Melissa is facilitating a workshop on design thinking for developers. She began by introducing herself and her company, which provides product design services. She then had participants introduce themselves and their roles. To get a sense of the group's objectives, Melissa had them write down goals on post-its and sort them into piles of similar objectives. Some common goals were learning UX techniques and best practices, building products with a user-focused mindset, and understanding how to apply methods. To make the session relevant, Melissa conducted user research with developers to understand what they struggle with regarding UX, such as effort prioritization, aligning work with business needs, and understanding how users think.

1. H A C K I N G U X :
Design thinking for techies
@thedesignnomad
melewi.net

2. “Whazzup?”
P R E A M B L E

3. Keep it casual
This isn’t a classroom (P.S. I hated school)
Textbook learning
Learn from my experience (and dumb mistakes)
What’s relevant now?
P R E A M B L E

4. Groups of 4 - 5
P R E A M B L E
Overview of methods + a few exercises
I <3 startups
Move quick + With limited resources

5. Who’s in the room?
I N T R O D U C T I O N S

6. Who am I?
M E L I S S A N G

7. “Worst dancing
skills you’ll ever
have the misfortune
of seeing.”
H O U S E M AT E
“She’s all right,
I guess.”
M O M

8. @thedesignnomad
Product strategist
UX & UI designer
Founder of Melewi

9. The Travelling Design Studio
@melewi

10. You DON’T need
massive resources
Lean + Agile Hybrid
Clients in 5 continents
(21 cities)
McDonalds, Samsung,
Namecheap, Citibank
We design awesome
products for users
and businesses
around the world

11. How about you?
I N T R O D U C T I O N S
Front-end dev?

12. How about you?
I N T R O D U C T I O N S
Back-end Dev?Front-end dev?

13. How about you?
I N T R O D U C T I O N S
Product?Back-end Dev?Front-end dev?

14. How about you?
I N T R O D U C T I O N S
Product? Startups?Back-end Dev?Front-end dev?

15. Before we continue…
D I S C L A I M E R

16. D I S C L A I M E R

17. No 1:
Some of these points are general observations
Some of you might already know this stuff!
D I S C L A I M E R

18. No. 2:
I’m not a developer
D I S C L A I M E R

19. What’re you hoping for?
O B J E C T I V E S

20. What’re you hoping for?
E X E R C I S E !
15
Card sorting

21. Card sorting
E X E R C I S E !
15
Simple
technique
Done with
users + post-its

24. Card sorting
E X E R C I S E !
15
Simple
technique
Done with
users + post-its
How users sort or
group information

25. What’re you hoping for?
E X E R C I S E !
10
Grab 3 post-its +
marker
Write down
objectives you
want to achieve
01

26. What’re you hoping for?
E X E R C I S E !
Grab 3 post-its +
marker
Write down
objectives you
want to achieve
01
Go around the
group, read
yours out
02
10

27. What’re you hoping for?
E X E R C I S E !
Grab 3 post-its +
marker
Write down
objectives you
want to achieve
01
Go around the
group, read
yours out
02
Pile similar
ones together
03
10

28. What’re you hoping for?
E X E R C I S E !
Grab 3 post-its +
marker
Write down
objectives you
want to achieve
01
Go around the
group, read
yours out
02
Pile similar
ones together
03
What are the
broad objectives
within each pile?
Label each pile
04
10

29. What’re you hoping for?
E X E R C I S E !
15
‣ Learning about UX
‣ Learning about
how to practice UX
with different roles
in the company
‣ Best practises in
UX
G R O U P
01
‣ Build cool stuff
‣ Tools & resources
‣ Learn to know the
user
G R O U P
02
‣ Learn UX
methodology
‣ What’s the
difference
between UX & UI
‣ What makes good
UI and bad UI
G R O U P
03
‣ Best practices &
tools
‣ Tips & tricks of
design
‣ Have a good
time!!!!
G R O U P
04

30. What’re you hoping for?
E X E R C I S E !
15
‣ Create UX without
a clearly defined
user
‣ Get a tech
perspective in
design
‣ GOOD TIME
WHOO!!!
G R O U P
05
‣ Learn the best UX
workflows
‣ Learn new user
testing processes
‣ Metrics
G R O U P
06
‣ How to share
feedback with UX
designers
‣ Tools for UX
designing
G R O U P
07
‣ Learn techniques &
best practices
‣ How to apply
methods
‣ Hints for what
tools to use
G R O U P
08

31. So when I started, I had no idea what to talk about…

33. So I put my UX thinking hat on

34. User Research!
*Thanks friends

35. “What do developers struggle with
when they think about UX?”

36. Pretty
Visual aesthetics
Focused too
much on
executing
Effort efficiency
Business
requirements /
Validation
Focus &
Priorities
Assuming it will
work
Prioritizing
features / what
to display
Understanding
users (empathy)
Designing
intuitively for
non-techies
Used to different
interfaces
Thinking
structurely
"Make it not look
retarded or
incredibly generic"
"recognize it's
important but don't
know how to make
things visually
pleasing"
"get lost in
beautiful code
structure and
amazing
architecture yet
forget what's the
goal"
"solving the
problem in an
efficient way
according to the
constraints"
"battle between
'my api is set up
this way' and
'humans want to
do this'"
"why put extra
effort into
something that
already "works"
technically"
"(not) knowing
your customer and
coding...to fit their
needs as close as
possible
(increases)
changes"
"I'll think about
(UX) later. Just get
to work and build it
right"
"fundamental
different way of
thinking about a
problem"
"It makes sense to
me"
"look at any linux
app and you'll see
what i mean"
"what, a human
does not like
command lines?"
"they have a
technical structure
they work with...
but those are often
not representative
of how a user
thinks"
Carl 1 1 1 1 1
Andrew 1 1 1
Thomas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Zenos 1 1 1 1 1 1
Phil 1 1
Florian 1 1 1
Scott 1 1 1 1
Rico 1 1 1 1
Cate 1 1
4 3 2 1 3 2 2 3 7 1 2
TOTAL 4
When asked: "What do devs struggle with when they think about UX?"
Effort + Execution Not Aligned with the Business How Users Think + Behave
"think like normal people"
"relating to how non-technical people
think"
5 6 15

37. Pretty
Visual aesthetics
Focused too
much on
executing
Effort efficiency
Business
requirements /
Validation
Focus &
Priorities
Assuming it will
work
Prioritizing
features / what
to display
Understanding
users (empathy)
Designing
intuitively for
non-techies
Used to different
interfaces
Thinking
structurely
"Make it not look
retarded or
incredibly generic"
"recognize it's
important but don't
know how to make
things visually
pleasing"
"get lost in
beautiful code
structure and
amazing
architecture yet
forget what's the
goal"
"solving the
problem in an
efficient way
according to the
constraints"
"battle between
'my api is set up
this way' and
'humans want to
do this'"
"why put extra
effort into
something that
already "works"
technically"
"(not) knowing
your customer and
coding...to fit their
needs as close as
possible
(increases)
changes"
"I'll think about
(UX) later. Just get
to work and build it
right"
"fundamental
different way of
thinking about a
problem"
"It makes sense to
me"
"look at any linux
app and you'll see
what i mean"
"what, a human
does not like
command lines?"
"they have a
technical structure
they work with...
but those are often
not representative
of how a user
thinks"
Carl 1 1 1 1 1
Andrew 1 1 1
Thomas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Zenos 1 1 1 1 1 1
Phil 1 1
Florian 1 1 1
Scott 1 1 1 1
Rico 1 1 1 1
Cate 1 1
4 3 2 1 3 2 2 3 7 1 2
TOTAL 4
When asked: "What do devs struggle with when they think about UX?"
Effort + Execution Not Aligned with the Business How Users Think + Behave
"think like normal people"
"relating to how non-technical people
think"
5 6 15

38. Pretty
Visual aesthetics
Focused too
much on
executing
Effort efficiency
Business
requirements /
Validation
Focus &
Priorities
Assuming it will
work
Prioritizing
features / what
to display
Understanding
users (empathy)
Designing
intuitively for
non-techies
Used to different
interfaces
Thinking
structurely
"Make it not look
retarded or
incredibly generic"
"recognize it's
important but don't
know how to make
things visually
pleasing"
"get lost in
beautiful code
structure and
amazing
architecture yet
forget what's the
goal"
"solving the
problem in an
efficient way
according to the
constraints"
"battle between
'my api is set up
this way' and
'humans want to
do this'"
"why put extra
effort into
something that
already "works"
technically"
"(not) knowing
your customer and
coding...to fit their
needs as close as
possible
(increases)
changes"
"I'll think about
(UX) later. Just get
to work and build it
right"
"fundamental
different way of
thinking about a
problem"
"It makes sense to
me"
"look at any linux
app and you'll see
what i mean"
"what, a human
does not like
command lines?"
"they have a
technical structure
they work with...
but those are often
not representative
of how a user
thinks"
Carl 1 1 1 1 1
Andrew 1 1 1
Thomas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Zenos 1 1 1 1 1 1
Phil 1 1
Florian 1 1 1
Scott 1 1 1 1
Rico 1 1 1 1
Cate 1 1
4 3 2 1 3 2 2 3 7 1 2
TOTAL 4
When asked: "What do devs struggle with when they think about UX?"
Effort + Execution Not Aligned with the Business How Users Think + Behave
"think like normal people"
"relating to how non-technical people
think"
5 6 15

39. Pretty
Visual aesthetics
Focused too
much on
executing
Effort efficiency
Business
requirements /
Validation
Focus &
Priorities
Assuming it will
work
Prioritizing
features / what
to display
Understanding
users (empathy)
Designing
intuitively for
non-techies
Used to different
interfaces
Thinking
structurely
"Make it not look
retarded or
incredibly generic"
"recognize it's
important but don't
know how to make
things visually
pleasing"
"get lost in
beautiful code
structure and
amazing
architecture yet
forget what's the
goal"
"solving the
problem in an
efficient way
according to the
constraints"
"battle between
'my api is set up
this way' and
'humans want to
do this'"
"why put extra
effort into
something that
already "works"
technically"
"(not) knowing
your customer and
coding...to fit their
needs as close as
possible
(increases)
changes"
"I'll think about
(UX) later. Just get
to work and build it
right"
"fundamental
different way of
thinking about a
problem"
"It makes sense to
me"
"look at any linux
app and you'll see
what i mean"
"what, a human
does not like
command lines?"
"they have a
technical structure
they work with...
but those are often
not representative
of how a user
thinks"
Carl 1 1 1 1 1
Andrew 1 1 1
Thomas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Zenos 1 1 1 1 1 1
Phil 1 1
Florian 1 1 1
Scott 1 1 1 1
Rico 1 1 1 1
Cate 1 1
4 3 2 1 3 2 2 3 7 1 2
TOTAL 4
When asked: "What do devs struggle with when they think about UX?"
Effort + Execution Not Aligned with the Business How Users Think + Behave
"think like normal people"
"relating to how non-technical people
think"
5 6 15

40. Pretty
Visual aesthetics
Focused too
much on
executing
Effort efficiency
Business
requirements /
Validation
Focus &
Priorities
Assuming it will
work
Prioritizing
features / what
to display
Understanding
users (empathy)
Designing
intuitively for
non-techies
Used to different
interfaces
Thinking
structurely
"Make it not look
retarded or
incredibly generic"
"recognize it's
important but don't
know how to make
things visually
pleasing"
"get lost in
beautiful code
structure and
amazing
architecture yet
forget what's the
goal"
"solving the
problem in an
efficient way
according to the
constraints"
"battle between
'my api is set up
this way' and
'humans want to
do this'"
"why put extra
effort into
something that
already "works"
technically"
"(not) knowing
your customer and
coding...to fit their
needs as close as
possible
(increases)
changes"
"I'll think about
(UX) later. Just get
to work and build it
right"
"fundamental
different way of
thinking about a
problem"
"It makes sense to
me"
"look at any linux
app and you'll see
what i mean"
"what, a human
does not like
command lines?"
"they have a
technical structure
they work with...
but those are often
not representative
of how a user
thinks"
Carl 1 1 1 1 1
Andrew 1 1 1
Thomas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Zenos 1 1 1 1 1 1
Phil 1 1
Florian 1 1 1
Scott 1 1 1 1
Rico 1 1 1 1
Cate 1 1
4 3 2 1 3 2 2 3 7 1 2
TOTAL 4
When asked: "What do devs struggle with when they think about UX?"
Effort + Execution Not Aligned with the Business How Users Think + Behave
"think like normal people"
"relating to how non-technical people
think"
5 6 15

41. Pretty
Visual aesthetics
Focused too
much on
executing
Effort efficiency
Business
requirements /
Validation
Focus &
Priorities
Assuming it will
work
Prioritizing
features / what
to display
Understanding
users (empathy)
Designing
intuitively for
non-techies
Used to different
interfaces
Thinking
structurely
"Make it not look
retarded or
incredibly generic"
"recognize it's
important but don't
know how to make
things visually
pleasing"
"get lost in
beautiful code
structure and
amazing
architecture yet
forget what's the
goal"
"solving the
problem in an
efficient way
according to the
constraints"
"battle between
'my api is set up
this way' and
'humans want to
do this'"
"why put extra
effort into
something that
already "works"
technically"
"(not) knowing
your customer and
coding...to fit their
needs as close as
possible
(increases)
changes"
"I'll think about
(UX) later. Just get
to work and build it
right"
"fundamental
different way of
thinking about a
problem"
"It makes sense to
me"
"look at any linux
app and you'll see
what i mean"
"what, a human
does not like
command lines?"
"they have a
technical structure
they work with...
but those are often
not representative
of how a user
thinks"
Carl 1 1 1 1 1
Andrew 1 1 1
Thomas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Zenos 1 1 1 1 1 1
Phil 1 1
Florian 1 1 1
Scott 1 1 1 1
Rico 1 1 1 1
Cate 1 1
4 3 2 1 3 2 2 3 7 1 2
TOTAL 4
When asked: "What do devs struggle with when they think about UX?"
Effort + Execution Not Aligned with the Business How Users Think + Behave
"think like normal people"
"relating to how non-technical people
think"
5 6 15
Business
requirements
Focus & Priorities Assuming it’ll work
Prioritizing
features / what
to display
Understanding
users (empathy)
Designing
intuitively for
non-techies

42. What I’m hoping for
T H I S W O R K S H O P ’ S O B J E C T I V E S

43. T H I S W O R K S H O P ’ S O B J E C T I V E S
Gain insight
into how it
works
Better UX & better
working with UX
designers!
=+
Understand what
is UX + why it’s
important

44. D E F I N I T I O N S
What’re we doing?

45. D E F I N I T I O N S
What really is UX?

46. U S E R E X P E R I E N C E

47. U S E R E X P E R I E N C E
The experience a
user has interacting
with your brand at
one touchpoint
one

48. U S E R E X P E R I E N C E
The experience a
user has interacting
with your brand at
one touchpoint
C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C E
one

49. U S E R E X P E R I E N C E
The experience a
user has interacting
with your brand at
one touchpoint
one
C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C E

50. C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C E

51. U S E R E X P E R I E N C E
The experience a
user has interacting
with your brand at
one touchpoint
one
UX ≠ UI
TWO

52. U S E R E X P E R I E N C E
UX ≠ UI
TWO
U S E R I N T E R FA C E

53. U S E R E X P E R I E N C E
UX ≠ UI
TWO
U S E R I N T E R FA C E
User Research
User Testing
Data Analytics
Site Mapping
User Satisfaction
Sketching
Prototyping
Collaboration

54. U S E R E X P E R I E N C E
UX ≠ UI
TWO
U S E R I N T E R FA C E
User Research
User Testing
Data Analytics
Site Mapping
User Satisfaction
Sketching
Prototyping
Collaboration
Output Devices
Action Buttons
User Controls
Tools
Input Devices
Content
Visual Design
The pretty stuff

55. U S E R E X P E R I E N C E
The experience a
user has interacting
with your brand at
one touchpoint
A series of methods
& tools you use to
test and validate
assumptions
THREEone
UX ≠
TWO

56. L E A N S TA R T U P
U S E R E X P E R I E N C E
+

57. L E A N U X

58. Collaborative
Iterative
UX Methodology
Users
Defined goals
Problem-solving
L E A N U X

59. L E A N S TA R T U P
B U I L D
M E A S U R E
L E A R N
* implies numbers
and programming
a tad too much

60. B U I L D
M E A S U R E
L E A R N
Analyze &
Hypothesize
Create
Validate
L E A N U X

61. H A C K I N G U X :
Design thinking for techies

62. Business
requirements
Focus & Priorities
Assuming it’ll work
Designing
intuitively for
non-techies
A
Know what you’re
trying to do
B
Know you’re on
the right track
Prioritizing
features / what
to display
Understanding
users (empathy)

64. 02 Business
requirements
01 Focus &
Priorities
Know what you’re
trying to do
A

65. 02 Business
requirements
01 Focus &
Priorities
Know what you’re
trying to do
A

66. T H E M I S TA K E
Narrow focus
& priorities
01

67. “
D E V S T H I N K :

68. I’m going to focus on building this
I prioritize code over everything else
Is this the best way to build this?
“
D E V S T H I N K :

69. Think about the bigger
picture + objectives
T H E F I X

70. T H E F I X
“
U X D E S I G N E R S T H I N K :
I’m going to focus on pleasing the user
I prioritize users and business goals over everything else
Is this the best way to design this for the user?

71. Why?
@jacques_thekit

72. UI

73. UI
Tech scope

74. UI
Tech scope
UX

75. UI
Tech scope
UX
Business strategy

76. UI
Tech scope
UX
Business strategy
I F U S E R S
D O N ’ T C A R E

77. UI
Tech scope
UX
Business strategy
I F T H E B U S I N E S S
D O E S N ’ T W O R K
I F U S E R S
D O N ’ T C A R E

78. UI
Tech scope
UX
Business strategy
N O N E O F T H I S
M AT T E R S
I F T H E B U S I N E S S
D O E S N ’ T W O R K
I F U S E R S
D O N ’ T C A R E

79. UI
Tech scope
User satisfaction
Business viability = $$$
C R E AT E S
P R O F I T

80. UI
Tech scope
Business viability = $$$
User satisfaction
C R E AT E S
P R O F I T
F U N D S
E V E R Y T H I N G

81. IN UX
How it’s usually done

82. Structure
Distill & Brainstorm
Goals & Objectives
Research & Discover
IN UX
I T F L O W S
T H I S W AY

83. Structure
Distill & Brainstorm
Goals & Objectives
Research & Discover
IN UX
I T D O E S N ’ T
F L O W T H I S W AY

84. It’s more than just about the code
Remember that the business drives everything forward
Happy users = happy business
TL;DR

85. 02 Business
requirements
01 Focus &
Priorities
Know what you’re
trying to do
A

86. Know what you’re
trying to do
02 Business
requirements
01 Focus &
Priorities
A

87. T H E M I S TA K E
Not being aligned
with the business
02

88. “
D E V S T H I N K :

89. I just want to make this work
Why? I don’t know
Those are the requirements
“
D E V S T H I N K :

90. Learn about the business
+ overall goals
T H E F I X

91. T H E F I X
“
U X D E S I G N E R S T H I N K :
What does the business need the user to do?
What does the user want from the business?
How do I marry the two needs?

92. E X E R C I S E !
20
Let’s try:
Melewi Lean Canvas

93. Melewi Lean Canvas (Adapted from the Lean Canvas)
Skewed towards UX & design
Overview of the business + priorities
Everything affects what you design + build
Equips you with right knowledge to make decisions

94. Melewi Lean Canvas
*Adapted from the Lean Canvas
http://bit.ly/
1MZRB50
PRODUCT
What is your product?
NEED / WANT
UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION
Why are you awesome?
VALUE PROPOSITION
Why should your user use your product?
Describe why, not what
SWOT
What’s against you?
SWOT
What’s for you?
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
X:
Y:
You
Direct
Indirect
MARKET(S)
TAM / SAM / SOM
B2B B2C
$ $
OBJECTIVES
MVP
PRODUCT
Mid-term Long-term
BUSINESS
USER PERSONA
N A M E
Q U O T E
A G E T E C H - S A V V Y F R U S T R AT I O N ( S ) G O A L ( S )
/ 5
# K E Y W O R D
BIZ MODEL
REV MODEL
H E A D S H O T

95. PRODUCT
What is your product?
NEED / WANT
UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION
Why are you awesome?
VALUE PROPOSITION
Why should your user use your product?
Describe why, not what
X:
Y:
SWOT
What’s against you?
SWOT
What’s for you?
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE You
Direct
Indirect
MARKET(S)
TAM / SAM / SOM
B2B B2C
$ $
OBJECTIVES
MVP
PRODUCT
Mid-term Long-term
BUSINESS
BIZ MODEL
REV MODEL
USER PERSONA
N A M E
Q U O T E
A G E T E C H - S A V V Y F R U S T R AT I O N ( S ) G O A L ( S )
/ 5
# K E Y W O R D
H E A D S H O T
Melewi Lean Canvas
*Adapted from the Lean Canvas
http://bit.ly/
1MZRB50
Let’s focus on this

96. PRODUCT
What is your product?
NEED / WANT
UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION
Why are you awesome?
VALUE PROPOSITION
Why should your user use your product?
Describe why, not what
X:
Y:
SWOT
What’s against you?
SWOT
What’s for you?
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE You
Direct
Indirect
MARKET(S)
TAM / SAM / SOM
B2B B2C
$ $
OBJECTIVES
MVP
PRODUCT
Mid-term Long-term
BUSINESS
BIZ MODEL
REV MODEL
USER PERSONA
N A M E
Q U O T E
A G E T E C H - S A V V Y F R U S T R AT I O N ( S ) G O A L ( S )
/ 5
# K E Y W O R D
H E A D S H O T
Melewi Lean Canvas
*Adapted from the Lean Canvas
http://bit.ly/
1MZRB50
Let’s focus on this
TARGET AUDIENCE
Add this on!

97. Melewi Lean Canvas
E X E R C I S E !
20
Start throwing out
product / business
ideas in the group
01

98. Melewi Lean Canvas
E X E R C I S E !
20
Start throwing out
product / business
ideas in the group
01
Pick an idea and
start filling in the
canvas: http://
bit.ly/1MZRB50
* Leave out the 2nd
& 3rd columns
02

99. Melewi Lean Canvas
E X E R C I S E !
20
Product Objective(s)
Target
Audience
Value Prop
Present + Feedback

100. Melewi Lean Canvas
E X E R C I S E !
Target
Audience
Product Objective(s)Value Prop
Present + Feedback
20

101. Melewi Lean Canvas
E X E R C I S E !
Product Objective(s)Value Prop
Present + Feedback
20
Target
Audience

102. Melewi Lean Canvas
E X E R C I S E !
Product Value Prop Objective(s)
Present + Feedback
20
Target
Audience

103. Remember no customers = no business
Know your goals & objectives as a whole
Know why you’re building what you’re building
TL;DR

104. 06 NOT assuming
it’ll work
04 Understanding
users (empathy)
05 Prioritizing features
/ what to display
03 Designing intuitively
for non-techies
Know you’re on
the right track
B

105. Know you’re on
the right track
B
06 NOT assuming
it’ll work
03 Designing intuitively
for non-techies
05 Prioritizing features
/ what to display
04 Understanding
users (empathy)

106. T H E M I S TA K E
Not designing intuitively
for non-techies
03

107. “
D E V S T H I N K :

108. This makes sense to me… It’ll make sense to the user
What do you mean it’s not easy to use!?
I don’t know what they’re thinking… Halp.
“
D E V S T H I N K :

109. There’s no magic bullet
(sorry)
T H E F I X

110. T H E F I X
06 NOT assuming
it’ll work
05 Prioritizing features
/ what to display
04 Understanding
users (empathy)
Requires:

111. T H E F I X
“
U X D E S I G N E R S T H I N K :
Who are my users?
What do they really want?
Does this make sense to them?
How can I make sure?

112. This is more complicated than it seems
THERE IS NO TL;DR
Sorry guys. :P
TL;DR

113. 06 NOT assuming
it’ll work
04 Understanding
users (empathy)
05 Prioritizing features
/ what to display
03 Designing intuitively
for non-techies
Know you’re on
the right track
B

114. Know you’re on
the right track
B
06 NOT assuming
it’ll work
03 Designing intuitively
for non-techies
05 Prioritizing features
/ what to display
04 Understanding
users (empathy)

115. T H E M I S TA K E
Not knowing & understanding
who you’re building for
04

116. “
D E V S T H I N K :

117. This makes sense to me… It’ll make sense to the user
Wait, who’s the user again?
It’s fine that I don’t know, they’ll think like me.
It’ll work!
“
D E V S T H I N K :

118. Know your users inside
& out (properly)
T H E F I X

119. T H E F I X
“
U X D E S I G N E R S T H I N K :
Who are my users?
What do they really want?
How do they value?
What frustrates them?
How do they think?

120. 3 people 30 mins 24 responses

121. Pretend you’re an actor in a film
Who’s your character?
Mimic them
Research them
Talk to them
TA C T I C : A N D … A C T I O N !
Be a creep without getting arrested

122. User surveys
User interviews
Google
TA C T I C : A N D … A C T I O N !

123. E X E R C I S E !
15
Let’s try:
User Personas

124. First, know who you’re targeting
Your user is not a statistic or a number
They are people
What do they like and value?
How do they think and behave?
What frustrates and motivates them?
You can’t design for everyone with 1 generic approach
Decide, design & build accordingly

125. It should not represent one sole user
Representative character of your target audience
It should be built off research
Talk to these people
Find out more about them

126. User Personas
E X E R C I S E !
As a group:
Get a piece of
butcher paper +
markers
01
15

127. User Personas
E X E R C I S E !
As a group:
Get a piece of
butcher paper +
markers
01
Sketch out a
User Persona
grid / structure
02
15

128. User Personas
E X E R C I S E !
As a group:
Get a piece of
butcher paper +
markers
01
Sketch out a
User Persona
grid / structure
Discuss and fill in
(and then fill into
your Melewi
Lean Canvas if
you want)
03
15
02

129. Leia Organa
“Darth Vader destroyed Alderaan (my home planet),
and is taking over The Galaxy. I will not sit still for this!
I need to defeat him. But how?!
If only there was a way to destroy the Death Star and
defeat the Empire once and for all…”
N A M E
Q U O T E
A G E T E C H - S A V V Y F R U S T R AT I O N ( S ) G O A L ( S )
/ 5
21 5
The Empire destroyed
her home planet
She doesn’t know how to
destroy the Death Star
# K E Y W O R D
Bold
Leader
Courageous
Princess
* because she’s
from the future To defeat the Empire
To restore democracy
within the Galactic
senate

130. E X E R C I S E !
Age &
Gender
#Keywords
Biggest
takeaway(s)
Present + Feedback
Name
User Personas
15

131. E X E R C I S E !
#Keywords
Biggest
takeaway(s)
Present + Feedback
Age &
Gender
Name
User Personas
15

132. E X E R C I S E !
Name
Age &
Gender
Present + Feedback
Biggest
takeaway(s)
#Keywords
User Personas
15

133. E X E R C I S E !
Name
Age &
Gender
#Keywords
Biggest
takeaway(s)
Present + Feedback
User Personas
15

134. Users aren’t just a number, they’re people
In order to build for them, you have to understand them
In order to understand them, you’ve to talk to them
TL;DR

135. 06 NOT assuming
it’ll work
04 Understanding
users (empathy)
05 Prioritizing features
/ what to display
03 Designing intuitively
for non-techies
Know you’re on
the right track
B

136. Know you’re on
the right track
B
06 NOT assuming
it’ll work
03 Designing intuitively
for non-techies
05 Prioritizing features
/ what to display
04 Understanding
users (empathy)

137. T H E M I S TA K E
Add all the things & features!
05

138. “
D E V S T H I N K :

139. Holy sweet potato
(not a Linux app, I know)

140. This is cool, that’s cool, that one’s cool too
The more the better!
Why prioritize?
What to prioritize??
“
D E V S T H I N K :

141. Know your users’
problem to know your
value proposition + goals
T H E F I X

142. T H E F I X
I can’t possibly show everything, it’ll be too cluttered
What do they users really need to know?
What do they users want to do?
“
U X D E S I G N E R S T H I N K :

143. T H E F I X
“
U X D E S I G N E R S T H I N K :
What problem are we solving for them?
How do I reduce friction and get them to take action?
What is our value proposition!?

144. But before trying to figure out what to cut out
Know first what you’re trying to build
What you’re trying to build = What user problems you’re solving

145. E X E R C I S E !
10
Let’s try:
Problem Statements

146. What is the problem you’re trying to solve?
What is the biggest problem you’ve observed?
Why does the problem exist?
What are users doing to fix that now?

147. 1 to 2 paragraphs
Gives context
Explicitly states what you’re solving for
Gets everyone on the same page
This is NOT about the solution (yet)

148. L E A N U X - P R O B L E M S TAT E M E N T T E M P L AT E
[Our service/product] was designed to achieve [these user
goals] for [these users].
We have observed that [our service/product] isn't meeting
[these goals], which is causing [this adverse effect].
How might we improve [our service/product] so that our users
are more successful based on [these measurable criteria]?

149. Problem Statements
E X E R C I S E !
As a group:
Get a piece of
butcher paper +
markers
01
10

150. E X E R C I S E !
As a group:
Get a piece of
butcher paper +
markers
01 02
10
Copy out the Lean
UX Problem
Statement template
Fill it in individually
Problem Statements

151. E X E R C I S E !
As a group:
Get a piece of
butcher paper +
markers
01
Discuss together and
come up with one
united Problem
Statement
03
10
02
Copy out the Lean
UX Problem
Statement template
Fill it in individually
Problem Statements

152. E X E R C I S E !
User goals
Adverse
effect
Measurable
criteria
Present + Feedback
Product
Problem Statements
10

153. E X E R C I S E !
Present + Feedback
User goalsProduct
Adverse
effect
Measurable
criteria
Problem Statements
10

154. E X E R C I S E !
Present + Feedback
Adverse
effect
Product
Measurable
criteria
Problem Statements
10
User goals

155. E X E R C I S E !
Measurable
criteria
Present + Feedback
Product
Adverse
effect
Problem Statements
10
User goals

156. Users have short attention spans - prioritise for them
Cluttered = baaaaad
Too many features = baaaaaaaaad
Users are usually only after 1 main thing
Have you solved the problem for them?
TL;DR

157. 06 NOT assuming
it’ll work
04 Understanding
users (empathy)
05 Prioritizing features
/ what to display
03 Designing intuitively
for non-techies
Know you’re on
the right track
B

158. Know you’re on
the right track
B
06 NOT assuming
it’ll work
03 Designing intuitively
for non-techies
05 Prioritizing features
/ what to display
04 Understanding
users (empathy)

159. T H E M I S TA K E
Assuming it’ll work because
it makes sense to you
06

160. “
D E V S T H I N K :

161. It makes sense to me
It should work
What’s there not to understand?
“
D E V S T H I N K :

162. Don’t assume!
Test & validate!
T H E F I X

163. T H E F I X
I think it’s going to work, but I’m not certain
Let’s test it
I didn’t realize they wouldn’t understand this
Okay, how do we fix it?
Let’s test it again
“
U X D E S I G N E R S T H I N K :

164. E X E R C I S E !
15
Let’s try (part 1):
Wireframe Sketching

165. Page skeletons / blueprints
Figure out what your pages / screens are
Start sketching
Continue sketching
Fill in important text - e.g. Headers, call-to-actions

166. Too tempting to start building
No! It’s got to work / function right first
Puts your thoughts + ideas down onto something you can test
And with it, you go out and get results!

167. Wireframes Sketching
E X E R C I S E !
Get a few sheets
of paper + pens
01
20

168. E X E R C I S E !
Get a few sheets
of paper + pens
01
Sketch out the
your product as
a mobile app
Let’s go for 3 - 5
screens
02
20
Wireframes Sketching

169. E X E R C I S E !
Get a few sheets
of paper + pens
01
Sketch out the
your product as
a
Let’s go for 3 - 5
screens
02
Review it as a
team, quick
rounds of
feedback
03
20
Wireframes Sketching

170. E X E R C I S E !
20
Get a few sheets
of paper + pens
01
Sketch out the
your product as
a
Let’s go for 3 - 5
screens
02
Review it as a
team, quick
rounds of
feedback
03
Re-sketch 1 set of
wireframes
incorporating
feedback
04
Wireframes Sketching

171. E X E R C I S E !
30
Let’s try (part 2):
Usability Testing

172. Find people who are your users
Having an incentive usually helps (Starbucks gift card)
All you need are results from 5 people
Put yourself out there! Cafes, coworking
space, friends, limitless possibilities
Observing people using your product

173. Don’t ask questions, give tasks instead
Person A: Give tasks + Interact
Person B: Observe + Notes
Approx. 3 to 5 things to do
Humans feel obliged to please

174. Resist the urge to help them
Or to guide them
Or to correct them
No! Learn from where they struggle
Deduce patterns from multiple tests

175. 2 people 30 mins 5 responses1 (Samsung) phone

176. Usability Testing
E X E R C I S E !
Open
SurveyMonkey,
Google Forms or
any other survey
tool
01
30

177. Usability Testing
E X E R C I S E !
30
Open
SurveyMonkey,
Google Forms or
any other survey
tool
01
Decide on your
tasks - keep
them short!
Decide on your
questions
02

178. Usability Testing
E X E R C I S E !
30
Open
SurveyMonkey,
Google Forms or
any other survey
tool
01
Decide on your
tasks - keep
them short!
Decide on your
questions
02
Half the team
stand up
03

179. Usability Testing
E X E R C I S E !
30
Open
SurveyMonkey,
Google Forms or
any other survey
tool
01
Decide on your
tasks - keep
them short!
Decide on your
questions
02
Half the team
stand up
03
The people
standing up, move
to the team on
your right.
These are your
testers!
04

180. Usability Testing
E X E R C I S E !
30
Good Bad Takeaways
Present + Feedback
What were
your tasks?

181. Usability Testing
E X E R C I S E !
30
What were
your tasks?
Bad Takeaways
Present + Feedback
Good

182. Usability Testing
E X E R C I S E !
30
What were
your tasks?
Good Takeaways
Present + Feedback
Bad

183. Usability Testing
E X E R C I S E !
30
What were
your tasks?
Good Bad Takeaways
Present + Feedback

184. Validate your assumptions
Accept you’ll be wrong
Test it with the right people, test early on
Then fix it :)
TL;DR

185. TO CONCLUDE

186. conclusion
Business
requirements
Focus & Priorities
It’s more than just about the code
Remember that the business drives everything forward
Happy users = happy business
No customers = no business
Know why you’re building what you’re building
A
Observed
problems
TL;DR
Know what you’re
trying to do

187. conclusion
Designing
intuitively for
non-techies
B
Observed
Problems
Prioritizing
features / what
to display
No magic bullet, sorry!
Requires other things
Users are usually after 1 main thing
Have you solved it for them?
TL;DR
Know you’re on
the right track

188. conclusion
Assuming it’ll work
Understanding
users (empathy)
Users aren’t just a number, they’re people
In order to build for them, you have to understand them
In order to understand them, you’ve to talk to them
Validate your assumptions
Test with the right people, test early on
Then fix it :)
B
Observed
Problems
TL;DR
Know you’re on
the right track

189. Thank you!
Y O U G U Y S A R E A M A Z I N G

190. Slides?
F O L L O W M E O N T W I T T E R

191. Melissa Ng
@thedesignnomad
melissa@melewi.net
www.melewi.net