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Lou Rosenfeld's talk at CanUX (Canadian User Experience) Conference, November 27, 2007.
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Eating our Own Dog Food:Using UX Methods to Build a UX Business
Lou Rosenfeld, Rosenfeld Media
CanUX: Banff, Alberta, Canada
November 26, 2007
www.rosenfeldmedia.com
Brief bio
Co-author, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web
Blog: www.louisrosenfeld.com Co-founder, IA Institute and UXnetPublisher and founder, Rosenfeld Media
(books for UX practitioners): www.rosenfeldmedia.com
My forthcoming book: Search Analytics for Your Site: Conversations with your customers
The Rodney Dangerfield Era of UX is over
Design thinking is ascendant, and UX practitioners are upwardly mobile
What happens when actually we get our hands on the keys to the car?
Design challenges in publishing
1. Designing booksCan book design be improved upon?
2. Acquiring booksWhich books should we publish?
3. Developing booksHow can we ensure quality content?
Design challenge #1: Designing books
How is it usually done?
How would you do it differently?
“…book covers do sell books, just like packaging
sells other products…”--Dan Poynter
Question: What makes a good UX book good?
Show’n’tell sessions and blog discussions
1. What UX books do you (dis)like?
2. What about them do you (dis)like?
Blog entries, summaries, and comments: http://tinyurl.com/2rjg7u http://tinyurl.com/2jvrd9 http://tinyurl.com/32ty7r
Anecdotal answers
Short enough to read on a plane trip Short chapters Small, portable profile: 6” x 9” Wide margins for annotation Color interiors and good illustrations Support readability and reference: print
and PDF
…and that favorite UX book?
Interiors
Covers
Ehh… Better
Book testing: print and PDF
Goals: validate design, uncover missed opportunities
Task analysis Foundation (e.g., What is this book about?) Navigation (e.g., re-finding) Extension (e.g., grabbing a diagram)
Post-test questionnaire Ratings (e.g. author credibility, price) Open-ended comments/feedback
What we’re learning from testing
The value of new concepts FAQ for book Closer integration with web-based content
New twists on old concepts Table of contents critically important Value of front matter, covers
Not missing the obvious Author bio establishes credibility Improving quality where critical (e.g,. Images)
Design challenge #1: Designing books
How would you do it?
Design challenge #2: Acquiring books
How is it usually done?
How would you do it differently?
Choosing proposals Metaphors help set useful boundaries Weft: “horizontal” UX methods Warp: UX “verticals”
…and then they break
…which is ok
Adding rigor to book acquisition
Qualitative methods Agile proposal development process
(between author + publisher) Peer review of proposals (by editorial
board) Reconsidering venues for input (e.g. social
networks)
Quantitative method: UX Zeitgeist
Good help is there if you ask for it
Editorial BoardLiz DanzicoAndrew DillonSteve KrugMike KuniavskyGinny RedishMarc RettigNathan ShedroffRashmi SinhaKaren Whitehouse
Another source of input: social networks (e.g., LinkedIn Answers)
Quantitative topic evaluation: UXZeitgeist.com
UXZ Person
UXZ Book
UXZ Book Index
UXZ Topic Index
Design challenge #2: Acquiring books
How would you do it?
Design challenge #3: Developing books
How is it usually done?
How would you do it differently?
The obvious Author Publisher Editorial board Editorial team
The not-so-obvious Industry/subject matter
experts Industry influencers Conference planners Software and service
vendors Potential readers
Books as dialogues: engaging with stakeholders
Book sites: grounds for engagement
Further engagement: mapping the market
Ubiquitous, viral discount codes Surveys UX Zeitgeist Bookmarks Individual PDF versions of books
Generates map of UX community
Design challenge #3: Developing books
How would you do it?
Lesson: Build platforms for engagement
Businesses that produce creative assets should be designed as platforms
Make your platform as open as possible
With platforms, opportunities originate with iteration more than innovation
Another lesson: Sweat the soft stuff
It’s easy to get carried away by the technical aspects of platforms
It’s too easy to ignore the human aspects of platforms (e.g., project managers, art directors)
And it’s way too easy to ignore the traditional aspects of an industry (e.g., book publishing is and always will be damned hard)
One last lesson:cobblers and their kids
Get used to looking like a hypocrite Don’t let that stop you And remember to eat your own dog
food
Image credits
Rodney Dangerfield: etwist.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html
Dice: www.joystiq.com/media/2006/02/rollingreddice.jpg
Weave: www.classicistranieri.com
Onion: k53.pbase.com/u25/franziskalang/upload/15197600.Onion.jpg
More information
This presentation is available at: www.slideshare.net/lrosenfeld
Louis Rosenfeld, PublisherRosenfeld Media, LLC705 Carroll Street, #2LBrooklyn, NY 11215 USA+1.718.306.9396 voice+1.734.661.1655 [email protected]
