Devcon-The Power of Story...4...

1

Storytelling for Use Experience – Whitney Quesenbery and Kevin Brooks

The Power of Story Kevin Brooks, Motorola Mobility Whitney Quesenbery, WQusability


Hi!   User researcher   Theatre designer   Storytelling as a way to understand user, culture, and

context in UX design

  Researcher in new UI technologies   Performance storyteller   Storytelling as a pivotal part of the creaKon,

performance, and design process.

  How about you?

2


Success?

Stories are already part of UX

Specify

Understand

Design

Evaluate

Collecting stories helps us understand people and goals, context....

Finding themes and paPerns is the first step in idenKfying requirements

Design tells a new story that changes something about the world

Usability evaluaKon is a way of trying the story out to see if it works for other people, too.


User stories in Agile

  A placeholder for a conversaKon Not the whole story, but a reminder of it

  A way to gather requirements From customers, in their own language

  Customer focused “As a [role] I can [do something] so that [benefit]”

  WriPen by customers (someKmes) From their perspecKve

3


Stories in user experience

User research Field studies

Site visits Analysis

Requirements Content analysis

Design Scenarios

Wireframes Prototype walk-‐through

Usability TesKng

EvaluaKon

Log Analysis

User stories


The relaKonships around a story are called the Story Triangle

FIGURE 2-2

Storyteller Audience

Story

4


Stories make connecKons

FIGURE 4-1

UX person

Our colleagues(audience)

User

Story as collected

Story as re-told

When you retell a story, you make a connection between your colleagues and the person you heard the story from.


CollecKng stories

Gathering the information for stories that help us understand people and goals, context....

5


Learn to turn on your juicy story filter

Look for stories that….

  You hear from more than one source.   Have a lot of acKon detail.   Have details that illuminate user data   Surprise or contradict common beliefs

  And are clear, simple, and compelling.


Ask the quesKons that encourage stories

“When was the last time you [did that thing]?”

“Have you ever [done something]?” “How often do you [do that thing]?” “What makes you decide to [do that thing]?” “Where do you [do that thing]?”

+

“Tell me about that.” (and really listen)

+

6


Personas

One way to tell the stories of the people and their goals, context, needs


Stories build empathy for personas

Elizabeth, 32 years old

Married to Joe, has a 5-‐year old son, JusKn

APended State College, and manages her class alumni site

Uses Google as her home page, and reads CNN online

Used the web to find the name of a local official

Aged 30-‐45 Well educated 45% married with children 50% use the web 3-‐5 Kmes a week 65% use search engines

7


Stories communicate efficiently

What can we learn about Tanner from these 53 words?

Tanner was deep into a Skatepunkz game—all the way up to level 12—when he got a buddy message from his friend, Steve, with a question about his homework. He looked up with a start. Almost bedtime and his homework was still not done. Mom or Dad would be in any minute.


Design

Design is a way of telling a new story that changes something about the world

8


Stories spark innovaKon

Stories can be part of brainstorming, by starKng with

  Stories you hear during customer conversaKons Explore new perspecKves on a problem or goal

  Personas Show their behavior in new situaKons

  Data ExploraKons that look behind the data

  Random elements Force yourself outside the box


Juicy fragments can grow into a story

“Nothing more aggavating waiting for a bus. Have I just missed it? Is it on its way? What’s the scoop?”

“It’s like a game: drive or

take the bus – which will get

me there first?”

“I love seeing lots of

people on the metro

platform. It usually

means a train will arrive

soon.”

“When the bus stop isn’t clearly marked, I always worry whether I’m in the right place.”

9


Stories can explore situaKons and context There is nothing more frustraKng than waiKng for the bus. On a suburban road. In the snow. Sandra didn’t like snow much anyway, but she liked standing at her bus stop even less, with snow oozing into her boots and cars splashing ice at her. Had she missed it? Was it right around the corner? Was it even running with all this snow? Was anything going to get her to work on Kme today?

Context Character Imagery


Stories explore situaKons and context (2)

Much as Ian loved staying out with his friends unKl the pubs closed, he hated geqng back home late at night. Was the train sKll running, or did he have to trudge over to the stop for the night bus -‐-‐ 5 blocks that seemed much longer arer a few beers. And there was the tedium of watching the bus wind through the streets.

Different context Different character Same basic problem

10


What design ideas does the story suggest?

Put bus schedules on the web with real-time updates

Signs at the bus stop saying how long until the next one

Service alerts with emails about problems

Send a text message and get a message back with the ETA for the next bus

App that taps into transit information for bus or train locations.


Let’s try a liPle bit of storytelling

Pair up and interview each other about an event when everything seemed to go really wrong. Don’t forget:

“Tell me about that.” (and really listen)

11


Now.. create a story that solves the problem

Stay in your pairs Pick one of the stories And rewrite it to change the ending to a good experience.


Stories for brainstorming are open-‐ended

  Start from a juicy fragment, analysis data, or a usability problem

  Construct a story that sets up the context... but does not provide a soluKon.

  Be sure you ground the story with a character (or persona), a context (place, Kme, situaKon), a moKvaKon, and a problem.

12


Stories can be visual


EvaluaKng with stories

Usability evaluaKon is a way of trying our a design story to see if it works for other people, too.

13


Test scenarios let the parKcipant “finish the story”

  They create a realisKc context because they are based on real

stories.

  The story provides moKvaKon and goals.

  You can adapt them to each test parKcipant to give you a range of perspecKves to draw on.


Transform stories into tasks

  Start from one of your stories, and turn it into a test scenario

  What is the basic scenario you want the parKcipant to complete?

–  How much can the scenario vary based on their specific interests? –  Are there different moKvaKons or starKng points? –  Are there many things they can find, use or buy that they can choose

from? –  How much variaKon is there in how the scenario can be completed?

14


Storytelling can make your work richer and more effecKve


If you’d like more about stories Storytelling for User Experience: Crafting stories for better design

Whitney Quesenbery & Kevin Brooks [email protected] [email protected] Blog www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/storytelling/ IlustraKons available under CreaKve Commons www.flickr.com/photos/rosenfeldmedia/

Devcon-The Power of Story...4...

Documents

Transcript of Devcon-The Power of Story...4...