SOFTWARE DESIGN: SESSION 11

CLEARING A PATH-
USER TESTING IRL
Alex Cowan

2015 COWAN+
WHERE YOU SHOULD BE NOW
Epic Stories Experiment(s) for
CUSTOMER
Child Stories DISCOVERY &
hypothesis testing
EXPERIMENTS
Supporting Storyboards Usability test suite
?
Parallel Prototypes

E
M
Interactive Prototype

WH
W

AT
S HO
PRODUCT &
Usability Test Plan

IF
PROMOTION

?
Personas, Problem Scenarios
VALUE
including Think- Alternatives PROPOSITIONS &
USER STORIES
ASSUMPTIONS Summary Value
See-Feel-Do Value Propositions & PROTOTYPES
Hypothesis
(Converged) Before & After
Storyboards MVP Ideas

E?
Assumptions for Value

AL
PIVOT?

SC
Hypothesis
AIDAOR Storyboard
?
AT
WH
PROBLEM Interview Guide
PERSONAS WHO? SCENARIOS &
ALTERNATIVES
2 (or more) Interviews

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WHAT WELL FOCUS ON TODAY

PERSONAS

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USEFUL PERSONAS

Vivid
Actionable
Real
Identifiable
Exact
Detailed
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A LITTLE GAME FOR BETTER PERSONA DISCOVERY

Day in the Life

We look at a few photos for a given persona (not a full picture, just snippets)
You make some guesses about them
There are no right answers BUT
There is a right process: observe and infer

OBJECTIVE:
Get a feel for whats real; start to create something vivid

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OUR CAST

Sven the Miguel the Umberto the

Salesperson Mid-Mellenial Undergrad

Luke the Late Trent the Techie Bob the Baby

Millenial Millenial Boomer
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WAKE UP!

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WAKE UP!

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ON THE JOB

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LUNCH BREAK

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FINISHING UP WORK

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ON THE ROAD

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UNWINDING AFTER WORK

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DINNER

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WINDING DOWN & BED

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ABOUT SVEN THE SALESPERSON
Whats his favorite kind of music?
What do you think he looks at to set his agenda
for the next day?
What movie did he last see?
How much do you think he uses his PC vs. his
mobile? Which in which situations?
If he had a dog, what kind?
What one change on the way he uses Salesforce
would most change his life for the better?

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WHY DO THIS?
A certain PERSONA exists PERSONA HYPOTHESIS
QUESTIONS
and they have a certain
Does this person exist?
PROBLEMS(S)
Can you identify them?
Do you understand them really well?
What do they think-see-feel-do in your
where theyre currently using certain area?
ALTERNATIVE(S) Could you make a Google AdWord that
theyd click through on?

and I have a VALUE PROPOSITION TOOLS
thats better enough than the alternatives Photos/Day in the Life
to cause the persona to act (purchase, Think-See-Feel-Do
use, etc.). Discovery Interviews
Storyboards
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WHY DO THIS?
Say you have a 3 month Say you do Day in the
project to improve the Life for 2 personas
business
1 Project Lead 8 Hours
3 Engineers @ 120k/annum
.5 Designers +30% Loading, SG&A
@ 120k/annum $546
+30% Loading, SG&A
$175,000 Are the improved personas likely
to deliver insights and focus that
make the project .003% better?
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HOW TO DO THIS?

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DRAFT DAY IN THE LIFE QUESTIONS
What time do you usually wake up? What usually wakes you?
Whats the first thing you do when you wake up? Why?
What do you have for breakfast? With who?
Any other morning rituals before you settle into work?

Whats a typical work morning like? Tell me about last Humanize the persona
Tuesday?
Focus on your area
What do you do for lunch? What do you eat?

bit.ly/do-dil

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ACQUIRE PHOTOS, EDIT & SCRUB PER PROTOCOL
* Wake up at 7- look at email on phone in bed.
Anything urgent or pressing on email or calendar?
[you holding phone in bed; that ones a little tricky
since youll need a secondary shooter; I can fake one
here if its not convenient]
* At the residential gym doing stretches- yoga,
calisthenics (this is 7AM-8AM) Humanize the persona
[some selfie of stretching; maybe just sitting stretch
Focus on your area
fingers to toes w/ photo of that; not the most inventive
stretch but its familiar]
bit.ly/********* bit.ly/*********

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OUR CAST

Miguel the
Mid-Mellenial

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OUR CAST

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OUR CAST

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OUR CAST

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AFTER WORK

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PRE-BED

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GEAR

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IF I HAD 3 EXTRA HOURS

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ABOUT MIGUEL THE MID-MELLENIAL
Whats his favorite kind of music?
Band/composer?
Where did he buy his last pair of shoes?
What applications (if any) do you think he uses to
set meetings with his project collaborators?
What movie did he last see?
What did he drink with dinner last night?
If he had a dog, what kind?
Whats his favorite magazine?

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OUR CAST

Umberto the
Undergrad

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WAKE UP!

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HEAD TO SCHOOL

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AT SCHOOL

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AFTER SCHOOL

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PRE-BED

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GEAR

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IF I HAD 3 EXTRA HOURS

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ABOUT UMBERTO THE UNDERGRAD
Whats his favorite kind of music?
Band/composer?
Where did he buy their last pair of shoes?
What movie did he last see?
How do you think he arranges to pay the rent with
his roommates at their shared house?
What did he drink with dinner last night?
If he had a dog, what kind?
Whats his favorite magazine?

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OUR CAST

Luke the Late

Millenial
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WAKE UP!

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BREAKFAST & HEAD TO SCHOOL

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AT SCHOOL

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AFTER SCHOOL

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PRE-BED

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ABOUT LUKE THE LATE MELLENIAL
Whats his favorite kind of music?
Band/composer?
Where did he buy their last pair of shoes?
What movie did he last see?
How do you think his parents keep up with his
homework and grades?
What did he drink with dinner last night?
If he had a dog, what kind?
Whats his favorite magazine?

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OUR CAST

Trent the Techie

Millenial
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WAKE UP!

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BREAKFAST

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WORKING AT HOME

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BREAKS

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GEAR

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ABOUT TRENT THE TECHIE MELLENIAL
Whats his favorite kind of music?
Band/composer?
Where did he buy their last pair of shoes?
What movie did he last see?
How do you think he manages his finances?
What did he drink with dinner last night?
If he had a dog, what kind?
Whats his favorite magazine?

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OUR CAST

Bob the Baby

Boomer
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WAKE UP!

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WAKE UP!

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TO THE OFFICE

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AT THE OFFICE

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WORK/PLAY

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FITNESS

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LEISURE

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DINNER AT HOME

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ABOUT BOB THE BABY BOOMER
Whats his favorite kind of music?
Band/composer?
Where did he buy their last pair of shoes?
What movie did he last see?
How do you think he manages his finances?
What did he drink with dinner last night?
If he had a dog, what kind?
Whats his favorite magazine?

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ASSIGNMENTS
1. Do/Group: Conduct at Least Four User Tests (variable)

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