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What to do when you don’t know what to do Lou Rosenfeld / LA UX Shindig / 9 February 2016

What to do when you don't know what to do

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What to do when you don’t know what to do

Lou Rosenfeld / LA UX Shindig /  9 February 2016

So what do you do when you don’t know what to do?

Part 1

Lou tries to figure out UX books

“Most publishers are frustrated authors” —Tim O’Reilly, 2005

“Most publishers are frustrated authors” —Tim O’Reilly, 2005

“Most publishers are frustrated authors” —Tim O’Reilly, 2005

designers

How to improve a product that you’ve

not created yet?

Show and Tell Sessions

Show and Tell Sessions

Show and Tell Sessions4 sessions; 5-15 people/sessionQuestions:• “Why did you bring these books?”• “What are their good attributes?

And bad ones?”• “Where and when do you use them?”

Combine competitive and generative research

So where do we read?

So where do we read?

Small is good

6”/152mm x 9”/229mm x 150-250pp

Small and portable is good

Practical is good

C A R D S O R T I N G Designing Usable Categories

b y D ON N A S P E NC E R foreword by Jesse James Garrett

Card sorting is an effective, easy-to-use method for understanding how

people think about content and categories. It helps you create information

that is easy to find and understand. In Card Sorting: Designing Usable

Categories, Donna Spencer shows you how to plan and run a card sort,

analyze the results, and apply the outcomes to your projects.

“A wonderful book on a much-needed topic... Donna’s done an amazing job explaining (in easy-to-understand terms) what every designer, architect, and researcher should know about the ins-and-outs of card sorting.”

JARED M. SPOOL CEO and Founding Principal, User Interface Engineering

“Spencer mixes step-by-step instructions and good examples with just enough theory. You’ll emerge from this book with new skills to create great user-centered information architectures—and smart responses to tricky questions from pesky stakeholders.”

TAMARA ADLIN Founding Partner, Fell Swoop, and co-author of The Persona Lifecycle: Keeping People in Mind Throughout Product Design

“Donna has put together the definitive work on card sorting, a must have tool for all information architects. If you want to plan, run and analyse your own card sorts, this book has it all.”

ANDY BUDDUser Experience Director, Clearleft

“The ultimate guide to one of the under-appreciated user research methods in our toolbox. Whether you work on small web sites or in large corporate environments, this book is just the right size to give you everything you need to know to be a pro at card sorting.”

KEITH INSTONEInformation architecture lead, IBM.com user experience

www.rosenfeldmedia.com

MORE ON CARD SORTINGwww.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/cardsorting/

CAR

D SO

RTIN

G by D

ON

NA SPEN

CER

Books are judged by their covers

What's everyone's favorite UX book?

Take-away:Opinions are freely availablefrom anyone on everything—and may even be useful

Take-away:Opinions are freely availablefrom anyone on everything—and may even be useful

How to test a new product that’s really expensive

to produce?

Prototyping

Prototyping

Used LuLu for paper prototype(PDF testing was a bit easier)

Prototyping

Usability Testing

Usability Testing

Task analysis + interviews to evaluate• Support for orientation and fundability• Author and publisher credibility• Readability

Usability Testing

Task analysis + interviews to evaluate• Support for orientation and fundability• Author and publisher credibility• Readability

More on prototyping/testing books: http://rfld.me/1ONeA9e

The front of the book

vi

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What do you mean by “content everywhere”? The way I talk about it, “content everywhere” doesn’t mean splattering your message in every corner of the Web. It’s about investing in content that’s flexible enough to go wherever you need it: multiple websites, apps, chan-nels, and other experiences. Why? Because devices of all shapes, sizes, and capabilities are flooding the market, and users expect to get your content on all of them, which you can read about in Chapter 1.

Right now, most organizations can barely keep up with their large, unwieldy desktop websites, much less multiple different sets of content for all these different experiences. Content everywhere is all about learning how to pre-pare one set of content to go wherever it’s needed—now and in the future.

What do you mean by structured content, and why is it so important? Today, most digital content is unstructured: just words poured onto a page. To signify where one part ends and another begins, writers use formatting, like upping a font size to be a headline or putting an author’s name in italics. This works fine if your content is only going to be used on a single page and viewed on a desktop monitor, but that’s about it.

Structured content, on the other hand, is created in smaller modules, which can be stored and used in lots more ways. For example, you could display a headline and a copy teaser in one place, and have a user click to read the rest—something you can’t do if the story is all one blob. You can give the same content different presentation rules when it’s displayed on mobile, such as resizing headlines or changing which content is prioritized or emphasized—automatically. In this way, adding structure actually makes content more flexible, because it allows you to do more with it. You can learn about this in Chapter 5.

But don’t I need different, simpler content for mobile? If your content is needlessly complicated and full of fluff, then yes: Your con-tent should be simplified for mobile—and for everywhere else, too. After all, a user with a desktop computer doesn’t want to wade through filler either. But should your mobile users be offered “lite” versions of your content rather than the real deal? No.

While you might know what people do most often on their mobile devices, you can’t know what they’re intending to do on any specific visit. After all,

FAQ before the TOC provides context, navigation and orientation

The front of the book

vi

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What do you mean by “content everywhere”? The way I talk about it, “content everywhere” doesn’t mean splattering your message in every corner of the Web. It’s about investing in content that’s flexible enough to go wherever you need it: multiple websites, apps, chan-nels, and other experiences. Why? Because devices of all shapes, sizes, and capabilities are flooding the market, and users expect to get your content on all of them, which you can read about in Chapter 1.

Right now, most organizations can barely keep up with their large, unwieldy desktop websites, much less multiple different sets of content for all these different experiences. Content everywhere is all about learning how to pre-pare one set of content to go wherever it’s needed—now and in the future.

What do you mean by structured content, and why is it so important? Today, most digital content is unstructured: just words poured onto a page. To signify where one part ends and another begins, writers use formatting, like upping a font size to be a headline or putting an author’s name in italics. This works fine if your content is only going to be used on a single page and viewed on a desktop monitor, but that’s about it.

Structured content, on the other hand, is created in smaller modules, which can be stored and used in lots more ways. For example, you could display a headline and a copy teaser in one place, and have a user click to read the rest—something you can’t do if the story is all one blob. You can give the same content different presentation rules when it’s displayed on mobile, such as resizing headlines or changing which content is prioritized or emphasized—automatically. In this way, adding structure actually makes content more flexible, because it allows you to do more with it. You can learn about this in Chapter 5.

But don’t I need different, simpler content for mobile? If your content is needlessly complicated and full of fluff, then yes: Your con-tent should be simplified for mobile—and for everywhere else, too. After all, a user with a desktop computer doesn’t want to wade through filler either. But should your mobile users be offered “lite” versions of your content rather than the real deal? No.

While you might know what people do most often on their mobile devices, you can’t know what they’re intending to do on any specific visit. After all,

FAQ before the TOC provides context, navigation and orientation

Navigation

The back cover

www.rosenfeldmedia.com

MORE ON CONTENT EVERY WHEREwww.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/content-everywhere/

C O N T E N T E V E R Y W H E R E Strategy and Structure for Future-Ready Content

b y S A R A WA C H T E R- BOE T T C H E R

foreword by Kristina Halvorson

CO

NTE

NT E

VER

YW

HE

RE

by SARA W

ACHTER

-BO

ETTCHER

Care about content? Better copy isn’t enough. As devices and channels

multiply—and as users expect to relate, share, and shift information

quickly—we need content that can go more places, more easily. Content

Everywhere will help you stop creating fixed, single-purpose content

and start making it more future-ready, flexible, reusable, manageable,

and meaningful wherever it needs to go.

“The Web has moved beyond the desktop, and our content must follow. Through a broad perspective,

clear language, and an army of practical suggestions, Sara Wachter-Boettcher guides us through the

challenges we face.”

ETHAN MARCOTTE Author, Responsive Web Design

“If you’re looking for a lucid guide to the new challenges content publishers face, you won’t find a better one than this.”

ERIN KISSANE Author, The Elements of Content Strategy, and editor, Contents

“Website, app, social media—and more. Large screen, tablet, smartphone—and more. Are you writing and rewriting for all these different channels and devices? Stop. Get this book.”

JANICE (GINNY) REDISH Author, Letting Go of the Words–Writing Web Content that Works

“An essential pretext to achieving responsive Web design. Required reading.”

DAN KLYN co-founder, The Understanding Group

Cover Illustration by Leanne Shapton | Interior Illustrations by Eva-Lotta Lamm

The back cover

www.rosenfeldmedia.com

MORE ON CONTENT EVERY WHEREwww.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/content-everywhere/

C O N T E N T E V E R Y W H E R E Strategy and Structure for Future-Ready Content

b y S A R A WA C H T E R- BOE T T C H E R

foreword by Kristina Halvorson

CO

NTE

NT E

VER

YW

HE

RE

by SARA W

ACHTER

-BO

ETTCHER

Care about content? Better copy isn’t enough. As devices and channels

multiply—and as users expect to relate, share, and shift information

quickly—we need content that can go more places, more easily. Content

Everywhere will help you stop creating fixed, single-purpose content

and start making it more future-ready, flexible, reusable, manageable,

and meaningful wherever it needs to go.

“The Web has moved beyond the desktop, and our content must follow. Through a broad perspective,

clear language, and an army of practical suggestions, Sara Wachter-Boettcher guides us through the

challenges we face.”

ETHAN MARCOTTE Author, Responsive Web Design

“If you’re looking for a lucid guide to the new challenges content publishers face, you won’t find a better one than this.”

ERIN KISSANE Author, The Elements of Content Strategy, and editor, Contents

“Website, app, social media—and more. Large screen, tablet, smartphone—and more. Are you writing and rewriting for all these different channels and devices? Stop. Get this book.”

JANICE (GINNY) REDISH Author, Letting Go of the Words–Writing Web Content that Works

“An essential pretext to achieving responsive Web design. Required reading.”

DAN KLYN co-founder, The Understanding Group

Cover Illustration by Leanne Shapton | Interior Illustrations by Eva-Lotta Lamm

Meh

The back cover

www.rosenfeldmedia.com

MORE ON CONTENT EVERY WHEREwww.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/content-everywhere/

C O N T E N T E V E R Y W H E R E Strategy and Structure for Future-Ready Content

b y S A R A WA C H T E R- BOE T T C H E R

foreword by Kristina Halvorson

CO

NTE

NT E

VER

YW

HE

RE

by SARA W

ACHTER

-BO

ETTCHER

Care about content? Better copy isn’t enough. As devices and channels

multiply—and as users expect to relate, share, and shift information

quickly—we need content that can go more places, more easily. Content

Everywhere will help you stop creating fixed, single-purpose content

and start making it more future-ready, flexible, reusable, manageable,

and meaningful wherever it needs to go.

“The Web has moved beyond the desktop, and our content must follow. Through a broad perspective,

clear language, and an army of practical suggestions, Sara Wachter-Boettcher guides us through the

challenges we face.”

ETHAN MARCOTTE Author, Responsive Web Design

“If you’re looking for a lucid guide to the new challenges content publishers face, you won’t find a better one than this.”

ERIN KISSANE Author, The Elements of Content Strategy, and editor, Contents

“Website, app, social media—and more. Large screen, tablet, smartphone—and more. Are you writing and rewriting for all these different channels and devices? Stop. Get this book.”

JANICE (GINNY) REDISH Author, Letting Go of the Words–Writing Web Content that Works

“An essential pretext to achieving responsive Web design. Required reading.”

DAN KLYN co-founder, The Understanding Group

Cover Illustration by Leanne Shapton | Interior Illustrations by Eva-Lotta Lamm

Meh

Meh

The back cover

www.rosenfeldmedia.com

MORE ON CONTENT EVERY WHEREwww.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/content-everywhere/

C O N T E N T E V E R Y W H E R E Strategy and Structure for Future-Ready Content

b y S A R A WA C H T E R- BOE T T C H E R

foreword by Kristina Halvorson

CO

NTE

NT E

VER

YW

HE

RE

by SARA W

ACHTER

-BO

ETTCHER

Care about content? Better copy isn’t enough. As devices and channels

multiply—and as users expect to relate, share, and shift information

quickly—we need content that can go more places, more easily. Content

Everywhere will help you stop creating fixed, single-purpose content

and start making it more future-ready, flexible, reusable, manageable,

and meaningful wherever it needs to go.

“The Web has moved beyond the desktop, and our content must follow. Through a broad perspective,

clear language, and an army of practical suggestions, Sara Wachter-Boettcher guides us through the

challenges we face.”

ETHAN MARCOTTE Author, Responsive Web Design

“If you’re looking for a lucid guide to the new challenges content publishers face, you won’t find a better one than this.”

ERIN KISSANE Author, The Elements of Content Strategy, and editor, Contents

“Website, app, social media—and more. Large screen, tablet, smartphone—and more. Are you writing and rewriting for all these different channels and devices? Stop. Get this book.”

JANICE (GINNY) REDISH Author, Letting Go of the Words–Writing Web Content that Works

“An essential pretext to achieving responsive Web design. Required reading.”

DAN KLYN co-founder, The Understanding Group

Cover Illustration by Leanne Shapton | Interior Illustrations by Eva-Lotta Lamm

Meh

Meh

The back cover

www.rosenfeldmedia.com

MORE ON CONTENT EVERY WHEREwww.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/content-everywhere/

C O N T E N T E V E R Y W H E R E Strategy and Structure for Future-Ready Content

b y S A R A WA C H T E R- BOE T T C H E R

foreword by Kristina Halvorson

CO

NTE

NT E

VER

YW

HE

RE

by SARA W

ACHTER

-BO

ETTCHER

Care about content? Better copy isn’t enough. As devices and channels

multiply—and as users expect to relate, share, and shift information

quickly—we need content that can go more places, more easily. Content

Everywhere will help you stop creating fixed, single-purpose content

and start making it more future-ready, flexible, reusable, manageable,

and meaningful wherever it needs to go.

“The Web has moved beyond the desktop, and our content must follow. Through a broad perspective,

clear language, and an army of practical suggestions, Sara Wachter-Boettcher guides us through the

challenges we face.”

ETHAN MARCOTTE Author, Responsive Web Design

“If you’re looking for a lucid guide to the new challenges content publishers face, you won’t find a better one than this.”

ERIN KISSANE Author, The Elements of Content Strategy, and editor, Contents

“Website, app, social media—and more. Large screen, tablet, smartphone—and more. Are you writing and rewriting for all these different channels and devices? Stop. Get this book.”

JANICE (GINNY) REDISH Author, Letting Go of the Words–Writing Web Content that Works

“An essential pretext to achieving responsive Web design. Required reading.”

DAN KLYN co-founder, The Understanding Group

Cover Illustration by Leanne Shapton | Interior Illustrations by Eva-Lotta Lamm

Meh

Meh

The back cover

www.rosenfeldmedia.com

MORE ON CONTENT EVERY WHEREwww.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/content-everywhere/

C O N T E N T E V E R Y W H E R E Strategy and Structure for Future-Ready Content

b y S A R A WA C H T E R- BOE T T C H E R

foreword by Kristina Halvorson

CO

NTE

NT E

VER

YW

HE

RE

by SARA W

ACHTER

-BO

ETTCHER

Care about content? Better copy isn’t enough. As devices and channels

multiply—and as users expect to relate, share, and shift information

quickly—we need content that can go more places, more easily. Content

Everywhere will help you stop creating fixed, single-purpose content

and start making it more future-ready, flexible, reusable, manageable,

and meaningful wherever it needs to go.

“The Web has moved beyond the desktop, and our content must follow. Through a broad perspective,

clear language, and an army of practical suggestions, Sara Wachter-Boettcher guides us through the

challenges we face.”

ETHAN MARCOTTE Author, Responsive Web Design

“If you’re looking for a lucid guide to the new challenges content publishers face, you won’t find a better one than this.”

ERIN KISSANE Author, The Elements of Content Strategy, and editor, Contents

“Website, app, social media—and more. Large screen, tablet, smartphone—and more. Are you writing and rewriting for all these different channels and devices? Stop. Get this book.”

JANICE (GINNY) REDISH Author, Letting Go of the Words–Writing Web Content that Works

“An essential pretext to achieving responsive Web design. Required reading.”

DAN KLYN co-founder, The Understanding Group

Cover Illustration by Leanne Shapton | Interior Illustrations by Eva-Lotta Lamm

Meh

Meh

The back cover

www.rosenfeldmedia.com

MORE ON CONTENT EVERY WHEREwww.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/content-everywhere/

C O N T E N T E V E R Y W H E R E Strategy and Structure for Future-Ready Content

b y S A R A WA C H T E R- BOE T T C H E R

foreword by Kristina Halvorson

CO

NTE

NT E

VER

YW

HE

RE

by SARA W

ACHTER

-BO

ETTCHER

Care about content? Better copy isn’t enough. As devices and channels

multiply—and as users expect to relate, share, and shift information

quickly—we need content that can go more places, more easily. Content

Everywhere will help you stop creating fixed, single-purpose content

and start making it more future-ready, flexible, reusable, manageable,

and meaningful wherever it needs to go.

“The Web has moved beyond the desktop, and our content must follow. Through a broad perspective,

clear language, and an army of practical suggestions, Sara Wachter-Boettcher guides us through the

challenges we face.”

ETHAN MARCOTTE Author, Responsive Web Design

“If you’re looking for a lucid guide to the new challenges content publishers face, you won’t find a better one than this.”

ERIN KISSANE Author, The Elements of Content Strategy, and editor, Contents

“Website, app, social media—and more. Large screen, tablet, smartphone—and more. Are you writing and rewriting for all these different channels and devices? Stop. Get this book.”

JANICE (GINNY) REDISH Author, Letting Go of the Words–Writing Web Content that Works

“An essential pretext to achieving responsive Web design. Required reading.”

DAN KLYN co-founder, The Understanding Group

Cover Illustration by Leanne Shapton | Interior Illustrations by Eva-Lotta Lamm

Meh

Meh

MEH!

2008

2015

2008

2015

2008

interior design bends,

doesn’t break

Take-away: What can’t you

prototype and test?

Take-away: What can’t you

prototype and test?

Take-away: What can’t you

prototype and test?

Take-away: What can’t you

prototype and test?

How to improve a product’s design

over time?

What does it look like?

Mobile User Research

What does it look like?

Mobile User Research

More on the UX Bookmobilehttp://rfld.me/1oLrrgB

Take-away:Identify and close the gaps between your customers,

products, and you

Take-away:Identify and close the gaps between your customers,

products, and you

Part 2

Lou tries to figure out UX conferences

“We’ve reached peak UX

conference.” —me, 2013

“We’ve reached peak UX

conference.” —me, 2013

“I’m thrilled to announce the first

Enterprise UX conference!” —me, 2014

How to design a product around a conversation?

user experience in the enterprise1) Take an existing conversation

2) Capture it

Facebook Private ListTwitter

user experience in the enterprise1) Take an existing conversation

2) Capture it

Facebook Private ListTwitter

user experience in the enterprise1) Take an existing conversation

3) Analyze for patterns

2) Capture it

Facebook Private ListTwitter

user experience in the enterprise

4) Sequence patterns

1) Take an existing conversation

3) Analyze for patterns

2) Capture it

Facebook Private ListTwitter

user experience in the enterprise

4) Sequence patterns

1) Take an existing conversation

3) Analyze for patterns

2) Capture it

Facebook Private ListTwitter

user experience in the enterprise

4) Sequence patterns

1) Take an existing conversation

3) Analyze for patterns

Tactical Strategic

1 2 3 4

Take-away: Information architecture

is useful

Take-away: Information architecture

is useful

How to design to broaden a conversation?

3 speakers + 1 leader per theme

Leader/speaker conversation begins months in advance of event

+ =

4x

3 speakers + 1 leader per theme

Leader/speaker conversation begins months in advance of event

+ =

Day 1

Day 2

opening keynote theme 1 theme 2

theme 3 theme 4 closing keynote

Day 1

Day 2

opening keynote theme 1 theme 2

theme 3 theme 4 closing keynote

Day 1

Day 2

√ √

√ √

opening keynote theme 1 theme 2

theme 3 theme 4 closing keynote

storytelling session

Enterprise UX Storytelling • Eight 5-minute sessions • Tightly curated by Dan Willis • Participation by application only

Day 1

Day 2

√ √

√ √

opening keynote theme 1 theme 2

theme 3 theme 4 closing keynote

storytelling session

Enterprise UX Storytelling • Eight 5-minute sessions • Tightly curated by Dan Willis • Participation by application only

Day 1

Day 2

√ √

√ √

Take-away:Designing for engagement means letting go of control

Take-away:Designing for engagement means letting go of control

How to design to sustain a conversation?

Story arc from Lichaw’s The User’s Journey: Storymapping Products that People Love (Rosenfeld Media, 2016)

The Day 1 Conundrum

The Day 1 Conundrum

Party!

energy

The Day 1 Conundrum

Party!

energy

…SO TIRED…

The Day 1 Conundrum

Party!

energy

The Day 1 Conundrum

Party!

energy

Take-away: Time is a design material

(and so is delight)

Take-away: Time is a design material

(and so is delight)

How to design a product around a conversation that may not yet exist?

Broadest possible framing

Broadest possible framing

2 personas

Broadest possible framing

2 personas

+Strong lineup

Broadest possible framing

2 personas

+Strong lineup

+User

research

A program based on… user research!

A program based on… user research!

Happy ending: SOLD OUT

Take-away:User research

equals promotion

One last take-away: Non-traditional contexts

teach us about UX

One last take-away: Non-traditional contexts

teach us about UX

What do you do when you don’t know what to do?

What do you do when you don’t know what to do?

Do UX.