Recap: Tools n Techniques UX Discovery
The discovery process marks the beginning of every well-founded UX project, where we learn and define the core problems users face. On August 29th, we met at Citrix to hear from local experts what tools and techniques they use when embarking on a new UX journey.
The Talks
Unlike our kickoff, which featured six lightning talks, the format consisted of two lightning talks and one feature talk with a lab. Below is a short recap of each talk and their corresponding slide deck.
Lightning Talk #1: Heuristic Evaluations by Andrew Wirtanen (Citrix)
Andrew provided a clear, concise walkthrough of what heuristic evaluations are, how to best incorporate them into the discovery process, as well how to evaluate the results. His recommendations included evaluating projects with both junior and senior-level UXers, as well as creating a template beforehand to determine how evaluators will measure each problem’s severity.
Curious to learn more? Continue the conversation with Andrew on Twitter @awirtanen.
Lighting Talk #2: Discovery Research: Interview Techniques by Megan Frankosky (Citrix)
Megan a User Researcher at Citrix offered insight into the user interview process. She dove into the research, planning, and empathy involved in crafting questions to establish a connection with the user and induce thoughtful responses. Multitasking and focus are critical in order to actively listen and follow up. Interviewers should strive for something that feels less like an interview, and more like a conversation.
Feature Talk + Lab: User Story Mapping by Basia Coulter
Basia graciously returned to provide a more in-depth discussion of her User Story Mapping lightning talk from our kickoff event in June. Through examples and a detailed overview of her company’s process, Basia showed user story mapping’s communicative importance in establishing a shared understanding of priorities among team members. When starting to create a map, she also advised not to get caught up in the chronological order of user tasks, as eventually there will be actions that can be done in any order.
Lab: Trying out User Story Mapping
After Basia’s talk, we broke into groups and tried out user story mapping. The challenge was to create a user story map for an appointment scheduling tool for a doctor’s office from either a patient’s perspective or a staff member’s perspective. Teams listed the flow and steps within each major part. Teams then had to determine what features were needed for MVP (minimum viable product) and what could be pushed to a later priority. While it seemed easy at first, there were several things people had to consider (e.g., how would users be accessing the tool, what was scheduling like, etc.). While this was just a lab activity, Basia noted this was very much like real life, where you’re short on time and stakeholders might not be able to provide all the answers.
Common Thread: Diversity is key
While there is a wide range of UX discovery tools available to guide teams, relying on simply one, no matter how useful or seemingly versatile, can limit your findings and negatively impact your product. This is true not just with regards to the tools you use, but how you use them to approach Discovery. Whether it is including both senior and junior UXers in a heuristic evaluation, gathering a truly representative sample for user interviews, or including both stakeholders and developers in story mapping, diversity should permeate every aspect of each method you use. Using a combination of techniques, with diverse participants and team members, allows for both substantial and meaningful data that will better inform your design and development.
Join Us in the Conversation
If you’re in the Triangle area and interested in learning more about other UX tools and techniques, join exploreUX and come to one of our events! We’ll be hosting our Tools n Techniques series monthly based on different themes. Additionally, we’re always looking for others in the community to talk about their favorite tool or technique that makes their job easier, so we’d love to hear from you!
If you’re not in the area, keep an eye on the exploreUX publication as we’ll be posting recaps and additional articles on different tools or techniques. If you’d like to write an article about your tool or technique, we’d love to help you share!
We hope this series, whether in person or online, helps expose you to some useful tools and techniques that you can try and include in your UX toolkit.
Comment below or reach out to us on Twitter @exploreUX
