WHAT TRAINING CAN LEARN FROM UX

ASTD Learning Leaders SIG

Jeanne TurnerBarbara Holmes

WHAT IS UX?

What is User Experience?

Diagram by Peter Morville, Semantic Studios: http://semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000029.php

• Perceptions, responses, and emotions that result from the use of a product, system or service

• Subjective: it is about a person's feelings and thoughts

• Dynamic: it changes over time and with variations in circumstances 

Examples of User Experience

Photo by jzawodn: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jzawodn/58133212/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Examples of User Experience

Photo by laughing squid: http://www.flickr.com/photos/laughingsquid/3033724807/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Examples of User Experience

Photo by pin add: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinadd/2858659917/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Examples of User Experience

Photo by szilard: http://www.flickr.com/photos/szilard/2158760035/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Examples of User Experience

Castle and Mickey photos by Express Monorail: http://www.flickr.com/photos/expressmonorail/4007361094/sizes/o/in/photostream/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/expressmonorail/3084577531/sizes/l/in/photostream/Princess photo by armadillo444: http://www.flickr.com/photos/armadillo444/5392520554/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Towel photo by mr matt: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrmatt/229129736/sizes/z/in/photostream/

What is User-Centered Design?User-Centered Design is a process that is intended to create a product, service, or system centered around the users' needs and goals and that hopefully leads to an overall positive user experience.

User-Centered Design Process

Diagram by SAP: http://www.sapdesignguild.org/resources/ucd_process.asp

• The needs and goals of the end user are the main consideration

• Business objectives and technical constraints are set aside at the beginning

• User needs and goals remain the focus throughout the design process  

INTERSECTION OF UX & TRAININGSignificant skills and mindset crossover make the two disciplines natural partners

Similarities

Similarities

Training• Focus on end-user• Established

development models• Many research

techniques• Technology agnostic

UX• Focus on end-user• Established

development models• Many research

techniques• Technology agnostic;

but man-made “Things” always play a role

Differences

Training• Behavior change • Planned-for • Practice skills, test

and evaluation• Interface plays a

supporting role to the content

UX• Fluid integration into

daily life• Designed in• Measurement &

Optimization (M&O)• Interface is the key

focus• Business goals vs.

user needs

New Expectations

• Interface must also delight 

BREAK: 15 MINUTES

KEY UX TOOLS

UX Tools

• Customer journey• Personas and context

scenarios• Prototyping and

usability testing

A data visualization and a research technique that can identify gaps and opportunities.

CUSTOMER JOURNEY

Customer

Business

  As a data visualization

• Collects and aggregates what you've already researched about your target audience.

• Enables team to keep focused on the end user.

• Unites business goals to learner/user goals.

As a research tool

• Provides real taxonomy and language

• Illustrates real scenarios, context

• Illustrates emotions and decision-making points

• Supports communication.

ACTIVITY: CUSTOMER JOURNEY

How did you get to your current career? How did you end up in your current living situation?

PERSONAS & CONTEXT SCENARIOS

PersonasUser Research informs the creation of personas, representative user archetypes that are used to guide the design process. 

Context scenariosUser Research is also used to create context scenarios, descriptions of our personas within the context of their need state and the tasks they need to complete to meet their goals.

• Prevent "design for self"• Separate stakeholder

needs from the user needs• Communicate user needs

in a meaningful way • Distinguish unique user

perspectives 

Personas                Scenarios 

• Put the personas into the context of use

• Helps us design for the  full experience, start to finish

• Serve as a foundation for low-fidelity prototypes

• Used as the basis for tasks in usability testing

ACTIVITY: STRING OF PEARLS        

String of Pearls

An improv technique to quickly generate and ideate stories.

• Person 1: State the first sentence of the story.

• Person 2: State the final sentence of the story.

• One by one, each remaining person contributes a sentence to the story. 

Build and test mockups and sequences to ensure that the program/training works as intended.

PROTOTYPING & USABILITY TESTING

Prototyping

Usability Testing• Find obstacles in design • Fast, low cost

Technique

Think Aloud • Moderator presents a

scenario• Moderator then keeps

quiet and prompts participant

• Notetaker records notes• Digital recording helpful

ASTD Learning Leaders

ACTIVITY: USABILITY TESTING Who's gonna come up here and volunteer?

CONCLUSIONUX and Training are natural partners as each leverages complementary skills and outcomes

QUESTIONSIf you need to reach us:Barbara HolmesEmail: bholmes@isitedesign.com Twitter: @volleyballbarb

Jeanne Turner Email: jeanne@smallsociety.comTwitter: @jean_marie

ASTD Learning Leaders

References

Customer Journey•Bruce Temkin http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/legos-building-block-for-good-experiences/ •Jason Hobbs http://www.boxesandarrows.com/person/122-jasonhobbs•Boxes and Arrows http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/journeys_needs•The Yard Creativehttp://www.theyardcreative.com/bandqhongkong.html•Engine Group http://www.enginegroup.co.uk/service_design/m_page/customer_journey_mapping•Adam Richardson http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/11/using_customer_journey_maps_to.html•Joyce Hostyn http://www.joycehostyn.com/blog/2010/03/22/visualizing-the-customer-experience-using-customer-experience-journey-maps/•People and Participation.net http://www.peopleandparticipation.net/display/Methods/Customer+Journey+Mapping

References

Personas and Scenarios•Alan Cooper, Cooper http://www.cooper.com/journal/2003/08/the_origin_of_personas.html •User Research for Personas and Other Audience Models, UX Matters http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2009/04/user-research-for-personas-and-other-audience-models.php•Todd Zaki Warfel, Data Driven Design Research Personas http://www.slideshare.net/toddwarfel/data-driven-design-research-personas

Prototyping and Usability Testing•Jacob Nielsen www.useit.com•Jared Spool www.uie.com•Carnegie Mellon University Library (nice summary of lots of references) http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/92tr013.cfm•Usability Body of Knowledge http://www.usabilitybok.org/methods/p312

Improv Techniques•The Second City Guide to Improv in the Classroom: Using Improvisation to Teach Skills and Boost Learning http://www.amazon.com/Second-City-Guide-Improv-Classroom/dp/0787996505•Build a Better Team with Improv http://assets.en.oreilly.com/1/event/61/Build%20a%20Better%20Team%20with%20Improv%20Presentation.pdf

References