Luddites won't let me Skype in

Lior Smith @liorsmith Rainmaker

HS2 IT USER RESEARCH PROJECTLUDDITES WON’T LET ME SKYPE IN


HELLO

• the project• the engaging techniques• measures of project success


10 WEEK USER RESEARCH PROJECT

• broad and shallow

• understand IT users across the organisation

• learn• make it stick


“IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THE USER NEEDS ARE, YOU WON’T BUILD THE RIGHT THING. DO RESEARCH, ANALYSE DATA, TALK TO USERS. DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS.”


WORKING OUT LOUDINVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

PROJECT WALL

WEEKLY SHOW & TELLS


WEEKLY SHOW & TELL

• useful critique can come from anyone

• even one attendee will lead to opportunities

• staff feel heard and valued• even people that don’t come

appriciate that we are reaching out


INVOLVING BUSINESS ANALYSTS IN RESEARCH


ON THE PROJECT WALLDESIGN RESEARCH


ON THE PROJECT WALLQUICK & DIRTY HAND DRAWING STUFF


ON THE PROJECT WALLREFINED BRIEF 1/4 WAY THROUGH


REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLING PAPER DIAGRAM

• getting spread in directorates was a hot topic

• working out loud• easy to stay on track


POP UP INTERVIEWS

WE JUST ROCKED UP... SO WE CONNECTED WITH PEOPLE RANDOMLY


‘GUERILLA’ OR...POP UP INTERVIEWS


WHY DO POP UP INTERVIEWS

• lots of people, quickly• broad and shallow• quick impressions pointing to

top of mind issues for further research

• see people in their normal environments

• contact with people we wouldn’t have access to otherwise


WE GOT AWAY WITH...GETTING EVERYONE TO DRAW AS AN ICEBREAKER

Where I work

Phone number

My ideas for improving HS2 with technology

A picture of me

Email address

Three words to describe my personality

Name

My role is... What fires me up at work

This seems to take too long at work

The number one thing I would change about HS2 if I could

HS2 IT is about driving change by helping you to work better.We are conducting research so that the IT team can deeply understand who is using the IT systems. By finding out about what you need to do your job well, we can strategise to give you the technology you need now and in the future.

Yes, I would like to be contacted to tell you more about what I need at work, and my ideas about the digital future of HS2

Where I work

Phone number

My ideas for improving HS2 with technology

A picture of me

Email address

Three words to describe my personality

Name

My role is... What fires me up at work

This seems to take too long at work

The number one thing I would change about HS2 if I could

HS2 IT is about driving change by helping you to work better.We are conducting research so that the IT team can deeply understand who is using the IT systems. By finding out about what you need to do your job well, we can strategise to give you the technology you need now and in the future.

Yes, I would like to be contacted to tell you more about what I need at work, and my ideas about the digital future of HS2


PAPER TOOLS IN INTERVIEWSFUN FOR US ALL


WHY USE PAPER TOOLS IN INTERVIEWS

• less confrontational than questions list

• visual & engaging• feels safely structured despite

being wide open research• helps prompt memory of the

working week


PHOTO JOURNALSARTISTICALLY EXPLORATIVE


PHOTO JOURNALSGETTING PEOPLE TO TAKE PHOTOS OF THEIR DAYwe got 150 photos from 9 people


CULTURAL PROBES/DIARY STUDIESTHOUGHTFUL & DEEPLY INSIGHTFUL


‘A WEEK IN THE LIFE’ OR...CULTURAL PROBES


WHY USE CULTURAL PROBES

• inspect minutiae of interactions - logged at the time; less distorted than reported through interview

• fun & engaging & beautiful• detailed honesty - harder to get

in interview situation - insight into culture & characters


EXTRACT FROM A ‘WEEK IN YOUR LIFE’ RESEARCH KIT(A CULTURAL PROBE)


TOOLKITSOMETHING TO LEAVE BEHIND TO ENCOURAGE CONTINUATION


WHY MAKE A TOOLKIT (NOW ON GITHUB)


WHY MAKE A TOOLKIT

• start off practice of user research

• co-write with others: ownership • make process tangible even

though researchers are gone• bespoke: specific to context;

more likely to make sense to beginner


PERSONAS

MAKE THEM TOGETHER

MAKE RESEARCH EASY TO ACCESS


SPRING 2016 HS2 USER PERSONAS


WHY DO PERSONAS

• simplify staff into manageable categories that we can design for

• HS2 personas: types of activities in roles - affects who they interact with & how

• visual & empathy enticing• made with staff members


MAKE SURE EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THE LINGO... AND CALL IT SOMETHING ELSE IF THAT HELPS


COMMUNICATING OUTPUTSSOCIAL & VISUAL

CHANCE TO ITERATE


WE GOT AWAY WITH...NO REPORT Just the wall we’d be working on all the while, spruced up with outputs


WE GOT AWAY WITH...ALMOST 2 WEEKS TESTING OUTPUTS


Sprint 1: Project Set-up Sprint 4: Analysis PhaseSprint 2 - 3: Research Phase Sprint 5: Conclusion

Stakeholder mapping

Guerilla interviews

Develop the brief

Work out next round of interview questions

Design interview tools

Book interviews

Conduct interviews

Survey

‘Week in your life’ research kit

User needs workshop

Review existing sources of information

Repeated thematic analysis throughout previous phases and this phase to articulate pain points and needs

Create project insights document

Create personas

Create toolkit

Create challenges document

Make ‘exhibition’ with project outputs

Presentation to key stakeholders

Show & tell to staff to sense check

Make film to document process

WE GOT AWAY WITH...2 WEEKS TESTING OUTPUTS IS 1/5TH OF PROJECT

So you see, we really prioritised engagement - and this made the outputs better.


MEASURES OF SUCCESS


MEASURES OF SUCCESS

• personas rang true with staff• culture people engaged• toolkit felt useful (+github)• got back 8/10 cultural probes


WHAT THE CLIENT SAID


WHY IT WORKED

• management consistently unblocking blockers quickly

• J2 comfortable with uncertainty• over ambitious• business analysts did interviews• W9&10 for testing outputs only


engagement is valuable both ways.they learn about research, keep up to date with the org, and get the changes they want.we learn about them, and create more representative outputs.

have fun and they will have fun too.


THANK YOU :)

@liorsmith

Github search: ‘HS2 toolkit’ or ’user needs toolkit’

www.sd-ldf.com

Luddites won't let me Skype in

Technology

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