Storytelling: finding UX moments that count

Storytellingfinding UX moments that count

Amber Howard, Ph.D.@amberkhoward

February 12, 2013

Customers don't know what they want until we've shown them.

— Steve Jobs

Qwikster

Muhammad Yunas, Grameen Bank

welcome to the party

create to resonate

belonging, connecting, & believing

CREATE TO RESONATE

the difference between

rejecting missing doubting

MINDSETS & EXPECTATIONS

DESIGNED CONDITIONS

increase the overlap

storytelling gets us there

CREATE TO RESONATE

we are all storytellers. story is a fundamental part of our existence.

make the experience count

Do you enjoy being a designer?

Why do you love being a designer?

Tell a story about a time when you felt fulfilled as a designer.

storytellingis a state of mind

invite storytelling

experience is non-conscious

INVITE STORYTELLING

consciousness is a bubbling up of non-conscious awareness.

the non-conscious knows

INVITE STORYTELLING

Iowa gambling task

stories are windows to the non-conscious

listen for the elephant in the trainer’s voice. one story is not enough.

what to ask

Text

TEXT

Text

— Henry Ford

If I had asked people what they want, they would have said faster horses.

how you want the design to resonate

WHAT TO ASK

what you ask depends on

atmospheres of resonance

What do people have?What can we make?

ASSETS

ASSETS ACTIONS

What do people do?How can we streamline the process?

EXPERIENCESACTIONS

How do people relate?How can we make it fulfilling?

ASSETS

VISIONEXPERIENCESACTIONS

What do people value?How can we align perceptions?

ASSETS

VISIONEXPERIENCESACTIONSASSETS CULTURE

What do people believe?How can we expand possibility?

VISIONEXPERIENCESACTIONSASSETS CULTURE

observable inferential

VISIONEXPERIENCESACTIONSASSETS CULTURE

tactical strategic

If I had asked people what they want, they would have said faster horses.

If I had asked people to tell a story, they would have surprised & inspired me.

how do you want to resonate

design the experience

ask & listen to the non-conscious

DESIGN THE EXPERIENCE

design the experience

facilitating a storytelling session

DESIGN THE EXPERIENCE

know your role

DESIGN THE EXPERIENCE

know the encouraging & supportive persona you’re going to play.

calm the elephant

DESIGN THE EXPERIENCE

provide no-stakes opportunities to tell casual stories.

give a basic structure

DESIGN THE EXPERIENCE

Great stories are designed. Give people the structure to tell great stories.

structure of a story

What was the situation?Where do significant moments happen?

SETTING

CHARACTERS

Who was involved?What roles and relationships matter?

SETTING

CHARACTERS

What happened?How did emotions & perspectives transform?

SETTING JOURNEY

CHARACTERS

How did it end?How was tension resolved?

Who does the person want to be?

SETTING JOURNEY RESOLUTION

CHARACTERSSETTING JOURNEY RESOLUTION MORAL

Why did it matter?What is valued?

What are the person’s hopes?

SETTING CHARACTERS JOURNEY RESOLUTION MORAL

DESIGN THE EXPERIENCE

provide a safety net give people a space to collect their thoughts before sharing.

DESIGN THE EXPERIENCE

make it social people are comfortable sharing stories with peers — it builds camaraderie. find ways to record the conversation.

DESIGN THE EXPERIENCE

invite the elephant to share

analyzing stories

how do we make sense of them?

ANALYZING STORIES

all these stories...

using grounded theory lite

ANALYZING STORIES

themes from many pieces

transcribe the stories

ANALYZING STORIES

get all the stories into a comparable format.

develop a coding system

ANALYZING STORIES

make dots so you can connect them. the dots should be project-specific.

SETTING CHARACTERS JOURNEY RESOLUTION MORAL

story elements

relationshipsroles

before/during/aftertriggertensionemotiondrama

transformationhopes

aspirations

significanceidentity

locationtimetools

categorize by affinity

ANALYZING STORIES

identify patterns & themes. Find significant moments.

find out through systematic inquiry

synthesizing stories

relevant and meaningful

SYNTHESIZING STORIES

tell a story that is

SETTING CHARACTERS JOURNEY RESOLUTION MORAL

BELONGING: common mindsets

SYNTHESIZING STORIES

situations & roles

SETTING CHARACTERS JOURNEY RESOLUTION MORAL

who were overwhelmed, but persevered,

Teachers

Principals

Staff

in a new environment

outside their comfort zone

with too much to do in too little time

when faced with a crisis

CONNECTING: leverage points

SYNTHESIZING STORIES

journey & progression

SETTING CHARACTERS JOURNEY RESOLUTION MORAL

my performance

set benchmarks

Provide speci!c praise

expectations

Facilitate re"ection

I NEEDI AM

LinkedInGoogle

FacebookEdutopia

Skype

ReassuranceOverwhelmed

& unsure

VALUEADDED

VALUE

I’M AFFIRMED

about

using

I’M CONFIDENT

celebrating success

asking for feedback

I REFLECT BY

I WOULD ENGAGE WITH THE ONLINE

COMMUNITY TO

How am I doing?“Con!dence and a sense of success is pretty awesome for me. It means a lot to be comfortable in your own skin.”

— teacher

BELIEVING: purpose

SYNTHESIZING STORIES

values & perceptions

SETTING CHARACTERS JOURNEY RESOLUTION MORAL

public transportation

effective public transit system

monorail

transportation to RDU

wayfinding

walkable features/riverfront

density

attractions

populationentrepreneurs

economic development

communication

convention center

DRA

NCSU/Universities/

Colleges city

chamber

other groups

References for success

> Keep Austin weird > Charlotte preserves history > Districts in Paris > Salt Lake City water feature,

ocean/mountain > Fortune 500 companies in NYC > NYC culture/grid/mindset/designers > Portland downtown transportation > Bike ecosystem of Copenhagen/Paris/

Amsterdam/San Francisco

> Amsterdam infrastructure for lots of people

> Austin music > Nashville music > Music scene in northwest

General advice from the group

Lay the foundation for 21st century growth.

CityWhere we want to go as a

Built upon these pillars

MOMENTUM: strategy

SYNTHESIZING STORIES

engagement architectureaction plan

10.8%ORGANIC

No one department manages or coordinates; efforts bubble up from the edges of the company.

18%DANDELION

Similar to Hub and Spoke but applicable to organizations with several autonomous sub-groups.

1.4%HONEYCOMB

Everyone in the organization uses social media safely and consistently across all organizations.

28.8%TREE

One department manages all social activities.

Data based on 140 surveyed social companies, courtesy of Altimeter Group, 2010.

41%HUB AND SPOKE

A community hub is like a bicycle wheel, with spokes

radiating out from the center.

Community hubs are the central gathering place for

featured content and discussion. The centralized

position of the hub ensures that the nodes are aligned

with the organization’s brand.

The spokes, radiating from the hub, route members to

need-speci!c resources.

Since one tool does not !t all, the nodes provide a suite

of curated tools and resources that cater to speci!c

needs, expectations, and values of the community.

MODELS FOR SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT

The conversations and ideas that came from the Pathways to Opportunity Tour demonstrated that North Carolina wants RTP to be a convener, a connector, a catalyst.

Here’s how RTP plans to ful!ll those roles:

CONVENER

THIS YEAR, RTP WILL INVITE REPRESENTATIVES FROM ACROSS NORTH CAROLINA TO COME TOGETHER IN THE PARK.

Events hosted in RTP will give passionate people an opportunity to collaborate and learn from one another to drive economic development in their own communities.

CONNECTOR

RTP WILL DEVELOP AN ONLINE COMMUNITY TO ESTABLISH AN ONGOING CONVERSATION ABOUT THE FUTURE OF NORTH CAROLINA.

Di!erent forms of online media will allow RTP to share timely information about the Park and the state’s development. Open communications platforms will give North Carolina a place to share stories and ideas.

CATALYST

RTP WILL BUILD AN INNOVATIVE COMMUNITY FOR SHARING NEW IDEAS.

The center will ful"ll the expectations we heard on the Pathways to Opportunity tour: it will connect North Carolina and brand our state as a global leader in innovation and collaboration.

moments that count

invite people to the party

storytelling gets us there

be systematic about it

belong, connect, & believe

moments that resonate

thank you.

Amber Howard, Ph.D.@amberkhoward