UX IN CONTEXTCrafting a user-centric mobile content strategy
Anton ZadorozhnyyJune 2014
A TALE OF TWO TRAINS
BART CALTRAIN
A TALE OF TWO TRAINS
BART~15 MinMix of seating and standingUnder & Above ground
A TALE OF TWO TRAINS
CALTRAIN~45 minMostly seats, 2 levelsAbove ground
Why do people favor phones on BART, and tablets on Caltrain?
CONTEXTThe relevant constraints of a situation or action
CONTEXTThe relevant constraints of a situation or action
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
TIME
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
TIME
ENVIRONMENT
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX
TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
Duration of availability How much time are your users able or willing to devote to your app?
TIME
Duration of availability
Onboarding Complexity
How much time are your users able or willing to devote to your app?
How long / difficult is it to set up your app to its ideal state?
TIME
Duration of availability
Onboarding Complexity
Delay of reward
How much time are your users able or willing to devote to your app?
How long / difficult is it to set up your app to its ideal state?
How soon after the user launches it does the app deliver value?
TIME
BART
CALTRAIN
~15 Min
~45 Min
Quick BrowsingScanning a feed
Longform reading
Saved Articles
TIME
Mobile Content Consumption
Wakeup Commute Work & Breaks Home & Rest
COMMUTER
TIME
Mobile Content Consumption
Wakeup Commute Work & Breaks Home & Rest
DEVICE DOMINANCEMobile / Tablet Desktop / Mobile Multimedia
TIME
Mobile Content Consumption
Wakeup Commute Work & Breaks Home & Rest
MOTIVATIONSWakeup + Catchup Breaks + Entertainment Relax + Delve
TIME
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX
TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
Modes are correlated to time, but ultimately driven by changes in environment.
ENVIRONMENT
Environment can be physical, social or mental.
BART
CALTRAINAlmost entirely seating
Above ground only
Fewer seats, mostly standing room
Underground, no 4G signal or WiFi
ENVIRONMENT
Mobile Content Consumption
Wakeup Commute Work & Breaks Home & Rest
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSUMPTION MODESWakeup Commute Workday Snacking Rest & Delve
ENVIRONMENT
WAKEUP RITUAL
As part of waking up, many people read tidbits from around the web and social media, looking to catch up on what they’ve missed overnight
ENVIRONMENT
Positioning your content as ‘must-not-miss’ can leverage FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) into driving engagement.
COMMUTE
Only applicable to those that use public transport.
Will they have signal? Sitting or standing? - Be mindful of how rich your content is, and its impact on data usage.
Consider the saved article case - Pocket is successful because of this use-case!
ENVIRONMENT
WORKDAY SNACKING
Quick, lightweight consumption throughout the workday, either at their desk or on coffee breaks, etc.
Short, entertaining content is key. Be mindful of blatant images or large words that betray non-work material.
ENVIRONMENT
REST & DELVERelaxed mode, usually while doing something else. Longer span of time to devote to reading, but more distractions
This can mean more opportunity for richer, longer content, but you must mitigate the distractions with place markers and sticky content progress.
Heavy readers will often lie in bed and read on mobile to wind down and fall asleep. Don’t forget Night Mode!
ENVIRONMENT
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX
TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
How do your users discover and engage with the content in your app?
UX
What assumptions are you making about what they know?
UX
MOBILE CONTENT UX PARADIGMS
FEED DIGEST LIST
UX
FEED
Endless - could keep scrolling forever
Immediately updated - implies timeliness
Redundant scroll for new content
Good for one-handed scroll
UX
DIGEST
Finite - has a (potentially satisfying) end
Picked for you by ________
How many digests are there?
More focus on each item
UX
LIST
Exponentially more dense than other 2
Requires user to curate (HUGE)
Horiz. scroll doesn’t fit mobile affordances
Emphasis on sources/categories rather than content
UX
MOBILE CONTENT UX PARADIGMS
FEED DIGEST LIST
TIME
ENVIRONMENT
UX
RELEVANT CONTRAINTS
BACK TO THE TRAINS
BART CALTRAIN
CONTENT-CENTRIC AFFORDANCES
Easier to hold when standing
Not as WiFi dependent
Emails/Texts/Music
Sit-Down reading
Longer form reading
More potential with WiFi
Richer media
Your product does not exist in a vacuum, the context in which it is experienced determines its resonance with your user base.
TO SUM:
You must cater to the context via platform, design and feature set.
Recommended
