Web Developer Coding Tool
IBM Watson
Due to confidentiality, what follows is a high level overview of my process as the design researcher on a team with seven product designers for an IBM app developer coding tool.
My Role as Design Researcher
Uncovering user needs and providing a solution that met app developers’ needs contributed significantly to my team’s success.
One of the biggest challenges of designing this tool was getting everyone on the team ramped up on domain knowledge about APIs and app developers. The majority of the team members had no prior understanding of how mid-level app developers work, what motivates them, or what they need to complete their jobs successfully.
I focused on aligning the team on the direction of our solution. I conducted in-depth interviews with app developers and usability tests that helped the team move forward. I also charted out the existing site architecture that was preventing app developers from finding what they needed.
Existing User Journey Map
Synthesis of my user interviews led to a map of the steps that Jeff — our primary persona — takes when evaluating APIs and the associated emotions that he feels during the process. By doing this, the team was able to understand Jeff’s pain points and identify opportunities to improve his experience.
User-Centered Research
What we asked:
We asked eight app developers to draw their ideal API exploration tool for tinkering with code and understanding the API request methods
What we learned:
Developers want to get the response from an API request method first and foremost. Having access to the documentation is secondary when they’re tinkering with an API.
How we moved forward:
This activity validated the other research we conducted, and we moved forward with solutions that let developers try out the code as quickly as possible.
Design Critique
Understanding the user
“You did something crucial to the success of this project which is catering to developers and not to designers. This solution is something that’s necessary for Watson.” — IBM Design Lead
Domain knowledge
“Your team started out a little slow. And the ramp-up on the domain knowledge over the last few weeks was really significant. It speaks to who you are as designers and as a team. You didn’t get tasked with an easy problem and I applaud you.” — IBM Design Lead
