Ready, Fire, Aim. Oops, maybe we should Aim 1 st. Larry Marine Intuitive Design Group Intuitive Design Group, Inc.

Transcription

1 Ready, Fire, Aim Oops, maybe we should Aim 1 st Larry Marine Intuitive Design Group

2 Some Typical Project Problems Unclear objectives Vague requirements Inconsistent agendas Assumptions, opinions, and cultures Poor communication across departments Emotionally biased design ideas Ready, Fire, Aim!

3 Ready, Fire, Aim Innovate, then build a market around it Define a solution, then find a problem it solves It s the common product design approach QFD Six Sigma TQM A feature or technology-oriented approach Throw the dart, then rush a target under it

4 The Ready, Fire, Aim Process Innovate first Align last Aligns the business to the product Reactive approach 90% product failure rate

5 Ready, Aim, Fire - Identify the key business objectives Look for the market that fits the objectives Innovate the product to fit that market Define the problem, THEN the solutions Creates a cross-cultural team from the outset A more task-oriented approach Objectives, metrics, and priorities Users and tasks, not features Find the target, then throw the dart

6 Process Align first Define the problem, then the solution Design the product to fit the business Proactive approach Less emotion, more data driven

7 The Process AIM - Align, Innovate, Manage Align = identify objectives and targets Innovate = design to the target Manage = prioritize, plan, and implement

8 Typical Process vs.

9 Establish the Goal, First If you don t know where you are going, Any road will get you there Lewis Carroll What business goals must be achieved? What marketing objectives support them? Who is in that target market domain? What are their biggest problems? How feasible is it to solve their problems?

10 Example: Web Content Monitor Original target: Corporate IT admin level users Original tasks: Set content filters Run prohibited access attempt reports Original design Very techie interface One screen fits all approach

11 Identify Objectives (Ready) Business Goals and Metrics Increase revenue or decrease costs Metrics must be observable and measurable Marketing Objectives Deepen existing relationships Source customers from competitors Attract new customers in existing market Open new markets

12 Example: Objectives Increase revenues Profitability reached after 1,000 licenses sold Increase market share Wide open market Few competitors Few users signed up Lots of potential users

13 Observations vs. Interviews Interviews and Surveys limit your insight Users constrained by their perceptions of the problems and the current technology You know more about the problem and the potential opportunities than your users Claimed vs. actual behavior The unspoken info is often more valuable Avoid automating current frustrations

14 New or Existing Target Users? Who do you observe? Go to the right users that fit your goals Generally speaking: Existing users can t help you sell to new markets Can t reduce costs by observing non-users New market ideas come from non-users Competitor s users help you source customers from your competitors

15 User Observation Matrix

16 Initial User Research Get an idea of what problems exist Focus on identifying key tasks Get more details later Work backwards Identify the desired outcomes Identify the task artifacts Identify the task triggers 4-6 users of each type Avoid analysis paralysis Users and influencers

17 Influencer Diagram Real Estate Firms Seller's Agent Wants: -To present strongest feasible buyer and offer to seller (Influences purchases only) Buyer's Agent Wants: -To present strongest feasible buyer and offer to selling agent Borrower Purchaser Wants To: -Get "purchasing power" (Qualified for highest amount and grade) Refinancer Wants To: -Get the most cash our as possible/desired and still be able to make payments Mortgage Brokerage Firm Broker of Record Loan Officer Wants to broker the loan that : -Has highest profit for Loan Officer -Has lowest rate for borrower -Is easiest, surest to close Loan Officer must prove value to avoid this link.. Loan Processor $ Mortgage Bank/Underwriter (Countrywide, Wells...) Lender Underwriter Wants to: -Underwrite loans that are sellable/profitable on secondary market Investor (Fannie, Freddie...) Investor Wants to buy and service the loan that : -Want borrowers that are not costly to service -Want to maximize long-term stable income of loan

18 Example: Research Round 1 Initial findings showed IT is NOT the user HR executives set content access limits HR managers run reports to verify violations Need to iterate with different report settings Wait hours and days to get reports from IT HR required by law to address violations by EOD Asking IT to run reports violates privacy laws

19 Prioritize (Aim) List the user roles (personas) & influencers List the tasks, not features, for each role Rate the impact from 3 key perspectives Users Business and Marketing Technology Focus on the priorities Desirability Profitability Feasibility

20 Prioritization Process Users: Importance to their goals Biz: Importance to the stated objectives Tech: Feasibility of implementing MUST have equal distribution of scores Biz & Users: 1 is lower, 3 is higher priority 3 = right now, 2 = next version, 1 = next year Tech: 1 is harder, 3 is easier to implement

21 Priority Matrix Function/Task User Experience Business Tech. Feasibility Overall Attend to Violation Alerts Review Violator History Create Reports Reuse Reports Schedule Reports Create the Content Filter List Monitor Activity Track Activity Violations Review Filter Performance Review Filter Details Administer Users Review Filter Performance Attend to Filter Alerts Manage System Set up System Verify System Integrity & Validity

22 Calculating the Results Which tasks have high scores Which roles have high ratings Support user roles, not just tasks What fits within your schedule and budget Figure in the dependencies What can wait until next release Design for everything that fits Design with the next release in mind

23 Common Difficulties Marketing says EVERYTHING is a 3 Tech says everything is a 1 Features instead of tasks Task dependencies Prioritizing for lesser objectives Keep in mind, the matrix is just a guideline

24 Priority Matrix Benefits Gets buy-in from everyone cross-cultural Tells you what to focus on now Provides a roadmap for the future Provides a tool to address scope creep, later Depersonalizes ideas or feature ownership Toughest step for the team made easier Informed, cross-functional trade-off decisions

25 Example: Priorities New users mean new marketing approach Refocus product for new users and tasks Interaction and navigation design Task and feature organization Take advantage of existing architecture Cast out existing interface design (and users)

26 User Research Round 2 Focus on the prioritized user & tasks Identify complete tasks Get more details Collect artifacts Test ideas or concepts on users

27 Example: Research Round 2 Focus on HR users and their tasks Content filter settings Report templates Report archiving (for later use in case of lawsuit) Automatic alert mechanism

28 Create Task Flows Focus on one user role at a time Focus on one task at a time, per user role Flow out the complete task Work backwards What s the goal What does it take to achieve that goal We use colored sticky-notes

29 Task Flow Select Report Display report parameters Create APR report view Modify report Create APR as word doc Run Report View report Print Report Save Report Schedule Report

30 Real Task Flow Design Integrated Protection Determine Goal State Wizard vs. Advanced : Wizard walks! user through decision process. Wizard vs. Advanced : Advanced lets! user apply parameters directly to key. Rainbow can assist the user! in selecting a desired end state. Don t be fooled by the simple example Real world task flows are more complex Feature Disabled Demo This application assumes that the product will be freely available, but certain features will be disabled, such as saving files or modifying defaults. Currently, user must select shelling to! implement these algorithms. All values need option of fixed or variable. If it is 'Variable', then the system queries the user for the values when the key is programmed. If it is fixed, the developer defines the value of the algorithm in the SDK and that value is carried into the API If two counters are used, the first to reach zero will deactivate the software. (Execution Limit is a type of counter) Full Featured Time Limit? Expiration Date? Execution Limit Counter? No API algorithm is currently available to count number of days or set expiration data Yes Yes Yes Yes How Long? MANAGEMEN! T When? MANAGEMEN! T How Many? MANAGEMEN! T How Many? MANAGEMEN! T User Data? Description User Data? Description Parameters Parameters?? Locked? If selected, user should be reminded that specific hardware (a Network Key) is required to implement this feature. If a non-network key is inserted, can user have the option of programming all other features? Sublicense Yes How Many? Reactivate? Will the software operate upon insertion of the key, or must the key be activated with a password? Active? No Protection Scheme (Design) This will be generated when the key is programmed. It can either be generated by the system or by the user. Unlocking Code

31 Design (Fire) Follow the priority matrix Focus on the key users tasks Task-oriented design model Similar features replicated in several places Design for the target users New users means new interface model Existing users means leverage an interface model Allow for growth of next priority tasks Design for now, with an eye on the future

32 Design for the Tasks (Fire) Again, work backwards Focus on the desired results Design interfaces for the greens Hide the yellows Stick to the task Avoid cool ideas that don t directly fit the task Design for the task not the technology Keep in mind what success is for the user

33 Example: Design Role based access HR executive HR manager Department manager Distributed tasks across users Set/change content limits (per dept. or user) Run violation reports and address violations Monitor users for continued violations

34 Example: Blueprints

35 Final Deliverable Objectives and Metrics Users and Tasks Priorities Design blueprints Navigation Interaction Screen/Page Layouts System Behaviors

36 Rely on Checklists, not Memory Most processes depend on memory to know how and when to perform each step They also generate irrelevant paperwork AIM First uses deliverables as a checklist to drive your user research and design process Objectives & Metrics User research Matrix Priority Matrix Task Flows Design Wireframes

37 Fitting into Your Process Not a matter of what to do but when to do it Reorganize your current processes Define the problem, first Clarify business & marketing objectives Get a target market and go observe them Identify potential directions, but not designs General ideas and product concepts Prioritize objectives and tasks Design to solve the prioritized problems

38 Typical Process vs.

39 Successful Results Task-oriented designs Make it easier for your users to succeed at the tasks that make you money Easily fits into your current processes Doesn t require much process re-engineering Avoids wasting time and resources Improves communication between depts. Gets cross-functional input early Avoids opinion wars Sets clear and appropriate expectations