Presented by Joe Sohkol at Documentation and Training West, May 6-9, 2008 in Vancouver, BC
Sometimes our customers think they know what they need and want.
Sadly, they don’t usually know. Too often, training and documentation requirements come from business line managers discussing projects in conference rooms. Instead, actual training consumers have different requirements.
The film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan begins with a seemingly impossible training challenge involving a rescue of the Kobayashi Maru (a spaceship in the fictional Starfleet Academy). The trainee fails the test and claims that the challenge is an impossible one—a no win situation for all involved. Later in the movie, Captain James T. Kirk reveals the secret to his unique solution as a cadet: He changed the rules.
The best way to change the rules is to focus the solution on the users receiving the training or doing their jobs. Instead of simply filling out checklists of project requirements, we can add key value by centering training and documentation plans on actual users.
This case study looks at an training development engagement where what the customer asked for was not what the users needed...or wanted. We’ll look at the initial requirements and how I changed the game to the benefit of the users and the delight of the customer. Initially, the customer asked for training...which, to them, consisted just of a PowerPoint deck and some stand-up lecturing.
Rather than simply provide that, I took a user-centered approach. I interviewed 12 people in their offices, labs, and cubicles. I also noted their environment and their habits of working. Then I created personas and scenarios along with analysis of existing documents and training materials.
Rather than delivering some Power Point files and boring lectures, I created an online, on-demand system focusing on key tasks that actual users would perform with the new software. Users appreciated the approach immensely, and the customer was ecstatic.
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Transcript
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What Is User Experience?If you go to a fine French restaurant, you park your car, go inside, and order food from a human being who brings the food to you. If you go to McDonald's, you park your car, go inside, and order food from a human being who brings the food to you.
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The dining experience, however, is vastly different. The quality of food also plays a factor. But even if both restaurants served the same fare, it is the overall experience that will ultimately satisfy users and make the experience a pleasurable one.
A.The project managerB.The business line managerC.The client managerD.The person doing the task
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How to find out• Talk to real users• Doing real work• In actual context
“I still hear far too much dogmatism about what people really ‘want,’ what they ‘believe,’ or how they ‘really’ behave, but I see very little data. It doesn’t take much data....three to five people will give you enough for most purposes. But they need to be real people, doing real activities.
“Time seems to be moving faster these days. There seems to be only somuch I can do to keep up.”
A 51-year-old research scientist, Jeff has been with Company 22 years. He lives in Midlothian, Virginia, with his wife Brenda an their two middle school kids. He commutes in his green Toyota pickup.
Jeff has been involved in design for the past 10 years. He came to the group from the manufacturing side of the house. He spent 17 years working from a job as a summer intern working on the factory floor to moving into design.
Using his network within the company, he has learned just about everything there is about what’s going on. Lately, though, he’s been inundated with new demands as the company retools both its main manufacturing line and the software that controls the process.
Andrew now finds that he has new things to learn. He can no longer rely on the concept of “that’s the way we do things around here.” Knowing that process changes, he realizes he has new things to learn...yet he doesn’t want to fumble in front of his team.
Andrew’s Goals
• Not make mistakes
• Balance home and work life
• Avoid looking like a fool in front of his peers
• Achieve a sense of creative accomplishment with projects
Training Opportunities
• Provide scale
• Leverage his network to provide more knowledge transfer
• Ensure that he concentrates on design with a minimum of interruption.
Tutorial3
1.Jeff comes in at 7:00 a.m. and first checks out his Outlook. He takes note of the many meetings he has (seems like almost all he does is go to meetings). He answers emails that came in over the night, and he also checks his voicemail…the voicemail messages he hasn’t already heard during his commute. He browses the company intranet for new industry-related articles—as well as to find out if any new policies or announcements require his attention.
2.From time to time, some of Jeff’s projects require him to work on creating prototypes. So, he opens The Software. From the Tree View, he finds the current track he’s working on.
3.Jeff needs to change the disposition of a specific prototype track, but it’s been a long time since he’s had to that. He accesses the tutorial, which has a topic that shows him how to do a disposition.
4.Later, his project manager assigns Jeff to work with a project testing a specific product that is designed for travelers. The product requires some inventive ideas on the specific process. Since he works in the primary components area, he needs a refresher on specific tasks. He calls up the tutorial and browses the topics. He selects the one about weight series.
Services-Oriented Architectures/Web ServicesEnterprise Data Integration
Business Process & Agility Focus
Business Goals & Objectives• Business purpose• Business environment determines the design
strategy• Appropriate level of integration
(tasks, applications)• A well-defined goal is half solved
User-Centric Design• Design to meet user needs, goals• Appropriate level of functionality• Scenarios and prototypes: essential design tools• Design experiences around what users are trying
to do (form follows function)
System Architecture• Build for enterprise re-use• Personalization, security, authentication• Shared services• Layered design: Separate presentation, business
logic, data
A Philosophy and an Execution Model
Employ established, industry-standard user-centered design (UCD) techniques to:
• Understand your business goals and objectives• Research, observe, and interview your users to analyze and prioritize their needs • Plan, and design high-quality experiences that enable user and business success• Apply a philosophy of continuous improvement to rapid design iterations
Prioritize smaller initial investments to yield user and business insights that guide your long-term user experience implementation and management strategy
Experience ImplementationDevelopment and engineering teams work closely with design teams to execute the supporting technical solutions. A good team uses flexible collaboration models and program lifecycles, tailored to specific engagement type.
Experience Design & ValidationDefine the information structure and develop layered blueprints, from system architecture through visual design. A focus on brand integration and usability bring the user experience to life and ensure that it exceeds user expectations.
Experience PlanningProven user research and needs analysis techniques enable us to understand users’ goals, attitudes, and behaviors. Prioritize their needs against business and IT strategies to define an experience vision that guides our design decisions.
Use highly adaptable user-centered design techniques to define experiences that meet your users’ needs and support your business goals. Tailor these proven methodologies to fit the design and development processes of your organization.