Stephen Anderson - Speaking up for experiences

Speaking up forExperiences!

Stephen P. Anderson

THE ORIGINAL TITLE OF THIS TALK WAS “GAMES, SYSTEMS, AND DESIGNING FOR EXPERIENCES”

CXO, BloomBoard

Speaking up forExperiences!

Stephen P. Anderson

THE ORIGINAL TITLE OF THIS TALK WAS “GAMES, SYSTEMS, AND DESIGNING FOR EXPERIENCES”

CXO, BloomBoard

Think of a designed experience you’ve enjoyed recently…

(something that can be shared with and experienced by others)

Think of a designed experience you’ve enjoyed recently…

(something that can be shared with and experienced by others)

A great TV show you saw recently? A game you played?

A theater you went to? A Restaurant?

A web site? An App?

A performance you witnessed? An amusement park?

A Class you took? A book you read?

AN Event you attended? A Product you purchased?

etc.

“Everything changed for me over the weekend when I took the time to write a blog post on Medium.”

“As someone who writes a lot of stuff and has used a lot of different writing software, I'm telling you that I was blown away by the quality

of the product as a writing tool.”

“The entire process is a breeze. And once published, the article looks pretty good too in terms of typography and appearance.”

“Intuitive enough to seem psychic.”

“Because it is such a pleasure to work with, Medium has become something of a fetish object for writers.”

“It does not take a user experience designer to publish a professional story.”

“A joy to use!”

“It’s so damn beautiful. Medium has removed all the cruft that gets between the reader and the message…”

“Clean design, great concept, full of potential treasures to be read.”

“The best writing tool on the web.”

We could go on…

Assumption: We all want to create and/or enjoy meaningful experiences.

How do you create a great experience?

Assumption: We all want to create and/or enjoy meaningful experiences.

How do you create a great experience?

How do you shape the culture that createsa great experience?

Assumption: We all want to create and enjoy meaningful experiences.

How do you……create a culture that values quality above all else?…drive focus on the whole, not just the parts?…create and maintain a shared vision of the future?…create widespread empathy for our users & customers…get everyone to embrace the aspirational brand & design tenets?…create a principled organization, that sticks to values— especially when it means losing revenue?

CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE!!

GAME DESIGN

GAME DESIGN

“Game Design and Interaction Design are fraternal twins.They share almost all their DNA”

—Christina Wodtke

Speaking Up forExperiences

(Some Ways) Games Create Experiences

A Clear Focus on the Singular Experience(SOME WAYS) GAMES CREATE EXPERIENCES

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/the-themes-they-are-a-changing/



The key was to go down a level deeper. At work, we were doing a branding exercise for a product, and we listed off the adjectives we wanted to describe the product. I realized that a similar exercise would work here…

I mulled over all the feedback on the mechanics: what type of experience were they creating on their own? What adjectives did players use to talk about the mechanics? Players described the game as simple and elegant. It was calming and relaxing to play. They were surprised and delighted by the richness of the decisions. They said it flowed smoothly, that they could play it over and over again.”

— R A N D Y H O Y T , G A M E D E S I G N E R / P U B L I S H E R

“



The key was to go down a level deeper. At work, we were doing a branding exercise for a product, and we listed off the adjectives we wanted to describe the product. I realized that a similar exercise would work here…

I mulled over all the feedback on the mechanics: what type of experience were they creating on their own? What adjectives did players use to talk about the mechanics? Players described the game as simple and elegant. It was calming and relaxing to play. They were surprised and delighted by the richness of the decisions. They said it flowed smoothly, that they could play it over and over again.”

— R A N D Y H O Y T , G A M E D E S I G N E R / P U B L I S H E R

“


This image captured perfectly the feeling that the playing the game produced, and I knew a theme and narrative woven around this could work to produce a great experience.


Tangled




?How often do we really let design principles drive every product decision?

?How often do we really let design principles drive every product decision?

adding features

pushing back on customer requests

prioritizing the backlog

how we design a familiar feature

eliminating features

A Mature View of Designing for Emotions(SOME WAYS) GAMES CREATE EXPERIENCES

Surprise and delight are the high-fructose corn syrup of the experience economy”“

http://www.cnvc.org/Training/needs-inventory

http://www.cnvc.org/Training/feelings-inventory

Huh?Our emotional goal is to beLukewarm & forgettable??

A Focus on the Whole vs Parts (AKA “A Systems View”)

(SOME WAYS) GAMES CREATE EXPERIENCES

GAMES“dynamic systems with emergent properties that elicit emotions.”

(Jesse James Garrett)

GAMES“dynamic systems with emergent properties that elicit emotions.”

(Jesse James Garrett)

Production. Direction. Balance. Orchestration. Choreography.

“Designing a product is keeping five thousand things in your brain and fitting them all together in new and different ways to get what you want. And every day you discover something new that is a new problem or a new opportunity to fit these things together a little differently. And it’s that process that is the magic.” — Steve Jobs

A focus on “the whole” changes things…

what gets defined as a release (core/complete)

how you approach new product design (it changes to a holistic, iterative cycle of prototyping and playing)

what you decide to measure

…and much more!!

“Are we really that far off?”

“How would you do it any other way?”

“I feel UX is where game designwas with ‘fun’ 15-20 years ago”—Daniel Cook


The MDA FRAMEWORK(Some Ways) Games Create Experiences

Mechanics Dynamics Aesthetics

QUESTIONS20

Pair up with one other person.

OBJECTIVE: One person thinks of a thing and the other person must guess it by asking no more than 20 yes-no questions.

RULES: Rule #1: Questioners can only ask Yes-or-No questions Rule #2: Answerers can only respond with a Yes or a No --The two exceptions to Rule #2 "I don't know." "I can't answer."

Note: Questioners may guess the mystery object at any time, by phrasing their guess as a question, such as “Is the mystery object a leather purse?” Count this as one of the 20 Questions.

Rule #3: Only 20 Questions are allowed.

QUESTIONS20





Rule #3: Only 20 Questions are allowed. You may ask an unlimited number of questions, but you will have only 90 seconds to correctly guess what the thing is…

QUESTIONS20






QUESTIONS20






Time’s up!

One change in rules (Mechanics)

…creates a completely different behavior (Dynamics)

…which creates completely different feelings (Aesthetics)



The concepts & materials that forma!y specify the game-as-system

(everything needed to play the game)


what happens when people play the game



How players feel when they play the game







Hmm… How is this useful?







Mechanics Dynamics Aesthetics[Offering]

Product Design, Development, Marketing, Sales, Support,

Partnerships—Everything we make, sell, and

support!

Mechanics Dynamics Aesthetics[Offering] Behaviors

what people do when they use our product/service



support!

Mechanics Dynamics Aesthetics[Offering] Behaviors Experience

what people do when they use our product/service



support!

How people feel when they use our product/service

[OFfering] Behaviors Experience


R E A S O N S I L I K E T H I S F R A M E W O R K :

It’s simple!

“You can’t design an experience”

“You can’t design an experience”

“Experience Design”

Design for Experiences


…and these are the outcomes

We control this



We control this


It distinguishes work output from outcomes



We control this


It shifts the focus from output to outcomes

Mechanics dynamics Aesthetics Right?

(NO!)-> ->



We control this



1. Focusing on the outcomes…



2. …Changes what we do here



2. …Changes what we do here


It shifts the focus from output to outcomes

MediumBlogger, Wordpress

MediumBlogger, Wordpress

• Designed more like a magazine.

• Designed a social system to create a built-in audience for new authors

• Launched with published authors (which set really high bar for content)

• Hired former Wired.com editor Evan Hansen as an editor for the site

• Bought the long-form journalism startup Matter

• Created what is arguably the best writing tool on the planet

• Promoted contextual comments

• Focused on typographic UI details that compete w/ centuries of print (vs other web platforms)

• Focused A LOT on quality content

• Offered pre-publishing feedback

“We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.” —Winston Churchill

[OFfering] Behaviors ExperienceUser Orientation

Business Orientation



It emphasizes the Experience-first orientation

User Orientation


Thinking about the player encourages experience-driven (as opposed to feature-driven) design. As such, we begin our investigation with a discussion of Aesthetics, and continue on to Dynamics, finishing with the underlying Mechanics.

“One of the things I’ve always found is that you’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backwards…”

— Steve Jobs 1997

“To build great products, you need to start with what people are experiencing.” —Robert Brunner

http://www.idsa.org/news/member-news/start-what-people-are-experiencing

http://www.idsa.org/news/member-news/start-what-people-are-experiencing

Meaningful

Pleasurable

Convenient

Usable

Reliable

Functional (Useful)

Focused on

Experiences(People, Activities, Context)

Focused on

Tasks(Products, Features)

© 2006 Stephen P. Anderson | poetpainter.com

SUBJECTIVE / QUALITATIVE

OBJECTIVE / QUANTIFIABLE

Has personal significance

Memorable experience worth sharing

Super easy to use, works like I think

Can be used without difficulty

Is available and accurate

Works as programmed

Prioritize Aesthetics (no, not Graphic Design) (visual, behaviors, sounds, psychology)

Design for FLOW (boredom vs anxiety)

Leverage Game Mechanics/Learning Theory (completeness)

Have a Personality

Create conversational and context aware interactions (“Adaptive Interfaces”; narrative IA structures)

Elicit Desire (Limited availability, limited access, curious and seductive experiences)Simplify, organize, and clarify

Display information visually

Reduce features and complexity

Use language for more natural

Add features that support desired ine browsing)

Have a believable story

Co-create value with customers

Connect people in community

Are part of a bigger system

Appeal to emotional, spiritual, and

Create a tolerance for faults at

Are tied to a person’s self-image, highly personal

Creating Pleasurable Interfaces: Getting fom Tasks to Experiencespresented by Stephen P. Anderson | Nov 8, 2006

“It is not enough that we build products that function, that are understandable and usable -we also need to build products that bring joy and excitement, pleasure and fun, and yes, beauty, to people’s lives.”

THIS IS THE “CHASM” THAT IS REALLY, REALLY HARD FOR ORGANIZATIONS TO CROSS

Experience Focus

Product Focus

Experience Focus

Product Focus

people, activities & context

tasks & features

outcomes and experiences

output and functionality

perceptions, emotions, attention, memory…

interfaces, interactions, usability, etc.

Experience Focus

Product Focus

“Until my players feel __________, I will not ship”

“Until my players feel __________, I will not ship”

“Games often ship late because they ship based on exitcriteria, not deadlines… Either you ship something tiny

before you run out of money, or you ship late somethingthat is sufficiently fun. The first are higher risk, but if

the core works, they’ll make it.”

—Christina Wodtke



(don’t forget to mention OKRs)

User Orientation




It reinforces a one team mentality

(don’t forget to mention OKRs)

User Orientation

Behaviors Experience


The whole ‘UX is not UI’ thing!

User Orientation


[OFfering]

“UX is not UI”


This is the game!


This is NOT the game!


20 Questions

You playing 20 questions

This is the game!


This is NOT the game!

20 Questions

You playing 20 questions

Behaviors ExperienceUser Orientation


[OFfering]

The MODEL!


Behaviors, Experiences, & Metrics

(Some Ways) Games Create Experiences

The MDA FRAMEWORK

How do you……create a culture that values quality above all else?…drive focus on the whole, not just the parts?…create and maintain a shared vision of the future?…create widespread empathy for our users & customers…get everyone to embrace the aspirational brand & design tenets?…create a principled organization, that sticks to values— especially when it means losing revenue?

How do you……create a culture that values quality above all else?…drive focus on the whole, not just the parts?…create and maintain a shared vision of the future?…create widespread empathy for our users & customers…get everyone to embrace the aspirational brand & design tenets?…create a principled organization, that sticks to values— especially when it means losing revenue?…justify investing in what is fundamentally intangible?

Things told with numbers get formal support.

Realization #1:

Things told with numbers get formal support.

Realization #1:Stories and anecdotes may win hearts, but

“If you can quantify something, you can rationalize it.”

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/future-work-nitya-mallikarjun?trk=prof-post

—Nitya Mallikarjun

Behaviors ExperienceUser Orientation


[OFfering]

What do we measure?

We’re not really measuring experience, yet.

Realization #2:

Create a great Experience.

Measure Behaviors.

Rinse. Repeat.

Create a great Experience.

Measure Behaviors?!

Rinse. Repeat.

However, when a team manages to get a KPI that sticks, the power it brings to the organization is remarkable. It helps everyone focus around the experience, giving a common language and understanding to how great design makes a great business.

What Goes Into an Effective UX KPI?

Behavior based: The team was measuring the customer-service representative’s behavior with the product. As they change the design, they get new behaviors. If those new behaviors reduce tool time, then the team can tell they’ve improved the design.

https://articles.uie.com/kj_technique/

UIE c. 2004

However, when a team manages to get a KPI that sticks, the power it brings to the organization is remarkable. It helps everyone focus around the experience, giving a common language and understanding to how great design makes a great business.

What Goes Into an Effective UX KPI?

Behavior based: The team was measuring the customer-service representative’s behavior with the product. As they change the design, they get new behaviors. If those new behaviors reduce tool time, then the team can tell they’ve improved the design.

https://articles.uie.com/kj_technique/

UIE c. 2004

Adaptive Path, mid 2000s

Experience

Behaviors

Time

Increase

BASIC USABILITY

It’s dangerous to equate good behavioral data (conversion metrics, faster checkout, etc.) with a good experience.

Realization #3:

FREEIn-App

Purchases

+

Context: Browsing App Store Games

ExperienceBehaviors

FREEIn-App

Purchases

+

Context: Booking a Hotel Room

Don’t miss out!12 other people are looking at this room right now.

ExperienceBehaviors

Don’t miss out!12 other people are looking at this room right now.

“Uh… Did you really just go there, Stephen?”

Short Term Gains vs Long Term Organic Growth


Amazon Routinely takes beating from investors who want quarterly returns, but the company continues to grow with a vision that looks out 7 years

Apple Upon Jobs returning the late 90s, he certainly focused on keeping the company alive but also made notable bets on a future several years out

[Stock Market] That value of quarterly earnings reports gets questioned all the time…

[A major American bank specializing in credit cards, home loans, auto loans, banking and savings products.]

Their internal goal? •Sell, cross-sell, up-sell additional services!

[A major American bank specializing in credit cards, home loans, auto loans, banking and savings products.]

Their internal goal? •Sell, cross-sell, up-sell additional services!

[A different major American bank specializing in credit cards, home loans, auto loans, banking and savings products.]


Their internal goals?


Their internal goals?•Improve peoples lives with good credit decisions.•Improve credit scores•Help customers pay off a loan early•Keep people in cars by being flexible with payment

terms•etc.


Their internal goals?•Improve peoples lives with good credit decisions.•Improve credit scores•Help customers pay off a loan early•Keep people in cars by being flexible with payment

terms•etc.

“we have lost money for years in some cases, until we didn’t”


How might we measure an experience?

How might we measure the experience?

Biometric Data? (Galvonic skin responses, facial

Recognition)

(surveys)

Sentiment analysis (and similar) on written text?

Natural Word-of-Mouth / Social media?

In the moment “How do you feel” surveys(pick a face reactions)

NPS? “HEART”

Customer Effort Score?

SUS

Gallop CE11

ASQ (After Scenario Questionaire)

SMEQ

UME

SEQ

SUPR-Q

BERT

Gallop CE11

NPS

Surveys / Self-Reporting

Emotion question using words as labels

Emotion question using visual cues

Analysis of social media posts, open survey comments, call transcripts, and other freeform text

Image response testing

Voice analysis

Facial coding

Physiological markers (e.g., heart rate measurement) or neurobiological markers (e.g., fMRI imaging)

H O W T O M E A S U R E E M O T I O N :

Forrester “How To Measure Emotion In Customer Experience: Upgrade CX Measurement Programs To Capture Customers’ Emotions” by Maxie Schmidt-Subramanian November 13, 2015





Voice analysis

Facial coding









Voice analysis

Facial coding




Sentiment Analysis





Voice analysis

Facial coding




Facial coding





Voice analysis

Facial coding




Physiological markers or neurobiological markers

Galvanic skin response (GSR)

Cohort Analysis

Until we have a direct way to measure subjective Experiences, the best we can do is “triangulate” from behavioral and survey data.

Realization #4:

Happiness Measures of attitudes, often collected via survey

EngagementLevel of user involvement

AdoptionGaining new users of a product or feature

Retention The rate at which existing users are returning

Task Success Efficiency, effectiveness, and error rate

HEART

4DsDiversity With how many people are they collaborating?

Depth How much of the tool are they using? (features)

Density Frequency of use (MAU), usage in general (2 dimensions — person/team)

Delight NPS/satisfaction score / SUS (10 question scale),Usability Scale, satisfaction vs loyalty

To be continued…

CLosure?•We need better ways to measure experiences

•A translation of the MDA model might be useful in a non-game context

•There’s a lot we can learn from game design.

Designing a game is in itself an addictive endeavor. The most valuable takeaway is our transformed perception of our daily work. If this short round-up caught your interest… we strongly recommend giving game design a try.

https://ia.net/know-how/game-design

Thank you!

getmentalnotes.com

Design for

Understanding

Stephen P. Anderson @stephenanderson www.poetpainter.com | www.slideshare.net/stephenpa

http://www.poetpainter.com

http://www.poetpainter.com/sixd-uxi.zip