Simon's posterous http://squaxor.posterous.com User experience rants from the front line posterous.com Fri, 18 May 2012 01:03:32 -0700 My morning commute http://squaxor.posterous.com/my-morning-commute http://squaxor.posterous.com/my-morning-commute
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Taken at Canary Wharf Pier

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Mon, 14 May 2012 09:01:04 -0700 My standing desk http://squaxor.posterous.com/my-standing-desk http://squaxor.posterous.com/my-standing-desk
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Taken at Shooters Hill

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Mon, 07 May 2012 15:37:00 -0700 An amazing local bookshop http://squaxor.posterous.com/an-amazing-local-bookshop http://squaxor.posterous.com/an-amazing-local-bookshop

After reading the shameful news about Amazon's tax dodging schemes in Europe and the US, I decided to return to purchasing books from local bookshops whenever possible. To that end I happened upon a shop that opened about a year ago in Eltham. It's run by Zoe, with moral support from Andre her partner.

The shop is quite modern, but still welcoming. Although it's not a 4 storey Waterstones, the books they choose to stock are all of excellent calibre. I walked out of there with several great books after a fascinating education in literature by Zoe who opened up new literary vistas so to speak.

As well as meeting nice people, you can also discover new things when you visit bookshops. For example I happened upon the new Flipback books, which are very cool.

Art-554440650-420x0

Ink & Folly

265 Eltham High Street, Eltham, London SE9 1TY, United Kingdom

+44 20 7998 3398 ‎

Google Map

 

Inkandfolly

Why you might want to boycott Amazon

Amazon: £7bn sales, no UK corporation tax: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/apr/04/amazon-british-operation-cor...

Amazon is damaging the high street book trade and threatens to undermine the nurturing of new talent: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/apr/05/amazon-dangerous-ottakar-james...

More bad news...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/apr/04/amazon-tax-loopholes-us

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/26/amazon-publishing-destroying

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Sun, 29 Apr 2012 06:28:00 -0700 Lisbon, the startup spirit http://squaxor.posterous.com/lisbon-the-startup-spirit http://squaxor.posterous.com/lisbon-the-startup-spirit

In April 2012 I was given the honour of speaking on the subject of ethnography at UX Cocktail hour, which was hosted by Startup Lisboa.

The initiative was the brain child of James Page and Sabrina Mach who run Webnographer, which is one of Lisbon's few dedicated user experience consultancies.

For those that are interested, I've written up a summary of my talk, which I originally gave at the UK UPA.

A city of talent

In many ways, the spirit of the people I met in Lisbon reminded me of the excitement I experienced in the mid 1990s when the world wide web was a new frontier. There are so many people starting ventures, such as Table and Friends, which arranges people to meet at a restaurant based on interests or as a service that can be offered to event organisers.

In London, communities can be somewhat fragmented, probably due to the amount of events and the limits on everyones' time. However, Lisbon's design, coding, service, innovation and startup scene is much more interesting as there are more opportunities for people from all disciplines to meet.

An example of this is when we went out to celebrate the opening of a new wine bar, which was the initiative of a friend of James and Sabrina. There I met with someone from the World Bank, who was working on a project to establish a online trust system. Listening in on conversations, everything was being discussed from psychology, functionalism, anthropology, open source, social design and the best breed of cat! It felt like I was in the Café de Flore, with the likes of Jean-Paul Sartre.

I can't stress just how friendly and hospitable everyone was during my stay. The Portuguese enjoy a reputation for their hospitality and their amazing wine enhances the whole experience! 

A business opportunity

With such a rich pool of talent, an amazing city, fantastic weather and a plethora of charming offices and houses, Lisbon is an ideal place to establish a European business. The upside of the economic downturn is the fact that it's cheaper than ever to establish a business.

Pioneering Webnographer

I know James and Sabrina from working with them at bSkyb in London. At that time they were situated near Brighton. I was somewhat surprised when they told me they were relocating to Lisbon. However, as the service the've created allows them to operate anywhere, it makes a great deal of sense they would make the move. Especially since James's father, Martin Page, wrote a seminal book on the Portuguese. Read the full story on their blog.

With an airport only 15 minutes from the city centre and cheap EasyJet flights they can be in any capital city within 3 hours from their front door. These guys have the best of both worlds, the charm, affordability and wether of Portugal, whilst reaping the economic benefits of service the international markets.

I would like to than everyone that was so kind to me. A special thanks goes to the whole Webnographer team!!

Useful links

Seed capital

Wine sharing http://www.adegga.com/

Webnographer's blog

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Sat, 21 Apr 2012 10:58:00 -0700 The happiness of mediocre pursuits http://squaxor.posterous.com/the-happiness-of-mediocre-pursuits http://squaxor.posterous.com/the-happiness-of-mediocre-pursuits I love Flaubert's pros in Chapter 7 of Madam Bovary... In the chiaroscuro of the workshop, the golden dust was streaming off the lathe, like the plume of sparks at the hoof of a galloping horse; the two wheels were turning, buzzing; Binet was smiling, chin down, nostrils dilated, apparently lost in that state of complete happiness which belongs no doubt only to mediocre pursuits, those that amuse the intelligence with facile difficulties, and appease it with an achievement that quite dulls the imagination. It reminds me of the state we seek out, be it with a jigsaw puzzle or video game. Mankind has always found ways to revel in the flow state.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Sat, 17 Mar 2012 08:32:00 -0700 Cohdoo phone doo http://squaxor.posterous.com/cohdoo-phone-doo http://squaxor.posterous.com/cohdoo-phone-doo

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Unboxing of Cohdoo's phone foo templates. They are reusable shiny phone drawing areas. They are heavy weight and magnetic. http://www.cohdoo.com/phonedoo.php

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:41:00 -0700 iMovie 11 fix for iCubie webcam http://squaxor.posterous.com/imovie-11-fix-for-icubie-webcam http://squaxor.posterous.com/imovie-11-fix-for-icubie-webcam

For those that can't get iMovie to show the iCubie webcam, the helpful guys from Ecamm. This also applies to most any video source that refuses to show up in iMovie.

Import_from-_pico_icubie_webcam
Front
sent me these instructions that worked a treat...

 

1) Quit iMovie.

2) Open the Terminal app, which is in Applications/Utilities.

3) Copy and paste this line into the Terminal window and press return:

defaults write com.apple.iMovieApp allowUnsupportedWebcams -bool YES

4) Re-open iMovie.

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:33:00 -0800 Flying and airports are an epic fail http://squaxor.posterous.com/flying-and-airports-are-an-epic-fail http://squaxor.posterous.com/flying-and-airports-are-an-epic-fail

Here's a mad thing I wrote about my trip from Barcelona to San Francisco. I and my two collegues were going to run a workshop and we had the misfortune of booking with Continental Airlines......


As consummate professionals, we had planned every last detail. To ensure we sat next to each other, I had set an alarm to remind me to check-in 24 hours and 5 minutes in advance.

I had already spent time on the seat-guru website weighing up the options and reading about the relative merits of each setting area {yes I know, borderline Aspergers}.

It's not as easy as you think. How about the great seat with the extra leg room, but it's a notorious place where mother stand nursing their screaming babies? Or the convenient seats near the front, but you have the disadvantage of 'bathroom odour' as sweating businessmen, on their return from India, enjoy their first liaison with 'Delhi belly'. Choices, choices.

With nano seconds to spare I braved the mid-1990s pre Steve Krug interface of Continental's online checkin process. I focused on my target like a F16 pilot, chose my seats, the command went out 'we were weapons hot, I repeat weapons hot'. One click later, the deed was done and there was no turning back.

A few screen-grabs later, my email went out to Aldo, who was coiled as tight as a spring (I think we all know his cat like reflexes). He followed where I had led and booked a strategic position that would form our perfect triangle of aisle seats. This would ensure we were close, but not too close you understand.

Let me elaborate, elbow room battles have ended many friendships. We had spent hours in the Claro bunker situation room running simulations using complex factors such as elbow room, snoring and dribbling, annoying English person, Lebanese garlic 'fragrances' and' Dutch 'liquorice breath'. The Beowulf computer-array groaned under the weight of the problem. Hours later and teraflops of computational effort yielded the perfect combination, 3 isle seats in. 2-1 combination. This combination was the love child of Ronaldo and field commander Rommel.

Once the seats were booked the machine, which is the Johnson packing system, went into action. Underpants were counted and recounted, socks were matched to the expected weather fluctuations of the next 7 days, a taxi was ordered, shirts were folded, gadgets were charged, and bad sci-fi movies were loaded onto my iPad.

With monk like devotion I went to bed early on Saturday night and awoke to two alarms and one backup. One standard cup of British tea was imbibed and, as it was a special occasion, a chocolate biscuit was eaten.

The taxi arrived exactly at 8.29am and the journey took 16.4 minutes. Each second of which, the driver rattled on about the football match which I had stated I wasn't interested in.

With a shiver of anticipation of joining a queue that only and Englishman could enjoy, and 15 minutes ahead of schedule, I joined the other travellers for Continental airlines checkin desks. This is where the wheels started to come off...

Firstly the website had instructed me that if I couldn't print out my boarding pass then I should use the Continental checkin machines at the airport. Errr, except they don't have any in Barcelona So I stood with all of the Luddites who no doubt had all had a great Saturday night and hadn't lost 50 IQ points wrestling with the Schizophrenic online checkin.

Comforting myself in the knowledge that I was ahead of schedule I made my way to the front of the queue. Only three paces to 'checkin nirvana' and then onto a tasty breakfast! Suddenly like a rabid meerkat shooting from its hole the US immigration official intercepted my trajectory!

What was this, I'm a innocuous looking English man with a small pot belly and Apple hardware. I must be so far down the terrorist suspect list that even Jesus and Santa Claus are bigger suspects than me!

The overly jolly man wearing a false smile 'only' wanted to see printed proof that I worked at Claro partners. Couldn't I show a business card? Why didn't I have any company stationary? Why hadn't I flown from London? Couldn't I understand that it was 'irregular' that I chose to fly via Barcelona rather than my home in London?

Feeling the anxiety levels rising I grabbed for proof of my authenticity in the form of Mandy who had just arrived. "don't worry, I'm with that woman", "which one?" said the sceptical official. "the Arabic looking one!" I'm sure that gave me street cred with the security boyz. No doubt a drone loaded full was being scrambled before the last syllable left my lips.

Having insufficient 'dead tree' proof with me. I was able to proffer my iPad. Showing legitimate correspondence from Intuit and 'clocking' the school boy looks of the respectable Mr De Jong, I was reluctantly allowed to check in, but forever to have the sigma of being as 'irregular' traveller hanging over my head.

Mercifully, security was straight forward with the small consolation of gliding through the metal detectors in the full knowledge that I was metal-free and could stare the suspicious security woman in the eye. I know what you want to do you evil woman, put your rubber gloves down and keep your lubricant to yourself, because I'm metal free!

We promptly made our way to the boarding gate. So far so good. A quick coffee later I decided to pop to the loo before enjoying breathing in avian flue virus for 7 hours. I hear you thinking hat a quick toilet stop isn't an unreasonable action, however that is where you are wrong! That 5 minute encounter with mother nature cost us dearly.

With spring in our step approached the boarding gate. However, when we came to show our boarding cards the staff were wearing worried looks. We were told to wait. After a conversation in 5 languages, non being English, we were told that the flight would have to take a new route, which somehow impacted on him many people the plane could carry.

Even though we had paid full price, checked in 24 hours in advance and were on time there wasn't; sufficient fuel on the aircraft to carry us! Silently, I blamed Mandy for eating too many chocolate croissants. Apparently Continental Airlines was about to depart with empty seats and due to poor fuel planning (Aldo's theory) couldn't carry it's paying passengers.

This is where the conspiracy theory comes into play. Aldo was convinced that we were bing dumped for some nefarious people (read Belgium's) that were hanging around that were on standby. Even as we were being escorted away Aldo couldn't help cast furtive glances at the suspicious looking lot who were still hanging around.

By this time, I was in free fall! My plan, which was created to work with swiss clock precision was in array. My apps would have to be edited to reflect the changes. How were we to get to San Francisco? Where were our bags? OMG.

Of course nobody apologised to use or offered much of an explanation. We were herded through immigration and given a fist full of forms to fill in. I'm sure they wanted dental records at some point.

We were told that Lufthansa would carry us via Munich. Err isn't that East and we want to go West? So we had to get new tickets. Of course the check-in machine I was using had a dud touch screen. In addition, they had found Mandy and Aldo's bag, but my bag was on its' way to Newark without me.

Another checkin queue awaited, followed by a please for decent seats. And guess what, no isle seats were available. We hastily braved, the joy that is, security again and made it to the gate.

We ate lunch in Munch airport, where I lost my brand new expensive pen. As I trudged toward the gate, clutching dozens of claim forms and reissued tickets, I envisioned sitting between a sumo wrestler and a Maori rugby player who had been attending a conference for people with anti-social behaviour and incurable body odour.

So here I am, actually sitting in an isle seat net to a charming french lady who's 'in semi conductors'. I've landed a bulk heat seat, far from the toilets with lots of leg room. Not so bad after all.

Aldo has just popped through the curtain looking good. The 'look' which is a combination of sleeping pills, alcohol and sleep deprivation really suits him. Mandy is fairing much better, but as she is only 16 years old nothing can phase her.

Okay, I don't have any clothes and toiletries when I land, but so what personal hygiene is overrated anyway. By turning my underpants inside-out, then back to front I can get 4 days wear out of them. Thanks to Rich for that tip.

I can just picture us three now standing before the Intuit team tomorrow morning, fatigued, wearing two day old clothes, but somehow carrying off that post heroine chic style like Kate Moss at her best.

Wish us luck for the other three flights, that is if we don't get diverted to Kazakistan.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:10:19 -0800 Xmas in Boston http://squaxor.posterous.com/xmas-in-boston http://squaxor.posterous.com/xmas-in-boston
Media_httpdistilleryi_iojgs

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Sat, 10 Dec 2011 10:08:53 -0800 Off the beaten path http://squaxor.posterous.com/off-the-beaten-path http://squaxor.posterous.com/off-the-beaten-path
Media_httpdistilleryi_covcu

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:42:21 -0800 The dinner of a lonely worker in a foreign land http://squaxor.posterous.com/the-dinner-of-a-lonely-worker-in-a-foreign-la http://squaxor.posterous.com/the-dinner-of-a-lonely-worker-in-a-foreign-la
Media_httpdistilleryi_cvuug

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:35:00 -0800 Xmas tree in Place Espana, Barcelona http://squaxor.posterous.com/84678252 http://squaxor.posterous.com/84678252

Media_httpdistilleryi_hwlds

Taken at Place ingles, barcelona

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Mon, 14 Nov 2011 03:30:00 -0800 The question of ageing - How to provide dignity through design? http://squaxor.posterous.com/the-question-of-ageing-how-to-provide-dignity http://squaxor.posterous.com/the-question-of-ageing-how-to-provide-dignity

I gave a talk on Ageing at UX Brighton 2011 where I tried to make everyone in the UX field more aware of including older adults in our reserach and design processes.

For those of us that are trying to convince people we work with that we should increase the age of your research participants pfeel free to use my slides. Please note that the slides are designed to support my talk, rather than being a stand-alone document.

The amazing illustrations were created by the talented Robert Andre. Check out his website

6318818281_f5d631d2cd_b 6318817657_a51a203551_b 6319335136_7fef0d7329_b 6319353718_17f08ca194_o
See the full gallery on Posterous

 

 

Robert_Andre_Resume.pdf Download this file

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:51:02 -0800 Ageing statistics http://squaxor.posterous.com/ageing-statistics http://squaxor.posterous.com/ageing-statistics

Uxbrighton-logo

I've quoted a few statistics in my recent talk about Ageing and design at UX Brighton. More details on the UXBrighton 2011 website. You can view my slides on Slideshare.

Sources

"Less than 5% of television characters are portrayed over the age of 60" ~ (Northcott, 1975)

"There are currently 11 million people in the UK between 45 and 60, the so-called 'baby boomers'. They own 70% of the nation's wealth. In 20 years time they could own 85-90% of disposable income in the UK." ~ (Source: Martin Raymond, The Future Laboratory via BBC)

"Over 50s buy 80% of all top of the range cars, 50% of skincare products, 80% of leisure cruises." ~ (Source: Senioragency International via BBC)

"Research shows that 50+ spend more time online than the younger generation; 42 hours per month, where 18-24 year olds spend 37.9 hours." ~ (Flamingo International: Talking 'bout my generationbooklet) also (comScore Media)

Age-demo-us-avg-hours-spent-online-20101

"There are equal numbers of age 55+ with iPhones as the 24-30 age bracket."

I took thins quotation directly from the book, but you can see the stats validated by adding up the the 55+s) ~ (Flamingo International: Talking 'bout my generation booklet) also (ComScore Media Jan 2009 - May 2009)

Iphone-vs-ipod-touch-age-breakdown-pie-chart-6-15-09

"27% of Americans, age 50+ use social networks" "49% of all adults age 50 and older said they consider themselves extremely or very comfortable using the Internet." ~ (AARP on slideshare)

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:42:00 -0800 Using a video clip exercise to spice up debriefs http://squaxor.posterous.com/using-a-video-clip-exercise-to-spice-up-debri http://squaxor.posterous.com/using-a-video-clip-exercise-to-spice-up-debri

Overview
If you have a debrief and you want to get your participants to take ownership of your findings you might want to try the following exercise. 

The exercise invites everyone to look for evidence for themselves by splitting into groups, watching a collection of clips (already curated) and then presenting back what they have discovered.

Setup
Divide the room into 4 teams.

Each team receives...
  • A laptop.
  • 3  Participant video interviews (10 minute duration); These are highlight videos only.
  • A printed profile page for each of the people shown in their clips.
  • Large format paper, pens, posits.
Instructions
  1. Read the Profile Card for your first video participant.
  2. Watch the 10 minute video interview for that participant.
  3. While watching, note down anything significant.
  4. After watching the video, spend 10 minutes createing a visual that summarises what you have seen.
  5. Repeat for the next 2 videos.

Sharing 'their' findings, 15 minute presentation
After they have spent an hour watching and discussing, they present back to the room what they discovered. The idea is to get everyone to own and absorb the findings, rather than passively watch.

TIme allocation
Watching video + analysis: 3 x 20 minute  = 60 minutes
Present their findings: 4 teams x 15 minutes = 60 minutes minutes
Total time = 2 hours

Practicalities
  • Have enough space to operate. People need space to listen to their video and discuss findings.
  • Make sure the 4 laptops have the correct software to run the video files.
  • It's best to have someone to steer each group, so they don't miss the point.

Dangers
  • Senior people might only want to absorb the research 'on a plate.'
  • Time might be tight.
  • There is prep time involved.

Benefits
  • It's more fun
  • It's more engaging
  • People are more likely to pay attention
  • People have to be active and engage their reasoning abilities
  • It will be remembered, both the evidence, but also our session
  • It moves away from passive consumption and towards active participation
  • It's not just us telling them things, which may be disputed, but about them coming to their own conclusions, albeit heavily editorialised.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:13:00 -0700 The power of pictures http://squaxor.posterous.com/the-power-of-pictures-39577 http://squaxor.posterous.com/the-power-of-pictures-39577

R0012232 R0012233
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Human_Factors9.pdf Download this file
In debriefs I've always hated Powerpoint presentations. Maybe I've not seen any decent ones, but there's reasonable evidence that the format if fundamentally flawed as a presentation medium.

In a project for Sky, instead of Powerpoint I created a printed report which contained all the detail. In the debrief I used a huge diagram that illuustrated the totality of our findings. I have Robert Andre to thank for brining my ideas to life and helping me clarify my reserach.

I'm not the only fan of this method. One of the most respected UX professionals, Nick Bowmast has been blogging about his use of visuals.

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Sun, 30 Oct 2011 00:52:00 -0700 2 methods of Research Analysis http://squaxor.posterous.com/2-methods-of-research-analysis http://squaxor.posterous.com/2-methods-of-research-analysis
Overview
I have two methods of working; analogue and digital. When working alone I do everything on the computer, however if I'm working with others I usually grab a room at the client's and cover it with post-its. This gives visibility to the process and fosters collaboration.

Setup
Macbook air running iMovie on my main screen - for watching research footage.
An external monitor showing Apple Pages - for notating anything significant seen in the footage,

Sky_install_cd_war_room_analysis_006 Sky_install_cd_war_room_analysis_005
See the full gallery on Posterous

Digital Process

  1. I compile my summary notes Into a rough set of themes. These are high-level off-the-top-of-my-head observations.
  2. I record these these in Apple Pages.
  3. In iMovie I import the video from the first participant. I then play their footage. When I happen upon a choice clip I 'drag to mark' using the favourite tool in iMovie.
  4. As I work through the footage I create a narrative profile for each person. In turn, I expand upon each theme and add verbatim quotes.
  5. By the time I have worked through each participant's footage I have usually found new themes and modified the themes I started out with.
This is quite an exhaustive process and very time consuming. However it's a rock-solid piece of work that is best suited to ethnography where you are trying to get insights into behaviour.

Analogue - best when working in a team as it gives visibility to the process
  1. When I 'do analogue' I hand a 1m wide sugar paper from the ceiling for each user. I then play marked audio from my livescribe desktop application and create a post-it for each significant finding.
  2. I then sort the findings into clusters for each user. I keep each user's comment separate.
  3. I then make a meta-board that combines main findings for each participant. This involves writing a large post-it that represents the gist of the themes identified in the clustering exercise. For example, we noticed that most people struggled to understand the micro-splitters on the Sky router. There were a variety of findings specific to the splitter, but I just wrote one post-it 'people don't understand the micro-splitter'.
  4. These meta-themes are then used in a design workshop with the team. They do a prioritisation exercise and come up with design suggestions.
Only when the process if completed will I go on to document the findings. The focus is on participation, transparency and rapidly moving from findings to design.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:36:00 -0700 Simon's list of ux techniques I'm trying to improve on http://squaxor.posterous.com/simons-list-of-ux-techniques-im-trying-to-imp http://squaxor.posterous.com/simons-list-of-ux-techniques-im-trying-to-imp

Here's my list of things I keep getting wrong. Often when reviewing video from interviews I hear myself wittering on instead of letting the participant speak. I've decided to write a list to remind myself not to keep repeating the same mistakes.

When interviewing...
  • After every statement a user makes, ask the question 'why?'
  • Always keep in mind I am trying to find out 'why.'
  • Don't ask compound questions.
  • Don't take notes during an interview. Concentrate on the person and think about 'why'.
  • Think about using visualisation, rather than text notation.
  • Find a way of marking significant events in video during the session to facilitate creating quick video summary footage.
  • Be extra careful not to lead. Use 'tell me about...'
  • Always turn down the volume on TVs, as they will ruin the audio.When capturing video, direct the microphone towards the user. Minimise other sounds.
  • Keep conversation flowing, but have key questions that are asked consistently. These may need to be written after 2-3 interviews to establish patterns to look for.
  • I am good at creating a rapport, but need to ask shorter questions and speak less.
  • Start the camera rolling early.
  • Assign someone to capture on video as much of the interview as possible.
Analysis
 This is about getting your ideas down and making sense of the deluge of info 
  • When summarising, always capture the audio. Vocalising thoughts are the best way to summarise.
  • Interview notes should be final, as you should avoid having to watch any video.
  • Always to write up interview notes as soon as possible after each interview.
  • Leave enough time to write-up findings and quotes
  • Drawing and post-its work best for teams.
  • For analysis, either work entirely on your computer, or entirely with post-its notes.
  • As a rule of thumb, 1 hours of video footage will take 3-5 hours to review.
Writing reports
  • Try to identify the core reasons and how the other issues are related to it.
  • Start by sketching and build the big picture over time.
  • Structure by findings, but qualify with a story to bring it to life.
  • Always show pictures or video of the participants.

Clients and debriefs

  • When bringing clients along to user interviews, brief them beforehand to refrain from explaining to the users things about their products. We are trying to learn about the customer's world.
  • Ensure that an arrangement is in place from the very start to carry the client through the process; extensive up front research leaves the team behind. Think of a lead climber that only goes a few meters before pulling up the next person. Loosing the client on route makes the whole research pointless.
  • When delivering research get straight into the findings. Nobody wants to hear a long preamble.  

Misc

  • Diary studies are time intensive, expensive and can yield very little information if you don't continuously remind participants. 
  • Spend far less time in preparation. Get into the field, then do desk research as necessary.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:22:00 -0700 Thoughts on Grounded Theory http://squaxor.posterous.com/thoughts-on-grounded-theory http://squaxor.posterous.com/thoughts-on-grounded-theory
What is Grounded Theory?
It's sort of qualitative and quantitate meeting. You go into a piece of research with the clear goal of not reading the past journals about it. Your first interviews are analysed immediately after they finish using coding. These codes help you formulate a theory. You then revisit those people, or a similar group with that theory.

Codes are groupings if similar occurrences that you 'code'. For example, you may observe that your participants frequently seem to refer to a broadband micro filter as a telephone splitter. This would be coded by highlighting any occurrence of this observation in colour int he transcripts. You would then give this a short description and, next to the transcript, pop that code into a separate column.

That it why it's GROUNDED, it's grounded in the data, not abstraction. The idea is that everything is data. You omit nothing, and therefore don't unintentionally screen something out by being prejudiced by legacy material.

It's open interviews, semi structured. It's like bugs hitting a windscreen - just bring it on. Then sit back and let the patterns emerge using a defined coding methodology.

The idea is based on solid epistemological foundations; To be able to state something is true you need to create a theory based on observation. This theory needs to be tested, refined and tested again until no other faults can be found.

There are hype arguments about the classical and Glassian versions of this. It's very tedious to read.

I like it because it may offer a more rigorous way of writing notes, marking them up that removes bias and saving a lot of time. It will also remove the huge mountain of data you get at the end, as this method requires constant analysis and refinement.

Before you start using it, be aware it's quite tedious to do properly and very time consuming. It's better for project that require rigorous checks.

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:09:00 -0700 Project methodology http://squaxor.posterous.com/project-methodology http://squaxor.posterous.com/project-methodology
For the benefit of anyone else that works in the user experience and field of ethnography I thought I would give you a sketchy view of the way I work.

My usual M.O. is to spend time doing desk research, which leads to potential area of interest to explore. This can be reading books, online research or attending speeches or industry events.

Then there is the usual headache of getting participants involved followed by home visits of 1-4 hours where I ask them lots of questions based on early hunches. Sometimes I do lab sessions or telephone interviews.

Over time my questions develops in response to common patterns that emerge from earlier interviews. For example I spent time with customers watching their 'out of box' experience with Sky broadband. It transpired that users had no idea what the micro-filter was, which led to huge problems. I was then able to explore, with subsequent interviews, what users though this device was. In response to these insights we mounted the micro-filter on a card with large labelling saying 'I am a micro filter. Use me in every telephone socket to remove internet noise from your phone'. This is an informal grounded theory approach.

After each interview I usually write a session summary. I watch my video interviews and note down significant comments. I don't know how my mind extracts what is significant but I presume I am pattern matching for elements that have an affinity with my earlier studies and the topic at hand.

Once all the studies are complete I fill up a room with post-it notes. In my last study I covered walls of brown paper with notes. I estimate there were 70 square meters of findings. This takes two weeks of hand writing and lots of hard work sticking everything up.

I then draw out meta-themes that emerge. I see if there are cohorts within the data and group these archetypes.

This often leads to early design solutions. These could be in the form of labelling, products modification, messaging, website design, etc.

At this point I spend a day with the client going over my findings with a presentation, findings document and a 15 - 45 minute video. They then go on to do a prioritisation exercise to see what needs fixing first etc.

I know there are more formal methods, but this works for me. In fact, I rarely use a script, but rather I jot down a few themes that expand after each interview.

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/327375/IMG_0013.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIVr6Rn0dFL Simon Johnson Simon Simon Johnson