Paper to prototype, or.... How I learned to stop worrying and love Science

From Paper to PrototypeChris McQueen (London)

From to PrototypePost-it

In reality, more appropriate names are…

Or

How I learned to stop worrying and love Science

Part 1: Why think like a scientist? Includes a short story…

Part 2: *A science project *Not really a science project

Today…What I’ll cover…

Part 1: Why think like a Scientist?

With Deutsche Bank for 3 years.

10 years experience.Previously worked as a UX consultant.

Love photography, music, architecture…All what I’d consider to be designer type things!

Graduated with Bachelor of Science degree in Human Factors (Ergonomics).…and it’s this last bit I want to tell you about.

Today…A little bit about me...

… I really didn’t think of myself as a SCIENTIST!

I learnt all about cognitive psychology, qualitative data analysis and various observational research methods……All very “science” orientated type things

So

I specialized in Human-Computer Interaction! Which, whilst very “science-y” included more design related and UI focused projects

Today…Human Factors (Ergonomics)

Today…

“I’m not a Scientist…

I’m a designer!”

So I went to see my Professor...

Today…

Today…He told me:“As a scientist, an engineer or designer…

…you’ll follow the same steps. It’s the method that’s important”

1. Baseline research leading to a hypothesis or theory

2. Produce models and simulations

3. Experiment & make observations

So what method does a Scientist follow?

Never fear failure. Ever

Constantly learn from others

Iterate, Iterate, Iterate

Understand there are no Silver Bullets

Iterate, Iterate, Iterate

Continually learn from others

And Scientists always...

Scientists want their theories to be tested...

This is how new ideas develop and the discipline moves forward

But most importantly...

ExampleThe Higgs Boson was theorized back in 1964 by Peter Higgs. It attempts to describe the basic workings of the universe.

It’s taken 48 years for its existence to be proven... Scientists still say they’re only 99% certain.

But more importantly, the insight gathered in the last 48 years has benefited us all...

e.g. mobile communications technology, advances in medical science (particularly radiology), and lots more.

http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2012/07/04/so-what-is-the-higgs-boson-and-why-is-it-important-anyway/

Part 2: A science project

Step 1: Baseline research leading to a hypothesis or theory

We rarely know our users. They certainly don’t look like this...

So how do we find out what they are like?

We can use multiple methods

Contextual InquiryStakeholder Interviews

SurveysFocus Groups

Participatory DesignPhone Interviews

Diary Study

Remember: There are no Silver Bullets

Example discussion guide

Analyze the data

Research coverage from Asia, Europe(and North America)

Extract key insights

Look for patterns. Group Insights

Create profiles

Grouping profiles by task similarity Naming groups e.g. Constant Creators & Safeguard Authorizers

Create profiles

Find user archetypes: Personas

Refer to CoP Brown Bag lunches for more info on how to create these

Task FlowsTask flows define a typical journey through each user’s day.

We include all touchpoints

A task flow is produced for each persona

Task flows (continued)

Now, based on all our insight we can...

Dashboard Creation

Initiation History

Simplify Creating Reports

Easy Input Forms

Brainstorm Ideas

Create Concept Designs

We can think of this as our Design Hypothesis

...And like any hypothesis we should test it

Step 2: Produce Models and

Simulations

A model or simulation?

Sounds like a Prototype to me...

1st Prototype (click-through concept)

1st Prototype (click-through concept)

Step 3: Experiment and make

observations

Test our designs with real users

Remember: Iterate, Iterate, Iterate

2nd Prototype (medium fidelity)

3rd Prototype

Remember: Learn from others

“Insights from others often lead us to our own (mini) breakthroughs”

“Good artists copy, great artists steal…”

Pablo Picasso

Personally, I prefer...

Me (Today)

BUT always give appropriate credit… I’ve learnt this the hard way!

Einstein: Theory of Relativity Einstein was heavily influenced by Henri Poincaré, a French mathematician who’s previously published work had largely focused in this area.

Scientists learn from others all the time...

Alexander Graham Bell: Telephone Italian, Antonio Meucci demonstrated “voice communication apparatus” almost 16 years earlier. As an aside... Meucci failed to pay a $10 patent renewal fee

Never take an idea wholesale

Just because it works for X users, doesn’t mean it’ll work for Y

Always consider the context

Caution!

In summary...

Using multiple methods helps us gain deeper insight

Remember: There are no Silver Bullets

Testing our assumptions and our designs makes our products better

Remember: Iterate, Iterate, Iterate

Remember: Learn from others

Insights from others often lead us to our own (mini) breakthroughs

It’s OK to Fail

In fact, we should embrace it and learn from our mistakes

Remember: Scientists want their theories to be tested!

We learn from failure… Probably more than we do from success.