Day 1 we learnt about UX in general, the need for it and how to kick off a UX design. We learnt about various forms of researching. We chose a project and conducted interviews with a varied group of people to explore the topic of choice with no preconceived solutions.
Day 2 was all about what comes after research.
The purpose is to find meaning in the data. This is often a messy process. The why behind a piece of data is more important than the what.
Affinity mapping is one such technique used to find the needle in the haystack.
What is affinity mapping ?
Affinity mapping is about organising a large amount of data into groups based on their natural relationships. It is used to discover embedded patterns. Its mainly used when you have a large amount of qualitative data.
Why use affinity mapping ?
Things to bear in mind with affinity mapping :
< 3 data points is weak
> 10 data points is weak (as it could be an overarching idea and can be broken down)
Any group formed by data from one user is weak
What is the process of affinity mapping ?
The idea is to represent each behaviour collected in research on a sticky note. Sort them by commonalities. Sort them based on why. This is an extrapolation. These are the insights.
Rule 1 : it has to be something you observed, or a quote or a behaviour
Rule 2 : No solutioning allowed. Don't assume what people need before you know the problem they all have.
Personas
Persona is a representation of a group of people who are facing a particular problem. When you design for everyone, you design for no one. Hence personas are important.
Why create personas ?
What does a persona include ?
A photo. This is mainly for empathy
A summary about them
Key characteristics
Frustrations
Needs
A day in the life of
Personas may include scenarios. Describe what they do and why they would do it. Make sure you mention a context around it.
You can craft rich scenarios for personas.
The next step is to create a problem statement. This is from the persona's point of view.
One format is : [Persona] needs a way to [user's need] because [insights]
Once we are equiped with a problem statement and personas , we are ready to design a great UX.
What makes a good product experience ?
Usefulness
Ease of use
Delightful to interact with
Designing for usefulness
Successful products solve a problem. Really embrace the users at every journey .
Designing for Ease of use
A usable product is Useful and Intuitive. So Design for intuitiveness.
What is an Intuitive UX ?
It matches the mental model of a human to the conceptual model of the technology.
Mental model is a person's thought process for how something works. These are based on incomplete facts, past experiences and intuitive perceptions. It represents our preconceived notion.
Conceptual model is the actual model that is communicated to the user through the UI of the product. Its how the system actually works.
When a system's conceptual model closely matches the mental model of a user, the system is intuitive.
Designing for Delight
There is a borderline between delight and bribery
Delightful = usable + thoughtful + fun (serotonin release)
To achieve the above goals, it is necessary to understand intrinsic human traits and its implications on design.
Trait : People don't want to work
Implications :
Provide default when applicable
Show examples instead of instructions
Only provide features that people really need. Having more features just clutter up experience
Show little bit of info and let them see more if they want to i.e progressive disclosure
Trait : People have limitations
Implications :
Can read only so much text before losing interest
Make info easy to scan
Group and chunk information
Multi tasking is a myth
Trait : People make mistakes
Implications :
Design to prevent errors from occurring
Trait : Human memory is complicated
Implications :
People reconstruct memories. Which means they are always changing. Its better to observe them in action than just take their word for it
Memory is fragile, it degrades and is unreliable
People can only remember 3-4 things
Trait : People are social
Implications :
Social validation
Synchronous behaviour
Reciprocity
Imitation
Trait : Attention
Implications :
Attention is the key to designing an engaging UI
Different or novelty
People are easily distracted
Trait : People crave information
Implications:
System feedback is important
Trait : Visual System
Implications :
Cluttered contents are bad for information assimilation
Use grouping to help the eye focus and to help guide the visual flow
Food for thought
