is
collaboration.
• It often involves stepping on each other’s
toes.
• Getting messy.
• Breaking things.
• This is all for the Identified User.
• Every thought, every post-it, every function is
to simplify and make delightful.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 24
CASE STUDY-MOBILE APP-THE USER
• Know your user, and you are not that user.
• Don't overwhelm the user.
• Consistency, consistency, consistency.
• The user should control the system. The
system should not control the user. The user
is the boss and the system should show it.
• User should be able to do what they want.
• Strive to empower the user, not speed up the
system.
• Minimize the need for a mighty memory-don’t
make them think.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 25
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• I brought lunch into
the office.
• I picked up Jon’s
favorite – Bay Cities
Deli.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 26
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• I set up all the
sandwiches in the
conference room.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 27
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• With the TV on.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 28
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• To the moderated user testing we had
completed the week before.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 29
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• Jon watched, paused, rewound and fast-
forwarded all three tapes for hours.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 30
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• The next day, I brought coffee and bagels
into our “situation room.” (work area)
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 31
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• Jon was told of the bagels and coffee and
didn’t just grab 3 and leave…
• He stayed.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 32
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• The grumpy, grouchy attitude came out full
throttle, even after 2 cups of coffee and
probably 2-3 bagels.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 33
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• So we set up some rules: Rule 1 — When giving feedback or commenting on
another’s work, start with 2 positives before any
constructive criticism.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 34
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• So we set up some rules: Rule 2 — Get over arguments quickly and move on. This
is not about you but about the work. Remove your ego.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 35
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• So we set up some rules: Rule 3 — Make the right time for each other and
recognize we are all a very crucial part of the team.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 36
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• So we set up some rules: Rule 4 — Get what you need from others and make sure
they get what they need from you. Listen. Listen. Listen.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 37
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• So we set up some rules: Rule 5 — Share the blame and the fame.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 38
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• So we set up some rules: Rule 6 — Learn from each other. Care for each other.
Stop the laziness and be kind.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 39
SOLUTION TO CASE STUDY
• So we set up some rules: Rule 7 — Soft skills are the key. You’ll get more
accomplished.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 40
WHAT MAKES A GREAT TEAM?
A desire to give control over something to a
colleague who can make it bigger, better, more
beautiful!
–Nic Ford, dConstruct
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 41
EXERCISE
• Say 2 nice things to the person on your right
then 1 piece of constructive criticism.
• Reverse Roles.
• Identify 2 of your strongest soft skills to the
person on your right. Soft skills is a term often associated with a person's "EQ"
(Emotional Intelligence Quotient), the cluster of personality traits,
social graces, communication, language, personal habits,
friendliness, and optimism that characterize relationships with
other people.
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 42
QUESTIONS
Marcella Missirian
@Marcella_UX
11/18/20
14 Attitude Adjustment — Valuing Developers in UX and Usability — 43