This talk will be based on William’s short paper to the CHI and British HCI conferences in 2009 about his large-scale study of IT workers. The application of empathizing-systemizing tests found that technologists have substantially reduced empathizing skills and consequently have real difficulty in appreciating that others do not understand technology in the same way they do. This will not come as a surprise to anyone who has worked in the IT industry for any length of time, but it does serve as justification for many of the activities undertaken in user-centred design.

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The Psychological Basis of Nerdiness
and its Implications for UCD
William Hudson
User Experience Strategist
william.hudson@syntagm.co.uk

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Empathizing/Systemizing Theory
• Large-scale study of 450 IT workers (see
Hudson, William, 2009, Reduced Empathizing
Skills Increase Challenges for User-Centered
Design, CHI 2009 Conference, Boston and
British HCI Group Conference, Cambridge)
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3. Empathizers
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Systemizers

5. Please select
1 bag at a time

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7. Please select
1 bag at a time

8. RTFM
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The Perfect User
Visual acuity
of an eagle
Memory of
an elephant
Navigation skills
of a bat
Stamina of
a camel
Dexterity of
a monkey
Copyright © Syntagm Ltd – www.syntagm.co.uk
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Technologists have strong systemizing
but reduced empathizing skills
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There is a smaller effect for the few
female technologists

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Men Women
Systemizing
Empathizing
Empathizing
Systemizing
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Agile is Nerdy Too
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Agile Psychology
• Agile was influenced by the highly regarded
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works ®, responsible
for some of the world’s most prestigious
military aircraft
– U2
– SR71 Blackbird
– F-117 Nighthawk
– F-22 Raptor
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Agile Psychology
• Skunk Work® teams
– Are small (10% to 25% of a ‘normal’ project)
– Co-located (usually near the manufacturing
facility)
– Work to short time-scales
– Use minimal documentation
– Test products continuously
– Restrict access to outsiders
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(See http://www.lockheedmartin.com/aeronautics/skunkworks)

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Agile Psychology
• So to a large extent, both Skunk Works® and
Agile teams are isolated and introverted
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Agile Psychology
• Isolation and introversion may be desirable for
building some things – jet fighters, for instance
– The users of jet fighters are considered as just
another system component
• Isolation and introversion not so helpful with
interactive systems intended for a broad range
of users
• So how do we need to change the Agile
approach to user-centred design?
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Agile UCD
• Involve real users
• Increase empathy
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Increasing Empathy
• Two types of empathy
– Cognitive: being aware what someone is thinking
– Affective: being aware what someone is feeling
• Developers need to at least be aware that users
may have different views or understandings of a
problem and its potential solutions (cognitive
empathy)
• Partitioning UCD into a separate team or
department is not realistic in small teams (using
Agile approaches, for example)
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Increasing Empathy
• Two points to consider
– People-oriented people have higher EQ scores
than technologists
– Even the lowest EQ scores for women were above
the average for men
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The Agile Team
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Empathy
Barrier

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Increasing Empathy
• Because of the ‘empathy barrier’ increasing
the EQ balance in a team alone may not be
sufficient to improve engagement with UCD
• We need to consider other ways of increasing
empathy for everyone in the team
– Teaching it
– Enhancing it
– Applying empathy-promoting design techniques
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Increasing Empathy
• Teaching it
– ‘Mind Reading’ is an interactive DVD from Simon
Baron-Cohen and colleagues at the ARC
• Enhancing it (drugs)
– Oxytocin improves "mind-reading" in humans
Domes, G., M. Heinrichs, et al. (2007). "Oxytocin improves ‘mind-reading’ in
humans." Biological Psychiatry 61(6): 731-733.
• Enhancing it (technology)
– Automated ‘mind reading’
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Increasing Empathy
• Teaching it
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Baron-Cohen’s Mind Reading DVD
(See www.jkp.com/mindreading)

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Increasing Empathy
• Enhancing it (technologically)
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Rana Ayman el Kaliouby’s Auto-MR Software
(from http://web.media.mit.edu/~kaliouby/publications/
elKaliouby-2005-mindreading-machines.pdf)

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Empathetic Design
• Research has found that empathy is related to
specific components of the brain called mirror
neurons
• They are activated when performing a task but
also when seeing the same task performed by
others
• To promote empathy we should rely on the
adage ‘seeing is believing’
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Field Research
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Personas
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Usability Testing
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Empathy-Assistive Technology

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Agile UX & UCD One-Day Course
- Hamburg, 5 November 2010
- London, 15 November 2010
Persona-Driven Design Workshop
- London, 6 December 2010
• A prime goal for both the course and the
workshop is to address when and how to
promote empathy in design
• Visit www.syntagm.co.uk/design/courses
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www.syntagm.co.uk/design
Nerdiness & UCD