1. The document discusses the importance of user experience design and provides examples of how considering the user perspective leads to more successful products. It describes user experience design as a multidisciplinary field that involves understanding users. 2. The presentation includes a case study where Aptima conducted user research and redesigned a university medical center website based on user needs. Through interviews and card sorting, they developed personas and information architecture to better organize content. 3. Another case study describes redesigning a trainee assessment tool to address usability issues identified after long-term use. Aptima used focus groups, mockups, and usability testing to create a clearer, more intuitive interface for evaluators.

1. What’s User Experience
and Why Should I Care?
An Introduction to Experience
Design
Ms. Emily Wiese
Senior Human Factors Engineer
Dr. Mike Patterson
www.aptima.com
Woburn, MA ▪ Washington, DC
Senior Human Factors Scientist
DOCTRAIN EAST 2007
Lowell, MA
October 19, 2007
© 2007, Aptima, Inc.

2. First: Some Definitions
User Experience:
“…the overall experience and satisfaction a user has
when using a product or system”
Experience Design
“…the practice of designing products, processes,
services, events, and environments … based on the
consideration of an individual's or group's needs,
desires, beliefs, knowledge, skills, experiences, and
perceptions.”
(Wikipedia, 2007)
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 2

3. Experience Design Is
Multidisciplinary
Cognitive Linguistics
Experimental Neurology
Perception &
Social
Action
Human
Cognitive
Industrial/ Psychology Artificial
Science
Organizational Intelligence
Factors
Experience
Design
User-Centered
Design Bioengineering
Interaction
Design Engineering
Computer
Usability
Information Science
Information
Environmental Systems
Product Industrial
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 3

4. Why Should You Care?
Edison invented the Mistakes Made:
phonograph in 1877. 1: Did not listen to the user.
– Actual use
– Practical matters
2: Did not listen to the user
– Standardization
3: Did not listen to the user.
– Big name artists
Market leader in 1907:
– Victor Talking Machine
Company’s Victrola
Effective Experience Design = Positive User Experience =
Successful Products
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 4

5. Not All Good Products Succeed…
AKA: User experience is everyone’s job
Experience design should not just be used during
product development.
Effective experience design spans across all aspects of
the product:
– Product Design and Development
– Marketing
– Documentation
– Packaging
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 5

6. HP Printers: Package & Setup
Manual
Image Source: HP Deskjet 6980 Printer Setup Manual. www.hp.com
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 6

7. Case Studies
1. Medical center website redesign
2. Trainee assessment tool (rating instrument) redesign
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 7

8. User Experience
To define a positive successful web experience…
Design a site that is:
– useful
– compelling
– attractive
– easy to use
– satisfying
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 8

9. Medical Center Redesign
Web Site Redesign Effort
Focused research and evaluation effort to better understand how
visitors might access information in a single web site that integrates
all clinical, research and academic content areas to inform a
redesign. This included:
– Conducted a user needs analysis what users access information about
health services and patient care, education and research at the Medical
Center.
– Evaluated the usability of the current MC sites by identifying strengths
and weaknesses within each site.
– Improved the user experience of the consolidated medical center web
sites by understanding the informational needs and providing a site
structure redesign.
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 9

10. Approach
Provided a blueprint for design.
Based, on
– Information needed by the specific user groups to accomplish
specific goals.
– “If you build it, they will come” – understanding the connection.
– Guiding process going forward (informing design).
The website is THE customer-facing mechanism
specifically for the user groups of concern.
Goal: when you structure information and design for the
user groups, based on their needs, you will gain success
in two ways.
– Recruiting increases.
– The users success will carry over from a successful website to
enhancing the MC’s reputation .
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 10

11. The Setting
University medical center
comprises several institutions
– School of Medicine and
Dentistry
– School of Nursing
– Hospital System
Develop initial design for a
usable, useful, and integrated
web site
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 11

12. The Setting
5/29/2005
7/26/2005 - 7/29/2005
Kickoff & Phase I 7/5/2005 - 7/8/2005
Stakeholder Phase III Card Sorts
Phase II Interviews
Focus Groups
5/19/2005 9/2/2005
Contract Go Ahead Final Report Delivery
4/20/2005 9/30/2005
6/17/2005 - 6/24/2005
9/20/2005
Phase II Interviews 7/25/2005 - 7/27/2005 Final Presentation
Woburn Phase III Card Sorts
8/1/2005 - 8/29/2005
Woburn
Challenges Analyses, conceptual design
& final report
Diverse set of users
Politics within MC
MC point of contact
“Buy-in” from the client
Aggressive project schedule
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 12

13. Approach
Five user groups
– Prospective Students: Master's, MD, PhD, (8 participants)
– Prospective Trainees: Residents, Fellowship and Post-doctoral
candidates (8 participants)
– Prospective Faculty (5 participants)
– Prospective Patients (8 participants)
– Referring Physicians (5 participants)
Stakeholder focus groups
Structured User Interviews
– Three components of interview: information collection, usability
evaluations of site, competitor sites
Card Sort process
Information Structure defined
Concept wireframes produced
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 13

14. #1 Plan and Define Goals
Objective:
– Establish the goals and objectives of this redesign effort.
Method:
– Walkthrough and definition of business goals definition and user
needs generated overall project goals (Stakeholder discussion).
Benefits:
– Provided an overall project framework.
Deliverables:
– Provided documentation of the key goals for the project.
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 14

15. #2 User Needs Analysis
Objective:
– Perform a detailed user analysis to
ground users’ comments in actual behavior with the website,
identify the usability strengths and weaknesses of the current web site design within the
context of specific task performance, and
identify effective elements and usability issues with competitor’s web sites.
Method:
– In-depth interviews (3 step process) were used with selected representatives of each
of the five designated users groups
1 ½ hours
Three-part interview
– Part 1: Information gathering
– Part 2: Semi-formal usability test of current site
– Part 3: Semi-formal usability test of two competitive sites
Benefits:
– provided rich insight into what MC website content users perceive to be important
relative to the information they require to make decisions.
Deliverables:
– Content and usability design strengths / weaknesses of the current website,
– User profiles / personas of the key user groups,
– Identified expected / desired content items – (used in Task 3).
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 15

16. User Needs Results
Interviews provided insight into: a) what content and
functionality are most important to users; and b) how
users actually use the web sites and two competitive
sites.
Example Themes
– Nearly all user groups were unanimous in stating that the
website content did not highlight the strengths of the program nor
what distinguishes it from other programs.
– The strengths of the program are missing altogether or buried in
text-heavy paragraphs… users could not gain insight or why it
would be worthwhile to go there.
– Search functionality is hidden to the degree that few participants
could find it.
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 16

17. Persona Example
Trainees – Prospective Post-Doc
Daniel Shaw
Daniel decided before entering the immunological field that a post-doc
appointment would be a necessary step in order to gain greater knowledge
and experience, make connections, and build a name for himself in research circles.
He also saw it as a valuable tool to distinguish himself from other candidates when entering the job market.
He considers the post-doc as a quot;stepping stone,quot; whereby he can improve his publication record and
hence progress to a permanent position. He is preparing to start a two year post-doc assignment
researching immunology and bioinformatics as part of a compilation of a vaccine database.
Top five web site tasks for Daniel as a Prospective Post-Doc:
1. Find journal articles by specific researchers.
2. Find information on research topics and clinical applicability.
3. Search for statistics on a program.
4. Gather information and funding regarding specific labs.
5. Location information.
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 17

18. #3 Information Architecture Process
Objective:
– Create an organizational framework for the information items in the Medical
Center’s website.
Method:
– Three step approach:
1. Content and Function Identification
2. User - Categorizing, Organizing, and Labeling Information Content
3. Stakeholder - Focus Group and Card Sort
Benefits:
– The Aptima team identified, categorized, organized and labeled information
items within this website.
Deliverables:
– Provided an information architecture / detailed site structures to visualize
the architecture and user experience for the website.
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 18

19. Information Architecture
Results
Information Structures
About Strong Health
• Overview
Research (including that on specific disease conditions
• Hospitals
• Reputation
Outcomes
• Unique strength
Patient Testimonials
Medical Services
Find A Physician
Insurance
Participation
Health Topics
Browse or keyword
search
Important Contact Numbers
Maps & Directions
Clinical Trials
Visiting hours
Important phone numbers
Hospital hours
Gifts & flowers General Visitor
Information
Parking information
Patient’s Home
Hospital chapel information
Home
Page
Page
Dining/Meals
• Select Hospital
Local lodging
Welcome Message
Patient Rights and Responsibilities
Your Healthcare Team
Select
What to Pack?
Hospital
Patient Guide
Getting Here?
(Select Hospital
Checking In: Patient Registration first)
During Your Stay
Leaving the Hospital
Pharmacy services
Medical records receipt / transfer
News
Community Classes / Events
User Generated User and Stakeholder
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 19

20. #4 Design - Wireframes
University of Rochester Medical Center Site Redesign
Results
Initial Design
First Level Second Level
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 20

21. Results and Final Product
University of Rochester Medical Center Site Redesign
Successful process
resulting in conceptual
designs and information
structure
User goals and
business goals
addressed in final
design concept
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 21

22. Summary
Applied a user centered process to identify user needs.
– Used a building block approach.
The new site structure (emphasizing a goal & task oriented
approach) addressed issues identified during the User Needs
Analysis Task
Information from the User Needs Analysis Task provided a
functional basis for guiding the redesign process.
Specifically:
– Guidance for site design.
Navigation.
Consistency in layout.
Visual look.
– Guidance in content
Selection of content type.
Setting the content tone.
The MC message.
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 22

23. Trainee Assessment Tool:
A Brief History
SPOTLITE: Rating instrument
for assessing F-16 pilot
performance
Use environment: Simulated
training environment
Prototype developed &
delivered: 2002
Customer use: 2002 – 2005
2005:
– Customer initiated redesign
to address usability and
use issues that arose after
long-term use
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 23

24. SPOTLITE Air-to-Air Version 1
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 24

25. Step 1: Identify Existing Issues
Method: Focus group and informal individual interviews
Stakeholders & Their Perspectives:
– Instructor pilots: Efficient use of time (Less is ore)
– Training program director: Collect pedagogically and
psychometrically sound data (More is more)
The Results:
– After 2+ years of use and analysis, stakeholders and Aptima
had clearer understanding of their actual use of SPOLITE
– Post-exercise measures may provide opportunity for more in-
depth assessment
– Tool architecture must support additional missions
– Usability and “flow” issues related to measure order and
measure saliency
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 25

26. Step 2: Brainstorm and Mock-up
Design Concepts
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 26

27. Step 4: Review Mock-ups With
Stakeholders
Method: Focus group
Results:
– Design was well received by stakeholders
– Some suggestions were well received by design team
– Design was modified accordingly
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 27

28. Step 5: Implement Finalized
Design
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 28

29. Step 6: Third-Party Usability
Review of Version 2.0 (beta)
Method: Heuristic evaluation
Population: Air Force Academy Cadets
Results:
– Evaluation results were vetted by instructor pilots for domain
relevancy
– Recommendations implemented in most current version
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 29

30. SPOTLITE Air-to-Air Version 2.0
Redesign effort, while time consuming, addressed all of the
stakeholders issues
– Support post-exercise assessment
– Interface is clear and intuitive to use
– Design supports expansion to other missions and other domains
(bonus)
~10 different SPOTLITE applications exist, all using same basic design
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 30

31. Summary
Experience Design is for everyone
Activities to ensure user satisfaction must occur along all
aspects of product development and user interaction
– First impressions matter
– Lasting impressions are just as critical
© 2007, Aptima, Inc. 31