EMPATHY IN THE ENTERPRISE: understanding the role humans and
organizations play in big website problems
Dani NordinDirector, Digital User Experience, Pegasystems
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
Shameless self-promotion
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
There’s a few more in here somewhere
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
My User Experience tattoo
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WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO LISTEN, GREAT UX CAN NOT HAPPEN
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
EMPATHY IN THE ENTERPRISE
The Google Design Sprint process (Source: Google)
IDEO’s design thinking framework
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
BUSINESS TO CONSUMER
OR
ETHNOGRAPHY EMPATHY MAPS DESIGN SPRINTS
CREATING A NEW PRODUCT
When we talk about design thinking, we usually mean…
USABILITY TESTING
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
BUSINESS TO CONSUMER
BUSINESS TO PRACTITIONER
INTEGRATING WITH LEGACY BACKEND SYSTEMS
DESIGNING FOR COMPLEX AUTHENTICATION AND CONTENT ACCESS RULES
Enterprise designers have to live HERE:
OPTIMIZING EXISTING FUNCTIONALITY
REDESIGNING AN EXISTING PRODUCT
CREATING A NEW PRODUCT
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY EMPATHY?
“Understanding user pain points” isn’t enough.
END USERS
ORGANIZATIONS COLLEAGUES AND DECISION MAKERS
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UNDERSTAND THE TYPE OF CULTURE YOU’RE DEALING WITH AND HOW THEY COMMUNICATE
LISTEN TO THE ORGANIZATION
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COMPETING VALUES FRAMEWORK
Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2005). Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework. John Wiley & Sons.
Flexibility
Control
Internal Focus
External Focus
Clan • Focus on collaboration and consensus • Many people feel they need to be informed/
involved in decisions • Can feel like it takes forever to get anything
done
Adhocracy • Focus on creating new and innovative things • Stakeholders resist too much “process” and
prioritize conversation + rapid prototyping • Can feel disorganized and chaotic
Hierarchy • Focus on top-down leadership • Moving work forward often requires buy-in
from senior leadership • Can feel like priorities constantly shift or that
work gets derailed by executive whims
Market • Focus on market share, metrics and competition • Stakeholders may require data and more data to
back up decisions, and measure repeatedly • Can feel like qualitative data (usability testing,
interviews, etc.) isn’t taken seriously
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
NOT SO FAST.ENTERPRISES ARE HIERARCHICAL AND STARTUPS ARE ADHOCRACIES, RIGHT?
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50%
50%
EXAMPLE 1
Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2005). Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework. John Wiley & Sons.
Flexibility
Control
Internal Focus
External Focus
Clan • Focus on collaboration and consensus • Many people feel they need to be informed/
involved in decisions • Can feel like it takes forever to get anything
done
Adhocracy • Focus on creating new and innovative things • Stakeholders resist too much “process” and
prioritize conversation + rapid prototyping • Can feel disorganized and chaotic
Hierarchy • Focus on top-down leadership • Moving work forward often requires buy-in
from senior leadership • Can feel like priorities constantly shift or that
work gets derailed by executive whims
Market • Focus on market share, metrics and competition • Stakeholders may require data and more data to
back up decisions, and measure repeatedly • Can feel like qualitative data (usability testing,
interviews, etc.) isn’t taken seriously
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
EXAMPLE 2
75%
25%
Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2005). Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework. John Wiley & Sons.
Flexibility
Control
Internal Focus
External Focus
Clan • Focus on collaboration and consensus • Many people feel they need to be informed/
involved in decisions • Can feel like it takes forever to get anything
done
Adhocracy • Focus on creating new and innovative things • Stakeholders resist too much “process” and
prioritize conversation + rapid prototyping • Can feel disorganized and chaotic
Hierarchy • Focus on top-down leadership • Moving work forward often requires buy-in
from senior leadership • Can feel like priorities constantly shift or that
work gets derailed by executive whims
Market • Focus on market share, metrics and competition • Stakeholders may require data and more data to
back up decisions, and measure repeatedly • Can feel like qualitative data (usability testing,
interviews, etc.) isn’t taken seriously
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
STAKEHOLDER GROUP 3
EXAMPLE 3
STAKEHOLDER GROUP 1
STAKEHOLDER GROUP 2
Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2005). Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework. John Wiley & Sons.
Flexibility
Control
Internal Focus
External Focus
Clan • Focus on collaboration and consensus • Many people feel they need to be informed/
involved in decisions • Can feel like it takes forever to get anything
done
Adhocracy • Focus on creating new and innovative things • Stakeholders resist too much “process” and
prioritize conversation + rapid prototyping • Can feel disorganized and chaotic
Hierarchy • Focus on top-down leadership • Moving work forward often requires buy-in
from senior leadership • Can feel like priorities constantly shift or that
work gets derailed by executive whims
Market • Focus on market share, metrics and competition • Stakeholders may require data and more data to
back up decisions, and measure repeatedly Can feel like qualitative data (usability testing, interviews, etc.) isn’t taken seriously
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND, NOT JUST TO ANSWER
LISTEN TO YOUR COWORKERS
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathyhttps://www.jisc.ac.uk/podcasts/the-role-of-the-independent-developer-in-edtech-4-jan-2016
We need to talk about scope creep.
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Highest Paid Person with an Opinion™
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NOPE.
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
ACTIVE LISTENING
Practice empathy with your coworkers
▸ Listen for their goals
▸ Understand how they’re measured
▸ Find ways to demonstrate how user-centered design will help them achieve those goals
▸ Remember that listening doesn’t mean agreement; find ways to push back thoughtfully
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
GET DATA FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES AND MAKE IT VISIBLE TO YOUR COLLEAGUES
LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE YOUR PRODUCTS SERVE
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USER RESEARCH
Have a broad research toolkit▸ Moderated usability testing
▸ Remote testing (UserZoom, TryMyUI, Validately, etc.)
▸ Analytics and heat mapping
▸ User interviews (remote and in-person)
▸ Ethnography
▸ Surveys and polls
▸ Card sorts and tree tests
▸ Knowledge share with other departments
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
USER RESEARCH
Create a knowledge base of user understanding▸ Work with event coordinators to organize research at company/user group conferences and meet ups
▸ Sit with customer service reps to understand the types of questions they get most frequently
▸ Ask department heads and event coordinators to forward recruitment emails and surveys
▸ Talk to market researchers to understand how the company segments its customers
▸ Document findings in a publicly available area (wiki, shared drive, etc.)
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
CREATE BEHAVIORAL PERSONAS TO DRIVE DESIGN DECISIONS
BEHAVIORAL PERSONAS
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BEHAVIORAL PERSONAS
Marketing segments
▸ Tells you what people are likely to need/buy and why
▸ Helpful for determining what products/content to offer
▸ Doesn’t tell you anything about how they actually interact with your site, content or product
OPERATIONS DIRECTORS IT PROFESSIONALS
CEOsSALES/
IMPLEMENTATION PARTNERS
EXAMPLES
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BEHAVIORAL PERSONAS
Behavioral segments
▸ Tells you how people interact with your site, content or product
▸ Focuses on specific behaviors or philosophies
▸ More likely to inform new features or functionality
HARRIED EXECUTIVE
EAGER APPRENTICE
HYPER SELF-CONSCIOUS
SHOW, DON’T TELL
EXAMPLES
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“THE KEY IS TO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENT CASTS OF CHARACTERS INVOLVED WITH THE VARIOUS SERVICES YOUR ORGANIZATION HAS TO OFFER.”
Indi Young
FOCUS ON BEHAVIORAL SEGMENTS
http://uxmas.com/2013/squabble-over-personas
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UNDERSTAND THE JOBS PEOPLE NEED TO GET DONE
JOB STORIES
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AS A USER, I WANT A SET OF QUICK LINKS TO FILES I NEED FREQUENTLY SO I CAN READILY ACCESS THEM.
Every user story ever
SCENARIOS AND JOB STORIES
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WHEN [SITUATION], I NEED [THING TO HAPPEN] SO THAT [OUTCOME].
Clayton Christensens’ “Jobs to be done” framework
SCENARIOS AND JOB STORIES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f84LymEs67Y
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SCENARIOS AND JOB STORIES
Example job stories
▸ When my colleagues and I have to work through a proposal, we need to have all the template files in one place so we can work more efficiently.
▸ When I'm starting out on an engagement with a client, I need to find the resources and paperwork I need to get up and running as quickly as possible so I can feel confident that I'm adding value.
▸ As I'm working on a client engagement, I need easy access to key forms that I have to fill out to report progress on the project so I can spend less time doing paperwork and more time getting my work done.
https://medium.com/the-job-to-be-done/replacing-the-user-story-with-the-job-story-af7cdee10c27#.5e3loa3vv
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
A PROCESS THAT ALLOWS US TO CREATE THOUGHTFUL DESIGN AT SPEED AND SCALE
OUR NORTH STAR:
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ESTABLISH CLEAR DESIGN PRINCIPLES AND UX KPIS
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DESIGN PRINCIPLES & KPIS
Design principles▸ A set of agreements between you and your users
▸ Used when discussing design with stakeholders and team members
▸ Focused on the relationship your users want to have with your product
▸ Examples:
▸ Make it easy for me to find my own answer
▸ Help me feel like I’m in control of my experience
▸ Design for my needs, not your organizational structure
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
DESIGN PRINCIPLES & KPIS
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
▸ Provide a benchmark metric to demonstrate success
▸ Can be tracked over time (month over month, test over test, etc.)
▸ Use no more than 3 to help focus decision making
▸ Examples:
▸ NPS (Net Promoter Score)
▸ SUS (System Usability Scale)
▸ SUPR-Q (System Usability Percentile Rank)
▸ Before/After usability testing - task success, time on task
▸ Analytics/Goal/Conversion tracking
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ESTABLISH A DESIGN BRIEF FOR EVERY PROJECT
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DESIGN BRIEFS
Elements of a good brief
▸ Overview of design problem (1-2 paragraphs)
▸ Bulleted list of:
▸ Objectives and Key Results
▸ Technical or business constraints
▸ Key personas (2-3)
▸ Key scenarios (2-3)
▸ Key design principles (2-3)
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@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
DEVELOP A COMPONENT-DRIVEN DESIGN SYSTEM
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DESIGN BRIEFS
Benefits of a component-driven design system
▸ Consolidate front-end code, improving site performance
▸ Make design more efficient and consistent, while maintaining flexibility
▸ Make the transition from wireframe or sketch to HTML prototype faster
▸ Impress your coworkers and executives
▸ Win fabulous prizes
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
@danigrrl | #EnterpriseEmpathy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMTYs2LeyEQ
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