How to Tame a Tiger (UX methods Pt. 2)
(Continued) This article is the second part of a two part series on UX methodologies that may help you produce lovable products. Read Pt. 1 here
SECOND DIAMOND
While the first diamond is focused on analyzing the problem, the second diamond is focused on the synthesis or breakdown of possible solutions. Rapid exploration is key here. Testing a hypothesis should start from the beginning but in this stage my recommendation is to make it part of your daily language. The first diamond is about understanding the who, why, where, etc. For example, if this were an exercise for opening a new high-end gourmet restaurant, the “who” might be one percenters, the “why” might be because very few choices meet expectations, and the “where” might by NYC. The second diamond is testing the menu and the actual dishes.
Is this real life?
If it feels real, users will respond based on existing mental models and learned habits. That’s a good thing. Take advantage of it. Rapid prototyping is the best way to gather feedback or test your explored solutions. Don’t get emotionally attached to the solution and you’ll be fine. This can be a challenge at times especially for us emotional designers :). I like to tell my teams; “pick the best wrong answer and test”. It’s a fun way to ensure we understand that everything is a hypothesis until tested. That said, it’s not necessary to test every single piece of the product. Focus on the high risk points (if it fails, we fail) and move down to the high friction points and the priority of your customers.
Low Cognitive Load
There is a great book called Don’t Make Me Think that came out in the early “dot com” days that has been revised (quite frankly the first edition can even be used). The book highlights the need to design with a user’s cognitive load in mind. The interesting thing I’ve discovered is that a bad design can introduce a subliminal load that the user may feel but isn’t aware of. This starts creating a “debt” that eventually causes the mind to go bankrupt and quit. Think of how tired you feel from walking in a crowded location with many distractions, then compare that to walking in a Zen garden. Or a conversation with someone that makes it hard to focus by going on too many side tangents. These are two extreme examples just to drive the point that cognitive load can be exhausting the mind because it is subconsciously thinking about all visual cues on a screen, not just those in focus. Every element should have a purpose and like a conversation, if possible, quiet it down until the user needs the information or task. This approach is known as Progressive Disclosure.
Design Patterns
When you look around, you’ll notice there are patterns everywhere. Doors have a recognizable shape and a clear meaning. When they don’t, you feel lost. Patterns can also be applied to workflows and interactions. I am a big proponent of establishing design patterns early in the process. I usually like to tell a team to design the first iterations with patterns in mind. A quick exercise of thinking of other scenarios in the product that the pattern can be used or extended for is worth the time! These patterns can then be formalized to create a component library that speeds up projects. It also frees up time for designers to spend more time design thinking than just pixel pushing or becoming a wireframe monkey. There are a number of great component libraries out there that have dedicated full teams trying to solve this problem. Work with engineers to pick one and accelerate the process by starting with a base.
Lipstick is Not for Pigs
Products come to life when the right colors, fonts, and great aesthetic principles are applied (space, contrast, etc). The challenge is that visual design is subjective, so it’s easy for a project to skew towards extremes. One extreme is referred to as “putting lipstick on the pig”. This makes me cringe. The fact that the aesthetic is used to try to pretty up a pig detaches the importance of visual design from the full solution. If you have a poor product it doesn’t matter what color you choose. It is still a poor product and an insult to pigs to refer it as such (sorry, pigs are cute and smart).
The other extreme is to put too much emphasis on the visual design. Do not design as if the comp will be printed and framed. By this I mean it is part of the solution. Color, font size, and other visual aspects should go through the same critical thinking process as all other elements on the page. Design trends can inform a design and could be relevant to the approach but it should not drive the solution. This can pose a high risk. For example, light greys are trending but could be a problem for aging adults or color blind. That could represent a large user base! The aesthetic and creative choices should have a purpose even if that purpose is to convey an emotion. In other cases it could be more directed and aligned to discovery, convey a message or even critical decision making.
Final Thoughts
Test For a Minimum Lovable Product (True MVP)
The only way to know if you have a Minimum Lovable Product is to ask your customer if they love your product. User test, user test, user test throughout every one of these stages! I cannot stress this enough. Integrate it in the process as early as possible. Test your models, concepts, designs, development, and release. The basic principle is to design around a hypothesis (via interviews, knowledge, research, etc), then turn around and test the hypothesis. The most important thing is to keep a “strong stomach” to pivot when needed. In fact, as designers we should be designing as if we’re wrong from the start.
UXPaloozas!
A whole other article can be written on teams and resources that execute on the design. The focus of this article is on the product side of things but a quick note is worth mentioning. Recently I have started refining a design swarming process that evolved while trying to be as efficient as possible. At Sumo Logic (where I currently work) we started calling these UX Paloozas. UX Paloozas are great because in an industry where time is never on one’s side, it provides a method to accelerate the UX process in a fun environment. This can provide mentorship, quality, speed (two is more than one), excitement, cross pollination, creativity, and culture. You can read more about this in a recent article. I highly recommend doing these especially if one of these critical stages is at risk due to tight deadlines and the choke monster of endless meetings.
Evangelize, Evangelize, Evangelize, Amen!
User Experience is still very misunderstood. It can have grey areas between product management, business, and marketing. At times it’s also hard to separate the visual from the mental aspects of UX. SO, please evangelize! Evangelizing is not the end goal, the goal is to educate, but evangelizing is the wedge. The following are some ways I found useful in the past:
- Create buzz by taking over wall space outside of the UX area (if possible).
- Show the process and not just the end result. Explain the thought process.
- Include stakeholders and others in design phases. Teach by action and example.
- Educate the organization through company updates. Email, Slack, Lunch and Learns, or even UX Happy Hours. These Happy Hours can be short fun “TED” type talks on UX. This creates interest and opportunities to reach out.
- Celebrate your team! Leaders need to find ways to celebrate the actual designer(s) of a project. I find that one of the most effective ways to do this is by having the designer present their solution to a broader audience or even execs. Leaders should seek these opportunities actively as part of an evangelizing effort. As a bonus the designer will become more motivated and proud of their work.
SO, HOW DO I TRAIN A TIGER?
1) Start As Early as Possible!
Even if you have a mature product, think of each major product feature as a baby tiger. Don’t worry about getting it all right or doing everything “by the book”. Worry about setting a rhythm and cadence of necessary UX processes.
2) Keep Feeding the Tiger!
You never want to run out of steaks with a tiger :). In UX land stakes are all those things that keep your customer happy. Keep making improvements your customers want. Always advocate for the customer and find data driven ways to correlate customer love with business love ($). This seems obvious to us which is why sometimes product decisions made do not make sense to us. That said, I think the UX community has much work to do to connect the dots between UX and revenue.
3) Show Your Love
Stay close to your customer and encourage feedback from everyone in the organization that has direct contact with them. In short, listen to your customer from all angles.
Good luck!
