Interaction Design for Enterprise Teams

Jason Moore, UX Managerjason.moore@workiva.com

Agenda

I’d like to leave you with 3 ideas 1. What is Interaction Design (IxD)?2. How IxD’s are structured to support Workiva’s

success within our product teams3. How product discovery plays a key role in our

teams

Idea #1What is Interaction Design?

What is Interaction Design?

A design discipline dedicated to defining the behavior of artifacts, environments, and systems ...i.e. products

The Interaction Design Group’s (IxDG) definition of IxD can be found at http://define.ixdg.org/

If it were only that simple

Our challenges continue to grow

Idea #2The day-in-day-out of UX life at Workiva

What people think we do

image used from http://jmoo.re/1HMEWj7

What we don’t do

What we actually do

User Experience deals with:● The interaction itself● UI ≠ UX● It includes UI but, is not bound by it● Deals with all perceptions the user has while

interacting with it

We think of it like this

Content“What People are looking for”

Images used from: http://jmoo.re/ux-ui-diff

UI“Tools to use the content”

UXConsumption

Problems we are solving today

How do users retrieve and trust

the integrity of financial data?

How do we allow teamsof 3 to 1000 to collaborate

securely and effectively across desktop and

mobile?

How would our users most benefit from tracking their

document lifecycle and the resources involved?

Discovery ‘triads’ are at the core

Image From: Jeff Patton. “User Story Mapping.”

How did we get from here in 2009...

...to here in 2015?

Idea #3What role does Product Discovery play in

Workiva teams?

What is “Product Discovery”?

Product Discovery is a set of tools and methods that allow you to evolve a product idea into an actionable delivery plan, within just a few days.

Why is discovery important?

Ever ask questions like,● Does my product solve my customers

problems?● What works?● What could be better?● Where do we go from here?

Stuff I said“I've never met an engineer who wanted to build something over and over for a user

who has ZERO interest in using it.”- Jason

Ever have feature discussions like this?

Illustration by Luke Barrett

What shared understanding looks like

...So, how do we arrive at this place?

Illustration by Luke Barrett

The Goal of Product Discovery

Image From: Jeff Patton. “User Story Mapping.”

Quick! To the UX Toolbelt

● Maps! (of all kinds)● Customer Calls● Sketching ● Prototypes● Validation

We love mapping problems (+solutions)

● Maps are a CORE component of our UX Toolbox.

● Visualizing information is infinitely more powerful.

Our Compass

http://jmoo.re/jp-story

read itlearn itlove it...and use it.

When should I engage in discovery?

Not often, only when you have a need to:● Build an entirely new product● Add new features to an existing product● Innovate on existing features

Ok...so, a lot.

Empathy Maps

Rather than sympathy (pity), empathy allows you toimmerse yourself in a user’s environment

How we plan for a customer Call

If you make a habit of this, you’ll...

Do not ever ask, “what do you want?”

Image recreated from http://jmoo.re/3-better-questions

What do you want?

Feature 2Feature 1 Feature 3

...end up chasing features till you retire (or worse).

Build solutions, not features

What’s our alternative?

1. What are you trying to get done? Why?a. Getting background information about what a person is trying to do is

critical to understanding your users.

ExampleWhat are you trying

to get done? Build a Fence Why?

Image recreated from http://jmoo.re/3-better-questions

So I can surround my front yard.

Why?So that I can plant a garden.

Why?

So I can grow my own food.

So that I can save money on groceries.

USE CASE!Why?

What’s our alternative?

1. What are you trying to get done? Why?a. Getting background information about what a person is trying to do is

critical to understanding your users.

2. Can you show me how you currently do this?a. After understanding the scale of the ‘why’ and what they want to, step

into their shoes and see how they do it.

What’s our alternative?

1. What are you trying to get done? Why?a. Getting background information about what a person is trying to do is

critical to understanding your users.

2. Can you show me how you currently do this?a. After understanding the scale of the ‘why’ and what they want to, step into

their shoes and see how they do it.

3. Can you tell me what’s painful about this?a. If you jump to asking users about how they think something can be better

from the start, you only get their opinion, not how they actually deal with their current problem.

We try and remember that...

When talking to our customers, ● Great discovery feels like a conversation, not

an interrogation. ● We never assume that we know what a user

means. Ask. ● Silence is our friend.

Journey Maps

Journey Maps

● Allows us to understand what the user is doing TODAY.

● It’s about mapping the process of observing, and describing all the experiences and emotions the our user has as they encounter a product.

● There will most-likely be gaps!○ That’s why we’re here!

Time to Pause!

The tools mentioned previously are meant to help create shared understanding about who our user is and the pain around their current solution(s).

Going through the motions without reaching the why’s is called “Discovery Theatre”.

Do we know the user now?

Let’s map a solution!

“Story maps are really about discussion, conversations, breaking big ideas into granular detail..”- Jeff Patton

What’s a Story?A story is a named item that we might build in our software

● It names what we might build● It avoids saying how it would be built

Why Stories?User stories act as the narrative with which you can have conversations in and around your triad (PM/UX/DEV) and team:

Illustration by Luke Barrett

How do we write stories?

● Keep the language simple○ Express stories in a language most people can

understand● Build wide, then deep

○ Start with the big ideas and then backtrack.○ Details should be discussed in other pertinent

meetings, where they are useful.

The life of story map

How it breaks down

Big Ideas (concepts)

User's steps

- smaller steps

- UI details

- technical details/steps

MVP/Release level

MVP/Release level

Build better maps● Build a physical map when possible...and

let the rest of the team see it!● Start with the ‘Walking Skeleton’

○ build wide, then deep● Focus on the MVP’s or MVR’s (Minimum

Viable Release *)● Add UI to the map to spark discussion● Revisit the map constantly (during the

project)

Milemarker: Storymap Progress

A good way to understand if our story map is on the right track is to sketch it out.● Everyone on the team is invited to participate.

Yes, Engineers too!● We pick a vertical column of our map and

timebox 5 minutes sessions to walk through it. ● Have each person share and discuss.

Sketching ideas … is a good idea

Rough sketch of user interface flow on a mobile app.Image by Fernando Guillen.

Interaction Flow Single Screen

Why do we prototype?

To EXPLORE concepts for ourselves

To VALIDATE concepts with users

To COMMUNICATE concepts with stakeholders

and teams

How we select the right fidelity

What is the FASTEST, cheapest way to

explore

validate

communicate

[ insert what you are prototyping ] ?

Prototyping: One size does not fit all

Low High

live data, polished ui, html or axure

wireframes and lo-fi ui. clickable interactions

paper or balsamiq, high level flow

After we validate our hypothesis

Time to build ... aka define the MVP!

“The minimum viable product is the smallest solution release that successfully achieves its desired outcomes.” ← solves our clients pain!

Excerpt From: Jeff Patton. “User Story Mapping.” iBooks.

This is NOT MVP

Illustration by Henrik Kniberg

This is a beautifully incorrect product plan for MVP. At every release the user gets something they can’t use, until the

last release when they get something that they finally can.

Bingo. MVP FTW

Illustration by Henrik Kniberg

If we build like this, our user gets somethingat every release that they can use!

Define MVP

Excerpt and Images From: Jeff Patton. “User Story Mapping.”

“Focus on outcomes—what users need to do and see when the system comes out—and slice out releases that will get you those outcomes.”

Wait, that’s a lot of maps...

Q: How do I know which one to use and when?

A: You won’t...right away.The key is to build habits around around

each of these tools so that you can recognize what’s appropriate and when.

It eventually becomes second nature

photo: boltmade.com

A sample week might look like…

Be ready — the plan will change. Adapt with it.

The way our interaction designers, product managers and engineers continue to build and iterate, is never ending.

There is no finish line…There is no finish line…

The way our interaction designers, product managers and engineers continue to build and iterate, is never ending.

@mooreplusone

Thank you!Feedback + Questions

Welcome!

Thank you!Feedback + Questions

Welcome!@mooreplusone