Summary:
Unger and Chandler's overview on User Experience Design provides students, practitioners, leaders of UX design groups, UX design project team leaders and managers the fundamentals of UX tools and techniques. They cover the process from theoretical basis, through project proposals, conception, objectives, teams, all the way to the unveiling. Many of the concepts are outlined in lists and put into user-friendly tables.
One of the most thorough chapters in the book centered on the reasons and method for creating personas in the process of building a site.
Particularly impressive (and refreshing) was the author's awareness of the limitations UX Design and their own work. For example, they ensure that readers understand objectives without content quality cannot overcome any masterful design. The book does not go very deep, yet it realizes all of its' stated goals. It helps an individual prioritize and organize UX design actions.
Citation-worthy:
"User experience design is the creation and synchronization of the elements that affect users' experience with a particular company, with the intent of influencing perceptions and behavior" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, p. 3).
The best Web site design possible can't make up for a reputation for poor customer service or provide the satisfaction of well-designed packaging when a product gets delivered" (Unger & Chandler, 2009,p. 4).
"Identify the type of site. Your site will probably associate strongly with one of four types:
Brand presence – a constantly present online platform that facilitates the relationship between the company and a general audience (anyone interested in its products or services)
Marketing campaign – a targeted site or application meant to elicit a specific and measurable response from a particular audience or from a general audience over a limited period of time
Content source – a store of information, potentially composed of several types of media (articles, documents, video, photos, tutorials) meant to inform, engage, or entertain users
Task-based application – A tool or collection of tools meant to allow users to accomplish and set of key tasks or workflows" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, pp. 10-11).
"Brand presence design goal… Communicate the brand values and brand messages of the company… Provide quick and easy access to company information… Present or explain the business model and value proposition of the company: "What does the company do for me?" and "How does the company do it?"...Help the company attain goals being set against key metrics" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, p. 13).
"The primary purpose of a marketing campaign site is to create a narrowly focused campaign usually targeting a specific set of metrics. The focus is often narrowed by one or more of the following:
•Time — for example, a campaign centered around an event (such as a conference) or a season (such as the Christmas shopping season)
•User group — such as a campaign targeted to teenagers or teachers
•Product, product suite, and/or a specific use for that product" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, p. 14).
"Task-based application design goals. Most task-based applications need to
– enable users to do something they couldn't do elsewhere — or if they can, to do it better ("better" can mean more efficiently, more effectively, with a higher degree of satisfaction, or more conveniently)
– Support novice users with easy-to-access instructions and visual prioritization of key tasks
– Support intermediate and advanced users with access to shortcut features and deeper functionality
– Reduce the load on the user and make the best use of system resources (for example, reusing data versus requiring duplicate entries)
–Be designed and deployed with attention to the degree of change required of the application's users — ideally, with a design that facilitates learning and a communication plan that demonstrates the value to the user" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, pp. 18-19).
"What are the most common roles expected of a UX designer?… In general, you can expect to encounter the big three: information architect, interaction designer, and user researcher… An information architect is responsible for creating models for information structure and using them to design user-friendly navigation and content categorization…an interaction designer is responsible for defining the behavior of a site or application in accordance with user actions… A user researcher is responsible for providing insights regarding the needs of end-users, based on information that is generated from, or validated with, the research that person conducts with users" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, pp. 21-23).
The core components of a good proposal are title page, revision history, project overview, project approach, scope of work, assumptions, deliverables, ownership and rights, additional costs and fees, project pricing, payment schedule, and acknowledgment and sign-off. (Unger & Chandler, 2009, pp. 41-42).
"Once upon a time, a mythological methodology was created to show to (potential) clients, and it found its way into many proposals. The process was called The PURITE Process (TM)…
P – prepare. We dedicate a portion of every initiative to understanding your industry and your competitors and how they do business in order to be as informed as possible prior to beginning requirements gathering.
U – understand. We work closely with your subject matter experts and/or users to define the requirements for building the project correctly.
R – render. Through the render phase we create and develop all the pieces of the project/product. In our experience, any development phase requires a lots of heads-down, focused work effort but also timely, open communication with your team(s). It also requires that we…
I – iterate. The iterate phase is repeated throughout the entire lifecycle of the project. We move as quickly as possible to bring the project to life, and this often requires creating multiple iterations in rapid timelines. This requires direct and timely involvement from you and your dedicated resources. The end result is the product you have specified – and helped to create.
T – test. We test every project throughout the course of our render phase; however, we also require an extra set of eyes – from our own testing team and from your designated user group/audience group to perform goal-based testing. This additional round of testing helps ensure that as few stones as possible are left unturned in order to deliver a project that has been rigorously evaluated from multiple levels.
E – enable. Upon successful completion of the five previous phases and your signed approval, we will enable the solution and take it live.
The PURITE Process (TM) doesn't end there. After project completion, we regularly communicate with our clients. We will continue to gauge your satisfaction levels, understand your changing goals or project enhancements, and assist you in defining the best approach for the future development of your project" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, pp. 45-46).
Defining your process can be as detailed as above or as simple as the following: plan, define, develop, extend. Plan the overall strategy. Define the detailed project requirements. Develop, test, refined, and launch the work product. Extend the project by recommending enhancements and improvements based on information learned during development, testing, and post-launch (Unger & Chandler, 2009, pp. 46).
"Your goal… is to bring out information on… strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Called a SWOT analysis, this is a common business analysis technique and one way to discuss a company's position in the market. You can also use this time, at the initial meeting, to discuss the company's competition" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, pp. 60-61).
"Most approaches involve the same steps: plan the overall strategy, approach, and team structure. Define the project requirements. Design interaction and visual concepts and evolve them into detailed specifications. Develop, test, and refine the solution. Deploy the solution via messaging, training, and a planned launch. Extend the project by making recommendations for improvements" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, pp. 62-63).
"A waterfall approach involves treating the steps of a project as separate, distinct phases, where approval of one phase is needed before the next phase begins" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, p. 63).
"Agile approaches. Because change is constant, project teams are continually looking for more flexible approaches than the waterfall model. Many methodologies follow a more fluid approach, with some steps happening alongside each other; for example, versions of the Web site could be released on a rapid, iterative schedule using an agile or rapid development approach. An agile approach generally has a greater focus on rapid collaboration and a reduced focus on detailed documentation and formal sign-off. A true agile approach (following the best practices developed by members of the agile alliance for example) calls for small teams whose members are located next to each other physically, with little focus on defining formal roles between team members. Working this way allows a very high degree of collaboration, which reduces the need for heavy documentation between the stages of design, development, and testing. A team member can pose a question, come to the answer together with other team members during the quick whiteboarding session, and implement a solution without the delay of detailed documentation and approval" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, pp. 63-64).
"Here are some steps for an efficient process:
– Outline roles and responsibilities. Make sure project team members understand the rules that they should be filling as requirements are gathered.
– Gather the right stakeholders, in the right groups, to ensure time is used in the best way during requirements-focused interviews or meetings.
– Create a plan for the meetings, including topics to be covered and questions to be asked during meetings.
– Run the meetings efficiently, capturing ideas and getting clarification. Investigate ideas to dig down to the needs behind each one" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, p. 74).
"Basic steps of user research: define your primary user groups; plan for user involvement; conduct the research; validate your user group definitions; generate user requirements" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, p. 86).
"Personas are documents that describe typical target users…User experience designers often see creating personas as a great exercise in empathy. Well-crafted personas are often used as a touch point whenever a question or concern arises about how aspects of the project should be designed. You can take out your personas and ask, how would<this user> perform <this task>? or What is <this user> going to look for in <this situation>? Although this process may not be as accurate as testing functionality and design with actual users, it can help move your project along until you are able to perform more extensive test… Personas can be constant reminders of your users...when creating personas, you need to provide enough information to draw people in and make them relate to the person they are reading about on the page… [with a] Photo - natural looking photos are more effective… Name... Age... Location... Occupation... Biography...-the biography is the compelling story that makes the persona real… It may seem a bit strange, but the biography needs to be believable, and it's certainly not cheating to bring aspects of a real person into your persona- Education level... Salary or salary range... Personal quote... Online activities... Off-line activities... Technical comfort level... Social comfort level... Mobile comfort level... Motivations to use client, brand, or project... and User goals" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, pp. 113-121).
"Simply put, search engine optimization is the process of developing and maintaining a Web asset with the intention of gaining and keeping top placement on public search engines for specifically targeted keyword phrases….SEO relies on three fundamental areas for improvement and influence:
• The critical group of things that the professional user experience designer can influence — site infrastructure, technology, and organizational principles.
• Content and all the keyword issues that relate to optimize words which the search engines can see.
• Links, or link popularity and – the quantity and quality of links that point at your site from other sites, as well as the organizational structure of the links inside the site" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, p. 127).
"What is a wireframe? Basically a low-fidelity prototype of a web page or application screen, a wireframe is used to identify the elements that will be displayed on the page or screen, such as: navigation; content sections; imagery and/or media needs; form elements; calls to action (CTAs)" (Unger & Chandler, 2009, p. 186).
