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UX for Business Analysts
This document provides an overview of user experience (UX) principles for business analysts, emphasizing the importance of understanding user needs through requirements gathering and contextual inquiry. It covers key topics such as information architecture, screen design, and usability testing, highlighting how these elements influence user interactions. The document concludes with key takeaways, encouraging analysts to engage with actual users and refine their designs based on feedback and testing.
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UX for Business Analysts
- 1.User Experience forBusinessAnalysts
- 2.HiI’m Rick DzekmanAUser Experience Consultant who’sworked on a wide range of projects fromsmall apps to enterprise software2
- 3.1.What is UX?Abrief intro to User Experience3
- 4.Source: Morville's Facetsof User Experience Refined?4
- 5.“ Something isusable if▸ A person of average (or even belowaverage) ability and experience▸ can figure out how to use the thing▸ to accomplish some desired goal▸ without it being more trouble than it’s worth- Steve Krug
- 6.6▸ Findability /Discoverability are about howusers navigate interfaces▸ Often called “Information Architecture”▸ Includes navigation & search but alsoscreen organisation (tabs, toggles, etc.)
- 7.7▸ Ensuring thatthe most amount of peoplecan access what we design & build▸ Includes devices (mobile, desktop),interface (touch, mouse), connectivity(online / offline), and more▸ Making sure that we don’t discriminateagainst people with accessible needs
- 8.8The other sideof the value chain▸ UX is not just about design▸ To make sure our designs bring valuethey need to serve a useful purpose▸ Our target users need to want or need it▸ The entire solution needs credibility togive our users confidence
- 9.Source: Morville's Facetsof User Experience Refined?9
- 10.2.RequirementsGatheringUX design alsoinvolves requirements10
- 11.Requirements in UXlook a little different▸ Make sure we are building the right thing▸ Don't ask users what they want - insteaduse “contextual enquiry” to find out whattheir goals / problems are▸ Understand:▹ Goals, Behaviours, Mental Models, Emotions,Access Methods, Journeys11
- 12.Requirements & Goals12Requirement:car must have a speedometer on the dashboardGoal: get from point A to point BA self driving car would address the end goaland may not need this requirement at allGoal: drive at a safe speed to avoid accidents/speeding finesWhat if the car automatically knew the speedlimit and automatically cruised at that speedunless the brake was applied?
- 13.Requirements & Behaviours13Requirement:alarm must have a snooze optionBehaviour: perpetually hitting snooze till absolute last minuteIf we designed an alarm to accommodate thisbehaviour, what might it look like?
- 14.Requirements & Emotion14Requirement:show user’s current / active bank balanceEmotion: financial difficulty may cause anxiety about availablefunds to pay upcoming billsWe shouldn’t design a banking platformassuming all users are financially stable. Howmight we help people alleviate anxiety aboutnot knowing where their money is going?
- 15.Requirements & MentalModels15Business process: if a university student wants to take asemester off they need to apply for a leave of absence; if theydon't enrol in units their enrolment is considered lapsedPossible mental model: student believes they are enrolled atthe university unless they drop out and that enrolment meansenrolling in subjects. If they want to take a semester off theysimply don't enrol in any classes. What could go wrong?
- 16.Defining Requirements asa User JourneyGathering methods▸ Customer Interviews▸ Diary study▸ ObservationPresentation▸ Personas▸ Journey Maps▸ User storiesAim▸ Understand goals and behaviours▸ Empathise with users’ emotions▸ Understand their mental modelsPurpose▸ Understand different perspectives▸ Consider more than just function▸ Go beyond business processes16
- 17.Activity #1Making apersona17
- 18.Persona for aneCommerce storeUse someone you know as an example (or yourself)Situation: Person wants to buy something▸ Book, item of clothing, gadget, appliance, etc.Questions:▸ Do they know exactly what they want?▸ Why do they want to buy it? (gift, occasion, problem, hobby)▸ How long can/will they wait for delivery?▸ What's important? Brand, specific product ID, colour, etc?▸ How tech savvy are they?▸ How do they find the site?18
- 19.A Simple PersonaTemplate19NameWhat they are looking for (one line)A quick profile orstats, e.g:“Not tech savvy”“Cautious”“Time-poor”Their story…● What are they buying?● Why?● How did they get to this website?● What are they thinking about?● What’s their emotional state?● How do they expect things to work?● What matters to them about this particularpurchase? (familiar brand, colour, etc.)Keep it short (2-3 paragraphs)
- 20.Persona ReflectionBased onthis persona...▸ How would you design the navigation or“Information Architecture”▸ What should the checkout be like?▸ When listing products what key information wouldwe need to highlight to them?20
- 21.Requirements & UX- Key Takeaways▸ Requirements you gather impact customers - realpeople who sit on the other side of a screen▸ Using our systems & apps is a small part of endusers’ lives and always a means to an end▸ Emotions, behaviours, and mental modelsinfluence how people interact with a system21
- 22.3.InformationArchitectureIt’s not aboutthe underlying data22
- 23.What is IA?▸Information Architecture is not Data Architecture▸ In the world of UX it is about how our users find theinformation they need through what we design▸ It includes navigation, search, content hierarchy,page layouts, and anything that impacts wayfinding23
- 24.Navigation, menus, andsearch▸ Deep navigation vs wide navigation▹ Depth is how nested nav items are, and howmany nav items you need to go through to getto the thing you are looking for▸ In the navigation below, where would you click tostart an application for their services?▸ Different people will try different menu options forthe same goal; others will go straight to search24About us New customers Existing customers How to apply FAQ
- 25.Taxonomy▸ Client▹ Project▹Release▹ Component▹ Tasks25▸ Project▹ Epic▹ User Story▹ Task▹ ItemConsider the possible taxonomies we might have for aProject Management tool, e.g.:
- 26.Relational Architecture26Consider howwe might organise a media/content hub▸ Content could be browsed by:▹ User, tag, category, date, type, search query, etc.▸ Content may have comments▹ Users can see all their own comments▹ Content viewers can see all comments on content▸ How do we surface new content? “Recommended”content, “similar” content, same tags?
- 27.Screen Layout &IA27Each of these layout decisions influence wayfindingTabsProgress barsSome page titleLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consecteturadipiscing elit. Vivamus at massa vel diameleifend porta quis et nulla. Fusce ultricesdui nulla, vitae imperdiet nunc viverra sitamet. Duis sagittis pharetra sapien utvulputate. Interdum et malesuada fames acante ipsum primis in faucibus.Modals / Dialogues xButtons >OptionsInformation hiding behindambiguous iconsBread > Crumb > TrailsWhite Space
- 28.Why Information ArchitectureMatters28▸ Our users have mental models of how informationis organised - these models can change over time▸ When we design navigation (and other wayfinding)we assume a particular mental model▸ Our assumptions about where users will think tolook are very often wrong
- 29.How to DesignInformation Architecture29▸ Test before we commit to a data model thatconstricts our IA (and is expensive to change)▸ Use research techniques like card sorting to workout users’ mental models ahead of time▸ Test assumptions with Usability Tests / Tree Tests
- 30.4.Screen DesignA quickguide to what should be on a screen30
- 31.Screen Design: State31▸A screen should show the user the current “state”of the system▸ Questions that could be answered with state:▹ Where Am I?▹ What actions have been performed so far?▹ What is the current status? (e.g. of actions)▸ Imagine the user gets distracted for 10 minutesand comes back… “what was I doing again?”
- 32.Screen Design: Options32▸On any single screen the user needs to know whattheir options are▸ What actions are allowed / possible?▸ Where can I navigate to?▸ What will happen if I select this option?
- 33.Screen Design: Feedback33▸If an action is performed the screen should giveinstant feedback to acknowledge the action▸ This is especially important in interactive systems▸ This feedback is how we tell the user:▹ “yes, pressing that button did indeed work. Notonly do you not need to press it again but it’s nolonger possible to do so”
- 34.Screen Design: Response34▸Once the result of an action is (quickly) completedwe need to let the user know the result▸ What did the action do? What are theconsequences? What does this mean for me?▸ Were there any problems? Can the action beundone? Can I go back to the previous state?
- 35.Screen Design: HeuristicEvaluation35▸ A good way to evaluate a screen (or a set ofscreens) is to use a heuristic evaluation▸ Jakob Nielsen has an article called:▹ “10 Heuristics for User Interface Design”▸ Use these heuristics to evaluate designs
- 36.Screen Design asa BA36▸ As a BA you often define the requirements forvarious screens / interfaces▸ Sometimes you even wireframes / design them▸ It’s easy to get lost in business / technicalrequirements and forget about end users
- 37.
- 38.Heuristic Evaluation Exercise38▸Take an App or Website you are familiar with▸ Go to a random inner screen / page▸ Evaluate the screen against the 10 heuristics▸ How effective would this be for a first time user?What about a less tech-savvy one?
- 39.5.Usability TestingA primeron testing usability39
- 40.Usability Testing isnot like UAT40▸ Usability testing is used to see if an end user iscapable of completing some task (or goal)▸ No instructions are given to the user other than aspecific task▸ Help is given to users only if they get stuck andcannot complete the process (obviously this isconsidered a bad thing)
- 41.How Usability TestingWorks (1)41▸ Give users a specific task which has an end goal(e.g. find the location of your next exam)▸ If possible try to find an actual end user, using theirown behaviours and goals▸ If you can't find actual end users try anyone whohasn't seen the system, do a “hallway usability test”where you ask the closest person near you, if youare really stuck ask a team member on the project
- 42.How Usability TestingWorks (2)42▸ Tests can be done on paper prototypes,wireframes, dev/test releases, or live in production▸ During the session ask the participant to think outloud, let you know what's on their mind, ask you anyquestions they might have▸ Try to record the session (screen capture + audio +(optional) webcam) to review later▸ Find the biggest difficulties people had and try tocome up with a solution to address them
- 43.
- 44.Usability Testing Exercise- Pair Up!44▸ One person will pick an app/site they are familiarwith; give a task to the other person; then observe,prompt the person to think out loud, take notes▸ Second person will use the app/site to complete aspecific task on the phone▸ Where do they go? What do they click? Why? Whatare they thinking/feeling? Did they succeed?▸ Make the task have a specific end goal - “order anUber”, “create a shopping list”, “find this video”, etc.
- 45.Usability Testing Outcomes45▸Who succeeded in their task?▸ What were the first steps they took?▸ What was easy?▸ What was difficult?▸ What would be one thing you could change tomake this experience better?
- 46.6.Wrap-UpWhat to takeaway from this session46
- 47.Key Takeaways47▸ Whengathering requirements try to get input fromyour actual users through “contextual enquiry”▸ Think about Information Architecture (and test it)▸ Usability is perfected through testing - don’t just doUAT but try usability test with real users too
- 48.Recommended Reading48▸ “Don'tMake Me Think (Revisited)”▹ By Steve Krug▸ “The Design of Everyday Things”▹ By Don Norman▸ “The Elements of User Experience”▹ By Jesse James Garrett▸ “A Project Guide to UX Design”▹ By Russ Unger and Carolyn Chandler
- 49.49THANKS!Any questions?You canfind me at www.rickdzekman.com or onTwitter, LinkedIn, or SlideShare