Blog

I’m the editor of DukeHealth.org, Duke University Health System’s patient Web site. I thought I’d post a series of entries that follow our progress of redesigning a section on our site, detailing decisions made along the way and hopefully getting suggestions from all of you as to how we can make it better.
We’ve decided that our health library has to go. Or, more precisely, it needs to be wiped out and rebuilt from the ground up. Better, faster, stronger.
Piece by piece we’ve improved our site over the last year, creating more flexible designs that are attuned to user needs. We began with a new services template that we’re rolling out to all areas in that section, along with an A to Z index. Then we revamped the locations section.

Now it’s time for the educational materials.

Processing
My first step is deciding on the process to follow. We had success with this approach on a previous project:

1. Content inventory
2. Analyze existing research -- internal and external
3. User and business requirements
4. Wireframes
5. Content gathering
6. Prototype
7. User testing
8. Revisions
9. Content editing
10. Visual design
11. Development
12. QA
13. Go live

I’m always looking for a better way. A search led me to Usability.gov, which has a fairly develop user-centered design process laid out. Has anyone had success following that method?

In a project post mortem we determined that a missing step was touchpoints -- links in and out of the existing section.

The user impact is fairly significant, since missing this step could have resulted in broken links all over the place. We skirted that issue by keeping all the old pages live until we can fix the links.

But now users are getting two different locations experiences, old and new, and that’s not good, especially since the old way sucked.

So with the touchpoints step added we got:

1. Content inventory
2. Touchpoints
3. Analyze existing research--internal and external
4. User and business requirements
5. Wireframes
6. Content gathering
7. Prototype
8. User testing
9. Revisions
10. Content editing
11. Visual design
12. Development
13. QA
14. Go live

I wasn’t sure I placed the touchpoint stage in the right order. It could come later. It may be best to have it near the end so we understand all the links out. Should I split touchpoints in two: links in and links out? I kept playing with the pieces and remembering steps I was leaving out.

And several hours and a few charts later, I ended up with this:

1. Content inventory
2. Touchpoints
3. Research analysis
4. User interviews
5. Business interview
6. User and business requirements
7. Review
8. Wireframes
9. Review
10. Content gathering
11. Prototype
12. User testing
13. Revisions
14. Content editing
15. Visual design
16. Review
17. Finalize all documents
18. Development
19. QA
20. Go live
21. User testing
22. Iterate

Going through this exercise made me realize this: Without a clearly defined process before you begin, the project will fail users.

When you’re straying without purpose, the project ends up catering to the whims of what’s convenient and what the business wants.

And if you don’t plan for user inputs throughout the project, you can be sure the user needs won’t be taken into account when timelines get crunched.

I’m sure most of you can relate.

In my next post I’ll discuss our research analysis and user interviews.

I attended DIS 2006 at Penn State University from June 25 - 28. DIS (Designing Interactive Systems) is a small (around 150 attendees) conference that complements CHI by focusing more closely on processes, techniques, and tools for design. DIS is held very other year; I also attended the 2004 conference, which was held in Cambridge, MA. On both occasions, DIS has proved to be a very interesting conference that challenges received ideas about how and why we design. Some themes I noted in this year's conference... There is still a need for better methods for inspiring design and creating conceptual designs. Papers examined "inspiration card workshops" for involving users in design, effective storyboarding practices, and creating personas for children. Although methods like participatory design, storyboarding, and persona creation, are well-established, they also are still being refined and extended. This line of research reminded me that it's important not to become complacent in the use of standard methods--we should continually question our methods, even as they serve as the basis for much of our work. For example, Alissa Antle's work on personas identified two distinct approaches not ordinarily seen in persona definition: using a theoretical framework to guide persona creation (in her work, developmental psychology), and getting users to do user research (in her work, she had teenagers interview younger children). I believe both of these approaches could be fruitfully applied in a variety of domains. Extending work on ubiquitous computing, several research groups looked at augmented home and personal devices, such as flashlights, lamps, and tablecloths. Continuing interest in such devices has created the need for frameworks to guide design, leading to research on "pre-patterns" for digital home applications, and "themes" for interaction design (actually, Scott Klemmer's work in this area is generally applicable, and his paper "How Bodies Matter: Five Themes for Interaction Design" is highly recommended). At an even higher level of abstraction, one might ask, What is the outcome of design? How do we know when design is successful? A panel on "design quality" and Sol Greenspan's keynote on "lasting principles for design" both addressed this issue, and of course delivered no clear answers, but did provoke some interesting questions:

• Could "schools" of design (such as Modernism in art and architecture) play a role in interaction design? Schools are marked by both prototypes (e..g, Le Corbusier's houses) and social dialogue. Could more explicit recognition and discussion of interaction design "schools" improve our understanding of design?
• Can we move beyond the ideal of making design "invisible" (as in Don Norman's "invisible computer" or Yoshio Taniguchi's "invisible architecture") to making it visibly supportive and empowering? We might envision a design artifact that helps one feel enabled and excited--design that serves as an aid to identity.
• Do we need to rethink the role of aesthetics in interaction design? As one questioner put it, "art is not about aesthetics," but about ideas and discussion (and sometimes, provocation). Interaction design could move from "literal interpretation" to "conceptual interpretation" by refocusing on how people interpret and discuss different types of interactive systems. Alternatively, we might try to understand more carefully the specifics of aesthetic experience in the context of interaction design. Could we identify "aesthetic bugs?"

And finally, as a nice counterpoint to the idea that we can or should always "design" an appropriate "experience" for users, consider Tuck Leong's argument that randomness should be a resource for design. -Abe Technorati : dis2006

If you have a happening design project that you want to show off in a big way, grab this opportunity:
The Design Expo Raleigh (DXR) '06 has extended the entry deadline until July 7th. Entries will be judged; the best entries will get exhibit space at the DXR in October.

Each design discipline has a unique entry form and they can all be found >>here.

Never heard of DXR? Grab your calendar and pencil it in: October 20th til November 4th. Local designers will have work on display, there will be studio and architecture tours, speakers and lecturers, in short, a design bonanza. Check it out.

You are warmly invited to a complimentary reception hosted by
Human Factors International (HFI). Our Executive Director
Jerome Nadel will speak on:

"Strategic usability: Strengthening business decisionshttp://www.humanfactors.com/Raleighreception.asp.

Companies invest millions in sophisticated software and Web sites,
yet often fall short of reaching their goals. This happens when business\n
objectives and end-user needs are not in sync.

Jerome will explain how usability goes far beyond interface design
and lets you make informed business decisions that can be validated.
The user-centered design process yields data which leads to recommendations\n
addressing executive concerns: revenue model, value proposition, process
improvement, and positioning. Using examples from Fortune 500 companies,
Jerome will share a practical approach to optimize user experience while\n
improving your overall business model. The "self-serve" Internet mindset
has made usability a necessity, not a luxury.

This is an ideal opportunity to network with other business leaders who
share\n
similar challenges.

Hope to see you there!

Sheryll Ryan
Director of Business Development
Southeast Region
Human Factors International, Inc.
http://www.humanfactors.com\n
Over 25 years of global services in user-centered design

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through user-centered design"

Complimentary Reception -- drinks and hors d'oeuvres will be served
Date: Wednesday, July 12th from 4:00-7:00 pm
Location: Prestonwood Country Club, 300 Prestonwood Parkway, Cary, NC
27513

Attendance is by advance reservation only and space is limited.
Please register online: http://www.humanfactors.com/Raleighreception.asp.

Companies invest millions in sophisticated software and Web sites,
yet often fall short of reaching their goals. This happens when business
objectives and end-user needs are not in sync.

Jerome will explain how usability goes far beyond interface design
and lets you make informed business decisions that can be validated.
The user-centered design process yields data which leads to recommendations
addressing executive concerns: revenue model, value proposition, process
improvement, and positioning. Using examples from Fortune 500 companies,
Jerome will share a practical approach to optimize user experience while
improving your overall business model. The "self-serve" Internet mindset
has made usability a necessity, not a luxury.

This is an ideal opportunity to network with other business leaders who
share
similar challenges.

Hope to see you there!

Sheryll Ryan
Director of Business Development
Southeast Region
Human Factors International, Inc.
http://www.humanfactors.com
Over 25 years of global services in user-centered design

The last Triangle UPA meeting (Wednesday 6/7, hosted by Lulu) focused on using personas in design. Robert Barlow-Busch (of Quarry Integrated Communications) presented an overview of personas: "rich descriptions of key customer groups, packaged in an engaging format and backed ideally by first-hand, ethnographic-style field research." Personas have many uses--not only can they inspire and guide design, but they can bring together different groups with an organization. In particular, they encourage communication and collaboration between marketing and user experience groups. Personas help UX and marketing talk about key assumptions, develop shared understandings, explore new products and feature spaces, and make better decisions about product scope and design. (For this collaboration to be effective, though, multiple roles and departments (sales, marketing, product management, engineering/development, etc.) must be involved throughout the creation and use of personas). Robert distinguished between primary personas (who "will be unsatisfied with a product designed for anyone else"), secondary personas (less demanding, and lower priority for design), and anti-personas (used to challenge assumptions about who the customer is). UX practitioners should strive to develop clear primary personas, because these personas illuminate the key tradeoffs and compromises in a design problem. In particular, when multiple primary personas are identified, it suggests that multiple products may be needed, so that each can be tightly focused on a particular problem and type of user. Robert pointed to Geoffrey's Moore claim that technology companies should "put all their eggs in one basket" to develop narrowly focused, but highly usable and effective products which avoid feature creep. Once developed, personas must be "marketed" to the organization. Robert told one client "the personas have to attend every meeting" and "we should never again talk about 'the user'". In other words, personas should guide every element of the design cycle, including recruiting participants for usability tests. To gain this impact, personas must be credible. Therefore, they should be clearly documented--UX professionals should explain the research and analysis methods they use to develop personas. For more on personas, see the recent book on personas, in which Robert has a chapter. - Abe Technorati : personas

RDU's first BAR Camp is looking for volunteers to provide logistical and day-of help. Sponsors are also being sought; anyone who can provide (money for) meals, whiteboards, poster material, pens, etc. please contact the BAR Camp organizers. How? Check the wiki for that information and more.

Here is the latest information about Robert Barlow-Busch's full-day persona design workshop:
Getting Started With Personas
Thursday, June 8, 2006
9:00am to 5:00pm
Durham, North Carolina
Hilton Raleigh-Durham Airport Hotel
Chances are good you've heard something about "personas" recently, as
they've become a hot topic in design, usability, documentation, and
marketing. But finding concrete, comprehensive information on how to
create and use personas can be difficult. In this workshop, you'll
get a hands-on introduction to personas that demystifies the process
and explains how to use them in the design and documentation of
websites, web applications, and software.
Taught by Robert Barlow-Busch, Practice Director of Interaction
Design at Quarry Integrated Communications. Look for an invited
chapter by Robert in "The Persona Lifecycle", the first authoritative
book about personas, published earlier this month. Workshop
participants will receive a free copy of the book.
To learn more, visit:
http://personas.mollyguard.com/

Forwarded from Lourdes Cueva Chacón: Come join a discussion that explores the benefits and unpacks the mystery behind personas. Personas are a type of user profile that has emerged as a best practice in web and software design, but about which little concrete information is available. What exactly is a persona? When are they useful, and when are they not? How do you create them? Specifically, how do you make sure they're representative of actual users, and not just an exercise in creative writing? And once you have personas, what can you actually do with them? Robert Barlow-Busch from Quarry Integrated Communications will answer these questions by sharing experiences from a variety of client projects conducted over the past 5 years. This talk will be a special presentation for TriUPA and IxDA members and friends since Robert is giving a full-day persona design workshop on June 8th. (Read more details in our next post). In advance of this event, you can read about one of the case studies Robert will discuss and download some example personas from Quarry's website (examples). About Quarry and the presenter: Robert is the Practice Director of Interaction Design at Quarry Integrated Communications, a marketing and design agency. Although its Interaction Design and Usability group is based in Waterloo, Ontario, Quarry has just relocated its US headquarters to Durham and looks forward to building some ties with the professional community in RTP. Robert and Quarry are long-time members of the UPA and frequent presenters at the annual conference and at chapter meetings, speaking on topics such as the basics of usability testing, personas, and how marketing and usability could work more closely together (yes, it's true: they can!). Robert has about 15 years experience across a variety of industries in Canada, the US, and Europe. After a particularly frustrating client meeting in 2001, in which nobody could agree who the customer was, Robert introduced personas to Quarry's design process. The team's work since then caught the attention of Forrester Research, who has identified Quarry as source of expertise in their report Where to Get Help With Persona Projects. Also, look for an invited chapter by Robert in The Persona Lifecycle, the first book to give an in-depth look at the practice of personas. When: Wednesday, June 7th at 6:00pm Where: Lulu Press Inc 800 Aviation Pkwy Suite 300 Morrisville, NC 27560 Map to Event Starting with this event, the coordinators are recommending places for participants to meet before and after the event. Before, in case you need to have some food in order to survive such a long day, and after, in case you want to keep chatting on the topic or just have a drink with your TriUPA fellows. So here our recommendations: Before event: (Map to) Village Deli Morrisville, just 2 blocks from Lulu. Feel free to bring your food to Lulu. After hours venue: (Map to) El Meson Mexican Restaurant

Daniel A. Reed, a world-renowned authority on high-performance computing, will offer a glimpse of 2016 and the wonders (and annoyances) that new technologies are likely to bring over the next decade in a presentation Tuesday, May 30, on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. Computing the Future: Release 2016

I attended CHI 2006 in Montreal from April 24 - 27. CHI is the major conference for HCI research (in the broadest sense, ranging from input and interaction techniques to field studies of complex work situations). It also attracts a large community of practitioners, particularly from the major software and hardware companies. Attendance was estimated at 2,400+, which is up significantly from the past few years, implying a relatively robust tech industry, along with growing interest in HCI and UX. Recruiting was notably robust. Microsoft had so many job postings they needed a 3-ring binder to hold them all. Google, Yahoo, eBay and SAP also had large recruiting presences. Some thoughts from the sessions I attended: The Route to the Sea for User Value This panel, with managers from Oracle, Intuit, World Savings Bank, and Sony/Ericsson, addressed the perennial challenge of integrating effective UX work into product development processes. Jeremy Ashley (Oracle) argued strongly that "we [UX professionals] have to have influence"--we must work with and persuade complementary groups (such as documentation and performance engineering) of UX's importance. More broadly, we must assume accountability for UX, "no matter what." Blaming other groups for not accepting the UX perspective is self-defeating. Perhaps the best approach, said Janice Rohn (World Savings Bank), is to "start in the boardroom" by understanding executives' goals. The challenge is that while "nobody in the corporate world says usability isn't important, they don't understand what it entails." The range and depth of work required to create great user experiences is still widely unappreciated. UX practitioners need to build relationships with engineering and product development executives to help bridge this gap. Ultimately, the goal is to make UX practices ubiquitous, so that "it's not just UX saying it's important to improve the navigation, it's the business saying it's important to improve the navigation." Until we reach that product-development utopia, said Lisa Anderson (Intuit) it's critical to "follow through on your passions." Don't give up on what you believe is right for users, despite the obstacles. Human-Information Interaction This panel addressed the provocative question of whether studying human information interaction (AKA behavior) should be separate from (but complementary to) HCI. Peter Pirolli and Stu Card made strong arguments for focusing on deeper theoretical issues such as what information structures best support people's cognitive functions, and how to represent information in large "information landscapes." Research needs to address these fundamental issues instead of just developing and testing new types of interfaces or interaction styles. (So, if anything, HCI should be a subset of HII). Tagging An example of HII research might be tagging and social bookmarking practices. A large panel featuring Josh Schacter of del.icio.us and George Furnas of Michigan debated the purposes and uses of tags. Definitions of "tag" included: "annotations," "loose associations," "rich ways of linking disparate objects" and "nicknames for groups of things." While many interesting ideas were proposed (including the idea that tags are the harbinger of widespread growth of communities around metadata), I had the sense that our understanding of how tags are used is still limited. Discussion focused on recall (AKA refindability) and "distribution" (social sharing of tagged information). But answers are missing to the broad questions, What are tags used for? and Are tagging systems effective? So, developing a deep understanding of tagging practices and what underlying information problems these practices are addressing could be a significant contribution to "HII." This contribution, in turn, would support the develop of new interfaces for the creation and use of tags. Some recommended readings:

• Paul Dourish, Implications for Design. Easily the most-discussed paper at CHI. Dourish argues that "ethnographic" HCI research has become impoverished by an analytical/methodological stance that treats ethnographic data simply as an input to requirements definition. Required reading for anyone interested in field-based/contextual approaches in HCI and UX.
• MS Research, Fast, Flexible Filtering with Phlat - Personal Search and Organization Made Easy. MSR team continues to improve and evalute desktop search.
• MS Research, FaThumb: A Facet-based Interface for Mobile Search. Very nice mobile search UI from another MSR team.

-Abe