The Power of Story (updated 2013)

The Power of StoryCreating empathy & connectionfor user experience

A Rosenfeld Media – O’Reilly Webinar

Webcast: http://oreillynet.com/pub/e/2665

April 19, 2013

Whitney Quesenbery

WQusability

Hi!

User research, usability, accessibility Former theatre designer Storytelling as a way to understand users,

culture, and context in UX design Two-and-an-almost books

Couriemail.com.au

Stories connect us

Stories create relationships

Who is telling the story? Who is the audience

for the story?

What do they share?

What do they share?

Stories create bridges

This is the one that matters

The story is created by everyone

“Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Timothy Sullivan Center for Contemporary Opera, 1987Directed by Stephen Jarrett, Scenery by Robert Edmonds, Lighting by Whitney Quesenbery. With Suzan Hanson

The story is created by everyone

“Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Timothy Sullivan Center for Contemporary Opera, 1987Directed by Stephen Jarrett, Scenery by Robert Edmonds, Lighting by Whitney Quesenbery. With Suzan Hanson

Stories change us

Julia’s Journal – JuliaAshtonSayers.blogspot.com

Stories change how we think

Our experience of

the world is shaped

by our

interpretations of it,

the stories we tell

ourselves.... so the

key to personal

transformation is

story

transformation.

- Timothy Wilson, RedirectScreen from Tripit

Stories make data memorableand bring personas to life

We can’t empathize until we know someone’s story.

Screen: Globalgiving.comFor more::http://succeedwithsuccessstories.com/dr-spocks-guide-to-improving-your-charitable-appeals/

Narrative weaves the user journey into the structure of a site.

How will you tell the story?

Mary and Leonard Trujillo – The Mudhead Gallery

Each voice is a perspective

Third Person Second Person First Person

Story is told about someone, looking at them from the outside

Story is a conversation between the storyteller and another person

Story is told from the point of view of the main character

For example:A UX person telling stories about how several different people responded to a prototype.

Persona stories, especially if there is more than one

For example: Feedback to a participant or other stakeholder,

“Interviewing a persona”

Talking directly to users of a product

For example: A UX person telling the story of their own reactions.

Retelling a story from the point of view of the original experience.

Maintains a distance between “us” and “them”

Creates a direct connection and invites the other person to respond.

Invites the audience to look at the story through the eyes of

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3rd person allows you to explain and interpret

Whose words and thoughts are these?

Are these things that Mary would say or are they our interpretation of all the data and stories that went into the Mary persona?

How can we show when we are using her own words?

Does this story invoke research authority- a “realist tale”?

Mary works as a nurse in a hectic women’s health center for a low-income neighborhood. …Her questions about cancer mostly come from her patients, or from wanting to be sure that she catches any early signs.…She has learned conversational Spanish, so she can talk to her patients for whom this is a first language. …When she looks things up on the Web, she tends to go back to familiar sites

John van Mannen – Tales from the Field

2nd person creates conversation

How can you show the conversation?

Interviews maintain a separation

Conversations can also happen between two personas

Persona by Caroline Jarrett for the Open University

1st person invites identity

You represent the persona and tell the story from their point of view.

Lets you “get into the head” of the story (an “impressionist tale”)

OR

First person can tell your story of your experience with the person (a “confessional tale”)

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Stories are building blocks

Kindersandi.moonfruit.com

Tell a story to explain patterns

Explain patterns in the data

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Bring stories into your meetings Tell quick stories in design sessions

Specify

Understand

Design

Evaluate

User research:Collecting stories aboutcontext, goals, needs,emotions Analysis:

Stories explain patterns

DesignStories explore current problems and new ideas

Evaluation:Try out the stories and see if they work

Make stories part of your work

Stories give us...A richer understanding of context

Innovation from real needs

More persuasive ideas

People in the center of the process

Coral reef in Ras Muhamad Nature Park

Create stories that get repeated

Based on real data

The stories you want told

Generate insights and empathy

& that lead to action!

Storytelling for User Experience:Crafting stories for better design

with Kevin Brookswww.rosenfeldmedia.com

Global UX:Design and research in a connected world

with Daniel Szuc @gobalux

A Web for Everyone:Designing accessibleuser experiences

with Sarah Hortonwww.rosenfeldmedia.comSummer 2013

Next up: See you at....

31 Awesomely Practical Tips – May 29http://rosenfeldmedia.com/events/practical-ux-tips/