It's All Sales, Selling and Defending UX

It’s All SalesSelling and Defending UX

Michael Zarro, PhD mzarro@gmail.com

PhillyCHI Workshop SeriesTemple University

Sept 19, 2015

"Websites that are hard to use frustrate customers, forfeit revenue and erode brands.”

-Forrester

Presentation Format

CIA: COMMENT, INTERRUPT, ASK

• Introductions• Background• “Sales”• UX in the wild– Sell

• UX Decision Support Framework – Sell

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

About Mike

I’m 5’10” I use a Mac laptopI designed ecommerce checkout with $1 Billion yearly salesI wear size 11 shoesI researched and fixed usability issues impacting flagship software adoption for 2000+ customersMy mother says I’m handsome

What facts say “listen to this guy about UX / IA topics?

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Introductions

• Your Name• Non-UX facts about you• UX accomplishments or

background– "It ain't braggin' if you done it"

attributed to Dizzy Dean

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Dual Process Theory

Systematic Processing Heuristics

HSM - Heuristic-Systematic Model of Information ProcessingELM – Elaboration Likelihood Model

You can’t judge a book by its cover… but it almost always has an influence.

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

e.g., ReadingInvestigating

e.g., AestheticsAuthor

Goals for Today

Link UX work to client motivationsA system to support / defend UX decision making with research

Your goals?

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Genesis

Well meaning, but ill informed, colleague makes

design suggestions

I use a few academic

citations in my design

deliverables

Client gets a great design. Subsequent

design discussions with

team greatly improved.

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Client: 1. Internal and external people / teams who will

use your designs and deliverables2. Internal and external people / teams who will

want to work with you again and again because the benefit outweighs the cost

UX Client$$$$

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

What is UX?

What is a UX professional?

Still have no generally accepted terms. My UX is your UI, is her IA…

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Q: Why do you rob banks? A: Because that’s where the money is

- Willie Sutton Businesses want UX largely because it makes money.

With cloud technologies, the smallest entrepreneur can take on SAP, IBM, etc.UX is a competitive advantage

Image: Wikipedia

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Relative Cost to Fix an Error

System Analysis and Design Methods (2004). Whitten, Bentley, and Ditman

“You must sell”

Morville and Rosenfeld. Information Architecture, p. 365

Sell is sometimes a 4 letter word?

Source: Michael Cornellius, Flickr

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Sales is Not a 4 Letter Word

UX contribution?

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Neither is Metrics

Increased newsletter signups on a websiteIncreased sales? CEO likes the photo on the “about us” pageImproved Net Promoter ScoresImproved System Usability Scale (SUS) scores

Not a good metric, but sometimes gets more buy-in than anything else…

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

UX ROI / Metrics?

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

UX Potential Impact

• $12 Million difference in profit for Expedia – changing one data field in booking path

• $300 Million simply by changing a button (Jared Spool)

• Forrester UX report (Mike Gualtieri, 2009) : – 14.4% more customers willing to consider another purchase – 15.8% fewer customers who are likely to consider doing business with a

competitor– 16.6% more customers who are likely to recommend their products or services – 200% higher visit-to-order conversion rate – 400% higher visit-to-lead conversion rates – 41% lower page abandonment rates– Can greatly reduce the need for extensive redesign and redevelopment

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Presenting and “Sales”1. Seeing the client as someone they have to please: Your client hired you because you are the expert at what you do.

2. Not getting off your ass: This is your room. Your first job is to inspire confidence.

4. Not setting the stage properly: You have gathered all of these busy people together. They probably have other things to do. So let them know why they are in this presentation.

11. Reacting to questions as change requests

13 Ways Designers Screw Up Client PresentationsSeptember 18, 2014 by Mike Monteiro

http://muledesign.com/2014/09/13-ways-designers-screw-up-client-presentations

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

UX in the Wild

ISO ConstraintsCloud – the great equalizerUser Centered Design Design ThinkingAgile / Scrum

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

International Organization for Standarization (ISO)

ISO creates thousands of standards, from hole punches to Usability.

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

ISO 9421 - Ergonomics of Human System Interaction

• Usability has three components:– Effectiveness– Efficiency – Satisfaction

There is an internationally accepted definition of “usability” in ISO 9241. Use it.

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Project ConstraintsThe Iron Triangle

Cost

ScopeTime

“UX is expensive”

“We don’t have time for UX” “This project doesn’t need design”

Arguments against UXYes, some people still think this way

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Cost

ScopeTime

“What is the cost of missed features?”

“Build to the user needs, not the deadline” “UX is more than just the UI”

Reactions? Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Cloud

Salesforce Pinterest Others?

Cloud = EqualizerAny entrepreneur can take

on the giants

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

User Centered Design (UCD)

User

TechnologyBusiness

The cloud leveled the playing field. A focus on the user is the best way to gain competitive advantage.

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

UCD puts user goals and needs on the same level as technology constraints and business goals.

Design Thinking

Stanford Design School

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

One way to find out user needs, goals and problems is to ask them (shocking, I know), and then prototype and test your solutions

Agile / Scrum

“Customer collaboration over contract negotiation” – Agile Manifesto

In practice: regular delivery, testing, and demos.

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Where Does UX Fit?

Product ownerUX Researcher

Information ArchitectFront End Developer

UI Developer

QA TesterUI Designer

Business Analyst

Full-stack developer

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

* Design and Sell

Pope Francis is visiting the city

Design a mobile app for residents who want to remain in the city, and go about their normal routineScope: - Live and work in the city - Want to go out to dinner at

least once

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

UX Decision Support

Why should anyone listen?

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Bernsen, 2009

Bowles 2010 -Validation Stack

http://www.uxbooth.com/articles/winning-a-user-experience-debate/

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

UX Decision Support Framework

Thinking and

Experience

UX/HCI Theory

and Principles

UX Patterns

and Heuristics

Related Projects

and Articles

Project Specific

User Research

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Thinking and Experience

• We must have learned something in our collective years of experience?– I’ve seen this before – I’ve designed something like

this a dozen times… – Hmm, never saw this before, better investigate...

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

UX and HCI Theory and Principles

• Magic Number 7 +- 2• Fitts’ Law• Design standards or principles– iOS and Android design principles

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

UX Patterns and HeuristicsExample: Nielsen’s 10 Heuristics: 1. Visibility of system status2. Match between system and the real world3. User control and freedom4. Consistency and standards5. Error prevention6. Recognition rather than recall7. Flexibility and efficiency of use8. Aesthetic and minimalist design9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from

errors10. Help and documentation

http://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/

* There are many other lists of heuristics an rules, most are quite similar to Neilsen’s

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

You probably know whatmost of these icons represent

Research Articles and Related Projects

Government sources, research articles… Do you pay taxes? They belong to you!

• Google Scholar• Google Books• ACM Digital Library • Forrester• Gartner• NNGroup.com/articles• UIE.com/articles• MeasuringU.com

• Competitive Review• Previous projects at your

agency / client / company? • Personas

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

We call this “secondary research” in academia

Project User Research

• Ethnographic– Interviews– Observation

• Usability Testing– AB Testing– Evaluative

Build the right thing *

Build the thing right

* See Natalie Hanson’s presentations athttp://www.slideshare.net/ndhanthro

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

We call this “primary research” in academia

* Design and SellPope Francis is visiting the city.

Design a website for visitors to the city who will stay 3-5 days afterwards and combine with a site-seeing trip.

Scope: • Things to do• These visitors will stay in a hotel in “the restricted zone”

while the Pope is here • English speakers

Michael Zarro, PhD 2015

Thank YouStay in touch!

Michael ZarroPh.D. Information Studies, Drexel UniversityM.S. Library and Information Science, Drexel University

Email: mzarro@gmail.comWeb: www.mikezarro.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mzarroTwitter: @mzarro