Customer Data: It’s not just for designers anymore…

Why it matters:

User data can improve every dimension of a vendor’s relationship with its customers
Software solutions that disregard user work practice are destined to become “shelfware”
The lack of a common language for business software designers results in poor knowledge distribution

In Part 1 of this article I discussed some [...]

Why it matters:

Doing a reverse User Environment Design on an existing application before re-design reveals design and usability problems
Going to a smaller display is an opportunity to improve an application’s usability
A smart team takes advantage of paper prototypes and design rooms to communicate and “sell” their work to organizational stakeholders, and even to customers

Setting the [...]

Melding “Their” Work Style with “ours”

Why it matters:

Successful designs are a team effort
More and more teams are cross-functional, cross-company, and even across multiple companies—each of which may have its own culture
When different cultures come together we need ways to actively prevent possible collisions and get the best of all world

I recently finished working on a [...]

Part 1 of 2

Why it matters:

The current economy has CIOs sharply focused on real ROI from business software investments
Enterprise software vendors can no longer rely on software design practices that keep users in the periphery
Using so-called best practices, domain experts, and requirements that don’t come from actual end user work practice leads to software that [...]

Why it matters:

Knowing the type of project you have (tactical or strategic) drives your focus setting decisions
Once your focus is set, you need the right role mix and organization mix to collect the appropriate amount of customer data
There are guidelines you can follow to help you make good decisions about who and where to interview

In [...]

Why it matters:

To create a successful design, teams need to balance between analytical thinking and creativity
Making the shift from analysis to creativity can be hard
There are some ways you can use to quickly engage your creativity when you need it

The success of a design project relies on a team’s creativity and ingenuity in developing solutions [...]

Challenges and Solutions from Real World Experience

Why it matters:

Advocates of customer-centered design often come face-to-face with resistance from their company and co-workers when they try to introduce it into the organization
There are strategies and tactics that work to shift organizations toward customer-centered design
Recognizing what works—and that it takes time to shift an organization’s thinking and [...]

Why it matters:

Paper prototyping can help you work out the problems in any design, no matter how large or small
Paper prototyping can help integrate process design with design of a tool or machine

It’s always fun to push the limits of a process and see what it can do. Paper prototyping is our method for testing [...]

Why it matters:

Without explicit focus setting before the project starts, your success is already at risk
Everyone associated with a project needs to understand what the expectations are for the project, what is within the scope of the project, and what is outside the scope
Carefully choosing which roles to interview and at which organizations to interview [...]

For Real Feedback on Multimedia Elements

Why it matters:

Rough paper prototypes are the most effective way to test a proposed design with users
Paper prototype interviews allow you to have a co-design experience with the user
When your design contains video or other media, standard paper prototyping methods need to be extended to create a dual paper/online prototype
The [...]

Why it matters:

It’s easy to focus on the technology, but cool technology can seduce us into thinking we have a product people want
Successful products come from a deep understanding of the customers’ work practice
Successful products support and extend customers’ work practice

“It’s deja vu all over again”1
Latest Attempt at Video Phone Is Light Years Past Early [...]

Points to consider :

Teams are trying to employ use cases to define the design, but that’s exactly the opposite of how they should be used
Teams who care about customer needs are looking for ways to reconcile customer-centered design with the requirements of corporate-mandated development methodologies
Contextual Design has the components you need to satisfy the mandate [...]

Why it matters:

If you want the users to understand the product, you must first understand the user
Understanding about the users and their needs is central to any successful product
In the effort of pleasing all your users you might have pleased none

“Build it, they may or may not come. But if they do come and you [...]

Why it matters:

A well-designed document invites your readers into your text. A poorly designed document pushes your audience away.
Your readers are time-challenged. You can’t manage their schedule, but you can help them get your message quickly.
Good layout can improve the accessibility of your writing; poor layout can hinder it.

From time to time we all need [...]

Why it matters:

Customer data will continue to drive design ideas long after the original project is completed.
Building a full set of customer work models is an investment. You want to make it pay.
You want to use your resources wisely. Don’t get data before you need it-but don’t get blindsided by changes in the market.

To ship [...]

Why it matters:

Facts are not the data that matters for design
Interpreting facts with the customer during the interview reveals design needs
Using a chain of reasoning with the customer brings you to a shared understanding of what the facts mean
Offering a hypothesis is more effective than asking open-ended questions

You’ve made the big step and are doing [...]

Combining art and technology

Why it matters:

With all the advancements in tools and the Internet today it is easy to forget the basic principles of design
Even with all the new technology, color hasn’t lost its symbolism or meaning
Today’s global markets have caused a need for multicultural awareness and sensitivity in design

Does this sound familiar? An image [...]

Why it matters:

The work of Contextual Design is done by a team
To be successful, team members must be in ongoing touch with customer data and have a shared understanding
More and more companies are using distributed teams that can’t meet face-to-face
We need techniques for making the Contextual Design work in those environments

Let’s assume you’re all fired [...]

Why it matters:

The only way to understand the work you are supporting is to see it
Learning to interview like an anthropologist leads to better customer data and better designs
Looking at work artifacts like an archaeologist reveals important work practices

By now, I’m used to the question, “How did your background lead you to this job?” People [...]

Why it matters:

Learn how to recognize when a meeting is going off track and what to do about it
Learn to set up your meetings for success
Agree on ground rules in advance so participants let you control the meeting

“What conversation are we in?”
This is a question you’ll hear frequently in a Contextual Design team. This simple [...]

Why it matters:

Reinforce the website message with branding elements, graphics, and links
Make scanning for key information easy
Users goals are the primary focus

Simply Stated
Starting with the home page — get to the point
It’s that simple. If there’s a need to explain what your website is about with text, write a short sentence or a few short [...]

Why it matters:

Complementary members bring divergent ideas
Conflicting pairings can derail teamwork
You want to spark creativity, not ignite a conflagration

A team can only be as good as the combined skills of its members. So what qualities combine to create a crackerjack team? And how can you deal with each other’s differences?
Design is synthesis — there is [...]

Why it matters:

So your audience will want to read your documents. A well-written document is a pleasure to read. A badly written document will drive readers away.
So your stakeholders can understand your project. They need to know what’s going on and you want them to know the project is a success.
So your time-challenged readers can [...]

Social Scientists Can Bring More Than Expertise in Studying People

Why it matters:

The role of user researcher has existed informally for years
The field is growing as more companies are focusing on user-centered designs
User researchers bring unique value beyond front-end data collection and modeling
Designers bring unique value to user research

An old role gets a new name
The idea [...]

Why it matters:

When management doesn’t think there’s time for contextual design
When your co-workers are afraid it will add more work
When you know that customer data will make your design better

Sometimes life is beautiful. Managers smile on your requests. Co-workers are eager to adopt your suggestions. Product managers love the idea of taking you to visit [...]

Why it matters:

You don’t want to do extra work that doesn’t support the project’s goals
You do want to focus your effort where it can make a difference
You don’t want less time to mean less quality

A question I used to hear all the time was: “How do I do it faster? We have to ship a [...]

Why it matters:

You need to design what customers think is great, not what you think is great
By understanding the needs of your customers, you won’t waste time re-designing
Spend more time creating designs instead of arguing about them
Differentiate your designs from the competition in a way that matters to your customer

Before I started using Contextual Design [...]