PERSUASION AND USABILITYIndiana Chapter of the Usability Professionals Association - March 4, 2009

Suzi Shapiro PhD

Once you have …

The major usability problems under control, what is the difference between your product and a competitors?

Persuasive Design is most appropriate for situations where there is ambiguity!

Why we need to appeal to unconscious processes

Emotion

Unconscious Processes

Facilitate SurvivalFeel Good Satisfy Needs

Feel Bad Protect from Danger

Heuristics

Bigger is BetterFast is Better

IT USUALLY WORKS!

If it peeps it is a baby turkey…

Sometimes we are fooled by reality

A Case Study

Persuasion

You are thinking …of buying a new laptop and you have decided to buy a Dell computer.

You go to the Dell website…

Which will you consider?Comparing unequal options,

you will tend to focus on a characteristic which has meaning or importance to you.

For example: Price or model

Which Laptop should you buy?

One versus Two Since there are three options, and two have the same initial price, You are more likely to ignore the lower cost item and just compare the other two.

Which will you consider?

You know that …

battery life on laptops is not very good

(Only between 2 and 4 hours for most brands.)

Confirmation and Dissonance

You like freedom to choose ...

And you expect a customized computer

from Dell

More than just black…

How many colors is too many?

You expect a company…to want to make money selling you its products.

You want prices …

to be understandable.

Highlight BEST OptionsCreate Comparisons

Saving money is GOODDiscounts attract attention

“I am special!”

Provide Discounts

Your computer …

should reflect your sense of yourself. Stylish Modern Socially Responsible

Social Responsibility

Last but not least…

Scarcity

Hot Deals

This is just the beginning…