Homer Simpson & Homer Simpson & UCD in large governmentUCD in large government

change programmeschange programmes

Presented by

Caronne Carruthers-Taylor

Interaction Designer

Oz-IA 2008, Sydney

20 September 2008

WatashiWatashi ((About me)About me)

� User experience aficionado based in Canberra

� Several large government departments over more than 15 years as an

interaction designer, UCD specialist, web manager, & business analyst

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� Care about improving the experience for users

� Champion users’ needs when the pressures of a project impose competing

priorities

� Passionately communicate and engage with a broad range of stakeholders

� Think strategically and conceptually at the same time as doing practical

work that produces tangible results for users.

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Herb hires Homer to help design a car for ‘regular' guys,

from the average man‘s perspective.

Homer intently draws, designs, brain storms, and redraws

ideas for his new super car.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh_Brother,_Where_Art_Thou

FeaturesFeatures4

1. Extremely large beverage holder

2. A little ball on top of the aerial

3. Tail fins

4. Bubble domes

5. Shag carpeting

6. Several horns that all play "La Cucaracha"

7. Front grill like a Rolls Royce

8. For younger passengers a second soundproof

bubble dome with optional straps and muzzles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:The_Homer_by_Carlos_Bisquertt.jpg

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Homer's design proves so disastrous that it bankrupts Herb's company

Homer & UCDHomer & UCD

� Homer’s car had lots of features / functionality but it was not a

usable design

“What do you do?” “What do you want?”

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� “What do you do?” “What do you want?”

What users say they want & what they actually need can be

quite different

� Interaction Designers use their skills & experience to ‘design’

while collaborating with the project team

� UCD techniques

This sessionThis session

Government culture

Overview of UCD techniques with examples

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Overview of UCD techniques with examples

Takeaways

The context ... The context ... Federal Government cultureFederal Government culture

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1. Attorney-General's Department (AG's)2. Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)3. Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE)4. Department of Climate Change5. Department of Defence

http://www.australia.gov.au/Government_Departments

5. Department of Defence6. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)7. Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA)8. Department of Finance and Deregulation (Finance)

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)9. Department of Health and Ageing10. Department of Human Services11. Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC)12. Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR)Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts

13. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC)14. Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (RET)15. Department of the Treasury16. Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA)

Promotion of UCD rolePromotion of UCD role9

� UCD is a new concept!

� Collaboration & negotiation

� Executive sponsorship is vital

http://media.bbcfund.com/bbc/img/stock/spread-1.jpg

Government cultureGovernment culture

� Risk-adverse

◦ Sensitive data

◦ Privacy & security issues

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◦ Privacy & security issues

� Political environment

◦ Public interest

◦ Organisational policies

◦ Sponsorship / powerful influencers

� Accountability

◦ Transparency

◦ Record-keeping http://www.teenswithcancer.org/images/cartoon_icandeal.gif

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http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/desktop_diversions/images/dilbert_demons_800x600.jpg

Some necessary bitsSome necessary bits

� Governance◦ Stakeholders – executives, UCD team, project team, users

◦ Project methodologies & Software Development LifeCycle (SDLC)

◦ Project Managers – methodology, changing

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◦ Project Managers – methodology, changing

� Artefact-heavy◦ Reports, reporting, documentation, planning!

◦ User profiles, wireframes, prototypes, UI specifications

◦ Planning documentation, including project plans

◦ Prescribed deliverables, often to meet tight release deadlines

� Budget constraints◦ Project vs outcome

◦ Resource effort & duration can be constrained

Stating itStating it

There is no substitute for a thoughtful,

informed user experience design process ...

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that takes into account human cognition &

human behaviour and utilises appropriate

UCD techniques.

UCD techniquesUCD techniques

User-Centred Design (UCD) provides a focus on users &

their goals using techniques such as:

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Usability is the measure of the quality of the user experience

when interacting with somethinghttp://deyalexander.com/resources/uxd/usability.html

their goals using techniques such as:

◦ User research, such as contextual enquiry

◦ User profiling / personas / scenarios

◦ Collaborative design

◦ Prototyping

◦ Usability evaluations

◦ Iterative design & development.

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Start earlyStart early

� No substitute for thorough research &

leveraging of existing information –

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leveraging of existing information –

requirements, use cases, project

documentation

� User research – contextual enquiry

� At the beginning, as early as possible

Get out!Get out!17

Understand your usersUnderstand your usersObservations of users in their naturally occurring contextObservations of users in their naturally occurring context

1. Tasks and activities, including business process

2. User goals, including values & motivations

3. Users’ social environment, including social networks & support

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3. Users’ social environment, including social networks & support

4. Users’ opinions and experiences

5. User issues, perceived problems & preferences

6. Physical working environment

7. Users’ skills & expertise

8. Technological environment & constraints,

and user interactions within different

organisational, technical and physical environments

Analyse the resultsAnalyse the results19

� Affinity grouping

� Categorise – highlight � Categorise – highlight

key issues

� Usability measures

& prioritise

◦ Efficiency

◦ Effectiveness

◦ Satisfaction

Storytelling is powerfulStorytelling is powerful

� User profiles / personas

� Storyboards / visualisations

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� Storyboards / visualisations

� Scenarios – activities & tasks / context of use

� Tangible artefacts of UCD process

� Vital tools in design & development process

� In particular, usability evaluations draw upon these

‘‘ I want to be in a position

where I have all the

information at my fingertips,

in the right place at the right time ’’

Locations Sydney, Melbourne

Computer

skills

Comfortable using a computer

but unwilling to experiment

Fatigue

factors

Shift work, long hours leading

to mental fatigue & tiredness

Environment

of use

Works at a variety of

makeshift locations in the

field & at desk

JohnJohn

(Investigator)(Investigator)

shift work detailed

duplication checks

summary view

data re-entry PROMIS

storagePSRmobile devices long hours

tactical warrant

dedicatedresponsibility labour intensive

User Research ReportUser Centred Design, Information Services

Keywords associated with an Investigator

Roles / Tasks

• Proactively plan, seek, generate and

disseminate tactical operational and strategic

intelligence

• Record and maintain operational information

• To search and locate items that can be used as

evidence

• Must correlate paperwork and physical items

Attitude

• Conscientious – wanting to do the right thing

• Frustrated – have to duplicate information all the

time

• Conservative – unwilling to experiment with the

system as they are scared of the consequences

• Constrained – by procedures and systems

• Isolated – no ongoing support / communication

• Inadequate – not confident of their ability to

complete processes correctly

of usefield & at desk

Experience Typically an experienced

officer with several years’

experience

Goals

• Retrieve information to facilitate

successful prosecutions

• Record information into the system once,

and be able to reuse this information

• Record information correctly and ensure

items are bagged and sealed correctly

• Do the right thing

• Ensure every name combination is

explored to safeguard not missing the POI

• Provide timely responses

labour intensive

investigationdrill down fatigue audit

Work togetherWork together

� Collaborative design lead by Interaction Designer

� Involve stakeholders, especially team members

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◦ Observers & note-takers

◦ Workshops, affinity grouping

◦ Informal brainstorming sessions

◦ Presentations of UCD results

� Utilise user research

http://flickr.com/photos/crimesagainstlogic/356567896/

Usability evaluationsUsability evaluations

� Existing systems (benchmarking)

� Prototypes with scenarios

� Identifies usability & accessibility issues

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� Identifies usability & accessibility issues

� Usability measures &

prioritise

To prototype, is not to errTo prototype, is not to err

� Visual representation of design

� Paper prototype – paper / index cards, looks rough.

Used early on in design, development & evaluation

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Used early on in design, development & evaluation

� Electronic prototype – lightweight or interactive,

created by Interaction Designer or Developer.

Screenshots are used in UI specification, adjusted in

iterations to refine design

http://www.snyderconsulting.net/images/paperPrototyping/fig_1.gif

Iterative design & developmentIterative design & developmentPlan, analyse, design, develop, evaluate Plan, analyse, design, develop, evaluate �� repeatrepeat

� Valuable user feedback is gathered & addressed prior

to production release

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� Champion iterations – impacted by project constraints

(time, budget, resources)

� Iterations � aim is to reduce the

number & significance of usability issues

Communicate, facilitate, negotiateCommunicate, facilitate, negotiate

� Relationship management & effective interpersonal

communication is key

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◦ Key management stakeholders - executives (IT & Business), UCD team

management, Project Managers

◦ Project team - architects, business analysts , developers , testers, trainers

� Manage conflicts & negotiate to build relationships

◦ Record key decisions in writing – email, documents

◦ Accept trade-off — adjust design & functionality to scope, budget or

time constraints but still meet key user goals

http://uxprofessionals.com/2008/08/08/hat-heads-vs-bed-heads/

Case study: name search facilityCase study: name search facility27

Where do they make mistakes; what are common mistakes?

What causes the mistakes; how are they corrected?

Design & development:

Users are searching for a person of interest but are

having trouble finding the information easily & quickly.

Design & development:

� Unsure of list order � results list redesigned to clearly show order

� Disoriented & unsure of place in records� move record ID details & clear page titling

� Link is not on users’ focus � put link on family name

� Information is hard to find, buried in silos � redesigned information architecture to collate all info in individual screens in a different way

TakeawaysTakeaways

� Make decisions based on user

research

� Conduct the appropriate type of

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� Conduct the appropriate type of

research – about the users not tools

� Share usability findings in a dynamic

way rather than static Word docs

� Involve stakeholders – lead by UCD

� Be passionate !!

Thank youThank you

Caronne CarruthersCaronne Carruthers--TaylorTaylorcaronnect@gmail.comcaronnect@gmail.comLinkedIn: www.linkin.com/in/caronneLinkedIn: www.linkin.com/in/caronne

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http://www.inspireux.com