User Experience Doesn’t Happen on a Screen -

It Happens in the Mind

Psychology + User Experience + InnovationBrilliant Experience

John Whalen, PhD Founder & CEO, Brilliant Experience

President, UXPA-DC

UX is all about listening

"Listening is a hugely powerful form of attention. It's presence. And if you are really listening, you are genuinely curious and you are open to be surprised and changed by what comes back at you.”

-Krista Tippett

About John

PhD Cognitive Science Johns Hopkins University

Cognitive Neuroscience

Vision Science

Linguistics

John Whalen, PhD CEO, UX Lead

Post Doc. at UCLA during dot.com boom

Professor in Psychology

CEO, UX Lead Brilliant Experience

President, UXPADC

User Insights

Strategy

User Experience

Brilliant Experience

Psychology + User Experience + Innovation

Brilliant Experience Psychology + Innovation + Design

We help companies to build brilliant user experiences by listening to users’ drives, wants and needs.

(Mom: That’s nice dear, but…)

What is user experience?

A responsive design?

What is User Experience?The look and feel?

What is User Experience? The interaction design?

NO UX doesn’t happen on a screen.

UX happens in the mind.

Vision / AttentionLanguage

MemoryEmotion

Wayfinding

Decision Making

UX is multi-dimensional and multi-sensory.

Introducing the Six Minds

Vision /Attention

What is the user looking for? What is drawing attention? A word? A shape? An image?

Wayfinding

Vision /Attention

How do you maneuver and interact? How do you know where you are? How do you go from place to place?

Wayfinding

Vision /Attention

Memory

What is the person’s frame of reference? What are they expecting? What do they associate with these ideas?

Language Wayfinding

Vision /Attention

MemoryWhat words do they use? What is the meaning to them? How expert are they? What is the right tone?

Language Wayfinding

Vision /Attention

MemoryEmotion

What are they feeling at this moment? What life goals are in play? What do they fear / strive for?

Language Wayfinding

Vision /Attention

MemoryEmotion

DecisionMaking

What is their decision making flow? What info do they need at each stage? What is their “problem space”?

That is all well and good John but…

…how do you a digital user experience?

design select uncover determine evaluate agree on

Ask the right questions and listen.

The UX will emerge from the users’ words and behaviors.

How we listen to the Six Minds

Vision / Attention

We get both conscious and subconscious behavior.

We look at group behavior with rolling 5-second snapshots of eye flow.

Conscious: Seeking action near citation.

Subconscious: Doesn’t attend box, doesn’t provide “affordance”.

Conscious: Anticipating inline action.

Subconscious: Not drawn to box despite color.Strong bias for center column.

Vision: Observation Process

1. Traditional eye tracking data: ‣ What was looked at in first few seconds / rolling “5 second test”? ‣ What was drawing attention?

2. Going beyond eye tracking

‣ Eye tracking + verbalizations + interpretation = subconscious “mind’s eye”.

Deliverable: Map of mind’s eye

Wayfinding

Ants meander from nest to food source but make a beeline home and circle when close. Show wayfinding ability.

We can’t predict behavior - like the touch screen action by the person in the lower right frame.

Users can have trouble understanding how to interact, as is the case for the search interaction below.

They can also navigate and be surprised - thinking they would get somewhere else.

Their pattern of scanning with their eyes can indicate how they are navigating space.

Deliverable: Expected interactions and flow

Wayfinding: Observation Process

MEASUREMENT METHOD

Expected interactions Observe behavior: Clicks, swipes, etc.

Expected flow Discussion: Listen for surprise

Scan pattern Eye tracking: Distinctive patterns of scanning

Memory

Which is the real penny? We know generalities about an idea, but not specifics.

Maybe we agree to have a drink after work. Perhaps you’re thinking we’re going here.

But I was thinking here. What is different about the experience? The bathrooms?!

Ecommerce Expectations

STAGE EXPECTATIONS

Cart Change cart, coupons

Shipping Pricing, box size, requires signature?

Billing Return policy

Those expectations can also apply to digital interactions, like what you can do on an ecommerce site.

Figure 1: Cuisinart Corporate Store Figure 2: Cuisinart Web Store

ADD TO CART

What the…?

After clicking “Buy Now” would you expect to go to a screen that says “Add to Cart”?

Memory: Observation Process

1. Ask questions that uncover expectations: “What’s about to happen?”

2. Use transcripts, inferences to determine mental models

Deliverable: Mental models

Emotion

Emotions can be nearly instantaneous, and may relate to a moment, or fears / excitement about longer term goals.

This site balances family-friendly emotions and the thrill of accomplishment, like the middle-right panel.

Emotion

Emotional content can apply to business too and are thinking about what could be if they sell more.

Emotion: Observation Process

1. Use contextual inquiry to generate empathy

2. Probe for big goals, fears, not just immediate term tasks

Deliverable: Emotional map: goals, fears and elicitations of each

Language

Language is constantly in flux. What words are used by the target audiences, and at what times (e.g., these texts)?

How many people know what a “Transient Ischemic Attack” is? Might the term “Mini-stroke” be better?

When singles and those with small families talk about weekends, very different words come out.

Kelly

Luxu

ry

Roya

l Tre

atm

entW

illing

to p

ay m

ore

Wha

t you

wan

t whe

neve

rFl

y aw

ay a

t whi

m

Defin

eLux

ury

Limo

at A

irpor

tM

assa

geSh

oe S

hine

Best

Resta

uran

ts

Every

one a

t a to

uch o

f a bu

tton

Exotic

Food

s

Pampe

red

First Clas

s Cab

in

Elite Status

Love it. Easy t

o get spoiled

Love it

Feel special

Well treated

Aspire to do/getTravel around the world

Surfing

Seaboard Cruise

Cards & Money

VacationSpend On

TennisCross FitHome ImprovementClothing

Eating Out90% Card UseDiscoverUnited Club Card

Amazon VISACostCo AMEX 5% Cash Back Holidays

Wor

ld V

iew

Most Important

Health & Family

Work-Life Balance

Relaxing on Vacation

Peace of Mind

Successful

Lucky to Have Job

Have Piece of Mind

Fortunate + Hard Working

Be Promoted

Afford Home

Improve Health

Mad

e It

Fina

ncia

l Goa

ls

Two

Hom

es, R

enta

ls

No W

orry

ing

Abou

t Bills

Wor

k-Li

fe B

alan

ce

Char

ities

Child

Can

cer

Mea

ls on

Whe

els

SF S

ymph

ony

Parki

nson

's

5-Yea

r Goa

ls

Vacati

on H

ouse

Intern

ation

al Tra

vel

Retirem

ent S

aving

sNew Car

New Home

Life Style

Travel

Palm SpringsLas VegasWine Country

Cars

Infinity G25Audi A4

MB C-ClassMB SLK

Non-TravelCrossfit

Volunteer

Triathlon

Symphony

Opera

Dinner with Friends

Movies

Brands

Virgin America

Ritz

MarriottMandarin

Shangri-LaMercedes

Neiman M

arcusFerigam

mo

Services

HousekeeperG

ardinerContractor

Lazy, Sleep InAssociations between words and their meanings can also

vary widely and must be tested.

Language: Observational Process

1. Record interviews, analyze transcripts for word usage ‣ How do words/ideas vary by group (e.g., novice/expert)

2. Probe for detailed meaning of terms

Deliverable: Word frequencies (Wordle) and associations

Decision Making

Sales can soar when the right decision making information is presented to help the process.

If you had 100,000 devices connected to the internet, how would you decide which ones to service first?

Summarizing data can make that decision easier than just providing a giant list.

Observational Process

1. Ask: What is the flow of their decision making?

2. Observe: What do they need to know when?

3. Infer: What do they think the “problem space” is? Is that really it?

Deliverable: Definition of problem space and just-in-time assistance

Real-World Application

Emergent Process

INTELLIGENCE

‣ Team Landscape Session (Goals & Drivers)

‣ Previous Research Examination

‣ Expert Review ‣ Analytics ‣ Competitor Comparable

Review ‣ Stakeholder Interviews

(Business Strategy)

Formalized Questions

Emergent Process

INTELLIGENCE INSIGHTS

‣ Team Landscape Session (Goals & Drivers)

‣ Previous Research Examination

‣ Expert Review ‣ Analytics ‣ Competitor Comparable

Review ‣ Stakeholder Interviews

(Business Strategy)

‣ User Research/Testing: ‣ 1-on-1 in test facility or in

situ ‣ Remote moderator led

testing ‣ Focus groups ‣ Determine overlap of user

needs, project team goals, stakeholder wants.

Formalized Questions Insights & Opportunities

Emergent Process

INTELLIGENCE INSIGHTS IDEATION

‣ Team Landscape Session (Goals & Drivers)

‣ Previous Research Examination

‣ Expert Review ‣ Analytics ‣ Competitor Comparable

Review ‣ Stakeholder Interviews

(Business Strategy)

‣ User Research/Testing: ‣ 1-on-1 in test facility or in

situ ‣ Remote moderator led

testing ‣ Focus groups ‣ Determine overlap of user

needs, project team goals, stakeholder wants.

‣ Strategy Session / Design Workshop

‣ Involves team members from across organization

‣ Present them with research findings

‣ Lead through design-thinking process

‣ Sketch ideas together

Formalized Questions Insights & Opportunities Conceptual Directions

Emergent Process

INTELLIGENCE INSIGHTS IDEATION ILLUSTRATION

‣ Team Landscape Session (Goals & Drivers)

‣ Previous Research Examination

‣ Expert Review ‣ Analytics ‣ Competitor Comparable

Review ‣ Stakeholder Interviews

(Business Strategy)

‣ User Research/Testing: ‣ 1-on-1 in test facility or in

situ ‣ Remote moderator led

testing ‣ Focus groups ‣ Determine overlap of user

needs, project team goals, stakeholder wants.

‣ Strategy Session / Design Workshop

‣ Involves team members from across organization

‣ Present them with research findings

‣ Lead through design-thinking process

‣ Sketch ideas together

‣ Sketch ideas ‣ Wireframe layout ‣ Build interactive prototype ‣ Usability testing, A/B

testing, test against competitor sites

‣ Learn and refine

Formalized Questions Insights & Opportunities Conceptual Directions Validated Prototype

Emergent Process

INTELLIGENCE INSIGHTS IDEATION ILLUSTRATION

‣ Team Landscape Session (Goals & Drivers)

‣ Previous Research Examination

‣ Expert Review ‣ Analytics ‣ Competitor Comparable

Review ‣ Stakeholder Interviews

(Business Strategy)

‣ User Research/Testing: ‣ 1-on-1 in test facility or in

situ ‣ Remote moderator led

testing ‣ Focus groups ‣ Determine overlap of user

needs, project team goals, stakeholder wants.

‣ Strategy Session / Design Workshop

‣ Involves team members from across organization

‣ Present them with research findings

‣ Lead through design-thinking process

‣ Sketch ideas together

‣ Sketch ideas ‣ Wireframe layout ‣ Build interactive prototype ‣ Usability testing, A/B

testing, test against competitor sites

‣ Learn and refine

Formalized Questions Insights & Opportunities Conceptual Directions Validated Prototype

What we were told their clients needed:

“One comprehensive solution.”

This small business owner wants to get paid for managing ponds. He doesn’t want a “comprehensive solution”.

She is worried about selling more ice cream online, and wants one simple solution (not custom).

Stakeholders worked together to prioritize business goals and target audiences to identify conceptual directions.

Many sketches were made to devise the optimal solution.

All “six minds” factored into the design.

Summary

UX happens in the mind.

UX is multi-dimensional and multi-sensory.

Language Wayfinding

Vision /Attention

MemoryEmotion

DecisionMaking

Ask the right questions and listen.

The UX will emerge from the users’ words and behaviors.

Thank you!

Psychology + Innovation + DesignBrilliant Experience

John Whalen jw@brilliantexperience.com linkedin.com/in/johnwhalen

Psychology + Innovation + DesignBrilliant Experience