Aaron Hursman

I’ve been trying to use more of the Microsoft Expression design tools (for a number of reasons). I’ve decided one of its biggest advantages over other options is its prototyping tool, Sketchflow (included with Expression Blend 3).

Why should you be using Sketchflow to prototype?

1. It’s the closest digital option to paper prototyping
2. Sketchy styles – helps people remember that it’s still under construction. More on this from this boxesandarrows article.
3. Pen tablet integration – allows you to hand draw stuff, which is faster than anything else. Want one? Check out the ones from Wacom.
4. Progressive Fidelity – move from hand-drawn objects to sketchy objects to wireframe objects to highly-polished designs
5. Portable – can be packaged up quick and sent out to your team and your clients
6. Feedback Management – your team and clients can annotate mockups directly and share back with designers
7. Snappy transition to developers – it produces xaml and code behind files that front-end developers can use as the basis for their code (instead of just looking at a set of graphic mockups and having to translate those into development assets)

I recently watched a good video on Microsoft Sketchflow. If you just want to see a demo, jump to the 31 minute mark.

Let’s face it, user research can be a total bore…especially for the research subjects. Answering numerous survey and interview questions can lull them to sleep. They are taking time out of their busy day to answer a slew of boring questions when they would probably rather be doing something else. As a result, the data we collect from existing techniques can be suboptimal…especially when the subject is disengaged due to the use of antiquated research methods.

So, here is an alternative technique that can produce even better results, because it engages research subjects in a fun and tactile game format. Pulling inspiration from the term, card sorting, I call it, Penny Sorting. Here’s how it works:

Supplies:

• 10 Dixie bath cups
• 1 Sharpie permanent marker
• 1 roll of pennies (a.k.a. Lincoln Log; yes, I "coined" the phrase!)

Participants:

• 1 research subject (user)
• 1 or 2 facilitators

Instructions:

1. take subject into a quiet room with table and shut door
2. setup cups in a horizontal line on table
3. give marker to subject
4. ask subject to label each cup with a pain point
5. give subject pennies
6. ask subject to distribute all pennies across cups putting the most in the cup that represents their biggest pain point (and so on)

When completed, thank the user and capture the data in electronically (spreadsheet, etc.). It would be *really* cool if you had a coin counter onsite. Anyway, repeat exercise with as many potential users/stakeholders as you have time for. You’ll need to do some synthesis before the data is ready to be analyzed (subjects will use different labels).

This method just works because:

• it is tactile
• it is a game
• it is not boring
• people love to complain about their jobs

As you can imagine, the variables in the game can be modified to your liking. You might use a different number of cups or pennies. You could have the users label Post-It sticky notes and place them near the cups instead of writing on them directly. However, the best variable to play with is the "pain point" instruction. You could do this exercise again and ask the subject to instead label the cups with their:

• most crucial personal needs
• most important business goals
• most important responsibilities
• biggest daily concerns

In fact, while you have the user there in person, you might as well run through the exercise multiple times, but change the question in #4 each time. Happy sorting!

I’ve submitted my Effective Dashboard Design presentation to SXSW 2010 Interactive. A significant portion (30%) of the selection process is based on public voting. I’m competing for 1 of 300 slots, but there are over 2200 entries!!! So, I really need your support! Please vote for my submission using the instructions below.

1. Sign up at http://tinyurl.com/mlqvzt
2. Click link inside confirmation email
3. Vote YES at http://tinyurl.com/mq46k5

Thanks in advance!

Recently, I been diving into the world of User Experience (UX) patterns.  Being aware of the use of patterns in software development, it is invigorating to see this discipline being adopted in the interaction design (IxD) space.  What is an interaction design pattern?  I like this description from the Interaction Design Association (IxDA):

Patterns represent optimal solutions to common interaction design problems within specific contexts. They help designers align with standards, they speed design, and they often extend or transform into new contexts or applications.

The catalyst for this discovery came from a MIX09 video entitled, Advance Your Design with UX Design Patterns presented by Ambrose Little (@ambroselittle) [via Tom Pierce of EnterpriseBlend, @tlpierce]

Based on Ambrose's presentation, I have compiled a list of resources that I am excited to use as resources moving forward.

• Welie.com - Patterns in Interaction Design
• Quince UX Design Patterns Explorer
• Yahoo! Design Pattern Library
• UI-patterns.com

This structure is very much needed in user experience. UX is saturated with experienced creative types that would describe such structure as constraining.  However, those new to the space would benefit from the documentation of these patterns, as they enable decisions about appropriate interfaces for specific user requirements. The patterns are not intended to constrain a designer, but to present appropriate interfaces for the right situation. And since the pattern libraries are usually open to contributions, innovative types can continue to be creative, but they can now share their new, cutting-edge ideas with to the larger community.  As a result, UX patterns become a great peanut-butter-and-chocolate combination of structure and creativity.

Organizing site navigation based on user needs versus based on internal organization structures is a major step towards creating an effective user experience and enhancing findability.  However, it can create some security/ownership complexities.  This is why organizations rarely bother doing it.  They might understand the benefits to their audience, but they can't stomach what is required to think through these complexities or how to support them.  They would much rather align their content to their internal departments, so they can simply apply security permissions using people from within those departments.  Practically, it can be very difficult to both a) organize content based on user needs/tasks and b) use departments to define content ownership.

In researching this dilemma, I came across some great articles from Step Two Designs:

• Why are intranets structured like the organizational chart?
• Escaping the organization chart on your intranet
• The "all together" rule for intranets
• Establishing an intranet community of practice

Based on these articles and my own experiences, here is a practical approach I would recommend to clients:

1. Identify just a few key roles from each department that will be responsible for content authoring/review
2. Fill these roles with real people (this will change over time as people leave, change roles, or the organization is restructured)
3. Create a 'community of practice' made up of these people and an intranet manager
4. Train the members of this community: a) get them intimately familiar with the task-based organization of the site (what goes where & why it is important); b) grant them fairly significant content authoring access (they need shared ownership of the site content); c) help them understand the implications of their raised security permissions (risks & responsibilities)

So, move forward with that site redesign.  Maybe you already knew that you should organize it based on user tasks, but now you know how to make it happen!