UserResearchBy Arthur Hayden

A history of User Experience and the research behind it

My name is Arthur Hayden. I am an intern for the User Research group at EBSCO Information Services in Ipswich, MA. To gain a better understanding of our department

and the field of user experience design as a whole, I have created this presentation. Thank you to the rest of the User Research team for giving me this opportunity.

EBSCO Information Services – July 2015

History

A breakdown of major historical

events and developments for

our field

Techniques

Details about some of the most

common techniques used in

User Research

Leaders

Bios and assorted wisdom from a few of today’s top User

Research minds

Definitions

Definitions of some of the key terms and phrases pertaining to

User Research

Conclusion

Takeaways from the presentation,

acknowledgements, Q&A

DefinitionsKey terms and phrases

Usability

The effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which specified users achieve specified

goals in particular environments.

Simplified by Jakob Nielsen:“How easy and pleasant [the product] is to use.”

User Research (UR)Any number of investigative techniques used to add context and insight to the

design process. The term User Testing is also often used as these techniques are used on

“finished” products.

User Experience (UX)All aspects of the user’s interaction with a product, service, or company that make up

the user’s perceptions of the whole.

UX DesignThe process of enhancing user satisfaction

by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction between the user and the product.

History of User Experience/ResearchUX through the ages

Circa 1430 – Da Vinci’s Kitchen Nightmare

In an early example of UX design, Leonardo created working conveyor belts, a giant oven, and a primitive sprinkler system for a feast hosted by the Duke of Milan. All of these innovations failed, but only because of poor execution: a good lesson!

Early to Mid 1900s – Efficiency in Engineering

Mechanical engineers such as Fredrick Winslow Taylor and Henry Ford created a framework for the relationship between workers and their tools: early examples of documented research on the relationship between users and their tools/products.

1955 – Dreyfuss Designing for People

Henry Dreyfuss, an industrial designer, authors Designing for People, elaborating on some of the key principles of usability for consumer products.

1966 – Disney Designs for Happiness

Walt Disney emphasizes the use of the latest technologies to improve people’s lives, inspiring many user experience designers today. Design for utility AND joy!

2007 – The Birth of the iPhone

Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone, which proves far easier and more fun to use than any other cellphone on the market at the time. Apple’s success through superior user experience instantly made UX (and, therefore, user research) more important for tech companies.

2015 – Responsive Web Design

As smartphones become even more influential in our lives, tech products and websites are facing the challenge of transitioning to mobile devices. Google and other tech giants have all emphasized the growing importance of RWD.

1995 – The First UX Professional

Don Norman, of the Nielsen Norman Group, joined Apple in 1995 as a “User Experience Architect”, taking the place of what many consider to be the first dedicated UX position.

QuestionnairesResearchers invite people to say who they are, what they do, and where they go. Generally speaking, this is the easiest method of gathering raw data.

Card SortingThis is a reliable, inexpensive method for

finding patterns in how users would expect to find content or functionality. Works by forcing

participants to classify things on the fly.

Contextual InquiryResearchers observe what people do as

they go about their day, utilizing the product. This strategy focuses on users’ actual activities to get as accurate data

as possible from users.

Non-Directed InterviewsResearchers set up some rough guidelines and converse with their audience, generally letting the audience control the conversation.

Common User Research TechniquesDifferent ways we collect data

Thought LeadersWhat the best, contemporary UX minds are saying

Jakob Nielsen

HCI specialist: co-founder of NNG;

extensive experience with pioneer tech

companies; godfather of usability

Janice Fraser

Interaction designer and experienced start-

up consultant; co-founder of Adaptive

Path; CEO of LUXr

Richard Anderson

Longtime UX consultant; started the Experience Center at Viant; worked for the

UX department of Yahoo!

The field of User Experience/Design is a vast and expanded landscape and it would be impossible to summarize all contemporarydevelopments and schools of thought through three individuals; however, these three User Experience professionals have very

different backgrounds and present three unique perspectives into the most important features of User Experience and where they believe User Research is headed.

Jakob NielsenHuman-Computer Interaction Specialist, Michael Jordan of tech usability

Jakob’s Law of the Web User Experience“Users spend most of their time on other websites.”Users form their expectations for your site/product based on what’s commonly done elsewhere. If you deviate from that norm, the innovation must offer significant improvement or users will leave.

User Research and Usability Design are EssentialWith the number of websites increasing at an exponential rate, those that do not meet basic usability standards will lose customers to competitors. Additionally, intranets with poor usability significantly hinder employee productivity.

Prioritize Testing Over SurveyingWhile it is easier – and oftentimes very useful – to simply ask users questions about your products, this is no substitute for watching what users actually do with the product. What users say can be misleading, even if they firmly believe in what they tell you. Simple observation eliminates bias.

Janice FraserInteraction designer, start-up wizard

Two Types of Research MethodsFraser breaks down the types of user research methods into two groups.

She also talks about the plethora of new tools available for product testing such as Usertesting.com.

Generative Testing

Generate new ideas

Few, long conversations

Produces qualitative data

Creates Empathy

More participants

Quantitative data

Analytically focused

Richard AndersonUser Experience Expert, Organizational Strategy Consultant, has

exactly one usable headshot on the internet

Design-led vs. Research-led

Anderson talks about UX researchers in two different

categories: those who design with people and those who design for people. He doesn’t say that one

mindset is necessarily better than the other, only that transitioning between the two entails major

cultural change for the company.

Should we call it User Research?

The term can imply that our department only does research with users when in

reailty we also study people who are not yet users of EBSCO products. Anderson argues that this phrase can prevent UX teams from being involved early in the

design process.Yahoo! merged their UX research group and the market research group to form

the Customer Insights department.

Is Usabilityoutdated?

Some UX experts believe that modern computing is minimizing

the importance of usability studies. Anderson argues that

more emphasis should be placed on ”social user research” which

relies on huge amounts of what he calls ”casual data” from Twitter,

Facebook, etc...

Anderson has 20+ years of experience working with different companies to move user experience into a position of greater influence. He has written and published numerous

articles and teachers numerous courses across the country.

A few of the key arguments that he makes on User Experience:

ConclusionWhat have we learned

Definitions

• UX encompasses everything• User Research investigates UX• Usability is a part of UX

Techniques

• Interviews & questionnaires are easy• Contextual inquiry generally provides

deeper insight• Growing number of testing resources

User Research in ActionUsability Testing of Fruit

Thought Leaders

• Nielsen: Use usability!• Fraser: Generative vs. Testing• Anderson: Culture matters

History• UX is still relatively new• Lessons from Da Vinci• Apple was important

THANK YOU!