Post on 17-Oct-2014
description
Tell Me About That
Using stories in interviews &
personas
Whitney Quesenbery
STC New York Metro
Octobr 27, 2011
Hi! Whitney
User researcher
Theatre designer
Storytelling as a way to understand users,
their culture, and context in UX design
Kevin
UX designer
Performance storyteller
Storytelling as a pivotal part of creation,
performance, and the design process
How do we use stories in UX?
3
A human-centred design process
4 ISO 9241-210(formerly ISO 13407)
Stories are embedded in user experience
Collecting stories tell
us about context,
goals, people
Themes and patterns help
us understand world views
Design tells a new story
that changes something
about the world
Usability evaluation is a
way of trying the story out
Success?
We just don‟t call them stories
User research
Ethnography
Contextual inquiry
Site visits Personas
Affinity analysis
Scenarios
Storyboards
Wireframes
Prototypes
Usability Testing
Walk-throughs
Analytics
Stories add depth to the big picture
Showing activities in context help you understand more clearly when, where and how a product will be used.
Stories are an efficient way to communicate non-functional requirements or user characteristics
Thinking in stories connects similar activities, attitudes, or goals across functions.
Why stories?
8
Stories add connection and empathy
A richer understanding of people and context
Innovation from real needs
More persuasive ideas
People in the center of the process
Changing a story can change the way we think
―Our experience of the world is
shaped by our interpretations of it,
the stories we tell ourselves.... so
the key to personal transformation
is story transformation.‖
Timothy Wilson, author of “Redirect”
Maria Popova, „Redirect‟: A New Way to Think about Psychological Change. The Atlantic, September 9, 2011 www.theatlantic.com
Stories create relationships
Stories create connections
Stories create connections
Stories create connections
What kind of connections do you want to make?
A story is created by everyone who hears it
A story is created by everyone who hears it
A story is created by everyone who hears it
Is this a good UX story?
Scenarios become stories when we add emotion
As a [role] I can [do something] so that [benefit]
+
+
Imagery + Emotion + Context + Motivation
Stories help us explore complex interactions
20
Stories are efficient
What can we learn about Tanner from this short story?
Tanner was deep into a Skatepunkz game—
all the way up to level 12—when he got a
buddy message from his friend, Steve, with
a question about his homework.
He looked up with a start. Almost bedtime
and his homework was still not done. Mom or
Dad would be in any minute.
Stories can be visual
22
Stories turn a profile into a persona
Aged 30-45
45% married with children
65% college educated
Use the web 3-5 times a week
Elizabeth, 32 years old
Married to Joe, has a 5-year old son, Justin
Attended State College, and manages her class alumni site
Uses Google as her home page, and reads CNN online
Used the web to find the name of a local official
Stories start with listening
2
Listening Exercise
Find a partner – maybe someone you don’t know
You will each tell the other about something. You’ll have 1 minutes
If you are the listener - just listen. Don’t have to talk, interrupt or fill silences.
I’ll call time, and then we’ll switch.
Tell the other person about a holiday tradition you share with your friends or family.
Feedback
What was that like?
As the storyteller?
As the listener?
26
Listening is not a competitive sport
In many cultures, we are chronically ―under-listened-to‖
Be an appreciative listener
Give them your full attention
Acknoweldge what you hear, non-verbally
Give the person time to think as well as talk
Don’t rush the end – sometimes people have one last thought
27
On your own
Practice really listening:
• Find a partner
• Ask them to tell you about
something…perhaps something that
they are proud of, or a difficult event.
• Let them talk for 2 minutes
• Just listen. Give them your attention.
Don‟t interrupt them. Just let them
talk.
• Then switch.
• Share what you learned about the
experience of being really listened to.
Listen (and watch) for juicy tidbits
Stories you hear from more than one source
Strong detail and action
Details that illuminate other user data or analytics
Stories that contradict common beliefs
Simple, clear, and compelling
28
Stories and UX starts with listening (& observing)
In all of your user research, make time for stories
Go beyond basic questions
Ask about context: when, where, why (not just how)
Find out what they want to tell you
Just say ―tell me about that‖
29
Who can you hear the best stories from
People with no connection to your
company who work in the context your
product supports
People who match the demographics of
the target users, and who have similar
domain experience
People who recently worked in the domain
and are still close to the job
People in your company who work with
your product in the field
Trainers, technical support personnel, and
others who support users in the field
Subject matter experts who do not work in
the domain
30
Best
Worst
Ask the questions that encourage stories
“When was the last time you [did that thing]?”
“Have you ever [done something]?” “How often do you [do that thing]?” “What makes you decide to [do that thing]?” “Where do you [do that thing]?”
+
“Tell me about that.”
(and really listen)
+
Interviewing exercise
You work for an e-commerce site that specializes in business gifts. You are looking for ideas for your holiday promotion that aren’t the ―same old things.‖
First, write down 2-3 questions you want to ask.
Make them open-ended, not just yes-no questions.
Are you looking for problems you can fix?
Or ways you can make the experience more delightful?
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Interviewing exercise (2)
Find a partner. You’ll each have about 5 minutes each to interview each other.
Think about ways to encourage them to share their experiences
Don’t be afraid to follow their lead
But don’t forget your goal
I’ll call time, so we all stay together
33
Personas and stories
3
Personas let you explore situations and ideas
The persona as a character provides perspective
The relationships create the context
The imagery suggests emotional connections
The language can suggest the voice of the persona
Personas represent groups of stories
Similar goals, beliefs, attitudes
Similar ways of engaging in the activity
Similar personal characteristics
Shared stories
Navigates easily
The web saves me time
Visits a lot of different sites
Uses e-commerce
Mistrustful of info online
Leaves a site quickly
No-nonsense. Doesn‟t like cute
Very deliberate approach to web
Takes notes as she works
Uses search
Likes to print long pages to read and save
Healthcare example
Melissa InfoSeeker
Laura Caregiver
Elizabeth Expert
“I don‟t like to go backwards to go forwards”
Goals:
Looking for new information
Typical Questions:
What is <condition>?
Am I at risk?
Top Usability Need:
Engaging - I can tell I‟m in
the right place by the
amount and level of
information
Risks
Curious - needs to be
drawn in. Little sense of site
loyalty
“I want to know how to help my husband”
Goals:
Looking for helpful
information
Typical Questions:
What do I need to know
about it? What are the next
steps I should take?
Top Usability Needs:
Effective - I need resources,
and the right information
Risks
Needs information she can
act on
Goals:
Information I can use
Answers to specific questions
Typical Questions:
Tell me something new
I want the latest!
I need <this> information.
Top Usability Needs:
Efficient: Give me a search
box and I‟ll tell you exactly
what I want
Risks
Already knows the basics
“I don‟t stay on a site long if nothing jumps out at me”
Stories organize data in memorable ways
Personas not only organize data and facts, but help us recognize the persona as someone we can empathize with
Stories organize facts in recognizable ways.
Just LIke Me - Determining Eligibility Online with Personalized Narratives - Thea van der Geest and Lex van Velsen, UPA 2010
Crafting stories
4
UX stories have a purpose
Meeting the users
Illustrating user needs
Points of pain
Brainstorming
Success stories
Design exploration
Evaluation task
Points of pain – show a problem
Ten minutes is not enough. That‟s
Tanner‟s opinion about the time limits
on using the computer at school.
Last Friday, he started working on a
geography assignment and look up some
information about the animals in Africa.
He had just gotten started when his turn
on the computer was up. He‟d like to
work on it over the weekend, but can’t
access the school library. He prints out a
few things, and figures he will retype
what he‟s done when he gets home.
What a bore.
43
These stories create a vivid view of the problem from the point of view of the persona.
Springboard or brainstorming stories
When Tanner comes home
from school, he logs on to the
web site and collects the essay
he began during study period
in school. He usually isn‟t
allowed to play games on the
computer until he finishes his
homework, but he tells his
mother, “this is my
homework.”
44
A short and compelling story, both illustrating a dilemma and hinting at the way out. They may be the spark of a new innovation, or based on an anecdote from user research.
Stories are not a detailed task analysis
Focus on the story
Establish the scene with imagery
What’s the time-frame?
What’s the emotional context
Think about the persona’s perspective
How do they see the events or interaction?
What words do they use? Style of language?
What are the boundaries of the story from their point of view? (Hint: it might not be your product!)
Don’t use the story to describe all of the details in the user interface.
45
Story structures help you shape the meaning
Journeys show obstacles overcome
A hero’s journey
Framing structures create contrast
Us- Them - Us
Here - There - Here
Now - Then - Now
Stories can communicate mood or context
Layered images
Contextual interlude
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Who is the hero of the story?
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Choose your perspective
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Third Person Second Person First Person
Story is told about someone, looking at them from the outside
Story is a conversation between the storyteller and another person
Story is told from the point of view of the main character
For example: A UX person telling stories about how several different people responded to a prototype. Persona stories, especially if there is more than one
For example: Feedback to a participant or other stakeholder, ―Interviewing a persona‖ Talking directly to users of a product
For example: A UX person telling the story of their own reactions. Retelling a story from the point of view of the original experience.
Maintains a distance between ―us‖ and ―them‖
Creates a direct connection and invites the other person to respond.
Invites the audience to look at the story through the eyes of
Become the persona
First person
You represent the persona and tell the story from their point of view.
Lets you ―get into the head‖ of the story
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Informance
Representing an idea by
acting in order to tell,
explain and share it.
(Brenda Laurel’s book on
metods
3rd person allows you to explain and interpret
Whose words and thoughts are these?
Are these things that Mary would say or are they our interpretation of all the data and stories that went into the Mary persona?
How can we show when we are using her own words?
Mary works as a nurse in a hectic women’s health center for a low-income neighborhood. … Her questions about cancer mostly come from her patients, or from wanting to be sure that she catches any early signs. … She has learned conversational Spanish, so she can talk to her patients for whom this is a first language. … When she looks things up on the Web, she tends to go back to familiar sites
Creating a conversation invites identification
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Whose words and thoughts are these?
Who is included in ―we‖?
How does creating a sense of identity motivate action?
Ways to share stories
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There are many ways to tell a story
Elevator pitch
Stories you tell around a table
Written stories
Presenting a report
Comic or storyboard
Visual collage
In a formal presentation
Weave stories into your reports
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Create a narrative to show patterns
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Even if you don’t have one clip that shows the whole pattern, you can combine events into a story
Have a design expo with stories from research
56 Engaging Teams with Rich Reporting: Recipe for a Research Findings Expo By
John Webb and Tomer Sharon. UPA User Experience 3Q 2010
Make a video
The NCI Cancer Bulletin: http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/101910/page6
Immersive environments encourage stories
58 http://www.core77.com/blog/business/core77_toyota_calty_studio_visit_round_2_how_theyre_winning_11167.asp
Ad agencies create rooms that represent the target market for a brand.
Map the stories into the design
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Create the stories you want other people to tell
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What connections do you want to make?
Storytelling can make your work richer and more effective
UX Story Cards
A guide t o
craft ing stories
for UX
Storytelling for User Experience
www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/storytelling
www.wqusability.com/storycards.html
Coming soon… A look at global UX through interviews with over 65 practitioners