The Crafted Creative Team was lucky enough to attend UX Cambridge, a community-driven, practical User Experience conference. All of the team found both days extremely useful, with some strong themes running across the two days. If you weren’t able to make this year’s conference, or just want a recap of the main topics covered, our Creative Team have put together a detailed round-up of the event for you to download and share.

1. Photo: © Andrew Dunn, 19 December 2004. http://www.andrewdunnphoto.com/
November 2012
UX Cambridge
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Crafted

2. Crafted Crafted
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UX Cambridge
www.uxcambridge.net | #uxcam
The Crafted creative team was lucky enough 1.0 The Power of Imagination
to attend UX Cambridge, a community-driven, 2.0 BeCurious: helping patients manage chronic disease
practical User Experience conference. All of 3.0 New, Smarter Defaults in Web Design
the team, without exception, found both days 4.0 UX in SwiftKey: Why, When and How
extremely useful with some strong themes 5.0 Rapid Product Design in the Wild
running throughout the conference. Here is 6.0 From Print to Digital: designing The Week Magazine’s iPad app
a quick round up of what they saw. 7.0 Better Product Definition with Lean UX and Design Thinking
8.0 People, not process: The craft of being heard
9.0 User Experience Does Not Exist
10.0 Small Business Owners and Perceived Website Mysteries
11.0 From Darwin to Design
12.0 Small Cognitive Psychology for Big Interaction Design
13.0 Photos - The unsung heroes of user experience design

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1.0
By Barnie Mills, @basscake
The Power of Imagination
Head of Design, Crafted Richard Caddick – CX Partners. @richardcaddick
Richard’s presentation centered around how • The baker Christina Tosi spent her Empathy & Insight
“See the value of we can apply the power of our imagination to childhood experimenting wildly with food Richard spoke about how empathy and insight
better understand our audience and create more which allowed her to develop a unique flair work together to develop a deep understanding
imagination,” said powerful user experiences, or how we can better for combining flavours. of a subject. However, it is important when using
use our imaginations to solve problems. empathy to solve problems that we are wary of
Holmes. “It is the one • Felix Baumgartner, who recently jumped making assumptions. Richard used an example
Richard began his presentation by talking about from space, was drawing pictures of himself where researchers gave subjects two cameras,
quality which Gregory imagination itself and how it can be defined as parachuting while his family looked on as one with a happy face on to record things that
a venn diagram, imagination being the point at early as age 5. made them happy and one with a sad face on
lacks. We imagined which what has been, what is and what could to record things that made them sad. Although
be, overlap. He also spoke about how a similar The fact that imagination and creativity are the photos helped to greatly increase empathy
what might have diagram consisting of creativity, empathy and shaped by experience means that we can in fact for the users, the researchers had made
insight could be applied to the UX process. continually and actively develop them through: assumptions about the meaning of some of
happened, acted upon the photos and so misinterpreted them until
Creativity • Practice they interviewed their subjects.
the supposition, and Richard used examples to demonstrate the power • Experimentation
of creativity and imagination and how they are • Observation Richard also used a personal example of
find ourselves justified.” shaped by experience: • Reflection a cancer scare to illustrate the same point.
• Questioning Having first hand experience of cancer moved
~ Arthur Conan Doyle • The artist Turner changed the style of his • Teaching him from empathy with cancer sufferers to a
painting considerably over the course of his real understanding of how it feels to be in that
life as he learned from his tutors, travelled Richard admitted that for him teaching and situation, and also a realisation that it’s easy
and as newer materials became available. His presenting to others is a process of learning to forget patients as people with lives, not just
imagination also inspired to him to work with for himself, an opportunity to explore his ‘cancer sufferers’. In the same way it can be easy
immense rigour, producing over 19,000 works own ideas. to forget our users as people with complex lives
over his lifetime. and needs.

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As humans our ability to feel empathy for Constraint, Freedom – Sometimes constraints can pick up, Richard’s final case study was one that
complete strangers is a huge part of our makeup. be more useful to a designer than freedom as they was obviously drawn from one of his own loves,
Advertisers play on this all the time and as UX force us to look at things in a way we perhaps cycling. The inventor of the Brooks cycle saddle,
professionals we can make use of it too. Richard normally would not. John Brooks, was a leather manufacturer whose
spoke of his first hand experience working as a horse died. He ended up borrowing a friend’s
consultant for a local council website. Rather New, familiar – Designers are always trying to bike. At the time all bikes just had a wooden
than going through a superficial process of simply come up with something new and creative but plank for a saddle. Brooks used his creativity
making text and calls to action clearer, the team actually sometimes users need to see something and experience as a leather manufacturer to
used empathy mapping to build a more detailed familiar. We need to use both in design. patent a comfortable leather cycle saddle.
picture of the user. The saddles are still made today, they need
Not only can all these ideas span a single project, breaking in but this means that they actually
Project Dynamics the same fluctuations can continue across get better with time. This is what we should all
Moving on to how we approach projects, Richard multiple projects. be striving for - to design experiences that
described them (suitably festively) as a Christmas improve with time!
tree on its side – multiple, gradually shrinking, Play
periods of creativity and imagination focusing It is important to remember that we are not Richard concluded his presentation with a
to a point of refinement until project conclusion. the only people that possess creativity and quote by Oscar Wilde “Be yourself, everyone
Within this pattern the dynamics of projects imagination, users do as well, they want to else is already taken.”
often tend to fluctuate between periods of think and imagine. By designing interfaces
fast paced activity followed by a period of with hooks and levers for users to pull on and Key takeaways
slower refinement. explore, we can engage and inform the user All of the ideas Richard shared came back
often better than if we try to restrict them and to using our creativity, the experience we build
Taking this idea of fast and slow Richard also force them down a route they do not feel they up on a daily basis and our inbuilt empathy
talked of different ways to stimulate creativity have imagined for themselves. with other humans to build a better picture
using the following examples: of the end user and not just blindly following
Richard gave several case studies that illustrated a set of design principles.
Zoom In, zoom out - look at the detail but also how users often use sites and apps in ways that
be able to step back and look at the whole. were not imagined by the designer.
Encourage, Challenge – having someone who Is this it
is able to do both is hugely important in order Reiterating that we should always be moving
to give us perspective. forward, applying the skills and experience we

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2.0
BeCurious: helping patients
By Barnie Mills, @basscake
manage chronic disease
Head of Design, Crafted Dr Rachel Jones, Instrata, Cambridge
“BeCurious is a mobile app being developed Rachel described how initial search phases In scoping the functionality the team needed The brand for the app was developed early in
to help patients manage chronic disease by were informal, for example workshops with to decide what to build first by deciding what the process to help secure funding from VCs,
integrating a care treatment plan with a person’s patients to help define the product feature. was critical to the app DNA. High-level to give users a better feel for the product during
mood, thereby customising the proposed activities The team also carried out desktop research functionality included the following: the testing and also to help the team feel more
and improving the person’s motivation based on into academic evidence and alternatives motivated about the product.
the stage of their condition and on an behind chronic disease care, how social • Support – social and emotional
understanding of their emotional state.” influence could be leveraged and also around • Tailored care The design of the app ran parallel to and
our increased access to health information • Managing help juggled alongside the research, analysis and
Dr Rachel Jones talked us through the process (who hasn’t looked up their symptoms on • Information seeking value proposition. Icon styles for users to rate
undertaken in the development of the app and Google?!). The main emphasis for the design • Physiological input mood, pain etc within the app were developed
some of the following design techniques: process was to design early, sketch test and • Clinical advice and tested. Options included happy and sad
explore the scope and look at potential USPs • Carer support faces and weather themed options (sunshine
• Scenario-based design through lots of iterations. for positive, dark clouds for negative).
• State descriptions Rachel explained how these decisions were Considerations such as cultural perceptions
• Mockups and testing The team also looked at how ‘Persuasive Design’ supported and validated with early Balsamique of weather were taken into account.
• Persuasive design sometimes called ‘Nudging’ could be used to mockups. Early prototypes were built with
change behavior around disease management interchangeable graphics to ensure that Key takeaways
The main objectives of the product were to: by making the care provided by the app person changes could be easily made without the • The link between the emotional and
centered and looking at how to manage the need for a high workload. the functional
• Provide a support network and help patient’s emotional well being. • Concentrate on user need rather than user
to manage chronic disease Market analysis was carried out to define the state (understand what is ’core’)
• Provide tailored care to offer better value proposition of the app. Areas covered • Scope the feature set
health outcomes included the cost of chronic disease to the • Remember to prototype and iterate early
• Focus on mobile to increase patient access NHS/ Government and segmentation of
• Allow the app to be configurable for consumer health apps.
different diseases

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3.0
By Ally Wright, @allyrara
New, Smarter Defaults in Web Design
Senior Designer, Crafted Vasilis van Gemert – Mirabeau. @vasilis. Slides
Vasilis van Gemert is the Principal Front-end increasing the width of our designs to Everybody has Broadband – Although this
The web looks different Developer at Mirabeau in The Netherlands. With accommodate large screen resolutions for is improving all the time, many areas are still
his knowledge of what’s possible in the browser he monitors and televisions many designs seem without high speed broadband. We also have
for everyone. advises clients like KLM and ING about current to neglect the fact that these sites still need to to consider the use of mobile devices using the
and future web design solutions. He writes articles work on much smaller screens. Smart phones sometimes painfully slow 3G. For example, on
for Smashing Magazine and the Dutch edition of and tablet devices are increasing in popularity a 3G connection large images on a site could
Web Designer Magazine and is also connected as and the average user’s interaction with the force the page to timeout. In an age where we
a teacher and advisor to the University of Applied Internet needs to work on multiple levels want bite-sized information fast, page loading
Science in Amsterdam. Needless to say Vasilis and screen sizes. time is very important. This is a strong case
knows what he is talking about. towards designing for smaller devices, perhaps
Although ‘Responsive design’ seems to be a unique m. site or a reactive/responsive layout.
In his talk Vasilis looked at some practical discussed as a new method to accommodate
design patterns, but also highlighted some of the new technology, it has actually been around for Monitors collaborated – As designers we are
possibilities presented by new web technologies. a long time. ‘Fluid’ page templates have been often lucky enough to have the best equipment
His talk aimed to help designers and developers used in the past. So are we going back a step? and technology at our disposal. However, not
get rid of old habits and to raise the issue that we everyone does. Although retina displays and
need New Defaults for the rapidly changing web. Everybody has a mouse – This is no longer true. HD graphics are becoming the norm in terms
Touch screen devices such as smart phones and of new product releases we still need to consider
The web has changed… or has it? tablets and even televisions are in widespread the average user is likely using a much lower
Vasilis re-introduced us to many of the design use. Therefore we need to consider how design quality monitor.
patterns we as designers, for the most part, adhere elements work alongside across technology to
to and explained how the assumptions we often improve usability. For example, a drop down This difference in calibration and quality
make are incorrect. For example: navigation that is activated on rollover using a can impact web sites design and effectiveness
mouse will behave differently with a touch dramatically. For example, if your calls to
Screen size/resolution – Gone are the days of the device and may even break to some extent. action are a certain colour and a users low
800x600 layout... or are they? Although we are From a usability point of view this is a problem. quality machine cannot render the colour

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contrast the key information could potentially eloquently and produced the ‘Future friendly occur is with the layout. Therefore we should hand widgets) we should let the content lead the
be invisible. manifesto’. be designing for the smallest screen size first. layout. For a more refined design solution begin
It is much easier to grow than it is to shrink! to ask:
Computers get faster every year – Although this is With this philosophy in mind Vasilis continued
true to some extent, great strides in technology are on to propose a set of ‘New defaults’ that we as By focusing on a smaller screen size and how • Do we need widgets?
happening all the time, pushing our capabilities in designers and developers should use moving content is displayed, key usability issues are • Do we need a subnavigation?
web design and development. However, we must forward. highlighted early on in the design process. For • Do we need a header?
also consider that generally people cannot justify example, forms on a smaller device are easier to • Do we need a logo?
updating their computers or devices every year. Touch First complete if the labels are above the fields rather
As a general rule consumers want technology to Design for touch first and foremost. This will than on the left, which forces the user to scroll CLI (command line) first
last longer, be value for money, have a longer mean that functionality will work for both touch back and forth. Another key point raised was that we should be
battery life and so on. screen and mouse interaction. It is also worth testing functionality before we design it. Making
considering keyboard navigation and tab Vasilis illustrated how we can use the typography sure that the idea works, by testing the core
Therefore we have to consider that that the average navigation; these can help the user navigate the as a guide to where breakpoints for responsive function of the app first, should be a priority. This
user is on a slower, older machine compared to site with only a keyboard and are often neglected. layouts should be, rather than trying to keep allows for flexible design and flexible interaction
what we may be using. track of the myriad of possible resolutions and and raises issues earlier in the process so
Layers of Progressive Enhancement screen sizes. Typography is a common element, alternatives can be decided on. The key point
Remember: The web looks different for everyone. When designing we should be thinking about it works on all browsers and can be seen on all being that the development team should be
We should as a matter of course test our design the technology the user is viewing the website screen sizes. There are also hundreds of years of involved at an earlier stage in the design process.
and development projects on a range of outputs, on. We need to consider tried and tested typographic rules that we can
including lower quality technology. use to help legibility. For example, any more Takeaways
• Old browsers than 72 characters in a line of type becomes Remember that ‘The web looks different for
On reflection many of these points seem obvious, • Mondern browsers hard to scan and read easily – why not use this everyone’ . Design with these ‘new defaults’
but for some reason the majority of projects run • Future brwosers ‘measure’ to define breakpoints for our responsive in mind:
on as they ever have and we tend to think that we • Robots layouts and adjust the layout once we hit this line
are original and creative while often we fall back • Humans length limit. 1. Solid API/Functionality
to old habits because of lack of time or budget. • Small screens 2. Focus on content
• Fat fingers! Content First 3. Small screen first
Vasilis made it clear that this way of working will • Etc… We should consider other elements of our design 4. Design for touch
not hold up in the long term, we as designers and such as hierarchy of content, what does or doesn’t
developers need to evolve with the internet and Small screen first add to the design or function of the site. Rather
design for the future as well as for now. A group We need to be more aware in the design process than following formulaic layouts (logo top left,
of respected peers have put this far more that the key stage where restrictions and issues full width header, left hand navigation and right

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4.0
By Charlie Gordon, @cbg
UX in SwiftKey: Why, When and How
Junior Designer, Crafted Nikiforos Karamanis – TouchType.
I went along to this session to learn about user When Swiftkey VIP was launched, a more private One of the key outcomes of the talk was
SwiftKey is a smart experience from the perspective of another forum where only a small group of trusted users that teams need to be adjustable, patient,
company. Niki from Swiftkey delivered an were able to earn the privilege to read and post collaborative and constructive when
keyboard app for interesting presentation about how he and his was used. This enabled the team to release thinking about UX in their products.
team implemented UX principles to deliver a exclusive new features to these users and get
Android devices that great product. feedback before releasing in the wild. It also Key takeaways
allowed them to maintain a close relationship • Communicate with your audience, use
provides word The SwiftKey product is a smart keyboard app for with their users by responding to their feedback. feedback to make design decisions
Android devices that actually learns and provides • Create good relationships with your most
predictions as you type. predictions as you type. It has achieved the top They focused on language related feedback as loyal users
paid app in Google Play in multiple countries, this was high priority. As users reported issues • Focus on the highest priority issues first.
Why, when and how rave reviews, and has been downloaded more with the different keyboard layouts across
than seven million times! different languages, the team were able to rectify
were UX principles the issues quickly.
Niki explained how they formed a close-knit
appled to improve community, that communicated via forums, By organising language-based focus groups,
around their product. Users would post feedback one-to-one sessions and observations the team
the product. and the team were able to use this feedback to were able to get up close and personal with their
make major design decisions. Getting feedback users. By standing behind someone and watching
directly from the community is great because how they used the app they were able to see any
you’re getting feedback from users who are issues with the product directly and also how
actually using the product, in real situations, on a user reacted.
daily basis, rather than dedicated testers
navigating through the app. The company also performed traditional usability
testing. They also found sketching to be a very
useful way to improve their product.

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5.0
By Ally Wright, @allyrara
Rapid Product Design in the Wild
Senior Designer, Crafted Michele Ide-Smith – Red Gate Software. @micheleidesmith. Slideshare
Michele is a User Experience Specialist at Red market and approaching them at an appropriate involved with the projects progress. These
Michele Ide-Smith Gate, working on tools for SQL and Oracle time and location any data gathered would be included:
developers. She enjoys collaborating with valuable in terms of developing the concept.
share what we learnt Agile development teams and encouraging • Agile feedback sessions (simple yes or no
team ownership of User Experience. Michele is Continuing this targeted approach the team, questions, postit boards for comments)
about using rapid, active in the UX community, co-organising the rather than bombarding people with information • Empathy maps
Cambridge Usability Group talks and blogging and questions, approached attendees between • Affinity maps (which help to analyse
iterative prototyping at www.ide-smith.co.uk and ux.red-gate.com. talks with clear and simple ‘bite-sized’ questions feedback and prioritise data)
Michele’s talk was a case study on creating a such as “are you an oracle developer?” and • Newsletter sign up
techniques and prototype for a software tool, in three days, at “would this software be something you would • Bite size surveys
a trade show. find useful?”. This approach didn’t waste
customer feedback anybody’s time if the project wasn’t applicable After the event, Michele highlighted the
Michele deconstructed the task that her team but allowed the opportunity to gather relevant importance of ‘Keeping the conversation
sessions ‘in the wild’ underwent and shared the Agile and Lean data where available. going’. Having engaged the potential users/
User Experience methods utilised in the clients at the early stages of the concept
at a trade show, to process, as well as highlighting the learning By engaging with the attendees in this fashion, development it is important to keep them
outcomes of the experience. real world scenarios could be developed and informed and involved in its progress.
develop a minimum potential users/clients could provide insight This was achieved using:
Research into exactly what was needed and any pain
viable product. Michele’s team had obviously gathered enough points or issues that they may come across. • Interviews and remote usability testing
information to support their concept before flying • The opportunity to join a beta program
members of the Redgate team to a conference Feedback • The release of updates as they materialised,
held in Texas. The conference selected was perfect As data was gathered it was important that all no matter how small. (This kept the user /
for the ‘Live Lab’ task, as it would be teeming members of the team, and indeed the conference client interested and up to date with the
with potential users of the software that they attendees, were aware of it. Several Agile methods progress of the project)
were proposing. By getting to know the target were used to keep everyone up to date and • Newsletter sign-ups

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Design & Development allowed tangible results for the potential users working that could prove successful; whatever
Michele used paper prototyping to develop the UI to feedback on. the environment.
and design of the software. The environment was
very fast paced and changes and ideas needed to Communication methods Key Takeaways:
be explored quickly. Rather than the usual design Throughout the process the communication • Targeted research – speak to the users
process consisting of wireframes on a screen, the between the team and the attendees was the key • Listen to feedback – Put your work up for all
team instead printed out UI elements that could to the success of the task. to see, comment on and be open to change
be moved and adjusted quickly and tested by the • Paper prototyping – Save time and iron out
team and potential clients/users. The Redgate brand stood out clearly to those any issues before you go in to development
at the conference, the stand itself was adapted • Sprint development – Develop in bite sized
This produced a ‘working’ prototype for the to suit the project with clear areas for specific tasks, and be ready to change requirements
developers. The approach highlighted issues information, seating for discussions and testing at any stage
early on and allowed them to be resolved and a large screen showing the development of • Transparency – Show your progress!
quickly rather than amending code once it the concept.
had been implemented.
Team meetings were regularly held throughout
Sprint based development was used to manage the process, making sure everyone was on the
the project – small chunks of work that kept same page and keeping productivity and
team members and other participants interested. enthusiasm going. Michele commented that
It also made it easier to track progress through many times during these meetings the
the workflow, allowed flexibility for changes in conference attendees would join in and
requirements or strategy and aided in the further add ideas and feedback.
prioritisation and assignment of tasks by
displaying the progress of the project on a Over all the process was very effective, the
board split between pending → in progress → methods used by the team worked well and
resolved → closed. helped to develop a very strong concept.
Although it is unlikely that many agencies
The developed prototype itself was built in css/ would be able to go to the lengths in this case
html using twitter bootstrap for speed. This study, it does highlight some key methods of

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6.0
From Print to Digital: designing
By Chris Plowman, @cplowman
The Week Magazine’s iPad app
Designer, Crafted Harry Brignull – Clearleft. @harrybr
“We are all big, fat liars.” Was the first thing that meaning that once a content strategy was finalised the app. They decided upon an existing iPad
Harry Brignull of Harry Brignull told us in his talk. He pointed it could be easily adhered to. Each subject is split user who finds the app with no, or limited prior
out that we pretend our designs happen in a clear into event, editorial, commentary and future. This knowledge of The Week and an existing print
Clearleft explores, linear process, from concept to solution and this layout is always the same to meet the main aim subscriber who will get the app bundled as part
is normally how we present it to our clients. In of the magazine; to allow the user to scan and of their subscription.
very honestly, how the actual fact we have no map and we have to explore process information quickly.
to find the solution. The process is less of an A to Once they had produced an initial working
process of designing the B route and more like a treasure map, where we The main issue was that the available real-estate prototype the team tested it using a group of
must explore different points to find the treasure. on an iPad screen is much less than that on a likely users. It was a huge failure! The prototype
successful iPad app for printed page of the magazine itself. This meant had articles split into sections with full screen
To illustrate this point he took us through that mimicking the print issue design directly ads that only appeared when the user switched
the magazine ‘The Week’ Clearleft’s process in designing the iPad app made readability an issue, squashing content actions. The team didn’t realise that users would
for The Week. The Week is a magazine that into a small space and making it impossible to skip readily between sections and therefore were
went and why we should summarises the week’s news into one magazine scan-read an issue in the same way that print seeing an advert every couple of screens which
making it easier to digest. Unlike a lot of print readers are able to. led them to complain. The navigation also had
be more honest about magazines it actually has a steadily growing problems, section pages and article pages were
subscription. This meant that the brief for the One issue that the team made sure they avoided too similar so the user often didn’t notice
how design works. iPad app from The Week was very clear, unlike was adding too many bells, whistles and there had been a change and that they had
many magazines which are wanting to claw interactive elements to the app. They identified to navigate back a level to return to the
readers back via the iPad, The Week simply The Mail Online iPad app as being particularly sections menu.
instructed Clearleft to ‘not screw it up’! guilty of this, it requires a 19 page in-app tutorial
before the user arrives at any content. The team revisited the entire design, settling on
The initial research into the challenges and a two pane layout like those used in many email
benefits of The Week brought up a few things. The team decided to create two user personas to clients. This layout made the article and section
The Week’s layout is almost identical every week identify how key markets would feel about how selection easy and made the navigation clearer.

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They made sure there was a clear difference Key takeaways
between contents and articles and then tested • Design is a process that very rarely goes
the prototype again. straight from inception to solution. If we tell
our clients this from the start we can have a
The usability tests were much better. The product better working relationship
was launched and recieved great reviews. • Don’t panic when things go wrong. The
feedback you get is invaluable to getting to
Harry made it clear that the success of this project the right answer
was due largely to the reaction to the usability • Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
testing from both the team and the client, both
of whom didn’t panic. The client understood that
getting to the final product was a process and that
it would take time and possibly some false starts
to get to the right solution. To have this
relationship with clients’ it is important that your
sales team understands how the design process
works and that this is passed on to the client from
the very start of the project.
We should not be afraid to make mistakes in
our work, if you don’t make mistakes you aren’t
exploring and will never do anything new.

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7.0
Better Product Definition with
By Barnie Mills, @basscake
Lean UX and Design Thinking
Head of Design, Crafted Jeff Gothelf – Neo. @jboogie
Having read quite a bit about the idea of Lean To achieve this we can apply: In the same way that we need to shift our
Requirements-driven UX Jeff Gothelf ’s presentation was one of the thinking about requirements we also need to shift
real draws for me when we signed up to UX • Empathy for our customers our language to ‘we believe’ rather than ‘we know’.
product definition is Cambridge and it really helped to confirm • Creativity in generating insights
the validity of the ideas I had read. • Rationality to analyse context We believe [this assumption], will achieve [this
a sure-fire way to get outcome], we will know we are successful when
Jeff opened with a case study about Plancast a (all three of which tie in neatly with Richard we see [this signal from the marketplace]
100% of the wrong social platform for sharing events. The product Caddicks keynote form the previous day)
was initially very promising with lots of interest Jeff used a case study of a company called
product launched. from users and investors and a had a huge number Lean UX ‘The Ladders’. Based on an assumption the
of sign ups when it launched. However, retention Lean UX is an approach that places less emphasis company changed its approach to customer
The assumptions that was not good and users were not using the key on deliverables and greater emphasis on shared service, giving each of its customers their own
features of the site, this ultimately led to it failing. understanding. We should prioritise learning over personal assistant, in order to improve customer
requirements are The founder of the site published a post-mortem growth. In other words don’t spend five months service. This required a huge, and expensive
of the site after its failure in which he stated that building the finished product. Spend five hours change in the way the company worked. The
based on are usually the reason it failed was because the whole idea building a prototype, test it, decide what works idea failed and the investment was ultimately
was based on an assumption that ultimately was and then spend five months refining it. wasted. If Lean UX had been applied to the
not accurate enough proved to be incorrect. process then tests could have been devised
In order to do this we need to consider: to prove the initial hypothesis that the change
to determine the Requirements are actually Assumptions! would improve user experience at a fraction
We can’t know what users requirements are, • Who the customer is of the cost.
exact solution those we can only make assumptions until we get • What pain points do they have
user feedback. By building a culture of • How will the product solve those pain points Outcomes not output
requirements dictate experimentation and embracing failure we • What features are important Teams should be driven from managing output
can create better user experiences. • What is our differentiation to managing outcomes – even though this can be

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more challenging to manage. When working PDF content test - The team put PDFs of example that there was demand for such an event down walls within the office to help teams work
collaboratively and iteratively in multi-disciplinary content on a tablet and watched them being used they conducted a series of tests mitigate risk together more easily.
teams to brainstorm ideas and testing the ideas and the interaction in class for two days. before commiting and investment to booking
generated we can make decisions based on venues etc… Key takeaways
objective observations. This allows us to make Card sorting – teachers were asked to sort cards Jeff summed up his presentation by reiterating
decisions about the success of an outcome gives with proposed content and features into buckets To start with they spent a couple of hours that defining the product upfront:
us the opportunity to: to help define content grouping building a simple landing page to capture interest.
In the space of a weekend 250 people had signed • Reduces time spent building the wrong product
Kill it – the outcome and approach are not Clickable prototype – a clickable wireframe up to register interest. • Builds team-wide momentum and shared
working, don’t waste anymore time on it prototype was built. understanding
Pivot – The outcome is sound but the approach Taking this as a good sign they then set up • Ensures resources are spent on the right things
isn’t working so let’s try a different approach During all of these tests not a single line of an Eventbright page to sell tickets, still having
Double down – the outcome and the approach code was written, but the team was able to only commited to a date. The tickets sold and In order to achieve these benefits we need to:
are both working focus resources here gather information on what features and it was decided that it was probably time to book
content actually worked without the risk a venue! • Admit that requirements are actually
By taking this approach we can mitigate risk of building the actual product. assumptions
by testing early to prove a hypothesis before Lean UX isn’t just for designers • Focus on outcomes not output
wasting resources on it. Jeff gave some examples Jeff also gave an example of a company trying to Lean UX is not just an approach for designers, by • Work together to come up with ideas
to illustrate this point: revitalise its subscriber base after it had flatlined. applying it across the whole team it can bring the • Test ideas ruthlessly
To launch a redesign would be a big investment following benefits:
In launching a tablet based learning platform and also run the risk of cannabalising the existing Although I had heard about Lean UX prior
for Sesame Street to be used in classrooms the members with no guarantee that the relaunch • Bring perspective to product definition to UX Cambridge, hearing Jeff ’s presentation
whole project was treated as a hypothesis. Tests would have the desired effect. Instead of diving • Bring increased empathy for the user really helped me to see the true benefits to be
were conducted to test the hypothosis in the into an immediate relaunch a prototype was built • Help teams understand the why behind had from taking this approach and also that it
classroom. In the first instance the researchers and feedback was gathered at a user convention. every initiative doesn’t have to be something that is only applied
observed classrooms to see if teachers would Based on five days of effort the original scope was • Help teams to learn more, faster to large projects. Testing hypothesis can be a
actually have the time to effectively use the vastly reduced. quick cost-effective process suitable to any size
platform. Once they had established that this Working as a consultant for Paypal Jeff has of project.
was the case then other tests were built. The final example Jeff gave was of launching encouraged them to take this approach to the
UX NYC. The team had made an assumption point at which they in fact physically breaking

15. Crafted
INFORMATION
8.0
People, not process:
By Ally Wright, @allyrara
The craft of being heard
Senior Designer, Crafted Ian Fenn – Chopstix Media.
Ian Fenn is an award-winning UX consultant To illustrate this point, Ian showed statics for Show your HRT (heart)
A designer solves with a career spanning 16 years. For the past why “Most frequent usability issues go unfixed”. Humility – You are not center of the universe
seven years Ian has worked as a consultant for The main reason being that they conflicted with Respect – You genuinely care about others that
problems, that they clients such as BT, Virgin Media, LexisNexis, the decision maker’s belief or opinion. you work with
and agencies such as M&C Saatchi and Conran Trust – You believe others are competent and
often have to help Design Group. In an attempt to help us be heard as designers will do the right thing
and UX experts, Ian urges us to consider
identify, within a Ian’s talk focused on his years of experience the following: Meet the project sponsor
in dealing with different kinds of people. He Ian highlighted a quote by Rudyard Kipling
set of ever-changing asked us questions such as “have you ever had Start with people not process from his “Just so Stories” (1902):
the feeling you’re pounding the closed door Consider why a particular client has chosen
constraints. Without of common sense?” and “Have you been left us over other agencies or designers. I keep six honest serving-men
crestfallen after stakeholders over-ruled your (They taught me all I knew);
Authority. thoughtful and heavily researched Arrive armed with knowledge Their names are What and
recommendations?” As designers, I am Read up on UX design so that you can back Why and When
sure we have all felt that way! up your design choices and suggestions. and How and Where and
Who.
Ian highlighted a quote from a well-known book Be dressed for success
(Design is a job, by Mike Monteiro) “A designer You don’t have a lot of time in meetings for your Get to know your client and begin to develop
solves problems within a set of constraints” client to get to know you, although they are more a relationship based on trust. Make sure you
interested in what you have to say rather than ask key questions such as:
The reality, as Ian points out is: what you look like it is important to show the
‘best version’ of yourself and your company. Why are we doing this? – Address the
“A designer solves problems, that they often have Being well dressed goes a long way in portraying business needs
to help identify, within a set of ever-changing professionalism. Make sure you stand out for What do the users need? – Supplying these
constraints. Without Authority.” the right reasons. needs generates turnover

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INFORMATION
Where do they want it? - Website, device, Developers and designers Respect
television • Involve them early on This speaks for itself.
‘Who is doing it?’ – Establish a dedicated point • Share your work and collaborate often
of contact you can deal with • Understand their constraints Being aware of members of your team as
‘How long do we have?’ - Manage the clients individuals is the key in helping a project run
expectations carefully Relationship Principles smoothly. Everyone is different and reacts
‘How will we measure success?’ – Establish a Ian went on to highlight a few key points that differently to certain situations or experiences.
goal to track progress we can address when working on a project Getting to know your team will help you learn
across multi disciplinary teams. These how best to speak to and work with them on an
Meet the team members relationship principles were as follows: individual basis.
Get to know the team that you will be working
with, this will help the project run smoothly. Integration Personality Types
Consider asking the following questions: Breaking down walls… literally. If at all possible Ian proposed that we all complete a personal
work as close as you can to other members of assessment based on the theory that there are four
• What’s their history? the team. A large open space where collaboration core types of personality. These types, set out in
• How do they work? is encouraged is an ideal solution for Agile and ‘Personal styles and effective performance’ by
• What has been useful in the past? Lean UX implementation. David W. Merrill, are:
• What has annoyed them?
• What are their expectations? Communication • Analytical
• How do they like to communicate? Don’t be afraid to ask stupid questions, getting • Driver
to know team members and developing a • Amiable
Ian split out different members of the team relationship across disciplines will make • Expressive
and provided tips when dealing with them: work flow run smoothly and hopefully provide
a better overall product or solution. A number of questions were asked and we
Project managers chose which was closest to our own personalities.
• Treat as you would a project sponsor Flexibility The data collected from the answers provided
• Be honest about timings and try to Be open to adapt your techniques, your design an insight in to our own personality types.
stick with them or processes. Do your best to promote
• Keep them informed transparency, share your process with Based on these personality types Ian provided a
• Ask them to coordinate feedback everyone involved and show your work few tips on how to deal with these types of people,
and its progress. based on his experience.

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INFORMATION
Analytical 5. Don’t push for too much detail Ian’s presentation offered an interesting method
Slow, quiet thoughtful, someone who prefers 6. Don’t hurry them of moving forward with a team and or project.
to be on their own. 7. Don’t confront or attack them The title ‘People, not process’ sums it up nicely.
8. Don’t be dictatorial or autocratic When dealing with individuals whether a client, a
1. Focus on the past project manager, a developer or designer we need
2. Talk facts Expressive to remember that we are all people. We are not
3. Focus on detail and accuracy An animated, impatient, creative who has the robots, and we are all different. Being aware of
4. Be logical, well organised and serious focus of attention and a sense of humour this and managing the way we communicate is
5. Tell them exactly what you will do and when vital in the success of a project.
6. Don’t rush things 1. Focus on the future and the big picture
7. Don’t be too personal 2. Illustrate concepts with stories Ian closed his presentation with a great quote
8. Don’t be overly casual 3. Seek their idea and input from the stand-up comedian, Sarah Millican:
4. Show personal interest and involvement
Driver 5. Stimulate their creative impulse “This is Millican’s Law. If you have a hard gig,
Fast, intense, formal, a risk-taker and someone 6. Compliment them quiet, a death, a struggle, whatever, you can only
who likes to be in charge. 7. Don’t be too serious be mad and frustrated and gutted until 11am the
8. Don’t talk down to them next day. Then you must draw a line under it and
1. Focus on the present forget about it. As going into the next gig thinking
2. Get to the bottom line Ian moved on to discuss potential cultural you are shit will mean you will die.
3. Speak in terms of short-term concrete results issues that may play a part when communicating
4. Give them options with people. For example in the UK Ian states Equally, if you nail it, slam it, destroy it, whatever,
5. Don’t get too personal that “Humour is regarded as one of the most you can only be smug about it until 11am the next
6. Don’t get in to a control contest effective weapons in a British citizen’s arsenal” day (in the past, I have set an alarm so I could get
7. However, don’t back down if you believe but with certain cultures such jokes could up and gloat for an extra half hour) as if you go
you are right potentially offend or confuse a person. into the next gig thinking you are God’s gift to
comedy, you will die. That is Millican’s Law and it
Amiable Ian went on to provide us with some useful totally works. It means you move on quickly.”
Slow, easy-going, quiet and friendly, both inviting tips on how we can use language to be clearer
and forgiving. and more positive. Useful phrases include:
1. Be flexible “What we might do is…”
2. Be easy and informal “We could do…”
3. Be personal and personable “Would you…”
4. Emphasize a team approach “I appreciate it when you…”

18. Crafted
INFORMATION
9.0
By Charlie Gordon, @cbg
User Experience Does Not Exist
Junior Designer, Crafted Adrian Howard – Quietstars. @adrianh
Adrian began with a quick history lesson! In the There are now a number of ways to define UX Adrian went in to detail about how the current
Can UX survive into late 1950s and early 1960s computers were only roles. Such as architects, designers, strategists, models we work within involving just UX work
used by governments and large businesses, they and champions. Adrian even met someone who are not sustainable. The rate at which people are
the middle age - or will were too bulky and complex for use in the home. was an “Experience Modeller”! building software is increasing and there aren’t
In 1977 engineer Ken Olsen stated “There is no enough UX professionals. He also explained that
new communities of reason anyone would want a computer in their Adrian went on to discuss how UX is just a the ‘fuzzy border’ around what we define as UX
home”. At the time this was true but soon in the Reification. Much like the economy, we talk doesn’t exist and unless we start bringing in new
practice take over? 1980s normal people were beginning to use about them like they are real things but they skills we need to build better user experiences or
them everyday. We started seeing more planning, are not, you can’t grasp or hold them, they are they are going to suffer and fade away. We need to
Do we want a future of prototyping and user observation and today we just a set of concepts. When we start treating start building a community that will be able to
define this thinking as user experience. this concept as a real thing, odd things start to succeed into the 21st Century.
UX professionals - or a happen. Doing this has good and bad aspects.
In 1993 the “User Experience Architect” job On one hand it brings us together, at conferences Key takeaways
future where everybody title was born, coined by Don Norman while he for example. But it can also exclude people. • UX is just a set of concepts that can be changed.
was Vice President of the Advanced Technology • Don’t be defined by a job role, pretend you
is doing UX work? Group at Apple. He invented the term because he Job roles are not discrete, he explained how you don’t have a job title.
thought user interface was too narrow a term to shouldn’t be defined by a job title and UX itself
define the role. shouldn’t be defined. What if we pretended that
we didn’t have job titles, how would you define
In 2000 Jesse James Garrett created a diagram yourself to your organisation? How would it
called “The Elements of User Experience”, Adrian change your conversations? Job titles can ignore
talked about how nobody discusses the small the other skills that somebody has that don’t fall
print, how the picture is incomplete and does not under their job role. For example, Adrian
account for secondary considerations such as the explained that when hired as a designer the
development process and the roles within a UX employer didn’t want to know about the
development team. development skills he had and vice-versa.

19. Crafted
INFORMATION
10.0
Small Business Owners and
By Chris Plowman, @cplowman
Perceived Website Mysteries
Designer, Crafted Inga Spouse – Websites Working Wonderfully. @IngaSpouse
There are two things that ultimately make The websites of small businesses largely exist anything, first impressions count. The site needs The users reaction time and their willingness to
a website work. It makes money for the for two reasons: to be looked at from the perspective of a brand abandon the site is remarkably fast. Inga refers to
business and it gives the users the answer new user who arrives there via Google and has no this as the ‘toe dipping rule’. You’ve got 2 seconds
they were looking for. The best result is that 1. To sell more product – whether that be a idea what they are going to see. As with all people to get a user to engage. After two seconds, if the
both are satisfied. physical product or a service this user has clicked on a search result that they user hasn’t abandoned the site, they begin to ask
2. To grow the business – Where this is linked to believe will be directly useful to them, you never themselves why am I here? At which point the
Inga Spouse helps small businesses get the most the first it could be that the growth comes from click a Google result that you don’t think is going content of the site must take over the job of
out of their websites by making sure that they advertising opportunities or something similar. to be useful. keeping the users interest.
work for them, for their users and prospective
customers. She outlined the challenges involved in If the website isn’t doing either of these then the It is like stepping out from the tardis, you know There are two things that ultimately make a
this from both sides. strategy of the site needs to be reassessed. roughly where you are but you don’t know what website work. It makes money for the business and
you are expecting. it gives the users the answer they were looking for.
The first thing to define in this subject is who are To have an effective website for a small business The best result is that both are satisfied.
‘small business owners’? They are usually solo the builder of the site needs to clearly translate the There are 3 key factors that help this initial
traders, non-technical people, who know all there business into a website. Consultation needs impression The designers need to look at websites from both
is to know about their business because they have to be had with the client to get to the bottom perspectives, and ultimately the users issues may
to manage all aspects of it. of what the business does and how they can • Colour – Colour creates a feeling that can be more important than how the business owner
work online. In some cases however the straight welcome the user into the site. What the wants to make money.
With regard to their websites they usually fall into translation of exactly what they do in the real client’s favourite colours are is irrelevant!
two categories; either over confident or under world may not be appropriate and the business • Layout – A familiar layout will help the users Key takeaways
confident. The over confident have built the site model needs to be adjusted to accommodate navigate quickly and easily allow them to get to • The website must work for both the business
themselves or had it built by a friend and love the website. the information they want owner and the users/customer.
everything about it. The under confident will • Images – The images must be carefully chosen • First impressions are all important, you
claim to know nothing about the web and claim The site builder must also take into account that and appropriate to the business. Always ask may have as little as 2 secs to get and keep
to have no idea about what they want from the website will often be the prospective clients what does this image say about the business? the users attention.
their website. first ever contact with the business and, as with

20. Crafted
INFORMATION
11.0
By Barnie Mills, @basscake
From Darwin to Design
Head of Design, Crafted Stuart Church – Pure Usability. @stuchurch
An understanding of evolutionary theory being the gradual change of characteristics over so does not pass on the genes containing that
What can models (particularly in the fields of evolutionary successive generations, or survival of the fittest. design to the next generation. Likewise cultural
and behavioural ecology) can provide us It can be split into two areas; biological evolution ideas that do not work are forgotten.
of evolutionary with rich new ways to think about and frame (genes) and cultural evolution (memes).
questions about design. Can an understanding Implications
cooperation tell us about of animal communication inspire the way we Biological evolution or genes are influenced Evolution can be thought of as one big A-B test
design products? and under pressure from: with different variations on a theme being
customer relationships constantly tested and discarded or developed.
Stuart started his presentation by explaining his • Prey This experimental approach ties in neatly with the
and service design? background was originally in Academic Research, • Mating experimental, iterative approach of Lean UX;
specifically animal behaviour before he moved • Competition generate more ideas to see which work. This
Can there be too much into the field of UX. He explained how he felt that • Physical environment approach will inevitably lead to more mistakes
the two fields are actually very similar both • Disease than successes. 99.9% of all the species that have
innovation? What essentially dealing with behaviour (UX dealing • Predators ever existed have failed. Similarly 80-90% of all
with human behaviour). products fail in their first year.
lessons can evolutionary Cultural evolution or memes are influenced
Biomimicry, taking design cues from nature, and under pressure from: Stuart raised the point that when we think
interactions teach us has always been used in design; turbines based about innovation then we should also take a
on the shape of whale fins, material for swimming • Motivation cue from evolution. Innovations don’t have to
about design processes? suits based on shark skin, lizards feet that inspire • Social factors be radical they can be familiar. He then talked
adhesives and sticky burr seed that inspired velcro • Utility / function about ‘The Adjacent Possible’, taking the next
for example. The link between the animal world • Meaning feasible closest step to solving a problem and
an UX is not perhaps so immediately obvious. building innovation incrementally rather than
Good designs stay and bad designs are forgotten. looking for a huge leap. The most successful
Richard gave a brief overview of evolution and In evolutionary terms the idea design that doesn’t ideas tend not to be that different from what
adaption. Evolution as most people are aware, work will mean that animal does not survive and already exists.

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Mixing things up Can innovation be too fast? different behavior. Prisoners questioned ‘nutritious’ or like an ‘easy catch’. Giving users
Mixing things up can drive innovation too. In In nature some viruses mutate very quickly separately about a crime. They can give the same these teasers to allow them to get the ‘information
the animal world mating allows new combinations but at an optimum level that prevents immune answer as each other, say the other prisoner did it, scent’ can help us to guide the user through
of genes to be experimented with. Although there systems from wiping them out but still allows say they did it. The different outcomes have been content. However, users will leave if it is too
is a risk in this approach that sometime you risk them to keep their identity (known as Error well documented but the main question that the hard to find the content (even if it is good) or
loosing good traits rather than gaining them. Catastrophe). In design we need to be wary problem addresses is that of a quick pay off vs if the content is easily found but offers only
Some species actually use a tactic known as of innovating too fast, users need to be able long term benefit. Reward points offered by ‘empty calories’ (nothing of value).
optimal inbreeding where they will try to mate to keep up with innovation otherwise it will retailers are a good example of this rather than
with relatively closely removed individuals (ie not be adopted (gadget fatigue) having the quick fix of lower prices they reward “The two main strategies are to make your c
cousins) to ensure they keep similar traits while loyal customers long-term. ontent look like a nutritious meal and signal
making sure the individual is far enough removed Geographical Isolation that it’s an easy catch. These strategies must be
to avoid problems caused by inbreeding. In terms Many advances in evolution in the natural Signalling and Status used in combination: users will leave if the
of design innovation many ideas are created when world are made when species are separated In nature animals use signaling to indicate content is good but hard to find, or if it’s easy
groups of individuals come together rather than geographically. A good example of this is the status. The peacock is the most obvious example to find but offers only empty calories.”
when an individual is working alone. different species of tortoise that have evolved of this. Although there are benefits to the peacock ~Jakob Nielsen
in the Galapagos islands. Those living on drier signaling in this way to attract a mate it can also
Is it possible for ideas to be too innovative? islands where there is very little grass and low be a handicap to have invested all its energy in Key takeaways
The Apple Newton handheld device was launched vegetation for thm to feed from have evolved a looks, for example a peacocks looks come at the Thinking of the design process in the way
in the 90’s. Despite being a forerunner of the shell shape that allows them to lift their heads cost of losing the ability to fly or camouflage described by Stuart, raised lots of interesting
hugely successful iPad the Newton ultimately to feed from higher vegetation, those living on itself. Smoking humans can be used as a similar points and certainly made me think about the
failed because the infrastructure to support a islands with abundant grass have not evolved example in humans, it inevitably starts as a status design process from a very fundamental level.
mobile device of its kind was not available at the this feature as it is unnecessary to survival. symbol, the risk being that it is incredibly bad for
time. Because it was ahead of its time (potentially Designs often manifest themselves or evolve your health. • Mistakes are part of the design process, try
too innovative) it failed. differently depending on where they are ideas out to see what works
developed. For example an operating system Optimal foraging theory • Small innovations are often more succesful
Evolution is not gradual from the US will be different from one in Asia Animals naturally forage optimally ie the than huge leaps
Evolution is not a steady, gradual process it runs to account for the cultural differences and amount of energy they use does not exceed the • Working as a team can help create a greater
in fits and starts, with periods of relative calm norms of each area. amount they gain. Prey and ‘patch’ choice can volume of ideas
followed by bursts of opportunity and innovation. be predicted scientifically. • Make content attractive and easy to digest
This is known as ‘Punctuated Equilibrium’. Stuart Evolution and Behavior
again used the iPad as an example to illustrate this Behavior is also subject to natural selection. To By thinking of humans as information (or
in relation to design, comparing the evolution of illustrate this Staurt used the case study of ‘The informavores!) and applying the idea of optimal
the tablet before and after the success of the iPad. Prisoners Dilemma’ a game theory problem that foraging we can predict what will attract users
highlights the advantages / disadvantages of to pieces of information by making it look

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12.0
Small Cognitive Psychology
By Chris Plowman, @cplowman
for Big Interaction Design
Designer, Crafted Jan Srutek – Flow Interactive. @JanSru. Slideshare
Jan Srutekis looked at applying how our minds Short-term memory pop ups isn’t helpful, it doesn’t allow the user to
Cognitive psychology work to how we design. What capabilities and The most important area for designers. It is often see both the error message and the error at the
limitations of the human brain should we be said that people can hold around 7(+/- 2) things same time. Inline validation displays the error
is the study of the how taking into account when we design interactive in their short-term memory but this is ‘rubbish’. next to the form, helping users associate the
systems for users. In fact humans have the ability to hold 4(+/- 1) error message with the actual error allowing
the human mind works. chunks of information. This is the reason we them to easily correct it without having to retain
Cognitive psychology is the study of the how the often group phone numbers into smaller any information.
The systems that we human mind works and as the systems that we chunks, groupings and patterns help us to
build are used by humans then we should be retain information. Long-term memory
build are used by looking into how our users function. Cognitive Long-term memory is for more permanent
psychology helps us understand human cognitive Short-term memory is limited but these memories, ones that can last for an entire lifetime.
humans so we should abilities and limitations, knowing the basics of it limitations only apply when people are trying How well a memory is stored and retrieved is
can help us evaluate our designs and design to remember things or when they are problem based on the level of processing involved.
make sure we are patterns more meaningfully. solving. This means that if users are being Information that is analysed deeply is recalled
presented with items on a screen these issues more easily than information that is analysed
looking into how There are three relevant parts of the brain for UX don’t apply, for example there is no reason to superficially. We can use this in our designs to
and interaction professionals to look at: memory, limit the number of navigation items on the help people engage and remember our product
our users function. learning and attention. Jan explained how each scree, the user doesn’t need to remember them, more easily by ensuring our content is either:
affects how we should be designing. they are on screen to be read when needed.
• Relevant
Memory The main problem with short-term memory in • Emotional
Memory is split into two types, the short term the context of design and UX is that it is easily • Humorous
memory and the long term memory. disrupted. Whenever possible users should not • Surprising or shocking
be interrupted from the flow of what they are • Requires elaboration & reflection
trying to do. For example obscuring errors with

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These qualities require the user to use a higher These three things allow people to continually test needed at any given time. Attention can be
level of processing to engage with the content and either confirm or adjust their mental model. actived in two ways, top down, where the user
and therefore it is more likely to stay in their chooses to focus on a particular thing, or
long-term memory. Computer games are a good example of a system bottom up, where the users attention is drawn
that promotes exploration but also gives good for example by movement. This ability to detect
Learning feedback and guidance. Most have in-game movement means that we can, for example, use
People prefer to jump right into using services tutorials so that people don’t have to read animation to draw the user’s attention to where
and products rather than read manuals. They manuals, crucially this information is usually we want it to be.
form a hypothesis about how things should given when it is immediately relevant meaning it
work and then test this by exploring and playing. doesn’t have to be recalled from memory and is Key takeaways
We can allow users of sites to do this by allowing instantly more engaging. • Understanding how our user’s brains works
them to build a clear mental model of how the allows us to build systems that better serve
site works. This is done by giving them a good Another element of learning that can be put to the user and our own needs.
starting point that orientates them in the world the users benefit is that the brain is better at • Short-term memory is limited and easily
of the site and giving them continuous recognition rather than recall. People are better at disrupted. Don’t make your users do too
encouragement to explore. recognising steps rather than recalling how things much work to use your website.
have to be done. For example, having an auto • Creating content that engages the users
Tests have shown that people perform better when complete function on a website that searches for long term will help you to create a better
working out how to use system if they are told train times means that the user doesn’t have to relationship with them from a view of your
what the system is for. A good example of using remember the entire spelling of the train station brand and your website.
this fact in web design is the use of a stepped just recognize it when it appears, this changes the
pattern, often 1,2,3 in forms, quote engines or brains function recall to recognition.
checkout processes. This gives people a start and
makes it clear how the system works making it Attention
easier for people to use. During any one second the brain is receiving
one billion items of data just from your eyes, the
To encourage exploration the system must do brain must choose which of these data points
three things. is important enough to focus on.
1. Prevent error and facilitate recovery As designers we need to use progressive
2. Make things consistent and predictable disclosure to reveal functionality and content
3. Provide clear feedback for all actions in a planned fashion so we only show what is