Walk in Their Shoes
Understanding the Student Experience with User Experience Design (UX) Methods
Ryer Banta
Information Literacy & Technology Librarian
The Student Ready College
User-Centered Design
&
What can we do to improve a new student’s first day of class at Centralia College?
Activity
Activity Results
Link to Mind MapSession Goals
Explain benefit of UX methods for becoming student-ready
Apply these methods to a part of the Centralia College experience connected to your work
Session Outline
UX Background
Three easy-to-implement methods relevant to Centralia College
Try one method in an activity
The Aims of
User-Centered Design Research Methods
structure conversations that can help us better understand and empathize with people, and as a result build more meaningful products.
Bruce Hanington & Bella Martin in
Universal Methods of Design
Users are not always logical, at least not on the surface. To be a great designer you need to look a little deeper into how people think and act.
Paul Boag, User Experience Designer
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak
Hans Hofmann, Artist
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Methods to put yourself in user’s shoes
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Understand and empathize
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Facilitating conversations
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Helps prioritize and uncover hidden motivations, thoughts and emotions
User-Centered Design Methods
Love Letter & Break Up Letter
Love Letter & Break Up Letter
- technique to elicit strong reactions and underlying thoughts and emotions
- users write a letter of their choosing to the brand, the experience or the concept
Love Letter & Break Up Letter
- Good for large concepts or experiences, like the whole school, a building, a web system, or a complex process.
- Could be online and/or physical cards that users can opt-in to filling out.
At Centralia College
Directed Storytelling
Directed Storytelling
- Insights into the real-life experiences with simple and thoughtful questions that guide a conversation
- Probe to get more information on environment and emotions connected with the experience
- Take notes and find themes across all participants
Directed Storytelling
At Centralia College
- discreet tasks, like getting a parking pass or finding a professor's number
- complex processes, like registering for the first time
KJ Technique
+ Affinity Mapping
KJ Technique
- a silent, consensus-building method for coming to a shared understanding
- thoughts written on Post-Its, then shared
- technique for identifying emerging themes from disparate sources (the Post-Its)
Affinity Mapping
KJ Technique + Affinity Mapping
At Centralia College
- this morning's example
- internal teamwork and visioning
Activity
Love Letter &
Break-up Letter
1. Choose a specific concept or experience.
2. Prompt to write a letter.
3. Share letters.
4. Discuss.
KJ Technique
1. Start with a simple, core question.
2. Write ideas.
3. Put ideas on wall.
4. Organize ideas.
5. Discuss.
Directed Storytelling
1. Ask to hear about a specific experience.
2. Tell the story.
3. Take notes.
4. Probe for more detail when needed.
5. Discuss.
Universal Methods of Design: 100 Ways to Research Complex Problems, Develop Innovative Ideas, and Design Effective Solutions
By Bruce Hanington & Bella Martin