A primer for understanding what user experience is, its benefit within an organization, and how to work with user experience practitioners.

1. Demystifying UX
NYU Stern Workshop
FEBRUARY 28, 2017

2. A primer for understanding what UX is, its benefit within
an organization and how to work with UX practitioners.
PURPOSE OF TODAY’S WORKSHOP

3. Agenda
01
02
03
04
05
06
Introduction
What is UX?
UX Process
Research & Testing
Working with UXers
Appendix: Frameworks & Reading List

4. Introductions

5. What Role Do You Want
After Graduation?

6. 6
Christina Goldschmidt
Christina has 20+ years of digital experience in a wide
variety of industries, including financial services,
insurance, legal, healthcare, advertising, media,
technology start-ups and e-commerce. She has helped
design innovative experiences and products and
integrated lean and agile methodologies into the
design process for an array of Fortune 500 Clients
including MetLife, Wolters Kluwer, American Express,
The Discovery Channel, Omnicom Media Group, and
Morgan Stanley. She is a champion for the end-user
and has expertise in interaction & visual design, user
research and testing, data visualization and mobile-
first experiences. Christina received her MBA from
NYU Stern in 2008.
DIREC TOR O F UX
@ChristinaOnUX
cgoldschmidt@cakeandarrow.come

7. We do customer experience.
We’re a customer-experience agency who
partners with insurance, finance, professional
services and ecommerce companies. We’re
leading global digital initiatives with MetLife,
Saks Fifth Ave, Citi, Genpact, Lowes, KIND, The
New York Times, among others. We use
customer data to achieve results, focusing on
driving profitable growth and creating digital
experiences to get you closer to customers and
allow for more self-service.
We build stuff people love using.
We start every project by studying the needs of
every group of users who’ll be involved in the
experience. Our research methodologies ensure
we uncover actionable insights based on human
behavior that are current and relevant. Those
insights help us plan an accurate trajectory for a
solution that achieves our clients’ business
goals and leaves users feeling valued. Placing
people at the heart of the process is how we
deliver results.
7
WHO WE ARE WHAT W E DO

8. What is UX?

9. “User experience” encompasses all aspects
of the end-user’s interaction with the
company, its services, and its products.
“
NEILSON NORMAN GROUP
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/definition-user-experience/

10. Common mistakes for how people limit the definition of UX
UI Design
UX is the total experience and
not just about the user interface,
though the UI is a very
important part other things like
content are critical
Usability
Usability judges the quality of
the UI and if it is efficient to use,
easy to learn and delightful,
though important it is only one
aspect of good UX
Digital
UX refers to the total experience a user has
with a company inclusive of digital. Customer
Experience (CX) is emerging as a term to
describe this, but it doesn’t speak to all users
such as internal employees and vendors
UX is Not Just…

11. The different elements of user
experience design moving from
concepts to the final
manifestation of the end
experience.
Components
of UX
• User Needs & Site Objectives
• Functional Specifications
• Content Objectives
• Information Architecture
• Interaction Design
• Interface Design
• Navigation
• Information Design
• Visual Design

12. Google was launched on
September 4, 1998 and
revolutionized how users
accessed sites on the internet
though a focused and simplified
experience
Good UX at
Work

13. UX Process

14. There is no one right process
for UX. See the Appendix for
more in-depth discussion
about each approach.
3 Major
Different
Approaches
Linear step-by-step process.
Most standardized
approach, but falling out of
fashion.
Agile is a process that
responds to change. Design
is split into sprints and this
process is primarily used to
coincide with development
teams.
WATERFALL
LEAN UX
AGILE UX
Constant learning and
iteration. Grown out of the
lean start-up movement but
now influencing process at
enterprise companies.

15. Business Strategy
Investigation
Rapid Research &
Insights
Design Thinking
Workshops
Prototyping & User
Testing
Continued Prototype
Development
Ongoing Testing &
Validation
CONCEPTING BUILDING
ITERATE
UX Process – Emphasis on Speed & Innovation
CHRISTINA’S HYBRID APPROACH:

16. Exploring the solution
Combining lean UX, design thinking, service
design, ethnography, data, rapid
prototyping and testing, my approach
empowers teams to quickly solve problems,
ideate, validate the approach and build
experiences that users love.
Creating the final solution
The iterative process of building an experience
can take a waterfall or agile approach.
Regardless of which works best for a particular
development team, it's critical that the
experience is validated by users every step of the
way and that the team is comfortable adapting
the experience accordingly.
16
CON C EPTING BUI L D I NG
CHRISTINA’S HYBRID APPROACH:
UX Process – Emphasis on Speed & Innovation

17. Company/Business Model
Understand the business
model, competitive advantage,
current performance and goals
employees are trying to
achieve. Deep dives into
marketing and operations are
also beneficial.
Industry
Understand the landscape the
company is operating in.
What characterizes the
industry and what trends are
driving change.
Substitutes
How are users accomplishing
similar goals now? What
people, processes and
technology can be leveraged
for experience principles.
Competitive
What is happening in the
over all digital landscape,
both with direct competitors
and also digital experiences
that users interact with on a
regular basis.
Content
What characterizes the
content in this experience?
What is currently blocking
content from being as
effective as it needs to be?
Users
What do users need? What
are their key characteristics,
motivations and goals and
current frustrations and
pain points?
CON C EPTING
Technology
What is the right
architecture? What
technical limitations
should be considered in
designing the best
experience?
Brand
What is the value
proposition? How is
the brand expressed in
both visual identity and
tone?
Business Strategy Investigation
17
The goal is to have a high level understanding of the opportunity and agreement on competitive
landscape and point of departure. All else will inform questions to be answered in research.

18. Rapid Research & Insights
CON C EPTING
18
The best design is grounded in a deep understanding of users and sparked by research-generated
insights. Ensure a thorough grounding in market segmentation and key targets. From there,
determine how to identify them and uncover their mindset. What do users need? What are their key
characteristics, motivations and goals? What are their current and anticipated frustrations and pain
points?
Conducting rapid research starts with optimal methods for reaching the target. Best results come
from working with fast online recruiting start-ups and utilizing intercept methods to get in front of
the target from the very beginning. Other forms of recruiting can also prove effective, but these two
approaches will typically decrease the cost of research and the time it takes to conduct it.
Additionally, wherever possible, contextual inquiry and ethnography inform a clear understanding of
what people actually do, as opposed to relying on their memory.

19. Design Thinking Workshops
CON C EPTING
19
Affinity Mapping
Moodboard Ideation & Collage Content Workshop
Persona Roleplaying & Improv
Sensory Ignition
User Journey Sketching
Feature Prioritization
Design Studio
WO RKSHO P O PTI O NS:
Design thinking methods and workshops unlock the creativity within us all. Bringing
cross-functional team members together injects the ideation process with fresh
perspectives and helps lift team members outside their everyday constraints. Moreover
these activities can foster buy-in and build excitement across stakeholders.
Body Storming

20. Prototyping & User Testing
CON C EPTING
20
Thorough validation of the experience is critical to cementing the experience strategy. Development
of medium fidelity prototypes (comps or high fidelity wireframes in Invision) ensures maximum user
input in the most efficient way. While paper prototyping has its place, higher fidelity artifacts are
able to better represent subtleties in interfaces.
The choice between remote and in-person testing and moderated and unmoderated testing will
often be guided by timing, budget, geography and quantity of personas to be tested.
It's highly desirable to test multiple options, wherever possible, as doing so generates valuable
dialogue with the test subjects. It also helps prevent the design team from becoming too attached to
just one idea.
Once validated, the final approach for an experience can be set. The team can then proceed
confidently into the iteration cycle for launch.

21. Continued Prototype Development
BUI L D I NG
21
The preferred approach leads with a low fidelity version of the entire experience,
before refining the pieces. Starting with sketching and going into high fidelity
wireframes or loose comps helps developers visualize the experience and
contribute. Using the same tool across all phases of design increases speed and
efficiency, and enables designers to seamlessly iterate on the same files. Tools like
InVision Inspect can help eliminate ambiguity for developers.

22. Ongoing Testing & Validation
BUI L D I NG
22
It is important to test interactions, copy and interface elements in advance of
launch, since all individual elements together create the final experience and impact
usability. Test design must ensure actionable results. Multiple quick rounds of
testing can better enable incorporation of feedback and more efficiently lead to the
optimal experience.

23. Rapid innovation and getting the
most out of teams. Launching
technically feasible products that
are validated by users.
PROCESS GOAL

24. Research & Testing

25. • Ensures you’re solving a problem that exists in peoples lives
• Key to building a product that is tailored to its audience
• Ensure that your product solution aligns to behaviors
WHY CONDUCT USER RESEARCH?

26. Exercise:
Generating User Insights

27. EXERCISE
Watch the following videos. Jot
down any content or features for
KINDsnack.com inspired by these
users’ needs and pain points

28. Energy
Enthusiast
Joe Clarissa Dyan
Triathlons
Rock & ice climbing
Sea kayaking
7-day a week
gym addict
Hiking
Group fitness instructor
Personal trainer
Holistic health coach
What insights do you take away from these videos?

29. Did you catch any of these?
Joe Clarissa Dyan
Nutrition Info
Flavor Profiles
Usage Suggestions - Indulgence
Flavor Samples
Bulk Discount Orders or
Subscriptions
Filter by Sugar Content
Suggestions for how to eat/use
the product, different times and
usages
Free Shipping
Exclusive Flavors
Flexible Subscriptions for Travel
Flavor profiles
Super Detailed Photos of
Products
Store Locator
Client Referral Program
Student Education and
comparison vs other
products for health
content

30. 56
RESULT:
KINDsnacks.com Redesign
Assignment
Increase sales, build a direct relationship
with customers and turn them into
enthusiasts.
• Conducted interviews with
employees to get an understanding
of areas for improvement.
• Observed different customer
segments to understand their
behavior and mindset.
• Developed and validated a working
prototype over three user testing
sessions.
• Launching March 2017.

31. User
Research
Methods
QUALITATIVE
Ethnography
• Being there
• Deep hanging out
• Observation
Pros: Most rich research method we
have which allows for very deep
insight into behavior
Cons: Can sometimes be costly and
timely
QUANTITATIVE
Surveys
• Surveys allow for gathering
quantifiable information from a
large number of people
• Most are completed online remotely
Pros: Gather large numbers of
quantitative responses very quickly
Cons: Hard to get rich responses, or
know why problems occur. Subject to
many cognitive biases
QUALITATIVE
Interviews (Contextual: A+)
• One-on-one discussions with end
users
• Focused on probing behaviors,
thought patterns, and motivations
Pros: Can gather rich, targeted
information and are flexible for
tangents
Cons: Time consuming to organize,
run and analyze. Subject to many
cognitive biases

32. Ask Questions
• Be wary of priming
• Don’t ask leading questions
• Don’t ask about intention, always probe
behavior
• Focus on specific instances
Keep People Talking
• “Tell me more about that”
• “What do you mean by...”
• “Help me understand better…”
• Start with small talk
• Embrace the silences as people will fill the space
32
RESE ARC H & TESTI NG
How To
Bad Question: “How many times do you plan to go to the gym?”
Good Question: “How many times have you been to the gym in the last 3 months?”

33. Identifying Trends With Affinity
Mapping
Goal of affinity mapping is to extract common
trends/themes:
• Document one insight/observation per post-it
• Group post-its by likeness
• Reorganize as needed
• Circle insights and name key concepts
33
RESE ARC H & TESTI NG
Analyzing Results

34. 34
RESE ARC H & TESTI NG
Analyzing Results
Interpretation
• People have no idea what they want
• It’s your job to interpret what they say
• What is said only accounts for a small piece of
the actual research insights
A GOOD USER RESEARCHER
DOESN’ T ASK WHAT USERS WANT
BUT PROBES BEHAVIOR AND
MAKES CONCLUSIONS

35. 35
RESE ARC H & TESTI NG
Personas – Research Output
What is a Persona?
• A summary that captures a subset your user
base. Based on attributes, demographics, use
cases and user needs
• Created by conducting user research –not
stereotypes– into archetypes
• Does NOT represent a single person
Why are Personas Important?
• You are not your user.
• Communication tool for what you know about
your user.
• Highlights pain points and opportunities to
tailor your product to your user –builds empathy.
• Keep your product focused (MVP).
• Builds team consensus and leads to better
decision making.
• Useful for validating business strategy,
requirements and initiatives.

36. 36
RESE ARC H & TESTI NG
Personas – Research Output
What Should It Include?
Personas should not be based on a single person;
rather, they are representative of groups of
users.
• At a minimum, each persona should include:
• demographic information (age, occupation,
etc.)
• goals: what the user needs to accomplish
• pain points: what is frustrating about their
current experience
• narrative: a paragraph or two explaining the
user’s current experience
How Do You Synthesize Your Data?
• Look for trends (demographic, ethnographic,
psychographic)
• What do they want to do?
• What are their characteristics?
• Different behaviors correlated to characteristics?
• Look at like types of users and see if there are
other similarities.

37. “
MOTIVATIONS & GOALS
Managing costs and financing is a full-time job. A documentary is an ever-
evolving thing with unexpected events to capture. It's always a challenge
to budget for unforeseen expenses like extra shooting days & re-shoots.”
• Successfully manage funding so that I have
flexibility to capture the key moments that make a
great film
• Travel is a part of my process. I need to be supported
and prepared for any situation even when I’m away
from home and out of the country
• Each project is different. I want to understand the
right amount of coverage for our level of risk for
each and multiple projects
• Documentaries are unpredictable, I want to manage
safety even when I don’t know what’s going to
happen
KEY STRATEGIES
• Keep up with his busy production and travel schedule by letting him access ProSight Online
Backpack anytime and from anywhere
• Teach him about his insurance coverage and what he really needs to be protected
• Demonstrate ProSight’s knowledge of his industry and how they offer services uniquely
tailored to his needs
Persona Example
Internet Use: 7 hours per day, often on mobile
Business Knowledge: Low (2 years in business)
Insurance Knowledge: Low
FRUSTRATIONS & PAIN POINTS
• I don’t understand the coverage I have, what I need
and if I have enough
• Most brokers don’t understand my business. I want
an agent who understands what I do and my needs so
that I get the right coverage
• When I’m on a shoot and filming, I don’t have time
to think about anything else
Mark Lewis
Documentary Film Producer, 42

38. • Face-to-face or remote
• Simulate reality by testing in the
environment/situation where the
design solution would actually be used
• Provide users with tasks to complete
on a prototype (paper or digital)
• Encourage them to talk out loud as
they move through interactions
• Observe their actions
Usability
Testing
Methods
STEP 1: Prepare
• Write a test plan and script
• Explain any recordings and get permission
• Explain the purpose of the testing
• Create task scenarios
• Should describe the task in a clear and
unambiguous way
• Written in the user’s language (no jargon)
• Don’t prompt the solution
STEP 2: Facilitate the Test
• Record the test
• Observe behaviors
• Act like a therapist
• Keep them talking aloud
STEP 3: Interpret Findings
• Review and edit your notes as soon as you finish
each interview
• Aim to have 1 typed page of findings per participant
• Perform an affinity diagram exercise to identify the
biggest problems
• Write a list of design recommendations to address
the problems
• When writing research notes, remember to:
• Report on the good and the bad
• Avoid making design changes (that will come
later)
• Stick to what you observed in the test
STEP 4: Iterate
• Review your finding and design recommendations
• Iterate on the design by sketching and prototyping
modified solutions
• Test again!
Bad Question: “Go to the search bar and type in where you want to go, then tap ‘go’.”
Good Question: “Imagine you want to take a subway from your hotel in Times Square.
What would you do?”

39. Working With UXers

40. The Right Way to Run a
Design Critique
• Introduce yourself as the facilitator
• Outline what the key goals of the design were
• Ask for what you want (eg. feedback on the
high level flow, the details)
• Ask for a ‘like’ and an ‘crit’ from each person
• Discourage people from designing solutions in
the meeting, instead give problems to solve.
• Assign a note-taker to record the feedback and
create a list of action items
The Right Way to Give
Feedback to a Designer
• You are not critiquing art. This is not about what
you like.
• You are critiquing a business tool. Does this solve
the business goals?
• Focus on project goals and business needs, not
subjective feelings
• Be direct, specific, and provide reasons
Bad feedback: “This is not working for me” “Make it
pop more”
Good Feedback: “The wording on this button does
not feel positive, and we are trying to make people
feel good about the brand”
40
WO RKI NG W I TH UX E RS
Design Critiques

41. Experience Designer
Defines a holistic vision of how
users interact with products
and/or services
User Researcher
Identifies user behaviors,
goals and needs through
interviews, studies and
surveys
Content Strategist
How are users accomplishing
similar goals now? What
people, processes and
technology can be leveraged
for experience principles.
Information Architect
(IA)
Defines the structure of a
system, how content is
described, organized and
discovered
Visual Designer
Responsible for the planning,
development, and
management of content—
written or in other media.
Interaction Designer
(IxD/UX Designer)
Defines interactions, user
flows, wireframes, and
affordances of a system
WO RKI NG W I TH UX E RS
Usability Analyst
Tests prototypes and
working products with
users and helps
integrate feedback into
future design iterations
Common UX Roles
41

42. Appendix

43. Different types of frameworks
you can use to answer UX
questions during interviews.
Frameworks
• UX Case Study Evaluation
• Heuristic Evaluation
• UX Hierarchy of Needs
• Usability Principles
• UX Processes

44. Case Study
Evaluation
QUESTION 1
What user need does
this address?
Any UX problem needs to be grounded
in user needs. Any evaluation of an
experience should always start from
the user’s perspective.
QUESTION 2
What are we hoping to
achieve by doing this?
Understand the hypothesis for the
solution. That will help design KPIs
and a testing and validation
methodology. Plus any solution needs
to have a clear justification as to how
it ties back to user needs or it can’t
start to deliver on them.
QUESTION 3
How will we measure
success?
Understanding how you’ll measure
success is critical to proving that the
design of your experience is the
correct one.
FRAME WO RKS

45. 45
FRAME WO RKS
Heuristic Evaluations
Jacob Nielsen
• Visibility of system status: The system should always keep users
informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within
reasonable time.
• Match between system and the real world: The system should speak
the users' language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the
user, rather than system-oriented terms. Follow real-world
conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.
• User control and freedom: Users often choose system functions by
mistake and will need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the
unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue.
Support undo and redo.
• Consistency and standards: Users should not have to wonder whether
different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow
platform conventions.
• Error prevention: Even better than good error messages is a careful
design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place.
Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present
users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.
• Recognition rather than recall: Minimize the user's memory load by
making objects, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to
remember information from one part of the dialogue to another.
Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable
whenever appropriate.
• Flexibility and efficiency of use: Accelerators -- unseen by the novice
user -- may often speed up the interaction for the expert user such that
the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow
users to tailor frequent actions.
• Aesthetic and minimalist design: Dialogues should not contain
information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of
information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information
and diminishes their relative visibility.
• Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors: Error messages
should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the
problem, and constructively suggest a solution.
• Help and documentation: Even though it is better if the system can be
used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and
documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused on
the user's task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large.

46. 46
FRAME WO RKS
Heuristic Evaluations
Conversion Heuristics
The probability of Conversion (C) is dependent upon
visitor Motivation (m), force of the Value Proposition
(v), presence of Friction (f) & Anxiety (a) in
the process, and Incentive (i) offsetting Friction that
cannot be eliminated.
C = 4M + 3V + 2(I-F) - 2A
The Conversion Sequence Heuristic is not an equation
to solve. Rather, it is a heuristic, or thought tool (i.e.,
really cool checklist), to use as you work on webpages
and marketing collateral.

47. 47
FRAME WO RKS
UX Hierarchy of Needs
PHYSIOLOGICAL
food, water, shelter, warmth
SAFETY
security, stability, no fear
SOCIAL
friends, family, love
ESTEEM
achievement, confidence
SELF-
ACTUALIZATION
creativity
fulfillment
problem solving
FUNCTIONAL
it works
RELIABLE
it is available and accurate
USABLE
can be used without difficulty
PLEASURABLE
memorable experience
MEANINGFUL
personal
significance
MASLOW’SHIERARCHY OF NEEDS
USER EXPERIENCEHIERARCHY OF NEEDS

48. Learnability
How easy is it for users to
accomplish basic tasks
the first time they
encounter the design?
Error Handling
How often are mistakes
being made? Are error
messages clear? How
easily can the user
recover from mistakes?
Satisfaction
How pleasant is it to use
the design?
Efficiency
How quickly can users
perform tasks after
learning the design?
Memorability
When users return to the
design after a period of
not using it, how easily
can they reestablish
proficiency?
FRAME WO RKS
Usability Principles
48

49. FRAME WO RKS
UX Processes
49
Waterfall
• Discover: gather info, brainstorm, conduct
competitive audit, define scope and create
personas and user stories/use cases
• Define: create the interaction model,
content and functionality requirements,
information architecture and project plan
• Design: create site maps, user flows and
the experience design (start with sketches
and increase fidelity through wireframes,
user interface designs and prototypes
• Develop: provide clarity to devs to help
create the final experience
• Deliver: conduct usability testing, refine
and prepare for deployment
Lean UX
Agile UX

50. Key books and sites to further
your UX knowledge… in no
particular order.
Reading List
Sites
• https://www.smashingmagazine.com
• https://alistapart.com
• https://www.nngroup.com
• http://blog.invisionapp.com
• http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/

51. Key books and sites to further
your UX knowledge… in no
particular order.
Reading List
Books
• Smashing UX Design, by Jesmond Allen
and James Chudley
• Web Form Design, by Luke Wroblewski
• Mobile First, by Luke Wroblewski
• Don’t Make Me Think, by Steve Krug
• The Design of Everyday Things, by Don
Norman
• 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know
About People, by Susan Weinschenk
• Envisioning Information, by Edward R.
Tufte
• Lean UX, by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden

52. Thank You.